Fafnir was incredibly fast.
By the time Nameless and Lin Renmei reached the cavern, he had already climbed through the dragon skeleton and emerged on the surface.
He had originally been nothing more than a soft lump of flesh, but as soon as he emerged, he twisted and warped into a red monster that was neither quite wolf nor quite dragon.
It was the form of one of his descendants, the Red-Spotted Dragon Wolf.
Once the transformation was complete, he raced down along the dragon skeleton. A few leaps brought him to the ground, and he pounced on a grazing Dragonforce Beast.
Dragonforce Beasts were common Dragonblood Creatures around Dragonblood City. Those that had not been tamed were fiercely wild and attacked enemies on sight. Even some carnivorous Dragonblood Creatures could be gored to death in a single blow.
Before Fafnir, however, the Dragonforce Beast seemed helpless.
Fafnir's pounce was a feint. As the beast lowered its head to counterattack, he darted beneath its neck.
Squelch, squelch, squelch!
Three sharp spikes shot from Fafnir's back, piercing straight through the beast's neck.
The attack was blindingly fast. Only a few seconds passed from start to finish.
The Dragonforce Beast toppled crookedly. Fafnir lunged forward and tore off great mouthfuls of meat. His body writhed and shuddered, transforming into an even larger Dragonkin creature: a Dragon-Eyed Saber-Toothed Tiger!
He hunted frantically after that, replenishing his strength. His body kept changing until it finally took the form of a Giant Dragon.
"I... Fafnir, am alive again!"
He soared into the sky, picked out his prey, and plunged down. Standing atop the creature he had killed in one strike, he let out a long, exultant dragon's cry.
Then he lowered his head and resumed devouring the meat.
This time, his body did not change