Dughia’s wounds closed and her head cleared before Lith could deliver a third blow, dodging it with ease. She sidestepped the attack, ready to counter with her gigantic fist, when she noticed that something was wrong.
Away from Lith, her speed matched his, but now that they were close again, the Tinania was slow. It was as if she was moving through a tar pit that slowed every one of her movements.
Lith yawned at the attack and struck with a counter that carried their combined weight, sending Dughia flying against the wall.
“Dragon Fear?” One of the customers said, pointing at the deep violet aura with lighter streaks exuding from Lith’s body.
“Yep.” Replied a draconic customer. “Dragon Fear.”
Every living creature could emit killing intent, but while even Divine Beasts inspired awe and adoration, Dragons instilled terror. It was one of their bloodline abilities that allowed them to spread their feelings through their aura.
Anyone trained enough could resist killing intent, but Dragon Fear was different. The Dragon would infuse their will into every strand of their mana, making their aura become so thick that it would be almost tangible.
Whoever stepped inside their domain, would have to fight that will to advance of even one millimeter. It was the reason Dughia had suddenly gotten slower.
On top of that, Lith wasn’t really a Dragon.
His seven eyes lit up together, turning the surrounding world energy into an extension of his aura. The Tiamat unfolded his wings as the energy surrounding him become dense enough to make him float without the need of flapping them.
“Play the song.” Haug said, taking a bowl of popcorn and a beer.
“What song?” The Lamia asked?
“The one Leegaain wrote for his hatchling. One winged demon.” He replied to her silent question by pointing at the single feathered wing on Lith’s body.
The Lamia nodded as the band dropped their usual instruments to move on to a more orchestral performance.
The customers who knew how to deal with Dragon Fear didn’t counter it, mostly because it sent shivers down their spines, making the fight more intense.
“I have nothing to do with Orpal!” Lith struck with a left jab, followed by a left straight from his wing. “I hate his guts and now I hate you too!”
His front kick sent his talons deep into the Dughia’s flesh, enough to lift her up along with his leg. Then, the Tiamat slammed her to the ground with an ax kick as he stomped with all the strength he had.
“I am no fucking dog to kick whenever you or the Kingdom have a bad day!” Then he straddled her and started to hit non-stop with his fists and his wings in an endless onslaught.
At that point, Protector and Nalrond had to help the Titania’s friends to stop him, with terrible results. When they finally managed to drag Lith away, nothing above Dughia’s waist was left.
“Are you insane, Haug? Why do you keep standing there without doing anything?” Nalrond and his muscles screamed in the effort to block one of Lith’s arms. “How can you call this friendly fisticuffs?”
“Because it is.” Haug pointed at the remaining half of the Titania as he finished his beer.
Vines sprouted out the lower half of Dughia’s body, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. They regenerated the torso first, then the head, and finally her arms. In a little more than five seconds, she was standing as good as new.
“See?” The bartender said. “Fae’s have regenerative abilities second only to undead and they can use their breathing technique even through their skin. Our feisty Titania only needs a couple of meals to fully recover.”
The audience nodded and clapped their hands at the good show.
“Was it fun for you kicking me while I was already down, bitch?” The moment Dughia was back on her feet, Lith struggled with all of his might to get free and finish the job. “Was it fun for you bastards to see me suffer?
“What the heck do you all want from me? What more do you want from me?”
The customers of the Tavern thought that either the Tiamat had lost it or he had to have a very unusual relationship with his crotch since Lith had yelled the last past to his lower abdomen.
They chuckled, finding it amusing, until everything became clear one shocking second later.
Lith had his Voidwalker armor slip off his abdomen and plunged his claws deep inside his guts. Everyone recognized the position where the mana core was.
“Rage, fury, protection, willpower, compassion, and even mercy!” Lith screamed in outrage at his deep violet core that once again had stopped stirring at the end of the fight. “I gave you everything! What more do you want from me, you bastard?”
Once again, there had been no breakthrough. He was still stuck at deep violet. All of his pain, all the self-introspection, all of his suffering had been for naught.
Haug and the customers didn’t find the situation amusing anymore and rushed to stop the Tiamat before he maimed himself. They used Spirit Magic and all the tricks at their disposal, but stopping a Divine Beast without hurting them was like fighting a quake.
Even Dughia and her companions did their best to stop Lith’s rampage, finally realizing how he must have felt while they spat their hate in his face. It took the Awakened a lot of effort and to pour half a bottle of Red Dragon down the Tiamat’s maw when he roared to calm him down.
“I’m really sorry, guys.” Haug gave Lith, Protector, and Nalrond a bow. “I should have known that the kid wasn’t in the mood for more shenanigans and intervened sooner. Don’t worry about the bill, it’s on the house.”
Even in his drunken and relaxed state, Lith flipped him off.
Protector and Nalrond brought him back to the tower, tucking him in before warning his family of what had just happened.
“Is he alright now?” Elina asked.
“Physically, there’s not a scratch left, but Lith’s mind is still in a bad place. If before the exile the bottleneck was an annoyance, now it’s eating at him from the inside. Keep an eye on him.” Nalrond said.
“I will.” She nodded. “I can’t believe that your night out ended even before Solus’. Gods, I wish Kamila was here. She would know what to tell him.”
As for Solus, her date had gone much better than she had originally thought. She had regained no new memories and the oases actually looked all the same after seeing a few of them.
Yet Solus was happy to have gone out with Aerth instead of holing herself up again. The Blue Phoenix was quite rude, but sincere and caring. Something she wasn’t used to from Lith.
Sure, he never lied to her either but with their bond, it would have been pointless. Unlike Lith, Aerth wasn’t two faced. He was genuine, treating everyone as he felt they deserved.
She still left him around 10 pm, when Raaz usually went to bed, and was shocked to feel the presence of Lith’s mind already there. After wishing her father goodnight and asking Elina what had happened, Solus rushed to the tower as fast as she could.
