(Minutes before…)
Thorr had fallen like a meteor from Perses's strong push; however, the guardian quickly recovered and prepared to engage in battle.
Perses was a Dark One as beefy as an earth dragon like Thorr. The front and back muscles of him seemed quite strong. However, the appearance of him with scars and skull tattoos left a lot to be desired.
"You are quite strong…" Perses told him, "I think this will be my moment to show my true strength…"
"Yes, you are very muscular and physically strong, but strength isn't everything…" Thorr replied.
Perses's countenance darkened and the dark mana from him grew stronger.
"You remind me of those bastards from the tests…" he said.
"What are you saying…?" asked the guardian.
"I was an excellent athlete, the strongest there was. I didn't care who was in front of me, I pushed him aside and made him bite the dust... But, one day, a judge rejected me saying that I was a brute and abusive for using my strength with others... Bah, it was nonsense, the strength is everything
"Maybe I don't understand what life is like for a human," Thorr replied, "But I can tell you this: they were right. Having strength does not imply abusing it, do you really believe that the strong ones should have what they want? And what happens to the weak? Should they abide by what the strong ones say?"
"You talk like them" shouted Perses, "I'm gonna kill you!"
The Dark One lunged at the guardian, who shielded himself with his spiked tail. The mere impact, made a crashing sound and spewed wind…it was clear that he had great physical strength. With some difficulty, Thorr managed to evade it and hit it with his tail, though it didn't look like much to the enemy.
"I can withstand any attack you throw at me…" Perses summed up.
"Okay..." Thorr decided, "Let's see with this... Earth Impact!"
The flurry of ground missiles hit Perses's body squarely, but they didn't seem to do any damage, rather… it seemed that his body had increased his musculature.
"Damn..." Thorr said to himself and attacked even harder, "Fury of nature!"
The storm of wind, rocks, and leaves caught Perses in a mighty storm. However, when the dragon saw that it was done, the enemy unleashed all of its power in an explosion.
"Fury of Chaos!"
Perses escaped from the Fury of nature through a huge explosion, landing hard on the ground. Thorr turned to see him... his appearance had changed: his body now seemed more muscular and he was surrounded by black aura whose remains were released in smoke of the same color. In turn, a slight black electrical discharge surrounded him, making his muscles grow more.
"I get stronger every time I'm attacked..." Perses told him, "Your energy becomes mine and it's stronger... Titanic slam!"
"Earth shield!"
Thorr fought back, but Perses's onslaught shredded his defense like paper. Instantly, the Dark One lashed out with two heavy blows to the side and face of the guardian dragon. The blows from him could be felt going to the bone.
Thorr backed away in pain... so it was impossible to attack him with conventional attacks and his body could absorb energy and convert it into strength and physical defense. He was trapped.
"Test my strength…" Perses exclaimed, "Chaos Meteors!"
Five huge balls of dark energy burst out of Perses's mana and headed for the guardian. Although he tried to defend himself, the attack hit him so many times that his body had been rendered immobile in pain. To top it all off, the Dark One grabbed the unconscious Thorr and began pounding him to break every one of his bones. The guardian fainted...
(Flashback)
After Johnny, Edel, Ray, and Thorr are chosen as guardian successors, they each had private lessons with each other.
"Tell me, Thorr," Terrador was saying, "what is the power of the earth? how is a dragon possessing such an element?"
"A power that extends over the ground and across the fields..." the disciple replied, "An earth dragon is tenacious and with great strength"
"That's right, those are the characteristics of an earth dragon" Terrador said, "But you must remember that our strength is not given by us, but by the mana that we share with our environment: nature. The ground is a vast expanse, and as long as it is, your strength will be as great as it…"
(end of flashback)
Perses kept hitting Thorr until Thorr stopped him with his right claw. The Dark One looked at him in astonishment: all those blows, and he still wasn't defeated?
Thorr struck him in the face with his tail to get away from Perses. Then he dug his claws into the earth, feeling the vast expanse of the ground, remembering that it must be as vast as he was. Noticing the large earth mana of his opponent, Perses just started laughing:
"Hahaha, throwing your mana at me will only make me stronger…"
"Yes," Thorr replied, "I know... Fury of nature!"
Again, the storm of nature caught Perses, but this time it was more intense and it lasted longer. Thorr didn't mind wasting all that great amount of mana because the earth was giving it to him. When he finished, Perses was still not defeated, moreover his body had become excessively stronger. The guardian nearly falls gasping.
"Ha, I told you," Perses sneered, "and now I'm going to…"
But he couldn't move… his body didn't allow him and it caused him a lot of pain. Perses didn't understand why he… he didn't have a single wound on his body.
"You received all the energy from the earth," Thorr explained, getting up, "As this is huge, your body can't handle such a massive amount of energy, you're on the edge."
"But you…" the Dark One replied, "You shouldn't be able to move with all the wasted energy either…"
"It wasn't mine, it was the manna that earth gave me. But now that you are at the limit, I will give you my true power… it is worthy for someone who was an excellent warrior, but his mind was messed up…"
Thorr began to emanate mana again and his body radiated green light.
"Roar of the Earth!"
The expelled mana turned into a large green dragon of wind, leaves, and rocks. Perses was unable to move and felt every muscle he held dear scream in pain at such a tremendous attack. His ability did not allow him to absorb it and he broke every one of his bones and left his muscles in unparalleled pain. When he finished, Perses fell to the ground and Thorr too from exhaustion.
Fortunately, while Perses was fading away, a mole came running to where the guardian was, carrying with him a few spiritual gems.
"General Thorr! General Thorr!" he yelled.
"Bayard" Thorr told him, getting up a little, "Thank you for coming"
"Don't worry" replied the mole, "Let me help you heal. It will take a while, but you will be as before "