Chapter 218: Limitations (2)
The pain immediately gets worse as I get closer and closer to reaching him.
CRACK!!!!
Another scale breaks apart and blood begins running down my arm.
This isn’t good in the slightest but I know I have to continue pushing towards him or I’ll end up losing this fight.
I grit my teeth and continue forcing myself forward anyway.
The pressure from King Albus continues to crush me from every direction... Like I’m being hit by multiple different trucks over and over again.
"You really don’t know when to stop, do you?" King Albus asks.
I ignore him.
My focus remains entirely on the arm that keeps breaking apart. My dragon power immediately repairs a few of the cracks as I prepare myself.
Then the purple-black flames surge again.
CRACK!!!!
The repairs disappear almost instantly.
Rika... What the hell am I supposed to do when they refuse to fix the damage I’m taking here...
I know, I’m figuring it out as well. It’ll be fine, we can get through this together regardless Rokuro.
I don’t understand why both of the powers are still clashing as hard as they are. I’ve used them back in the tower against multiple enemies, multiple floors, and against myself...
Not like this Rokuro.
Her answer immediately catches my attention.
What do you mean not like this?
Think about every fight we’ve had since obtaining that power. Have you ever pushed both powers this hard before?
I don’t respond since I already know what she’s talking about.
I haven’t pushed it this hard period since having it. This power hasn’t had a chance to go beyond its limits.
King Albus is forcing me to use everything... Every single bit of power that I have.
The realization makes me stop for a brief moment.
King Albus notices immediately.
"Hahahaha! There it is!" He shouts.
His laughter echoes throughout the courtyard.
This bastard really knows how to piss me off during such an important fight. It must be one of his specialties to make people angry all the damn time.
"What are you so damn happy about?" I ask.
King Albus points directly towards me.
"You finally noticed the flaw," King Albus responds.
The black aura surrounding him starts twisting violently and the pressure immediately increases once again.
RUMBLE!!!!!
The remains of the courtyard continue collapsing around us.
Aria and Velia look like they want to help but Eliza’s barrier keeps them back.
Good, I’d rather they stay out of this.
"You’ve spent all this time getting stronger." King Albus continues.
The smile never leaves his face.
"But you never stopped to master what you already had."
My blood begins to boil even more from his words.
This bastard... As much as I hate hearing him talk, he’s sort of right in a way as well. That is probably the worst thing for me to admit to myself right now.
My dragon power has been constantly evolving this whole time but what exactly has the tower power been doing? Or the power from that crystal to be specific?
I never really stopped to understand the crystal power in the slightest.
I just kept moving forward until I cleared the entire tower; never once considered stopping to learn more about it.
"You are trying to force two different paths into one body," King Albus says.
The black aura around him begins shrinking.
Compressing.
Condensing around him.
"You should be dead already," He speaks once more.
My eyes widen slightly.
What? That statement isn’t completely wrong, considering the amount of damage I’ve taken since awakening. I probably should’ve died during one of my fights ages ago.
"You think everyone can withstand powers that reject each other?" He asks.
The scales along my arm continue cracking as the purple and black flames flicker violently.
Even the red glow from the dragon power is becoming unstable now.
"You survived because your body adapted!" He shouts.
King Albus takes a step forward.
CRACK!!!!
The ground beneath him shatters instantly.
"But adaptation has limits," He speaks with a serious tone.
He’s been making me understand that there really is a limit to how much you can force something to work. Maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong from the beginning.
For the first time since obtaining the tower power I realize that I probably should’ve found a natural way for them to exist together.
Rokuro...
What is it Rika?
The crystal power wants to help but it is working against us because of the way your dragon power is working. Everything is fighting back against it so they keep destroying the progress.
So it all comes down to it being my fault that it is happening like this. I should’ve tried to sort it out better from the moment I acquired it, but instead I just pushed and pushed.
I even absorbed Reaver who formed as an entirely different side of me from this power... Shit.
The moment that realization settles in...
The pain throughout my arm suddenly becomes even worse.
CRACK!!!! CRACK!!!!
Several scales explode apart at once and blood sprays onto the ground.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
King Albus just stares back at me.
"Now we’re getting somewhere!" He shouts with excitement.
The black aura around him suddenly explodes outward.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
A massive shockwave tears throughout the courtyard as the girls continue to hide in the barrier. Just barely I notice it cracks a bit.
And for the first time since meeting him... I can feel genuine danger coming from him.
This isn’t the time for me to be stuck in such a terrible position when the girls are running out of time. That barrier isn’t going to hold forever.
King Albus slowly raises his hand.
"Let’s see if you can overcome your limitations before I crush you with them," King Albus says with a serious expression now on his face.
Rokuro... We are running out of time to do something about this. Please focus!
We’ll get through this Rika. I’m ignoring the pain for the time being while I try to figure this the hell out already.
Damnit!!!!
