Return of The Forsaken Heir

CHPT 7

Victoria brought her sharp dagger down with all her strength, aiming the steel straight at Lily’s face. The little girl squeezed her eyes shut, screaming for her big brother as tears washed down her cheeks. Before the blade could touch her skin, a hand clad in black dragon silk shot out from the dark mist.

Leo clamped his fingers around Victoria's descending wrist like an iron vise. Victoria froze in place, the breath caught in her throat as a crushing weight locked her arm in midair. She slowly turned her head around, her eyes widening in pure horror as she looked up at the towering shadow behind her.

An iron mask carved like a roaring dragon glared down at her with glowing eyes. "Who are you?!" Victoria shrieked in terror, trying with all her might to pull her hand free. Leo did not answer with words; he simply tightened his iron grip.

A sickening crunch of breaking bones echoed across the wet cliff as Victoria's wrist and forearm shattered into splinters. The steel dagger slipped from her limp fingers. Victoria let out an ear-piercing scream of agony, falling to her knees as tears poured down her face.

"My arm! He crushed my bones!" Victoria howled in the dirt, rolling around while clutching her mangled, twisted limb. The fifty Azure Dragon guards gasped in utter horror, stumbling backward in a wave of panic. They quickly drew their swords and leveled long spears, encircling the masked intruder in a tight ring.

"Kill him!" Victoria roared, her voice cracking with pain. "What are you standing there for?! Butcher this masked monster right now, or I will have your families skinned alive!" The fifty armored soldiers roared, charging forward with their weapons.

They lunged from all directions, aiming blades straight at Leo's chest. Leo stood like a mountain. He pulled his right hand back, channeling the boundless sea of awakened dragon energy.

golden light erupted from his open palm, blinding the dark night like a newborn sun. Leo thrust his palm forward with terrifying divine authority, unleashing the ancient Heaven-Shattering Dragon Palm. A deafening dragon roar tore through the stormy sky as a forty-foot golden dragon blast exploded from his fingertips.

The golden dragon tore through the air with unstoppable fury, crashing head-on into the charging wall of armored soldiers. The force instantly crushed the steel armor and heavy weapons of all fifty guards into powder. The soldiers did not even have time to scream before the massive concussive shockwave swept across the entire cliff ledge.

The violent blast picked up all fifty elite soldiers like dried leaves, hurling them off the edge of the cliff into the dark, bottomless abyss below. The entire mountain ledge fell into silence, broken only by the whistling of the wind. In a single breath, fifty armed killers had been wiped out of existence without leaving a drop of blood behind.

Gareth stepped out from the trees, his face pale as a ghost, his armor shaking in the rain. He drew his blade with trembling hands, staring at the masked warrior in sheer, uncontrollable terror. "Who are you?!" Gareth demanded, his voice cracking as he tried to hide the dread clawing at his heart. "State your name, monster! Are you a hidden elder from the Capital?!"

Leo stood tall in his black dragon robe, looking down at the arrogant enemies who had tormented his family. When he spoke, his dragon power altered his voice into a deep rumble that shook the ground like thunder. ""Why are you people so cruel? You kill innocent people without reason, and you think you can go scot-free. You cannot escape." 

Victoria dragged herself through the mud, clutching her shattered arm while gritting her teeth in defiance. She glared up at the iron mask with fierce eyes and asked, "Who are you, and who sent you to interfere?!" Leo stepped closer, looking down at her with cold  eyes as his voice rumbled, "Is that all you have to ask, or do you have anything else to say?"

"Do whatever you want right now, Victoria, because your pride ends here," Leo rasped, his words cutting with bitter hatred. "You call yourself a noble genius, but you are nothing more than a cruel parasite who butchers innocent people to hide her own rotten heart. I will avenge every single life you and the Seven Sects crushed, and I will make you pay for every drop of blood you made this city bleed."

"You dare touch her in front of me?!" Gareth shrieked, his face twisting with rage. He gathered every ounce of his internal energy, his blade bursting with red flames. "Die, you demon!" Gareth roared, thrusting his sword straight toward Leo's chest with all his might.

The fiery blade cut through the air, Leo did not dodge, and he did not shield himself. He casually raised his right hand and caught the blade effortlessly between two bare fingers.

Gareth's eyes went wide with pure shock as his sword stopped dead an inch from Leo's chest. He pulled with all his strength, but the blade did not move a single fraction of an inch, as if it were locked in solid mountain rock. "How... how can your bare fingers stop my blade?!" Gareth gasped, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Your blade is very weak," Leo’s rumbling voice whispered coldly, filled with absolute authority. "Because your arrogance is nothing before a true dragon." Leo flicked his two fingers slightly.

Gareth’s sword snapped in two like brittle glass, the broken tip falling into the mud. The sharp shockwave traveled up the hilt, burning his palms and throwing him backward onto the dirt. Deep humiliation crushed Gareth's spirit as he realized this man was an untouchable god compared to him.

He looked at his broken sword, then at the unconscious victoria bleeding, his mind screaming at him to run. "I will remember this!" Gareth choked out, his hands shaking as he pulled a purple talisman from his sleeve. He slammed the paper talisman against the ground, unleashing a thick cloud of blinding smoke that covered the rocky ledge.

Gareth grabbed Victoria by her torn collar, dragging her into the dark woods as he fled for his life. Leo did not chase after them; he let the wind blow the purple smoke away into the night. He turned around slowly, his heart softening as he looked back at the corner of the cliff.

Thomas and Lily were huddled together, cowering in pure dread before this masked warrior. Thomas held his daughter tightly, shielding her with his body as he wept in total helplessness. "Lord warrior..." Thomas pleaded, tears soaking his eyes. "Please... do not harm my girl. We have nothing left in this world.I'm ready to do anything you want, but let my child live."

Leo felt his chest tighten with love and sorrow as he watched his father beg for mercy. He reached up with both hands, slowly pulling the terrifying iron mask off his face. The dark, frightening aura vanished in an instant, revealing the tearful face of their beloved boy.

"Father. Lily," Leo whispered softly, his natural voice trembling as he stepped toward them. "It is me. I am home." Lily gasped, her small hands rubbing her wet eyes as she stared at the familiar smile before her.

"Brother?!" Lily cried out, her voice breaking into a loud sob. "You didn't die! You came back to us!" Thomas’s trembling hands reached out frantically into the air, touching Leo's body.

"Leo? Is it truly you, my boy?" Thomas wept loudly, pulling his son into his arms with all the strength left in his frail body. "You are alive! The heavens did not take my boy away!" Leo dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around his blind father and his crippled little sister, holding them tight against his chest.

"I promised you I would return, Father," Leo whispered through his tears. "I promise to always be with you and nothing will hurt you again" A few feet away, Clara leaned against a stone, watching the three of them.

She had seen the terrifying golden dragon and the effortless shattering of the blade with her own eyes. Her heart raced with holy reverence as she recognized the truth: Leo had awakened the divine bloodline of a true god-tier dragon king. Suddenly, a terrifying rumble shook the foundations of the earth beneath their knees.

A giant beam of blood-red light shot up into the sky over Dragonfall City. The bright red pillar broke through the dark clouds, turning the sky and mountains the color of blood. From far away, the panicked screams of citizens echoed. 

Clara looked up at the big red light in the dark sky. Her face turned white with fear as her body shook. "This cannot be happening," Clara whispered in total shock.

Leo turned to look at her with wide eyes. "Clara, what is happening down there?" Leo asked quickly. "Why is the sky turning completely red?"

"The Seven Sects started the blood ritual early!" Clara shouted, pointing toward the red glow rising over the distant walls. "They lied about waiting for sunrise, and the elders have already cast the blood array across the city gates. They are trapping thousands of citizens inside the square right now to begin the sacrifice!"

Heavy anger burned inside Leo as he heard the terrible news. He looked down at his blind father and his little sister, holding their small hands in his own. "You both must stay hidden inside this cave where it is safe," Leo said softly.

He put the cold iron mask back over his face and stood up tall. "Those evil men will not kill our people while I am still breathing," Leo promised with a hard voice. "I am going to the city right now to break their trap, and I will make every single one of them pay for their crimes!"