Rise of the Primordial Dragon beast tamer-Chapter 22: Training Arc (IV)

Azvoid stared up at the Abyssal Tyrant.

The damn thing was at least four times his size, covered in obsidian armor plating that looked tougher than a mountain, with six burning crimson eyes glaring down at him like he was an insect. Its breath alone sent shockwaves rippling through the ground.

Azvoid took a deep breath. "Okay. Sure. Why not? This is fine. This is totally fine."

"You seem nervous, host." Noctis's voice was far too amused in his head.

Azvoid didn't even blink. "Nervous? No, no, no. See, nervous is when you forget your test answers. This? This is full-on 'oh-god-I'm-about-to-die' terror."

The Abyssal Tyrant moved.

Azvoid warped away just as the ground exploded beneath him.

A crater the size of a damn house was left where he had just been standing.

"Oh, it's fast too. Wonderful," Azvoid muttered as he reappeared a dozen meters away, watching the Abyssal Tyrant slowly turn toward him.

Noctis chuckled. "What's wrong? You wanted a challenge."

Azvoid deadpanned. "I wanted a challenge, not a walking extinction event!"

The Abyssal Tyrant roared, a shockwave of black energy blasting out from its mouth.

Azvoid warped again— but the instant he reappeared, a massive tail whipped toward him at supersonic speed.

Phantom Reflex—activated.

Azvoid barely had time to react as he twisted in mid-air, his body contorting unnaturally, barely avoiding the bone-shattering impact by a hair's width. The tail smashed into a nearby stone pillar, shattering it into dust.

He landed with a roll, blinking. "Holy hell, I almost died."

"No kidding," Noctis hummed, not helping.

Azvoid exhaled. "Alright. Fine. You wanna play rough? Let's play rough."

Space Vector Master—engaged.

Azvoid warped directly above the Abyssal Tyrant's head, his body twisting mid-air.

"Eat this!" He dropped down, using gravity and momentum to slam his fist right into the beast's armored skull.

BOOM!

The entire battlefield trembled.

The Abyssal Tyrant did not move.

Azvoid's fist ached.

Slowly, the monstrous beast turned its six glowing eyes upward.

"...Oh, you're not even fazed, huh?" Azvoid muttered.

Then the beast threw its head back—

And Azvoid was launched like a ragdoll.

He smashed into the ground, skidding nearly fifty meters before he stopped. Dust flew up everywhere.

Silence.

Noctis: "...So, how's the floor taste?"

Azvoid groaned. "You're enjoying this too much."

The Abyssal Tyrant did not care.

It rushed forward, its massive claws glowing with abyssal energy as it came to finish the fight.

Azvoid gritted his teeth. "Fine. If punches don't work—"

He vanished—reappearing beneath the beast—

"—let's see if you like getting thrown!"

Vector Displacement—Maximum Force.

Azvoid placed both hands under the Abyssal Tyrant's massive front limb—

Then reversed its momentum.

The air cracked.

The Abyssal Tyrant—this mountain-sized, six-eyed monstrosity—

Was launched into the sky.

For a second, there was absolute silence.

Azvoid stared up, panting. "Oh. That actually worked?"

Then Noctis, cackling in his mind, pointed out—

"It can fly, you know."

Azvoid's face fell. "...Oh, come on."

The battle had just begun.

---

THE ABYSSAL TYRANT SOARED THROUGH THE SKY.

For a brief, glorious moment, Azvoid stood there, hands on his hips, watching the colossal beast he had just thrown.

"I am a goddamn genius."

Then reality kicked in.

The Abyssal Tyrant unfurled its enormous wings, the blackened energy pulsing from them swallowing the sky as it halted mid-air—not even struggling.

Azvoid's smile froze.

"Oh. Right. It can fly. Fantastic."

Noctis chuckled darkly in his mind. "Your overconfidence is truly magnificent, host. A real work of art."

Azvoid massaged his temples. "Listen, dragon. If you could give me helpful advice instead of sarcastic commentary, that would be lovely."

"Sure. Here's some advice—don't die."

Before Azvoid could properly tell Noctis where to shove it, the Abyssal Tyrant let out a deafening roar.

And then—

THE SKY FELL.

A torrent of abyssal energy, thick enough to darken the entire battlefield, crashed downward with the force of an apocalyptic meteor shower.

Azvoid's brain had exactly 0.3 seconds to process this.

"OH, HELL NO."

Vector Warp—

BARELY ESCAPED.

The ground where he had been standing ceased to exist.

Azvoid reappeared on a nearby ledge, watching the impact zone—now a blackened crater the size of a city block—smoldering in eerie, shadowy flames.

"...I have made several mistakes today."

The Abyssal Tyrant's six eyes locked onto him as it descended, the sheer pressure of its presence distorting the air.

Azvoid took a deep breath. "Alright. Let's think. Punching didn't work. Throwing didn't work. What do I have left?"

Noctis, oh-so-helpfully, hummed. "Dying is always an option."

"Not helping!"

The Abyssal Tyrant lunged.

Azvoid warped—

—Only for the beast to predict his movement.

Its tail SLAMMED into him mid-warp, sending him spiraling like a thrown ragdoll before he crashed into the stone ruins.

The world spun.

Everything hurt.

Azvoid groaned, pulling himself up from the wreckage. "Oh yeah. That's... that's a broken rib. Maybe two."

The beast approached, slowly, savoring his moment of victory.

Azvoid spat blood. He gritted his teeth. "Alright. No more games."

He forced his battered body to move.

His system flashed in his mind.

[System Alert!]

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[Phantom Reflex—The Untouchable Reflex: Fully Integrated.]

[Space Vector Master: Combat Adaptation Engaged.]

[Host has reached Peak D Rank. Power at optimal limits.]

Azvoid exhaled.

He felt it. Every muscle in his body synced with the flow of battle.

When the Abyssal Tyrant lunged again—

He didn't dodge.

He flowed.

His body moved with an unnatural grace, bending at the perfect angles, slipping past the monstrous claws like water down a stream.

He twisted—

And counterattacked.

His palm touched the Abyssal Tyrant's side.

Vector Reversal—Engaged.

A blast of energy sent the towering beast SKIDDING BACKWARDS, smashing through several ruined structures.

Azvoid landed softly, cracking his neck. "Oh. Now we're talking."

The Abyssal Tyrant rose.

It was mad.

And then—

The air shifted.

Something... changed.

Noctis, who had been joking this entire time, suddenly turned dead serious.

"Host. We have a problem."

Azvoid felt it too.

Something was watching.

...