A Hunter Turned

The monster was near.

I had been tracking it for a few days now, following the trail of glowing energy that my ability, passed down from generations of hunters before me, allowed me to see. This hunt had been more interesting than any other before. For one, travelling through the savannah was a nice change of pace from the mountain tops I was accustomed to. A vista of zebra, lions, elephants, and rhino’s far surpassed that of snow. Those were beautiful animals. Nothing like the monster I hunted.

I followed the clear trail towards an outcropping of rocks that broke up the monotonous sea of yellow grass, red soil, and thorny Acacia trees. I recalled this place, as just the day before I had tracked this beast right here.

“So this is your home,” I thought, “Yet I thought I’d studied the place. What did you do to disguise it?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised, this creature had been friends with the prime researcher of what was now called Aether. Of course, that wasn’t what my predecessors had called it, but now that magical energy had a new name, and a new understanding. I refused to call my abilities “powers”. They were skills, not some superhero nonsense.

A glowing apparition of a sniper rifle appeared beside me, casting a pure white light onto the side of my face. Yet something made me hold my fire. I could not see the usual outline, that of large wings and a threatening tail. No, this creature had its disguise on. Even from afar, I could see the clear human form, with a dark purple t-shirt, and dark green shorts. My weapon faded.

“So the creature wishes to beg for its life, make me appeal to my humanity? Yet despite its disguise, I can still see the monster hidden inside.”

It did not take more than a minute for me to get close enough to not only see more, but also communicate. The human disguise of this monster, which people called ‘Janar’, had fair skin that would be more suited to my home town as opposed to the sun-kissed lands in Africa. It had long dark hair, which reached just past its shoulders. Then there were those eyes. Even from several metres away, I could see the slight slit in the pupils, the glittering green flecks that dotted those brown irises. As always, the disguise was imperfect.

“We finally meet properly,” I greeted, coming at a halt some metres away from the rocks.

The board I used as transport faded, and my boots thudded against the compacted red dirt.

“Indeed,” it said.

It walked forward, and I could see how its steps were unsteady, and leapt down to the ground, at my level. It used some kind of magic to slow its fall at the end, so it could move smoothly. Now the creature was cornered, having given up the thing its kind needed the most: the skies.

“You know, Mauro Cesario told me all about you,” I said.

I knew this creature had worked with one of my colleagues, who hunted other monsters. The warning had been succinct, enough to draw my focus to this ‘Janar’. Truth be told, I’d been aware of it since The Three Wings appeared 6 years before, but I’d had bigger fish to fry. Until Mauro informed me of its power. This creature had the ability to undo all of my hard work.

I could not miss the way the creatures breathing hitched. “He did, huh? Why?”

I smiled. “We hunters are like a brotherhood. All we desire it to eliminate monsters. He couldn’t eliminate you, of course, but when I passed by, he could inform me about you.”

Mauro’s work was to do with the more famous creatures. The vampires. Few remained in Europe, though they had apparently grown a colony here, in Eastern Africa.

“I see. So you specialise in killing my kind then. You have no idea how painful and annoying you’ve made my life,” the creature said, it’s frustration leaking out through the calm tone it attempted to put on. “I imagine the police bounty is just a bonus.”

“Oh yes, a lovely tip to my great work. I, Cezar, have killed hundreds of your kind,” I said with a smirk, “I know I am near the end of my journey, and that dragons will soon be extinct.”

The dragon kept its human form calm, though I could not miss the way its eyes glow strengthened at my news.

“Well, I wouldn’t have really cared. But, since you’ve targeted me…” a glowing blade of its own formed in its hand, though it lacked my power. A cheap imitation. The dragon, Janar, painted the blade at me. “I’m going to have to kill you.”

I grinned, calling upon my own blade, crackling with the honed ability to slay dragons. The dragon’s blade was curved slightly, while mine grew straight and strong. I charged forward, not giving it time to prepare, and swung for the neck. The creature dove, rolling past me, and came up from behind with an attempt at a stab. I deflected it, dark cracks forming along the blades where they met, and retaliated. To my surprise, the dragon dodged. Swift, for a creature in an unfamiliar form.

Nevertheless, I pressed on, calling upon all of my years of experience in sparring and slaying. Each blocked attack rang out like thunder across the savannah, and birds flew from the battlefield with haste. I was confident in my abilities, in my strength, and yet… it was gaining the upper hand. I felt my own energy reserves dip below the levels I was accustomed to. Meanwhile, the dragon appeared unfazed.

The dragon… which was not in its true form.

Of course my ability, honed to strike at the beasts, was falling short now.

A round glowing shield formed at my side, deflecting one of the dragon’s attacks. I stumbled away, panting hard. I reached within my dragonhide cloak, into one of its many pockets, and pulled out a little bottle. With narrowed eyes, I glared at the disguised creature. I should have used this long ago.

“It’s because you’re in human skin, that’s why,” I grumbled, pitching the glass bottle at the creature.

Like a fool, it tried to catch what I threw. I ran at it as the bottle shattered, spilling its potion onto that human form. Its transformation began, bones splintering and growing, skin morphing, scales forming. To most, this would be unpleasant to watch, particularly the small moments when skin tore, revealing changing bone and writhing muscle. But I was prepared, and charged forward with my blade at the ready. A shield, invisible in the air, hindered my attack.

“No matter, my ability now has the advantage anyway,” I thought.

But then, the transformation was over, after less than a minute. What stood now was Janar’s true form. It was a dragon, standing no taller than a horse, but with wings that were well over double it’s body size, and a thick tail that ended with a corkscrew-like horn. Its body was made up of mostly purple scales, save for the large dark red plating that ran under its neck, along the belly, and ended at the base of the tail. It also had lime-green scales that ran along the underplating, while also appearing in random specks along its body. Its leathery wings were also dark red, with those lime-green highlights running along the wing fingers.

Never before had a dragon shed its disguise so effectively.

It leapt into action, swiping at me with its sharp claws, attached to paws that could grab my head and crush it. I ducked and weaved, about to strike back with my weapon, when the dragon’s own sword, now floating, flew in for an attack. At the last second, I blocked it, and leapt out of the way of another swiping attack. The dragon was unrelenting, using its claws and tail to great effect. Which would have been fine, would have been like every other one of its kind that I’d fought. But for that sword. That damn glowing sword. Despite my ability being attuned to dragons, I couldn’t use it.

“It’s been holding out against me this whole time!” I realised.

Shields up, I staggered backwards. The dragon was grinning now, malice pouring through its teeth and enveloping its entire body. Such evil. This could not pass.

“No!” I cried in defiance, “Not like this!”

I drew upon the depths of my energy for my trump card. Frankly, I shouldn’t have been playing with knives anyway, so now I was ready to do what it took to get rid of this beast.

My skin began to glow, not just the way it did in the sunlight, but rather, light emanating from my entire body. A row of artillery, fit for taking down battleships, appeared behind me. A dozen guns, all aimed at it. At Janar. The monster. I glared at it, and fired.

It was a barrage. The sounds of the artillery firing were enough that I knew my hearing would never recover. I didn’t care. I just fired, over, and over, and over again. The shockwaves of the guns firing kicked up dust, until I could see nothing but a red fog, and had to close my eyes. Still, I maintained my fire, even as an aching pain began to run through my body. It was as though every fibre of my being began burning, pulled in different directions. My legs gave out from the pain, and I fell to my knees.

A couple of minutes later, I ran out of the energy and will to maintain my fire. It must have been done anyway. My toughest battle, but I always won in the end. When the dust cleared, and the ringing in my ears stopped, I looked up, expecting to see a crater where the monster had been.

It was still standing.

There were clear lines in the dirt where its claws had dug in as my barrage pushed it backwards. But it hadn’t even been pressed up against the rock formation that it called home. It was breathing hard, but so was I. Only, I wasn’t sure yet if I could move. But that dragon was now approaching me. This couldn’t be possible.

“How?” I asked, “How, you damn monster…!”

“You have the audacity to call me a monster,” the dragon scowled, “When you have no idea what it’s like being me.”

A glowing spear formed in my hands, the last of my energy. I rose and began my charge, in one swift motion. There was no way, I was the hunter, this had to work.

Some invisible force grabbed hold of my feet, and pulled them back. With my momentum moving forward, but not my feet, I fell, landing hard on the ground. My body slumped, my energy depleted, and a great weight pressed upon my back. Even if I wanted to attack that paw, I couldn’t.

“Here’s the truth, Cezar,” the dragon growled. Its voice wasn’t just present through my ears, but it echoed into my mind. It wanted me to listen. “Your own actions have led to this moment. You know, I used to be human, like you. But I was turned into a dragon to deal with one very specific problem. Can you guess what that problem is?”

It had brought its head down, and was whispering in my ear and mind. I had an idea of what it was saying. My life’s work.

“The problem, is that there aren’t many dragons left. And so none other than The Lord of All Dragons picked me, a 15-year-old human child with great potential, to be his next vessel.”

“The great one? It wasn’t killed?”

“He brainwashed me, edited my memories in ways I still don’t fully understand. He turned me into a perfect killing machine. And I killed.”

“If the great one wasn’t killed, then all has been for naught,” I realised.

A tremble went through my body. Fear. Hate. Horror. I began to mutter. No. This couldn’t be the end. No. The extinction of the dragons had to come. No. I hadn’t been beat. No. No. No.

“And so, Cezar, I killed,” the dragon continued, louder now, “and because I killed, a certain police chief began to hate me. And collect information on me. Until at last, I killed too much, too quickly. So then he placed a bounty on me, drawing you in.”

“You were on my list,” I thought, “I would have gotten to you eventually.”

“And finally, we arrive here,” it was growling now, sending vibrations through my entire body, “Cezar, you turned my life into one of death, pain, and a loss of identity.”

“So kill me then!” I spat.

“I don’t think so,” it said, “I have a different idea. You will atone for your sins of killing my kind, by helping the population out. I’m sure The Lord of All Dragons will appreciate my gift, and hopefully leave me alone for some time.”

My blood froze, my breathing stopping for a moment. Surely not. Surely it couldn’t do that. I began to squirm, adrenaline overriding everything else. And the dragon got off, letting me free. I scrambled to my feet, my legs screaming in pain, and ran.

Then a searing pain, like lava from the inside, ran through my body. I stumbled, dropping to all fours, my mouth open in a hoarse scream as bones within my body began to break. There was a great heat everywhere, especially from the dragonscale cloak I wore. Acid along my skin as my cloak fused to my growing, tearing, shifting body. The pain was everywhere, and I could identify it all. Every torn skin, poking bone, frayed nerve. My scream turned to a roar as my vocal cords changed, expanding with my neck.

It took forever. But when it was done, I continued my run. I could feel the changes. The long neck and tail. The large wings. The arrowhead spike at the end of my tail. Dark blue scales glittered on the snout in front of my vision.

There were other presences in my mind now. One, which felt my fear, and agreed. We ran together, 4 legs on the dirt, until it sought more speed and freedom. Wings, mine, ours, began to flap. With an uncoordinated kick, we rose to the air, and continued. I knew not where I was headed, it just had to be away from that mo… from… Janar.

“Oh, how interesting,” the second presence in my mind said.

His voice was deep, and I stopped my panicking to listen. There was no other choice.

“So, the little one thinks they can escape me by offering gifts? How naive. Except… Oh, this is good.”

I had no idea what was happening. I only knew that I had to fly. The other side of me, the side that was the dragon now, knew where we went. The very idea of it terrified me, but I couldn’t bring myself to take another direction.

“Scourge of our kind, Cezar the hunter. I, The Lord of All Dragons, hereby welcome you to my kingdom. With you, our numbers are now 12 strong.”

Only one more thought ran through my mind before it was tossed aside, and the dragon took over.

“I’ve failed.”