The Laughing Swordsman

There was a saying that circulated among intelligent creatures, despite the little information that went from empire to city, and city to village.

'Kneel under the presence of a dragon.'

Most people have never seen such a mythical creature. In fact, there are some that simply believe dragons are things of legends. However, they were very real. They were widely known for the pressure their very existence created.

As such, there were people that tried to replicate this pressure. In the majority of circumstances, these people would either be of high status and could afford such research, or were intelligent enough to do research on their own.

The attempts were numerous, but the number of failures was nearly equal. Despite the ability many possessed, hardly anyone could replicate the mythical pressure emitted from a dragon.

...But those that succeeded, created something terrifying.

As for one of those successes, it was right in front of Apollo. Rhys and Rhea coordinated casting a spell, something that required both parties to work together as though they were one mind.

Large volumes of water shot out from Rhea's flower while numerous gales launched out from Rhys' body. They combined, twisting and compressing.

Rhea and Rhys created a two-headed dragon, half made of surging water, and half made with violent winds. The moment the spell appeared, an overbearing pressure pressed down on everyone in the empire.

The two-headed dragon spread its wings wide and roared with indignation. It was as though the very existence of the others insulted the two-headed dragon. Even though it was formed by a spell, it resembled a living entity.

Apollo's mind was spinning, which was only further exacerbated by the pressure from the two-headed dragon. However, Apollo was a strange kind of person.

The kind of person that was only truly awake under the heaviest pressure.

Apollo's vision was blurry while his mind was still unable to process the situation.

But he still subconsciously raised his bokken.

There was a reason Apollo was bestowed a crown. It was because he proved his persistence. That he would never back down no matter how hard it got, or how dangerous it was.

And Apollo had no intention of changing that now.

He dashed straight towards the two-headed dragon, leaving trails of lightning in his wake. As for the two-headed dragon, they opened their jaws wide and rapidly gathered mana. In less than a second, a blade of wind and a blade of water shot out.

They tore through the air loudly, almost as though they were screaming.

Apollo's eyes cleared, before widening. His hand traced the flat side of his bokken.

Then snapped out.

Both the blade of wind and blade of water were cleanly cut through. But... it was a little too clean.

Although Apollo had cut the blades, this simply made them split into two before continuing onwards. Four small blades of water and blades of wind smashed into Apollo's body, severely damaging his organs.

Apollo was teetering on the line of life and death. If he truly decided to continue fighting, he may very well die. Apollo himself was acutely aware of this fact, but something in his soul made him unable to care.

Apollo bolted forward, letting the red scars on his skin expand. He directly dashed past the heads of the dragon, aiming to attack the part that connected the wind and water together.

The two-headed dragon was not going to let Apollo do as he pleased. Its two gaping jaws opened wide before snapping towards Apollo.

An eerie crunch resounded.

Both of Apollo's shoulder blades shattered under the force of the dragon's jaws. He could hardly feel any sensation in his arms. But still, he moved. A jolt coursed through his body.

Apollo's bokken traced an arc towards the sky. It was as though his bokken was tired of being oppressed, and wanted to oppose the clouds high in the air.

A violent tearing sound ensued.

The two-headed dragon split apart into two, forcefully torn apart by Apollo. They both roared in pain, as though it had been their very existence that was split in half.

...But they did not disappear.

The two halves of the dragon dashed away from Apollo. They slowly grew into their own entity. In the end, the two-headed dragon became two separate dragons.

During this time, Apollo's body was also healing. However, that didn't include his shattered bones. His organs were currently severely maimed, which was pretty bad considering they were pretty important for his survival.

As such, Apollo's body focused all of its attention on healing Apollo's organs. As for his shattered rib cage and shoulder blades, they were left unattended.

By the time the two dragons reformed their bodies, Apollo's organs had regenerated. However, not having his shoulder blades meant it was going to be difficult to move. On top of that, not having a rib cage meant he would be easily damaged.

The two dragons obviously didn't care about this, and charged towards him. Since they were both approaching from opposite ends, Apollo would be hard-pressed to push back both of them.

But he didn't intend on pushing back both of them.

Apollo held his bokken with both hands, clenching the hilt until his knuckles became white. As the two dragons rapidly approached him, Apollo's body heated up like a furnace. The snow around Apollo directly melted into water, a testament to the temperature.

When the two dragons were seconds away from Apollo, red scars snaked across his skin. He tightened his muscles, using them to forcefully hold the shattered fragments of his shoulder blade together.

Apollo turned to the dragon made of water, ignoring the other one completely. He let out a mocking laugh, as though to ask what let them dare challenge him.

The water dragon's jaws were wide open, ready to snap down upon Apollo. He could see the gaping void from within. It was large enough to swallow him whole.

But Apollo wouldn't let it do so.

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