The Laughing Swordsman

Noctis' arms were strained heavily as he refused to let go of his weapon. As for his fist, a few fragments of armor fell off.

Yet, Layla was completely fine. A small smirk appeared on her face.

"Hehe, looks like I'm going to win again!"

Noctis closed his eyes. He mumbled to himself.

"To think I have grown so incompetent that I can no longer handle two intruders."

The pressure he emitted abruptly died down.

"Forgive me, Yzan."

Suddenly, a dragon's roar resounded, causing the air to tremble.

Violent black flames burst out from Noctis' body.

Layla spat and batted the black flames away.

"Ew, ew, ew!"

She jumped off, all the while batting away the few black flames that remained on her.

Noctis' armor could no longer be seen. Instead, it was completely covered in black flames. The black flames flickered, taking on a rough shape.

In place of Noctis' head was the head of a dragon, created by black flames and bright red eyes. Two draconic black wings, similarly made of black flames, emerged from his back.

The dragon head had a gaping maw, revealing a dark void from within.

As for his hammer, the black flames wrapped itself around it. The curved spike of his hammer grew in length.

The hammer morphed into a massive scythe composed of dense black flames.

There was a sudden increase in pressure. It was akin to being at the bottom of the ocean. Layla felt uncomfortable, flailing her limbs around.

"Mmm!"

The dragon composed of black flames stood still for a few moments.

Then, he dashed towards Hex, without making a single sound.

Noctis, or what was left of him, held the scythe with both hands. He slashed forwards, emitting a shockwave of black flame.

Hex held his sleeves in front of him. There was a small frown on his face.

"Big human become big dragon!"

Purple mist coalesced in front of his sleeves. Right before the scythe reached him, the purple mist pulsated.

Then, exploded.

A massive cloud of purple energy emanated from Hex's sleeves. The shockwave of black flames immediately dispersed. Violent gales of wind stirred up, pushed along by the overwhelming force from Hex's attack.

As for draconic Noctis, he slid back.

But only by a few centimeters.

The black flames he was composed of flickered wildly under the force, like a wavering candle. However, his red eyes shone with determination.

The purple energy continued to emanate from Hex's sleeves. The wind generated made his clothes flap around violently.

Draconic Noctis pushed against the purple energy. He was slower than a snail, but was able to take a step forward.

Then...

He took another step forward.

Hex furrowed his brows.

"Me think this is bad!"

The purple energy suddenly cut off. A dense purple ball coalesced in front of Hex before exploding.

Hex was thrown backwards while Draconic Noctis was thrown off his feet, flying back a few meters or so. However, Draconic Noctis did not fall on the ground. His wings composed of black flames flapped, keeping him up in the air.

Hex landed on the ground with a tap. He hummed.

"...Me think flying will be annoying."

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Wah, I wanna fly too!"

Draconic Noctis threw a glance at Layla before turning to Hex. Even with his new form, he doubted Layla would go down quickly. On the other hand, Hex seemed to be a mage.

He did not understand what element Hex's spells were in, but what he did know was that most mages had weak bodies.

Draconic Noctis' black wings flapped silently, causing him to dash forward like a phantom. He was countless times faster than last time, giving Hex little time to react.

Hex attempted to coalesce more mist above his sleeves, but a scythe made of black flames was already descending upon him.

The sound of crackling flames was deafening.

Hex was knocked backward. A soft sizzling came from the newly formed small black mark on his face.

Hex landed on the ground with his back. The air was knocked out of him.

After a second, Hex stood up with a pout.

He rubbed the black mark on his face with his sleeve.

"Me no like! It hurts!"

Draconic Noctis hardly waited another second before dashing forwards again.

Hex narrowed his eyes.

"Blackie!"

His shadow suddenly shrunk before disappearing altogether. The black shadow wrapped itself around Hex's legs, before traveling all the way up to his hood.

His clothes rapidly shifted from blue to dark purple, nearly becoming black. Two small bright purple horns materialized on top of Hex's hood.

Hex's face was obscured by the shadow. Two large eyes along with a smile replaced it. The features glowed with a light blue.

Draconic Noctis was not perturbed by the sudden change. His scythe whipped towards Hex once more.

But... the results were a little different.

Right before the scythe made contact, Hex's figure vanished.

An uncanny giggle filled the air.

Draconic Noctis turned around to see Hex floating high up in the air. He immediately dashed forwards, swinging his scythe.

Yet, like last time, Hex vanished right before his scythe hit.

Hex reappeared a few meters higher. Like last time, he simply hovered there with a strange giggle.

Draconic Noctis furrowed his brows.

There had to be a limit on how much Hex could do that, right?

Determined to see this battle through, Draconic Noctis continued chasing after Hex. He was ready to fight a war of attrition.

Draconic Noctis slashed his scythe towards Hex, while Hex vanished before materializing a few meters higher.

Hex began to giggle a little louder.

The two continued on with their cat and mouse chase. However, it was not clear who exactly was taking on the role of the cat.

After they had reached quite high in the air. Hex would also appear downwards. His reappearances seemed completely random.

It was at this moment, Draconic Noctis wondered.

Why wasn't Hex fighting back?

Well, Hex was.

Draconic Noctis just couldn't see it.