Graveyard of a Madman Part 49

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''The structure that the pirates chose for their hideout, and their medical building were several miles away from the battle. That did not stop it from shaking from the tremendous collisions happening at the coast, where there were absolutely no structures left standing. Their injured stacked up quite badly before the end of it. However, now that all of the fighting had calmed down, aside from the obvious, they were neatly organized in their own beds, with medication given to them as it was needed.''

''Some were not so much injured, as they were extremely fatigued and over-exerted. Pura was a prime example of this, her sword was stood beside her bed. Knave sat in a chair beside her, his arms cast up after he had punched so many things with already broken hands against his doctors' orders. Pura was bandaged up as well, her head along with her eye were the worst of it. The rest of her body was simply cuts and large bruises.''

Pura: Come on, Knave! I just want to go outside to watch the fight. I got plenty of sleep, and I feel fine now.

Knave: Yeah, I know, I sooooo want to fight a dragon! [Looked around, suspicious like.] I think I know how we can sneak out of the--

Before he could even finish, Stormy appeared out of nowhere, a needle in hand and grabbing Knave's arm.

Stormy: HOOOOOLD it right there mister! Pura is under strict bed rest, and YOU are not going to ruin that!

Knave: GAH! Stormy! What's in that needle?!

Stormy: That's not important! Trust me, you don't want to find out!

Pura: Awww come on Stormy! We want to see that dragon!

Knave: Yeah, come on, we're just-- [Eyes widened as she shoved a needle into his arm] GAH! WAIT! NO! STOP!

Revolutionary: [Pops in with medical supplies.] Oi! Quiet down! People are trying to rest!

''Nova sat beside Jiro's bed. The catman was in very bad shape, but he was holding himself rather well. He was fully conscious, though hyped up on pain medication. He had a fracture in his shoulder, two broken fingers, a concussion, and severe damage to his abdomen, as well as a hairline fracture in his femur.''

Jiro: Every bit of me wants to help Rinji in his time of need. I knew he wouldn't be quiet about it, but this is a bit ridiculous. [Said this as a huge rumbling happened once again, the shaking was thankfully still far away.]

Nova: I know, but you've done more than enough. That Laz Bruno was quite a large man, and a skilled fighter from what it looked like.

Jiro: [Cracked a smile through his bandages.] You had no problem with him.

They both shared a good laugh about this.

Nova: So where will your crew be heading after this? I suspect you'll be healed up soon enough.

Jiro: Yes, and Rinji will bring Kola down for sure. Oh, Nova, something I have probably never told you before, but we are planning to make it across to the eastern New World sea, and return to my homeland, Nekoshima.

Nova: Are you planning on leaving the Revolutionaries?

Jiro: I do not plan on it, but once the mission is complete, I suspect I can get some leave time. In all honesty, Nekoshima has fallen on hard times since so many of them left during the tragedy, Rinji's family being among them. I have heard many stories of how corrupt the Tribune has become since that day. There is something there, and I intend to get to the bottom of it.

''Nova listened with a sober expression. At length, he reached over and pulled the cover more onto Jiro's body.''

Nova: Get some rest, old friend. We'll talk some more in the morning.

Jiro: Thank you. [Behind his green sunglasses, which were comically unharmed, he closed his eyes and easily slipped off to sleep.]

---

Kola: What is this thing before me? When did the little puss get to have such power? Seems the strange rumors I heard about him were not exaggerated after all, no, they were understated a great deal. [A grin crept across his face as he delved deeper into thought.] This may be far better than I expected.

''That was when the large Cheshire Beast began to slowly make his way toward Kola, his head down with a savage glare directed toward the dragon as it was about to attack. Just as the dragon began to draw in breath, Rinji lifted one paw into the air, and slashed diagonally. Instantly, a gigantic claw mark sliced into Kola's throat, ripping off enormous amounts of scales as they flaked from his neck. He was pushed back a great deal from such a horrible attack that his neck craned, and his fire blew down toward the ground instead of at Rinji.''

''That was when the Cheshire Beast lunged forward, and Kola was able to dodge the maw of the beast clenching onto his neck. Instead he bit down onto Rinji's shoulder, drawing a great bit of blood, and causing a great roar in pain. He did not relinquish his jaw from Rinji, so the beast began to claw into the soft underbelly. His sharp talons easily dug deep into the dragon's scales and skin. The pain was indescribable between the two of them, but they finally broke off, Rinji jumping backward and poising himself. He barely caught a glimpse of the flames as they were hurled toward him from Kola's dragon maw. As he jumped to the side of the onslaught, though, he found himself in the way of a very large wing that came in hard and sliced into Rinji's side, drawing blood to a large extent.''

Kola: Kohohohoho! [Flapped his wings and flew straight up into the air.] Did you not think I was fully prepared for this battle?!

''With a horrendous inhalation, Kola's scales turned black as the night itself, as did his eye. He blew a gigantic blast of black fire straight toward Rinji down on the ground, and the huge wave of darkness engulfed the Cheshire Beast. A wave of dread flooded all of Rinji's senses, and he hunched over, utterly unable to move. He began to sicken a great deal, and his limbs felt entirely too weak to even stand.''

''Kola reveled in glory as the huge globe of black fire continued to haze all over Rinji. He merely floated in that one spot as he watched the catman simmer in his sickening fog of black fire. Just as he was about to let out another string of guffaws, a gigantic, purple paw appeared from underneath the black cloud. With one swipe of the claws, a flash of energy cut straight into Kola's left wing.''

''Quicker than you could blink, the dragon's wing was removed from its base. Before he knew it, Kola was spiralling downward, and smashed into the ground, kicking up an enormous amount of dust that blanketed Sukiyaki City, or what remained of it.''

''Soon, both the black fire and dust dissipated. There stalked Rinji toward his fallen enemy on the ground. Kola's wing was cut from its base, and blood ran freely from many wounds on his body. His teeth were in shambles, and his arms and legs were now torn to shreds, the scales ripped from many places on them.''

''The feral creature Rinji had become was not a noble creature. All he saw was wounded prey, and he was ready to feast on his scaly flesh. He came close to the dragon on the ground, ready to bite down deep into his bones, and eat every inch of his body.''

''Just then, in one breath, Kola came up and blew a giant fireball point blank into the Cheshire Beast. The sudden impact pushed Rinji straight back toward the coast, and in an instant, he skidded off into the sea, crashing through the destroyed ship that was once Kola's main vessel before Sakura chopped it directly in half.''

''As he crashed through the ship, he splashed into the sea, and quickly changed his form back into his normal body. Soon, he quickly sank toward the bottom of the sea.''

Graveyard of a Madman Part 50