Chapter 292 System Return

In a quick movement before the entity that embodied "War" of another realm, he drew his crossbow, which was already loaded with a bolt, and aimed it straight for the center-mass of the armored brute.

"Gh-!"

Shooting the heavy-duty crossbow came with its own kickback, firing the bolt straight for the entity's chest before–CLANG.

In a disheartening collision, the crossbow bolt merely bounced off of the terrifyingly durable plated chest of War.

Still, he didn't let himself be dissuaded, sucking in a refueling breath of bravado into his lungs before tossing his crossbow to the side and instead wielding his sword.

At that moment, he remembered another piece of advice his father had told him, flooding into his mind when he needed it the most: "When you're drowning in fear, and your knees are buckling up and your arms are trembling, do the opposite of whatever your body is telling you. If it says to run, well...You charge forward like a bull with fire chasing its ass."

There was no part of his body that wanted to confront the massive, hulking frame of mayhem and bloodshed, but he did so anyway with a warcry forced from the depths of his being to drown out his own doubt–Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

"Aaaaaah–!!!"

Whether the steam-breathing entity was perplexed by the young man's irrational charge or it simply didn't feel the need to act in haste against his weak self, War had yet to move, but the young Dragonheart welcomed this advantage.

With an all-too dramatic leap using the dusty table as footing, he jumped in the air with a downward swing of his sword primed and readied for the metallic helm that was War's head. In that moment he locked "eyes", if the scarlet glow behind the barred outlines in the steel head of War could be called so, before following through with the sword swing using all of his might.

"Raaagh–!"

Empowering the swing with a yell, he swiped the sharp blade of silver complexion downward before–KLING.

Against the durable head of War, the sword snapped in half; the top half was deflected from the force, flinging back in the young man's direction as it cut his cheek.

"Ngh–!"

As he landed on his feet, the despair was at its strongest as he looked up, standing barely at the humanoid tank's waist as not even the slightest scratch was left on its head.

Part of him, for a split-second, was prepared to accept his failure; the fingertips of his right hand that held onto the sword began to loosen to drop the broken sword, but stopped just as it began sliding from his grip.

He wrapped his fingers tightly around the handle once more, gritting his teeth as he almost felt like crying from the sheer density of War's terrifying aura.

I'm not going down without a fight...! He resolved.

As he rushed forward with his dulled and shattered sword, War finally let out a distorted roar that rang like scratched metal; steam shot out from the pipes in its body.

"Nngh...!"

The steam pelted the young man's body, but he didn't stop; feeling his flesh burn, he dashed by with a quick sword slash, only to be deflected by the durable armor of the entity once more.

He dashed straight past War after leaving an ineffective slash against its side, jumping out of the hole busted through the side of the building and into the more open space of the labyrinth's chamber.

"...Hfff..."

He could do nothing but jump back and raise his arms, evading only two bullets as one pierced straight through one of his forearms and another grazed his side, taking a chunk of flesh with it.

"You–!" He gritted out.

Desperate, he manifested the azure flames of the Dragonheart into the palms of his hands, readying himself for a counterattack. In a burst fueled by his potent emotion and reckless form, he sent a wave of the bright-blue flames forth, crashing them against the behemoth's body.

The inferno exploded in a fantastical collision, though was instantly rejected as War released a partly metallic, partly organic roar that unleashed a shock wave capable of repelling the heat.

He brushed even that off–?! He questioned.

Not letting himself be disheartened, he dashed in with a burst of flames at his feet to boost his speed, launching a powerful kick against War's head–

THUD.

The impact only had the opposite effect desired as he felt his shin crack and no damage be embedded on the seemingly impervious helm of the entity.

"Agh-!" He let out.

CLICK.

War morphed once more, shifting one of its arms into a hulking tool of massacre; a dozen barrels were embedded in its black-steel arm before it began spinning, releasing a spray of bullets. It was nearly impossible to tell, but by his estimate in that fleeting moment, there were likely a hundred bullets that shot out in that singular second.

"Ah–"

Before he could even summon [Scale Armor] to protect himself, the high-caliber, deathly bullets shot through him dozens of times, piercing holes through his entire body before he was reduced to nothing more than red mist within that same moment.

Darkness.

Silence.

And most of all, failure.

–

"Haaaaah...!"

Once more, his eyes shot open to the familiar setting of the armory, screaming out as the death he faced felt like a seamless second ago.

["One of Seven Attempts, failed. Five more left. Closer, but not close enough, Emilio Dragonheart."]

It was that same voice again, ringing through his head as he caught his breath, patting his own body to make sure he wasn't still full of holes, but to his fortune, he was in perfect health.

I died again, he realized, it killed me in an instant once it tried...even with my Dragonheart System back, would it even be enough with higher stages?

Despite the reality of failure, there was a flipside that brought on a reluctant smile to his lips as he squeezed his fist, holding it in front of him.

"I can do this."

The strength of the Dragonheart was still there in his veins, he was certain of it through the mightiness felt in his body. It was with that power he had faced and overcome adversity countless times already with that he placed hope in.

Next step, let's get my magic back—I'll take it all back, including my life, he resolved.