Though Sirius didn't look like much–not frail, but not overly muscular, pale, and youthful, perhaps just a couple years older than Emilio himself with shaggy, black hair, the aura of mana around him was staggering.
"If that's true, then I'm wondering how you even found me. See, the thing is, this was a classified quest–only for a top dog like yours truly, so…" Sirius said, "What the hell is your game?"
To the mana-sensitive Dragonheart, what he felt was a storm of lightning brewing around Sirius, reaching far-and-wide with an unstable power capable of ungodly feats.
'A fight would be bad. I already knew going into this that he held that absurd title, but feeling firsthand that it's not an exaggeration…I need to do this peacefully, if I can,' Emilio thought.
"I'm Emilio Dragonheart, a world-class adventurer, too," he told the truth, flashing his insignia, "It's hard to explain, but there is a group tracking down people like us. If they get their hands on us, it might not just be a city or kingdom that's wiped out– the whole world will be in trouble. We need to work together to bring them down."
Though he told the truth without question, he could still feel that prickly, abrasive aura exuding from Sirius, who looked at him with those powerful irises that embodied the very lightning he wielded.
"Dragonheart, eh? I think I've heard a thing or two about you. Oh, you're the one who defeated 'Dread' in the trial, yeah? Impressive," Sirius remarked casually, "I believe you."
"Really, then–" Emilio began to say, relieved.
Though that relief was quickly interrupted as he found himself being pointed at by the cocky reincarnator, with magenta sparks coiling in the rain-filled air.
"The thing is, I have my own creed: the strongest pave their own path. I don't follow the whims of those I consider weak, nor will I respect them or work alongside them. Just not my style–that's why I ride solo," Sirius explained, "So, if you want me to play along with your little mission, then prove you're worth it! I'm not going to help you just to save your ass, so show me you don't need me to do that!"
It was clear to him now that the future he saw was an unavoidable truth that he had to face, no matter what he said or did, Sirius would always choose to fight him.
'I suspected it was the case, but it really was always going to come down to a fight, wasn't it?' Emilio lamented.
"If I'm being honest here, I just want to see what another reincarnator is made out of," Sirius admitted with a smirk, "Sirius Stormheart–I've got the Stormheart System, as you can see."
The eccentric figure spread his arms as if showcasing his system through the powerful storm that had loomed over the summit.
"Fine, then," Emilio said, "Just don't regret it."
"Oh, confident! I like it!" Sirius laughed excitedly.
Reinforcing himself with mana, he readied his senses, knowing what sort of speed was possessed by high-class users of lightning magic.
Sirius seemed to always hold a confident, playful smile that sat well on his fair face, blessed with looks that would assuredly make him a celebrity on Earth. It seemed to be a recurring pattern to him; reincarnators were blessed in more ways than one–systems and looks–but cursed in other ways.
"Just a fair warning: if you can't keep up, you'll die," Sirius warned him as his tone dropped from the playfulness with those heavy words.
Amidst those words, the fair-faced man disappeared, reappearing behind the Dragonheart as the crackling of lightning flowed through the brisk air.
"--So try not to disappoint me," Sirius warned as his slick words met the back of the Dragonheart's left ear.
As his battle-honed instincts flared up with the display of speed from his begrudged opponent, he quickly moved his head to the right just as a small bolt of lightning zapped by. As it passed by his cheek, he could feel the erratic heat shooting by, prompting him to spin around into a kick against the Stormheart.
Knowing what his opponent was capable of, he chose not to hold back with his kick as it was blocked by the lightning-wielding man's arms, producing a thunderous impact.
"Not bad," Sirius complimented with a playful smile.
Holding his hand forward while his leg was still being blocked, he flicked his fingers, catching Sirius by surprise as a minuscule fireball shot forward.
BOOM
A fiery explosion resulted as the tiny fireball expanded, allowing Emilio to flip back as his boots slid across the dreary, rain-slick grass. Of course, the magenta electricity sparked through the billowing flames as the lightning-wielding figure pierced straight through it, rushing towards him.
"That was a good one! You're crafty!" Sirius called out, racing across the valley as his body shifted into lightning.
Thunder roared as the Stormheart shot across the battlefield as a smite of bright-purple lightning; in response, Emilio stomped down and waved his hands upward, conjuring a colossal wall of mud that was reinforced three times.
It was a quickly-formed defense, though not one that came without thought as the experienced Dragonheart used his own knowledge from his time on Earth as a resource:
'Mud can't conduct electricity. In that case, nature magic might be my ultimate bet against this guy,' he reasoned.
This theory was quickly tested as the Stormheart shot up before quickly darting down like a real bolt of lightning from the skies, crashing against the runny shield of mud.
CRASH
"--!"
To his dismay, the barrier of mud was all but blown away by the impact as the laughter of Sirius rang out through the storming valley.
"A little mud won't stop my lightning–not in a million years!" Sirius taunted.
It was obvious to Emilio already, but it was a gamble he knew that was being made; the initial touchdown of the lightning carried an explosive impact that mud could not prevent, only the shock.
"Tch," Emilio clicked his tongue before jumping back, preparing himself for another encounter.
Bringing his palms together, he chose to use the bountiful resources that the infamous mountain around him provided, invoking a grand usage of nature magic as the valley rumbled.
"Oh?" Sirius looked around.
Rising from the runny mud around the basin valley, dozens of golems shaped in the form of half-men, half-bull giants rose, stomping down with their muddy forms: "Labyrinth of The Elemental Minotaurs."
It was a flexible spell that could inhabit the attributes of any element, though in this case, he chose the most abundant one around him before sending the horned, lumbering golems towards his swift opponent.
"Interesting!" Sirius complimented as one approached, "But do you really think it'll work!"
With a casual snap of his fingers, the titled "Strongest Adventurer" blew away not one, but two of the mud-formed minotaurs with a simple bolt of lightning.
Emilio inhaled quietly as he watched the mud minotaurs be dismantled easily by Sirius, who played around as he casually took each of them out one-by-one now. Though this was the expected result; the Dragonheart used the distraction to conjure strength to himself.
As he brought the breath deep into his lungs, he felt it expand through his body like a calm aura before igniting it into a fiery one, invoking a flame spell that didn't destroy nor produce flames, only etching a crimson enchantment onto his body: "Warring Fireblood."
It felt like a surge of adrenaline through his veins, pumping his muscles with a heat similar to his own system as his physical abilities increased. In tandem, he began to clad himself in azure scales, allowing them to fully overtake his body as the draconic armor wove itself together with a burning power.
[Dragonheart System Activated]
[Current Stage: 3/10 | Dragon Warrior]
As he armored himself with the third stage, the last of the mud-formed minotaurs was cast away by a single breath of Sirius, who whistled a shock wave of wind against it, blowing it into muddy particles.
"So, that's what your system looks like? Snazzy," Sirius smiled, "Want to see mine? Make me use it, then!"
Without hesitation, the Dragonheart bolted across the battlefield, crossing the distance in an instant as even the cocky Stormheart seemed impressed by the increase in speed. Emilio swiped his hand upward, unleashing a swift wave of azure flames that tore across the field.
Sirius sidestepped it with magenta lightning coiling in his wake, spinning around as he launched a thunderous kick towards the Dragonheart. Managing to react to it now, Emilio caught Sirius' ankle before the kick landed.
"...Ah. Not bad!" Sirius reacted with a laugh.
Emilio hoisted Sirius up, spinning around before tossing the figure with all of his strength, flinging him across the valley.
While Sirius was flung away, he didn't waste any time bringing his hands together, planting his feet against the mud as the rain continued pouring down; a mass of embers gathered into a sizzling fireball as steam emitted around him from the clash of rain and fire.
Thunder crackled again as the Stormheart caught himself before crashing into the rocky walls around the summit valley, shooting forward with magenta lightning flooding the gloomy skies with light.
"Show me what you've got, Dragonheart!" Sirius called out.
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