With a gleeful roar, Isaac lunged towards the nearest granite elemental, the speed of his movement further accelerated by a flap of his large draconic wings. The golem's attempt to block the dragon’s claws ended in futility; its arm shattering upon impact.
With the golem’s stance spread wide from the blow, Isaac quickly spun his tail under the golem’s feet, the floor flying out from beneath it. Claws at the ready, Isaac's arms plunged into the golem's chest, the core of murky violet light torn free amongst the bursting of granite shards.
Swallowing the heart whole, a guttural moan burbled from the dragon's rumbling throat; the corrupted essence absorbed and converted into fuel. The elemental’s now inert body crumbled away to granite dust.
The two remaining golems and the demon elemental showed no signs of fear, although the latter appeared to take a depraved interest in the amount of savagery the human paladin's ally displayed in his consumption of corruptive essence.
Golden eyes glinting in feral luster, Isaac's primal gaze shot to the remaining corrupted entities in a feeling of need, before locking with the empty eyes of the demon. The golems walked to the front of the demon as they heeded an unheard command, forming an impromptu barrier. Their maws opened in a show of intimidation, violet crystal emerging from their granite hide.
Licking his chops in a reinvigorated thirst, Isaac dove onto the nearest granite elemental, fangs tearing into the golem's shimmering chest. He felt a significant resistant as granite hands grabbed at his jagged horns.
Yet in retaliation he plunged his claws into the elemental's sides, pressing his body against his opponent in a hug-like gesture.
The violet energy and glowing crystals grew dull as their energy seeped into the claw at his torso, the dragonman's arms bulging with strength as corrupted essence flooded them with such strength he easily rendered the next and final golem a pile of rubble with a few well-aimed punches.
Sighing from the high, Isaac turned from the pile of granite powder to meet the dark gaze of the demonic elemental once more, the violet energy beneath its armor spasming subtly as Ilvir's trapped form writhed from beneath, his body serving as a base for the elemental's shape.
Maw twisted into a scowl, Isaac pointed the rose dagger at the demon threateningly as he growled from the depths of his maw.
"If you wish to live, release my companion, demon."
The demonic elemental cocked a sly grin in response, elemental claws drifting to caress its stomach mockingly. Ilvir's muffled moans and squirming within suddenly spiked in volume and intensity, the entire demon's body beginning to bulge and contort with a mix of growling and squelching.
Isaac's eyes narrowed in fury, very well understanding the depraved elemental's intentions.
With a flap of his wings, the dragonman took to the air of the circular chamber; the space high and wide enough to where he could escape from the range of the demon's oversized battleaxe while still being able to dive down to unleash hell.
Said demon wasted no time in moaning once more, it's body rippling and appearing to grow larger with each passing second.
Isaac cursed angrily to himself, as he realized his time was limited lest Ilvir be fully digested and converted into the demon's new vessel.
The dagger spun firmly as he aimed it towards the elemental.
Flying near the side of the chamber, Isaac planted his feet against the wall, time slowing as he dove downwards towards the demon with a lunge and flap of his mighty wings.
The demon's smile twisted into a wicked scowl as the dragonman barreled towards him, pulling its axe back.
With a roar Isaac flew into the demon, the claws of his feet digging into the elemental's sides before he plunged the dagger into its unprotected shoulder. The demon did not flinch at his action, however, as the blade of the axe tore through one of the dragon's wings in one fell swoop.
A pair of deafening roars shook the chamber.
With a rough throw from the demon, Isaac found himself flung from the demon's body and forced to choke back another roar; his wings taking the brunt of his impact against the walls of the chamber.
Crimson lifeblood dribbled lazily from the stump of a wing down his back in rivulets, puddling to the floor beneath. Isaac crumpled to a knee as he stumbled forwards, reaching for the demon.
The demon stumbled, desperately attempting to tear the rose dagger from its shoulder with a snarl. No matter how hard it pulled however, the dagger refused to relent; its corruption absorbing abilities in full effect as the black jewel began to shimmer and glow.
The axe clattered against the floor, non-responding as its armored user dropped to its knees, soul absorbed and sucked into the dagger.
Ilvir's moans quickly overpowered its fading, angered cries.
With a final flash, the dagger finished its absorption of the demonic spirit, clattering to the floor alongside the inert axe.
Ilvir moaned helplessly within the demon's now empty body, one that he could not control. He rasped for air as the body’s large claws tore open the front of the empty vessel's chest plate, staggering free and into the scaled arms of Isaac.
Vomiting up a foul sludge-like substance, Ilvir coughed and sputtered. Purple liquid coated his savior's black-scaled chest, the chromatic scales shifting to a viscous state as they hungrily swallowed up the corrupted residue.
A yell escaped Ilvir's throat, who stumbled away from the dragon's weakening grip. His savior grunted, collapsing onto his arms.
Back rising erratically with each breath he took, Isaac's reptilian eyes trailed up to his right wing, grimacing at the sight of bone poking through torn metallic scales and sinew alike. His fangs clenched together at the feeling of immense numbness overtaking him, consciousness threatening to slip away at any moment.
Inhaling sharply, the draconic paladin rose to his feet with a grunt. Flexing his claws and ignoring the trail of crimson down his arched back, golden eyes drifted to the ownerless demonic battleaxe. The head of the weapon lay embedded into the ground; the rose dagger by its side.
Each step and click of his claws caused his vision to blur and ears to ring, yet he refused to relent to the pain with the axe in his sight.
It called to him.
Dragging himself with shallow pants, Isaac pitifully stumbled to the axe. Golden claws reached for the axe’s shaft, taking it in his grasp as he heaved and pulled it out of the floor with a roar. The dagger vibrated with a shrill sound as Isaac glanced at it; before the blade lifted itself and flew to his other hand.
With both weapons in his grasp, the dragonman's body erupted in a vortex of black wind; Ilvir recoiling from the mere force of the gale.
Isaac's victory and spoils of war were short-lived; the moment the weapons rested by his side, he found he couldn’t let go of the axe’s shaft. A purple runic fire erupted from the demon weapon’s head, runes inscribing themselves down the shaft towards his hand.
Searing pain burned straight through his scaled palms as the flames graced them, a voice not unlike the progenitor's blaring throughout his mind.
"You are worthy."
The flames snaked up his draconic arm and flared under his scales, now burning red. Howls of pain burst from his open jaws, wishing nothing more than to amputate his arm and be free from the agony.
Reaching his shoulders, the purple flames crawled under his scales and entered his very flesh. His heart pounded in his ears as an immense throbbing within his chest made itself known, the hellfire joining with his own draconic flames.
Merging to one.
The axe seemed to melt into the flames, following the trail of hellfire into Isaac.
The dragon's eyes clenched shut, his torn wing growing numb with every beat of his heart. Black liquid spurt freely from the wound, forming what seemed to be the bone structure of the lost appendage.
He could feel nothing aside from the agony of the purple flames scorching his scales and the numbness of his wings as black slime continued to form a new appendage.
His mind swirled with the otherworldly sensations, the black goop finishing it's healing as the black membrane grew scales and gained a metallic sheen, mirroring his uninjured wing.
Not a trace of the wound remained.
Another numb feeling struck his tail, and upon inspection, he could see why. The head of the axe was growing into his tail, morphing the appendage into a formidable weapon.
As if it wasn’t before.
At its finale, Isaac's fangs ground together in a daze; his head beginning to fog and grow cloudy. A dull ache not unlike that of a migraine forced his eyes to clench shut, whispers trickling into his mind. Visions of a forgotten time.
Memories not his own surged into his mind. Each pulse of his heart brought forth a new vision that scorched itself into the depths of his very being.
Ears ringing like bells, Isaac's blurred gaze shot up to eye the stone doors at the opposite end of the chamber, the runic inscriptions shimmering faintly. They shut once more, another memory burned into his mind.
"H-Hey!"
Ilvir called out, limping to his side.
“Are you alright?!”
Isaac didn’t feel the human beside him; for his mind, merged with the progenitor, tumbled into the depths of unconsciousness.
. . .
Head tilting at the lack of a response, Ilvir sighed as he realized his companion had fallen into a deep slumber.
He brushed a hand through his matted hair, dropping to his knees to collect his breath from the ordeal of acting as a puppet.
The sight of the dragonman's torn wing regrowing lay burned into his mind. He couldn't fathom such a thing.
He had defeated the demon beast and its granite underlings, and a massive injury had healed mere moments after the finale.
Immortality?
Perhaps.
Then again, he had little clue of the dragon's origins. The mix of silver, gold, and black made him seen almost divine, yet the savagery he displayed was not one typically said to have belonged to angels.
His intelligence and thought were far beyond those displayed within the arrogant dragons of recent times as well; then again, he had been corrupted for almost thirty years...
Ilvir shook his head and groaned, fingers rising to massage his temples.
He couldn't help but shiver as his nudity made itself known, the purple gunk covering him doing a terrible job of keeping him warm.
He trembled as he felt thick drops of slime trickle from his recovering hole.
"...I ought to find some clothing soon."