Damien got a good look at the creature standing before him.
It stood over sixty feet tall, its wings stretching wide like torn banners against the sky. Black scales layered its body like armor forged in a volcano, each one jagged and sharp-edged. Its eyes burned red. Smoke hissed from its nostrils with every breath.
Then all of a sudden, it opened its mouth.
Damien, in a sense of instinct, dashed behind the rocks, thinking that it was about to unleash a barrage of hell-flame upon him.
Instead, he heard a voice.
"Foolish human," the dragon thundered.
"Creatures of your kind are not welcome here."
It can speak?!
"I can't believe they call me, the great Vorthar, to deal with a pesky human. One with absolutely no Soul Essence either."
Damien could have sworn he heard the dragon heave a great sigh after its last sentence.
So it possesses intelligence...
Interesting.
Alright then, let's get this show on the road.
Damien peeked over the corner of the rock.
The dragon seemed to be taking its claws back as if it was getting ready to strike.
After a couple of seconds, all hell broke loose.
The dragon swung its claws horizontally at the rock, which was hiding Damien's position, and burst the rock open.
There was nothing behind it.
Damien had waited till the claw was about to make contact before he climbed to the top of the rock and timed his jump onto the dragon's arm.
The dragon noticed it too late.
He was aiming for one thing: the dragon's eyes.
The scales seemed practically impenetrable, and even if they weren't, they were not as soft as the eyes.
Damien sprinted along the dragon's arm until the dragon tried flinging him off, which he expected.
The dragon swung its right arm upwards, which Damien used to build himself momentum.
He jumped right as the dragon swung its arm and was sent flying into the air.
Damien started rotating his body faster and faster until he resembled a whirlwind of steel, and dove down straight for the dragon's face.
At the last moment before contact, he slashed downwards using his rotational velocity to land a devastating blow against one of the dragon's eyes.
Damien's right arm broke.
The dragon howled. Blood sprayed. It reeled backward, blinded on one side. Its head thrashed. Damien flew from its skull and slammed into a stone wall. His ribs cracked. He couldn't breathe. He spat blood.
Despite all of that, he stood up.
I've had worse injuries; this isn't too bad.
Obviously, he was in no condition to fight at all.
He could hardly move.
The dragon roared again. It swept fire across the plateau.
And eventually, the fire reached him.
Damien grinned like a madman on the brink of pure insanity.
Let's see how much longer you can last, Vorthar.
And everything turned to black once more.
[The Blood Cage denies your death.]
[You have revived]
[Death Counter: 102,361]