Erik's fist nearly connected with Reiji's face; however, Reiji's head snapped to the side, Erik's fist wheezing past his head.
Erik collided with Reiji's extended left arm, sending them both tumbling through the dragon.
Reiji hit Erik's throat with his right fist before he grabbed it with the same hand and pulled him back only to slam him against a solid part of the dragon with perfect timing.
My chant wasn't spoken correctly…damn it.
Reiji squeezed Erik's throat and finally opened his eyes.
"You!"
Erik yelled but when he tried to kick and punch, his limbs didn't respond. Panic started to settle in.
"Wha- what the hell?"
Erik whispered. This whole time Reiji had his eyes closed because he fully focused on life force. The life force of the dragon and Erik's life force.
"A man like you doesn't deserve to have arms to harm others, nor legs to chase innocent people. Your arrogance was your downfall. You should've said those silly words right at the start."
"They are called chants, you uneducated monkey!"
Reiji stared at Erik for a moment. The wind kept blowing, making the ends of his obi flap and his hair move wildly.
Reiji switched hands, now holding Erik's throat with his left hand now.
"Weird last words."
Said Reiji before he started punching Erik's face. This time, however, his punches worked, each one drawing out blood and a pained sound. After a few hits Reiji paused, his own knuckles bleeding.
"What…the hell are you? How can you do this?"
"I messed with your life force, now you're permanently paralyzed and unable to use your magic or whatever you were using."
"No…"
Erik let out a weak cry before Reiji punched him to death, making his skull cave in.
Reiji wiped his bloody knuckles into his red kimono, wincing in the process.
Just then his vision started to fade as they flew higher and higher.
"Shit…"
Reiji turned to look up and tried climbing up the dragon. He didn't get far before he slipped and his back slammed into solid air.
He just lay there, next to Erik's dead body as his vision finally faded into black.
Reiji slowly opened his eyes. He was tired, his throat dry and a throbbing headache felt like someone was hitting a hammer against his head.
He turned on his side, seeing that he was in a metal cage barely big enough for him to lay down. Instead of being just vertical bars, it also had metal plates running horizontally.
Snow covered the land and the backs of two people were facing him beyond the gate. There was a third one in between them, staring down at him.
Seeing that Reiji moved and opened his eyes, the middleman looked up and turned, walking away in a hasty manner.
"Ugh…"
Letting out a tired groan, Reiji turned on his stomach and pushed himself up to his knees.
He looked around and saw that this was some kind of camp filled with people that all had the same uniform. The two men who had their backs turned towards him were also wearing them.
Reiji looked down at his knees, his head still throbbing and barely having the strength to reach up and grab a spot where the horizontal and vertical bars crossed to pull himself up.
Using his other arm as well, he managed to get up onto his shaky legs. He took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed, already mapping out all of the sources of life force around him.
"This is what killed one of my magicians? I'm disappointed by the sight of you."
A voice rang out. It was the voice of a man and based on his words, probably the boss around here.
Reiji opened his eyes and looked at the man who was standing in front of the gate to Reiji's cage. He was wearing a different uniform, more gold, more medals, definitely more important.
"Says the guy…agh!"
Reiji spat on the ground. The moment he spoke his throat burned from how dry it was. After a moment he looked at the man again.
"Says the guy…who was too scared to face me himself."
Reiji said in a hushed tone but in no way scared. The man just looked at him for a moment.
"You're but a rat, nothing but a waste of my time. How the hell did you kill a magician?"
"That's what they're called, huh? It really is magic, mind explaining what chants are?"
Reiji asked the man, completely ignoring his question. The man and Reiji had a slight stare down, a battle of wills you could say.
"What is the recommended amount of water to drink daily?"
The man asked. The guards gave each other quick glances before looking back in front of them. Then one of them spoke up.
"Two litters, sir!"
The guard to the left of the man yelled out.
"Two litters…give this man 100 millilitres. No food."
The man said before turning and leaving. He walked into a large tent where he probably resided.
One of the guards left, fetching the water for Reiji. Reiji had to stand on the other side of the cage while the guard put his hand through one of the gaps, placing down a metal canteen filled with 100 millilitres of water.
Reiji took the canteen after the guard stepped back and he drank it all in seconds, throwing it through a gap back at the guard that gave it to him.
Reiji then felt a small object pierce his neck. Acting on reflex, he quickly pulled it out and saw it was a dart.
"Man, I hate headaches…"
Those were the final words Reiji said before he faceplanted into the snow.