CHAPTER 57: MUSCLE FLEX

DANIELLE KEINE

1 ½ YEARS AGO

Now that the round glass table is flying towards me, I don’t have a choice but to fight back. With my powerful legs, I kicked the table away. But that does not solve the problem, because right now, my mind-controlled dragonoid Nathaniel, is running towards me, charging like a rugby player.

“Graaaaaah!” Nathaniel made a warcry as he readied a tackle.

“I’m sorry, Nath. I will have to do this.” I muttered.

I know that Nathaniel is my trusted dragonoid, but I have to fight back. I ripped my nightgown and revealed the sheathes on my legs which contained my battle weapon: a set of bladed fans. Dual-wielding it immediately made me shift to a battle stance, and I swung one towards my dragonoid. 

"Haaah!"

A swift wind blast occurred which launched my dear Nathaniel unto the air. My macho dragonoid crashed on the table where the fried chickens and liquors are placed.

“Hey, isn’t that too excessive to do on your Nathaniel!?” Alphonse shouted. My fellow dragon knight Alphonse is still running from his dragonoid who is relentlessly firing elemental projectiles at him.

“Oh, I think he’ll be okay. His rock-hard body is powerful enough to withstand any of my attacks.” I covered my mouth with my fan as I spoke. “Why won’t you do the same to your precious Z, Senor Alphonse?”

“I wish I can, but she’s fucking squishy! And she’s just a child!” Alphonse said. When he ran out of tables to parkour, he used his chains to swing on the chandeliers like a man-spider. “Anyway, we have to stop whatever the fuck is controlling them!”

“The speakers, senor!” I said to Alphonse. “Everything went weird when the loudspeakers blasted that pulse-like sonic wave!”

I look at the stage where the speakers are. There are only three people there; Cheng Du, Serena, and the wounded Duke Corasell. The mind-controlled Serena is already on her way to finish off the injured duke, so I have to make a move!

“Stockpile Buff: 50%” I arched my right arm, and my muscles became much bigger. With such a boost in power, I swung my fan aiming at Serena. “Wind Blast!”

Serena’s instincts saw my attack. She immediately forged a tower shield to protect herself from harm, but my Wind Blast pushed her five meters back. Stopping her plan on killing the duke, I took the opportunity to dash towards them. I flapped my fans like my own wings and it made me dash with the speed of sound.

“Senor Duke Corasell, are you okay?” I asked as I checked on his deep shoulder wound.

“Do I look okay!?” the duke protested. “Every dragonoid in this place is going nuts! Even Serena is mind-controlled! If the news about this gets out, the bill will never be passed!”

“This is not the time to talk about your bill, senor! Your life is in danger!” I said as I carried the duke on my shoulder. Then I flapped my fans to dash away from the stage.

With my powerful gliding techniques, I went to the eastern side of the hall where the volume of the fight is minimal. Alphonse is already there, tying up his dragonoid Z with his chains. Z is still acting up like a rabid dog, so Alphonse opted to gag her mouth with a steel chain to chew on.

“Alphonse, can you treat Senor Corasell’s wounds!?” I asked as I lay down the wounded duke.

“Of course, I can,” Alphonse said. Then he pointed at the dragonoid maids and butlers charging towards us like a horde of zombies. “But we need to repel those rampaging dragonoids first!”

“Leave them to me.” I spread out my arms and channeled magical energy on all my limbs. My muscles immediately bulked up to almost twice its original size. “Stockpile Buff: 80%”

With such a boost of strength, I swiped my fans in the air, and it made a huge tornado. The tornado sucked all the mindless dragonoids and threw them all the way to the four sides of this wide hall. Some of the poor dragonoids landed on the tables, chandelier, and even on the stage, and their hard crash made them unconscious.

Now, there are only three enemies left in this hall. Cheng Du, the mind-controlled Serena, and my dragonoid Nathaniel who just got up from his minute-long sleep.

“Stockpile Buff 100%” Nathaniel shouted. His upper body became as twice as big as before, and his muscles turned metallic black. His biceps and triceps are now big enough to carry a blue whale, and his steeled abs can now withstand a train crash.

This is bad. Now that Nath is using all his strength, that means I can no longer hold back. I might end up hurting my precious dragonoid big time, and there’s no guarantee that I won’t be injured either. I don’t want to fight him. I need to stop what’s controlling him!

There are no more bystanders in the area, which means I have the opportunity to destroy the loudspeaker that is currently making that weird submarine-like noise. I smiled as I spread out my fans and arched my limbs once more.

“Haaaaah!” I recklessly charged forward to Nathaniel, who is readying his muscles for defense and counter-offense. 

When I was already one meter close, Nathaniel punched towards my direction. I evaded so fast that Nathaniel only hit nothing but the ground. I used his arm as a staircase to rush upwards, and then I jumped two meters and aimed my fans towards the two loudspeakers on the stage. 

“Twin Whirling Strike!”

I launched my bladed fans like ninja stars, which struck the loudspeakers. With such a powerful attack, the speakers immediately sparked and exploded, stopping the weird sonar-like noise. 

But… Nathaniel and Serena are still mind-controlled.

“Hahaha! You fool!” Cheng Du cried with joy. “The Psychic Amplifier will continue controlling your dragonoids even though the pulse-emitting speakers have been destroyed! You have to destroy the amplifier itself! Hahaha!”

“Merde!” I cried.

“Haaaah!”

Now that I’m completely open, my mind-controlled macho dragonoid seized its opportunity to smack a full-blown jab towards my sexy body. I was immediately launched and crashed towards the wall as if I was hit by a cargo truck. Normally, I would be dead by now, but thanks to my shield plate that has been installed in me the whole time, I suffered no damage other than the shockwave.

I looked at my shield plate, and it’s already at zero percent. If I get caught by Nathaniel’s punch without any protection, I’ll be splat for sure.

“Shit!” Alphonse cried as he is double tasking on restraining his dragonoid and treating the wounds of the duke. “Where the fuck is Xenon!?”

I touched my earpiece and connected to Xenon’s channel. “Senor Wingate, to your copy? Alphonse is currently combat ineffective and is a sitting duck. I need reinforcements, over.”

“Hey, I’m not a sitting duck! I’m fucking nursing the duke here, you dumb bitch!” Alphonse protested on the background.

I ignored the potty-mouthed ally and focused my ears on the earpiece. There’s no reply. There’s no indication that Xenon received the message either. I repeated the message, but there’s still no response. He probably forgot to turn his radio earpiece on.

I switched on Major General Valesmisth’s channel, and I can hear heavy grunts, gunshots, and metals clanging. It seems that the Psychic Amplifier is able to control the dragonoids not just in this hall, but also to a few blocks away from this hotel.

“Lady Keine! What the fuck is happening!?” Valesmith cried. “All the dragonoids on our forces are running amok! I can’t even talk to my dragonoid Rius, and he’s currently attacking me!”

“Major, the dragonoids are being controlled by a device named Psychic Amplifier. I have a positive ID on Cheng Du here in the hotel, but we can’t proceed with the capture plan. We are also facing our own dragonoids here.” I said.

“There’s a weird beacon on top of your hotel that has been emitting pulses! That must be the Psychic Amplifier!” Valesmith said on the radio. “I can’t get close! Our sniper and artillery units are currently engaging mind-controlled dragonoids in the vicinity! I’ll be counting on you to destroy that! Over and out!”

Then, there was an endless sea of static. Major General Valesmith must be busy on his own fight, so I only have to rely on what’s in here. Since Alphonse and I are standing inside the hotel, all we need to do is to destroy the Psychic Amplifier on the rooftops of this very establishment. 

It will not be easy because I will still have to fight my dragonoid Nathaniel and even Serena.

I just came with a realization. Cheng Du and Valesmith reported one common word, and it is the word “Pulse.” I also felt the pulsing wave when the Psychic Amplifier went on, so there must be one thing to counter the mind-control effects towards the dragonoids.

Nathaniel started to move. His footsteps are heavy, and he’s preparing for a charge attack. There are about twenty meters of distance from me and my dragonoid. If he attacks, it would take about eight seconds. That should be enough for me to execute my gambling plan.

“I have a theory, Senor Alphonse,” I said. “If I use Vesryn Pulse, will my Nath become an ally again?”

“I don’t fucking know.” Alphonse shrugged. “It might be worth a shot, but if you’re wrong, you’ll have to fight Nathaniel on his dragon form. That is a hell-of-a-shit situation.”

“But you said that it will be worth a shot, so I’ll do it.” I smiled at my friend. Then, my eyes fixed gaze on the charging macho dragonoid as I held my beating heart. “Activating Vesryn Pulse!”

Suddenly, Nath’s body was engulfed with golden light as he reshapes himself in a mystical entity. His dragon form lacks any scale, but his dark skin is flexible as rubber and yet as impenetrable as steel. Without any wings and sharp claws, this dragon excels more on its gigantic gorilla-like arms that are as big as a normal dragon. Its muscles puff out, making its body look more like a humanoid than those of a lizard’s. Spikes spawned on its shoulders, tails, knees, and elbows that serve as a counter-armor to anyone that gets close. Its black head is similar to an iguana which is full of horns. Nathaniel is now a Muscleflex Dragon.

“Grrrrooooooooohhhhh!!!” My twelve-meter dragon roared as it confused me more if he’s now a friend or foe.