Chapter 58 - Hell Strangle

A cacophony of augmented bones snapping, skin tearing apart accompanied by Blaze's and Alistein's desperate shrill screech reverberated as their Draconic Energy-imbued bodies struggled for supremacy.

Alistein was the first one to break out from their position. He intentionally dislocated his shoulder to get away from the triangle choke after smashing Blaze's back several times on the ground.

The lioness finally let him go of the hold after her another failed choke attempt. The first time the system and Azurion had explained how the Dragon Circuit functions, Blaze had seen it not any different that much to the human body. Human muscles needed air while the Dragon Circuit would cease to function as well without air. Thus, with or without Draconic Energy, chokeholds were the deadliest techniques among the big pool of techniques available due to their capability to make a normal person lose consciousness and in terms of the dragon-human body, to block the passage of air that would make their augmented muscles revert back to normal that would lead to losing consciousness once weaken as well.

Blaze recalled her father told him once. If she would choose between strike, throw, or chokehold in a match, she should choose a chokehold as it ends the battle in just a few seconds. But she failed miserably to apprehend her opponent not just once but twice. Would she give up now, though?

No!

She stood up again.

"I know you're that persistent. It's not something I wouldn't expect."

Quickly, Alistein threw a ferocious right overhand punch on her face.

[Danger! Health is reduced to 10%]

- You will faint any moment.

Without a warning, Alistein followed with a vicious left hook from below, greeting Blaze's falling face.

[Danger! Health is reduced to 4%]

- You're entering a very dangerous mark.

- Retreat at all cost if you don't want to die!

'Stay down, Blaze! That's your limit! Any more damage than this and we'll both die!' Azurion was on the edge of his seat.

"Retreat? My limit?" Blaze whispered under her closing eyes.

Phew!

Alistein took a glance at his father accompanied by the Warchiefs and some dragonslayers not far away from them. Their body flinched and whitened after colliding with Alistein's stares as if they had seen a ghost aside from the Emperor. Kaiser and Colleen uncontrollably shrieked and began to question why they chose to stay with them, clinging onto one another in fear and making Kingsley sigh.

A silhouette had risen without warning from behind, whispering with a bloodcurdling voice, "Where are you looking at?"

Alistein unwittingly turned, seeing a hair-raising crimson red dragon eye glaring at him inside a dark silhouette with raging hair, fluttering violently before Blaze mounted his back. Then, she impeccably locked one arm inside her legs while locking the other between her head and her one arm, she's touching the back of her neck to seal the lock. Finally, her free arm was choking Alistein's neck, his position seemed he was crucified.

"Dragon Slayer Fist: Strangle of Hell!" Blaze proudly seethed between her teeth in grit.

'Tch! You really don't know when to give up, do you?' Azurion cheered, letting out an amused chuckle.

Unlike before, Alistein could do nothing to escape. Both of his were tightly bound and miraculously, Blaze's chokehold was more powerful than it ever was. Was it because of desperation? Or she was truly more powerful?

Whatever the case, Alistein found himself on the verge of losing against an Estereon, something that he doesn't like to experience again.

'I don't understand. You can end this before it even began. Why were you not using your skills? Is it... because you're using her as a replacement to get away from the trauma her father inflicted on you?' Hitorak, the seven-headed swamp Hydra Dragon spoke inside his head.

'Shut up!' Alistein replied in agony.

Suddenly, a torrent of water forcibly pushed Blaze out of Alistein back. Having no choice with the little remaining strength she had, Blaze let go of the tightly sealed Strangle of Hell.

The world tumbled around her as she lost all sense of balance from the unexpected water gush she felt and not knowing what should be above and below before her battered body crashed and rolled on the ground.

[Warning! Health is reduced to 1%]

- You're losing consciousness.

- Don't let anything damage you further. Penalty: Death!

Simultaneously, a majestic screen appeared in front of Alistein's eyes as he turned to Blaze, several water dragons' heads popping from his back one after another.

[First skill is activated!]

<First skill: Hydra's Water Jets (Active)>

- The user will summon seven waves of water attacks, each blast will come from the hydra's water heads that will appear on the user's back. Each blast is a sharp near impossible to avoid bursts of water to the targetted enemy with twice the potency of the user's ordinary hit.

Cast Time: 2 seconds

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Draconic Energy cost: High

'You should run, Blaze. Don't tell me you have another annoying thing in mind. Whatever it is, don't pull it off,' Azurion warned.

"I'm sorry, Blaze. The skill can't be canceled after it was successfully cast. You chose this. Tell your father in the afterlife I said hi!" Alistein stared at Blaze bitterly. With Batarak and Blake already dead, the future of the Estereon Family rests on Blaze's hand. And now, she too would soon follow them. Never had Alistein imagined himself to be the person that would end such a great family in the history of Lunargard. And he had emotions about it.

Then, an indistinct melody played soothingly from afar followed by Alistein's system's whizzing and distortion due to the melody.

"What?" was what Alistein could voice out in alarm.

[The 'Flute of Harmonica' has been played]

- All active skills are silenced in 100 meters radius for 10 minutes.

- Only passive skills can function inside the radius.

Alistein narrowed his eyes upon hearing and reading a familiar name on the screen.

'Flute of Harmonica?! Don't tell me...'

Alistein immediately looked where the melody was coming from before he finishes his thought, seeing his father playing a legendary weapon with great enthusiasm.