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[Commission] Sunstrike
Commission for an anonymous user
Some good ol'fashioned small to big draining, only this time I got an excuse to write Batzz into a story so win-win on my end ^^
Ah! That tickles Bal!” The orange dragon squirmed as salve was applied to the burn on his arm, the cool paste soothing the redness as it soaked in. His last fight had been tougher than expected, and left him with injuries that had to be looked at if he wanted to continue training any time soon, so he had come here. It was a small office near the outskirts of the city, and it contained a very strange-looking dragon doctor. He was small in stature, sporting red scales and bright yellow hair, and he claimed to be able to heal these wounds in record time.
“Hold still, would you?” The doctor grimaced as he worked the salve in, pressing on Bal’s scales until the sun dragon yelped and withdrew. “Sorry, need to work it all the way in. That’s the only way the charge will penetrate the scales.”
“Charge?” Bal gulped as the doctor turned away and began to lower a large contraption from the ceiling. It looked like a cross between a tesla ball and a butcher’s shop, various sharp implements dangling as arcs of electricity crackled between them. The doctor had refused to give his name, preferring to just go by his title to save time, but Bal had spied a name written on one of the computers around the lab, part of a name - Xe. Doctor X was a sinister sounding nickname, and certainly not representative of the rather cheerful dragon currently trying to heal him, but it would have to do.
“This is going to sting a little bit, but only a small amount.” The doctor’s device looked like a cross between a tesla coil and a butcher’s shop, various sharp prongs hanging down and electricity arcing between them. It looked utterly terrifying, but Bal had faith. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
When the charge actually came it felt very odd. Bal had felt plenty of electricity before, mostly from Batzz losing his temper, but this was a different kind of charge. It wormed its way deep into his body, using the salve as a way in, and ran lines of power up and down his nerves. It wasn’t painful so much as intensely uncomfortable, like his body was being deep cleaned from top to bottom, and he shuddered as his muscles contracted independently of his will. Just as suddenly as it had started it was over, and Bal felt himself relax as the electricity was turned off.
“Yes! YES!” Doctor X seemed pleased with the result, and Bal opened his eyes to see that his burns were completely gone. There wasn’t even a mark left on his scales, not a single indication that they had been there at all.
“Bal feels great!” He said, testing the scales with his claws to see if they really were healed. It was true, he had not a scratch on him, and he jumped off the table in excitement.
“Now you may experience some side effects, so be - ” the doctor found himself cut off as Bal left the room, clearly eager to train once again. “-careful.” He finished, before sighing and wiping the goggles on his forehead, cleaning them with a piece of his coat.
Bal meanwhile was eager to find something to test himself on. He settled for a rock on the outskirts of the forest, charging up a fireball and blasting it right in the middle. He managed to actually burn a hole through it, a result that he was definitely pleased with.
“The hell are you doing?” Bal turned to see a cranky looking green dragon walking towards him, arms folded. “You’re just gonna burn holes through a perfectly good rock?”
“Bal’s sorry! Bal didn’t know it was your rock?”
“Yeah? Well it is, and now it’s got a hole in it! You gonna fix that hole, are you?” The dragon went to walk towards the rock but tripped on something, falling right in front of Bal. He went to catch him almost instinctively, but the moment he made contact with the dragon’s scales something strange happened. He felt a sudden influx of energy, like he’d just been charged with sunlight in the span of a few seconds, and he grunted as his body swelled slightly. The dragon he was holding also grunted, but the vibrancy of his scales seemed to fade, and he went from indignant to out of breath.
“Are you okay?” Bal said as he helped the dragon onto his feet, but he knew that something was up. The green dragon looked very tired, the indignation taken out of him by fatigue, whereas Bal felt amazing. He could have sworn he was slightly larger too, he had to look down a bit further to meet the green dragon’s eyes.
“Ah i’m too old for this. Just don’t go messing up any more of them, I’m trying to make this place look nice and you’re not helping. I...I’m gonna go lie down.” The green dragon sagged as he walked off, and once again Bal noticed he seemed drained. He looked at his hand, and wondered if that experiment had given him an unexpected gift. He needed something to test it out on, and as he looked around he saw a deer in the distance. Perfect.
The animal cried out as Bal jumped onto it, holding it tight in his grip. Once again when he made contact he felt that same rush of power, less this time but definitely there. He could also now see little sparks of energy jumping between their bodies, some kind of electrical charge forming a connection. Just as he suspected, when he released the deer the animal collapsed to the floor, too tired to run away. And yet again Bal was bigger, stronger, more powerful. He could see the deer falling away as he grew to a bulky 6ft 3, muscle springing into life across his now chunky frame. It didn’t take him long to put the pieces together - somehow he had gained the ability to drain strength from others, from the looks of it by touch. The thought excited him - how much stronger could he get from this? What were the limits? One thing was for sure though, he needed a strong opponent. And as he opened and closed his claws a few times and smiled, he knew exactly which one it would be.
*
“Hey, you got any more?”
“That was the last batch i’m afraid.” The chef chuckled as the dragon in front of him made a dejected face. “Oh cheer up Drum, we’ll have some more in later. Not my fault you eat every last bit of pudding in this place.”
“Guess I’ll be back when you do then.” Drum said with a wink, swinging his legs away from the table. He turned and stopped as he saw Bal standing there, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. “Oh hey.”
“Bal thinks we should have a rematch.” Bal still had the memory of the last fight in his head, one that Drum had won easily. The older dragon had not just many years more experience, but he was much stronger too, having trained for those extra years.
Drum tilted his head. “There’s something different about you. Have you been doing some new training or something?” He couldn’t help but think that Bal looked larger, his build heavier. He couldn’t quite put his claw on it exactly.
“Maybe.”
“Then who better to try it out on!” Drum smacked a fist into his claws, his face lighting up all of a sudden. “Come on, we can do this in the park, it’s close.”
The park was little more than an open green space, dotted with benches here and there, but otherwise empty and perfect for their needs. Drum stretched out his arms, cracking his neck from side to side as he did.
“Alright, show me what you got!”
Bal did just that, not wasting any time and immediately charging forwards. Drum made like he was going to meet him head on, but instead he dodged to the side at the last minute, grabbing Bal’s foot on the way past. Bal’s eyes widened as he was flung around in the air, eventually thrown into a nearby tree and crashing through it in a hail of leaves and branches. Drum’s laughter just spurred him on even more, and he ignited fire underneath himself to give his next charge some extra speed. It worked - Drum couldn’t react in time and he was forced to block the assault, clutching at Bal’s hands to hold him in place. The moment the contact was made Bal could feel the strength flowing into him, he could feel the fatigue being banished from his limbs as new power rejuvenated his aching muscles, made them swell and pop. It was just a brief contact though, Drum almost immediately kicking him in the chest hard enough to send him flying backwards.
“Hngh, that felt weird.” Drum tilted his head. “Is that some kind of new move? What was that?”
“Bal thinks telling you would ruin the surprise.”
“Huh. Well then, guess I should take you a bit more seriously.” His smile dropped as he hunkered down, his body glowing slightly as power thrummed through him. Bal didn’t see it as threatening, rather he only saw the opportunity to gain even more strength from this, and he grinned at the prospect. That grin was wiped as Drum came at him with ridiculous speed, planting a fist in his chest so fast that Bal couldn’t even see it. He would have gone flying if he didn’t manage to grab Drum’s arm, but even so he felt the shockwave of the blow ripple through his body. Drum once again made the mistake of choosing to grapple, still unaware of Bal’s abilities, but right now the strength difference was so great that it didn’t even matter. This close the size difference between them was emphasised even more - despite Bal being close to 6’5, Drum still towered over him and was significantly larger. He pressed down and forced Bal into the dirt, levering his superior strength and once again flashing that cocky grin.
“Heh, losing your….nerve….” Drum trailed off as he felt that strange sensation again, and slowly but surely he felt himself being pushed back. His arms trembled as he pushed as hard as he could, but slowly the force pushing him upwards grew stronger and stronger. He could literally feel Bal’s claws growing in between his own, the sun dragon’s hands expanding right before his eyes. “What the hell?”
“Bal told you it would be a surprise!”
Right then Drum realised what was going on, and he immediately broke off the contact and dashed backwards. It was too late though, the damage was already done - he could feel the fingers of fatigue wrapping around him, and even as he tried to stand he felt his body shaking more than it should. He knew his limits like the back of his claws, and he shouldn’t have been anywhere near them, but right now his body was shaking like a leaf. Worse still Bal looked huge - the sun dragon was slowly standing and Drum’s eyes widened as he saw how big he was, his body thick and muscular. They were equal in height now, both around 7ft, but Bal was the bulkier of the two.
“Bal thinks you’re losing.” He flexed a bicep as he said this, and Drum couldn’t help but notice the size of Bal’s arms, great knotted trunks of muscle that were larger than his own. Bal was still smaller in some areas, but certain muscles were definitely larger - chest, biceps, quads. The difference between them had already gone past the point of being even, and was now looking like Bal was the bigger of the two.
“Shuttup!” Drum gritted his teeth. His pride as a clan leader was on the line here, he couldn’t forfeit to a dragon so many years his younger! He had to push through, force his body onwards no matter the cost. He planted his feet, trying to stop the shaking, and yet again he ran forwards. His charge was sluggish this time, and Bal easily met him in the middle. Instead of going head on it was his turn to step to the side and manoeuvre around to Drum’s back, only this time he hooked his arms around Drum’s shoulders and looped them into a headlock. Drum could feel his strength fading, and his feeble attempts to get out of the lock only made it worse - Bal’s strength was increasing as fast as his was falling, the arms around his neck only getting thicker and thicker. There wasn’t a millimetre of give in those arms, and every time he punched or hit them he felt like he was trying to break down a brick wall.
“Mmmm, Bal likes the feeling of your strength. Feels...spicy.” Bal grinned, squeezing Drum just to impress the size of his muscles on the now smaller dragon. He loved the feeling of tightness running through his body, of muscles pulsing with energy as they surged larger. It was an intoxicating sensation, like a full-body orgasm stretched out over minutes rather than seconds, only getting stronger over time. “Bal wants you to try a bit harder, you’re too easy to drain.” Drum sagged as Bal grew even taller, rounding out at 8ft and still growing stronger, draining his foe of as much energy as he could. Drum felt the disorientating feeling of his feet leaving the floor as Bal surged taller, so tall that his headlock easily kept him suspended in the air. He couldn’t fight it, he could do nothing about this except…
“Agh...I give, I give!” Bal released him and Drum collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily as his body burned with fatigue. He felt like he’d just run a marathon, everything aching and tired, and he rolled onto his back with a weak chuckle. The dragon looking down at him was not the one that he had challenged just moments ago - Bal looked truly intimidating now, his body swollen with strength and glowing slightly with a familiar light - Drum realised it was his own red energy, stolen from him. Well, borrowed - he could still generate it, although he felt so weak that he struggled to even make a spark right now, but it was definitely still there.
“Hahhh, that’s some move.” Drum said, slowly getting to his feet having taken a breather. Bal was taller than him now and then some, meaning that he was eye level with the dragon’s pecs. Both of which were noticeably larger than before, great cushions of muscle shaping his body into a definitive T shape.
“Bal likes it.”
“I bet you do.” Drum chuckled. “Gonna have to teach me that one.”
“Bal promises.” Bal was more concerned with his voice, which was deeper than before. Everything looked weird, the ground around him was further away and he had a weird feeling of vertigo whenever he moved around. But more than that he felt heavy, his body swung around with increased momentum and he felt himself sinking into the ground slightly, more than he did before. It was strange to be sure, but he found himself liking it more and more.
“Bal’s going to go find some more challengers.” He said at length, something that Drum picked up on.
“Bet the cavalry’ll be eager to fight you. They’re probably hanging out at the usual training grounds. You go ahead, I still gotta catch my breath.” Drum watched Bal walk away, fierce intent in his eyes. Silently he wondered just what he’d unleashed.
*
Drum’s old training grounds were not somewhere you just wandered into. For a start the entrance was pretty heavily guarded, the two dragons up front both in full armour and wielding pikes. This was the pride of the Drum clan after all, and they were hardly going to just let anyone in. Bal was expecting to have to explain himself to the guards upon arrival, but to his surprise they acknowledged him and let him in. It seemed that word of his defeat of Drum had spread fast, and they were eager to challenge him to see if the stories were true. He certainly looked the part - at his new height Bal was at least a couple of feet taller than even the largest dragons there, and far more muscular as well. He looked like a tank of a dragon, and in Bal’s mind he felt like one too. Confidence was brimming from his grin as he strode into the grounds, dragons left and right stopping their training to stare at him. He loved the attention, the reverence - by the end of this the whole world would look at him like that.
“Bal is here for a challenge!” He yelled out as he stood in the middle of a small clearing, dragons surrounding him bristling with weapons. “Bal defeated your leader, and now he wants to see if anyone else can beat him!” He grabbed the sword planted in his chest and pulled it out, igniting fire in his claws and extending it to the blade. “Who wants to take on Bal!?”
As he stood there a red dragon walked out of the crowd, his own sword resting on his shoulder. “You got a lotta nerve just walking in here. Yeah you beat Drum, but you ain’t beating all of us.”
Bal grinned. “Bal will see.”
“Someone’s got a death wish.” The dragon grinned, swishing his sword around impatiently. “Name’s Doble, and if you’re looking for a fight then that’s what you’re gonna get. Only it ain’t just gonna be me doing all the work.” He held up a hand and 6 more dragons appeared from the crowd. They were a variety of sizes and colours, each wielding their own weapons.
“Meet Meglax, Mizaru, Merak, Arkaid, Fuad and Alliot. We’re the Fifth Omni Cavalry dragons, and we’re gonna all take you on at once.” Doble grinned. “You couldn’t even beat one of us. Let’s see how long you last against the whole crew.”
Bal internally gulped. 7 v 1 was long odds, but he knew it was winnable if he managed to get past a couple of them. He briefly considered backing down, but the thought of adding all of their considerable strength to his own was just too tempting, and he couldn’t pass it up. He readied his sword, held up one hand and beckoned for them to come.
With a roar the fifth omni dragons charged, and Bal immediately knew he was in trouble. They barely said a word to each other but they instinctively had a formation already, likely due to years fighting with each other. Doble and Mizaru were up front, both wielding swords and keeping Bal on the back foot, dancing around each other with uncustomary grace. They were both smaller than him but only by a few feet, meaning the advantage was theirs as thy could attack him from lower angles and blind spots. Every time he managed to make an opening on one of them he would be interrupted by the lance of Merak, who was just behind them both covering the gaps. He didn’t even know where the other ones were, his attention was already split between the two swords constantly aiming for him. An arrow thunked into his back, sticking into his shoulder, and he turned to see Meglax drawing back the string on her bow once again, another arrow already nocked. He ducked under that one but took a sword slash to the side for his troubles, Doble’s form impeccable.
Bal needed a weak link, he had to find one. He knew that while he was on the defensive he stood no chance, but the moment he got a hold of one of them the tide of the battle would turn. The opportunity presented itself in the end - both Doble and Mizaru stepped back as an icy storm erupted in front of them, the result of Arkaid’s magic, but what they didn’t realise was that Bal was more or less unaffected. He simply spread sun energy across his scales so the ice melted before it hit him, and although Alliot was covering Arkaid with his shield they had forgotten about the two swordsdragons still just behind the storm. Bal burst through and managed to get a good slash on Doble, although the dragon’s armour blocked most of it. It was just a ruse to get Mizaru to jump in, which of course he did, and Bal seized his opportunity. He let the sword slice between his fingers, cutting between them but allowing him to grab Mizaru’s hand and begin to drain his energy.
“Haha! Finally!” Bal yelled triumphantly as once again he felt that familiar surge of energy, Mizaru crumpling in his grip. The drain was a lot faster this time, it was just a few seconds of contact but he felt power swell in his body and Mizaru seemed to shrink in his hands. It was just an illusion as he grew, but it made him feel so much more powerful as he surged upwards, his wounds healing themselves and his body throbbing with force. Mizaru had started with his head roundabout Bal’s chest height, but when he was finished the black dragon just came up to his abdomen. When he finally let go Mizaru collapsed to the floor, completely out of strength, and Bal was left standing even more intimidating than before.
“ENOUGH!” Bal heard the shout from his left, and as he turned to look he felt Merak grab his left arm and hold it. The dragon was only slightly larger than Mizaru, meaning that he needed both arms to even get purchase on Bal’s massive limb, but he somehow managed it. Again Bal felt the drain starting but it wasn’t fast enough to stop what was coming. The only dragon he hadn’t kept track of was Fuad, and now he was bearing down on Bal with a massive hammer. The red dragon was the largest of the cavalry, just about reaching Bal’s neck in height, and that size allowed him to wield his immensely heavy weapon with uncanny precision. There were jets at the back of it, propelling it to even faster speeds as he swung it right at Bal. With Merak holding him there was no way he would be able to dodge, and all he could do was hold up his sword and block it. There was an almighty clang as sword and hammer collided, sparks flying as Bal held the line. There was no doubt he had the strength to hold the hammer shot back, but his sword just wasn’t up to the task - there was a strange ringing sound, and Bal found himself sliding backwards all of a sudden. He held up his sword, laughing as he saw the end had been snapped off. He straightened up and dropped the sword, putting his claws together and cracking his knuckles with a grin.
“Guess Bal is going old school then.” He said, flexing a little just to show off his new muscles. Mizaru and Merak were both down, the pair of them now on their knees but panting, clearly too worn out to continue fighting. Doble and Fuad were both up front, with Alliot Arkaid and Meglax behind them. Just out of curiosity Meglax fired an arrow, but this time it just bounced off Bal’s scales. She nodded, dropping her bow and adjusting her hat. It wasn’t hard to see that Bal had grown stronger - he was close to 10ft tall now, towering over the other dragons, and they knew their weapons wouldn’t have an effect on him anymore. Doble was the next to follow, sticking his sword blade-first into the ground.
“Well, guess it wouldn’t be fair to let you have all the fun.” He said with a grin, one that Fuad mirrored as he too dropped his hammer. Arkaid and Alliot kept their weapons, something Bal noted but was forced to ignore as he charged forwards. It seemed Doble was able to team with any of the other cavalry dragons, as his combinations with Fuad were just as elegant as they were with Mizaru. The pair of them covered each other’s weaknesses, but as he dodged and counterattacked he became aware of his limbs growing heavier. He looked down to see ice forming around his joints, locking them up for a few moments before he burned them away. He had a lot of energy stored up but having to melt this ice was rapidly burning through it all - Arkaid had to be his next target. He fired off a quick flash of light as a distraction before charging at the mage dragon, his movement heavy and obscenely powerful. Alliot was there to block the attack, but even with his shield he couldn’t stop the attack that was thundering his way. After all he was tiny compared to Bal, his shield barely the size of the sun dragon’s fist, and Bal hit him like a freight train at full speed. Alliot’s shield shattered into pieces as he was sent flying, the impact kicking up an enormous dust cloud. When it cleared the remaining dragons saw Bal holding both Arkaid and Alliot by their throats, one dragon in each hand. Bal’s claws easily wrapped around their necks, their heads smaller than his hands as he held them with ease, their bodies only slightly larger than the arms holding them up. They both squirmed for a few seconds before their strength was ripped from their bodies and they went slack in Bal’s grip. Bal grinned as he once again surged larger, as he bumped up to 11ft and widened even further. Now the difference between them was so substantial that it didn’t even seem like a competition anymore - Bal was double the other dragon’s height, and as he dropped the two Cavalry dragons he felt like he was going to explode from the power in him.
“Take this!” This was Meglax, who was not the greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the world. She had charged at Bal from behind, hoping to use the element of surprise to tackle him to the ground. Instead she collided with what felt like a redwood tree, solid and immovable, bouncing off it with a shocked expression. It was hard to believe that this was a living creature anymore, it felt more like trying to tackle a building, or a telephone pole. She looked up and her ears flattened as Bal seemed to stretch into the heavens, huge and intimidating. Bal just smiled as he placed a hand on her back and pressed her to the floor, taking her strength and shivering in pleasure as he did so. She struggled a little bit but quickly joined the others in fatigued stupor, too tired to move.
“And then there were two.” Bal said with a grin.
“I’ve had enough of that smile! You won’t be smiling in a bit!” Fuad roared, charging forwards.
“Fuad no!” Doble yelled, but it was too late. Their formation had been broken, and now it was falling apart. Fuad was long past teamwork, he just ran up and launched the strongest punch he could muster, ramming all his force right into Bal’s abdomen. Bal didn’t even acknowledge the punch, he just looked down and smiled again.
“Bal thinks you’ll need to try a bit harder than that.” In response Fuad unleashed a flurry of punches, each one hard enough to shatter rock, each one utterly ineffective against the wall of muscle in front of him. Bal just stood there, at one point even yawning, which only inspired Fuad to hit even harder. The dragon might have been the largest amongst the cavalry, but now he was an insect compared with Bal, he looked like a kid next to the colossal sun dragon. With each punch a portion of his energy was drained, so that each punch was weaker than the last, and while Fuad had started punching Bal’s waist he ended punching his thigh.
“Bal is impressed, you kept it up even after losing your strength.” Bal watched as Fuad slowed more and more, his final punch a trembling, weak touch that caused him to collapse on the floor. “Well, seems it’s only you left.” Bal said, looking at Doble. The red dragon looked terrified now - he knew there was no winning this. He had the technique, but no level of skill would bridge the tremendous strength gap between them now. After a certain point skill took a backseat to strength, and they were long past that now. Doble knew this but his pride wouldn’t let him back down. He ran forward and was met with Bal stepping forward and bringing him into a crushing hug. Those arms of muscled steel wrapped around him, each one thicker than his torso, and the last thing he saw was Bal’s grinning face before the dragon fell on top of him and squashed him into the ground. He was pinned for only a couple of seconds, but on top Bal wriggled and grew, panting in pleasure as he took Doble’s strength. When he stood up Doble was at the bottom of a dragon-shaped crater, looking a bit flat and completely out of strength. Bal laughed as he saw the Omni cavalry defeated around him, as he flexed a body that was a literal weapon. Power felt so good, and this kind of power - where even the strongest dragons couldn’t even scratch him - was the best kind.
“Nobody else? That makes Bal the strongest!” Bal said, holding his claws up in celebration.
“I beg to differ.”
Bal saw the shadow before he saw the dragon casting it, mostly because he was damn near drowning in it. It stretched out along the ground, meaning that whatever was behind him right now had to be massive. He turned, and he was right - the dragon standing behind him was huge. Easily 40ft tall, heavily built and black scaled.
“I heard you’ve been making some waves around here.” Batzz said with a grin. His imposing stature was matched with a cockiness that seemed to come naturally, a confidence in his own strength.
“Bal has been challenging others to fights. And winning.”
“Oh yeah?” Batzz chuckled. “Well I’d hardly call this lot a challenge.”
“H-hey!” Doble yelled from the floor. “I’d still w-wipe the floor with you!”
“Mhmm. L-l-let me know how that works out for you kid.” Batzz said with a condescending wink, laughing at Doble’s outraged expression before returning his attention to Bal. He’d met the sun dragon before, a long time ago now, and although some growth was to be expected this seemed excessive. Bal was just pushing 13ft tall, barely a third the size of Batzz, but even at that height he was muscular, his physique actually bulkier than Batzz’s own. It was troublesome, and something was telling him that this was a bad idea, but he was not about to back down from a challenge, especially not from some puny dragon that he could probably crush underfoot.
“Bal wants to fight you.” Bal stretched his body, feeling all that muscle pop and strain under tension. He’d never realised stretching could feel so good, but when you had many times more muscle than before it became quite pleasurable feeling it all strain simultaneously.
“Hah! Hahaha!” Batzz’s laughter was just like him, overbearing and loud. “Well I’ll be happy to oblige. Tell you what, I’ll even make this a one-on-one fist fight.” He slowly began to uncinch his armour, revealing scales shaped by muscle and marked with scars, the result of countless battles. “Just remember that you’re the one asking for this. Might wanna remember that when you’re spitting out teeth.” Batzz grinned, but he didn’t settle into any kind of stance. Instead he just stood there, waiting for Bal to make the first move. Bal did just that, charging in like he had been doing against the fifth omnis, but he realised his mistake straight away when Batzz seemed to disappear. He blinked and just like that Batzz was behind him, already swinging. He could do nothing but try and block, but the sheer force of the blow sent him flying into a nearby tree, breaking through it and slamming into the one behind it. He gasped, blood trickling from his mouth as he felt the shockwave reverberate through him, his body shuddering in pain.
“Oops. Bit too much for you?” Batzz said, folding his arms as Bal slowly dropped to the floor. The black dragon was in a completely different league, Bal could feel it, but that only spurred him on more. He got to his feet, grinning and igniting fire in his hands. Before he had a chance to cast it though Batzz responded with his own spell, which took the form of lightning. He covered his claws in it and then slammed his hand into Bal’s body, squeezing him against a tree and sending electricity searing through his body. It was unbearably painful, but through it all he could feel Batzz’s mistake costing him strength - the dragon had made contact, and the process was already starting. It was enough to heal his wounds but he couldn’t take the pain, and so he raised a hand and fired a beam of pure sunlight. It had the desired effect of blinding Batzz for a second, enough time for Bal to climb the tree and jump onto Batzz’s back. That contact felt better than anything else he had drained thus far; the other dragons had been small spots of light, faint glows of strength, but Batzz was like a supernova of heat and power. The dragon was immeasurably powerful, but now that power yielded itself to Bal as he held on for dear life.
It took Batzz a couple of seconds to regain his bearings, but in those few seconds Bal surged with height and mass, going all the way to 20ft tall and widening in the process. The feeling of tightness was stronger than ever, of power thrumming through each vein, his body like an engine slowly revving up. But he didn’t have enough time to drain all Batzz’s power - eventually black claws grabbed around his body and he was thrown off. Batzz’s eyes widened as he saw the difference in Bal, how the dragon had grown in mere seconds. He felt the drop in his own power, and he put two and two together.
“You’re stealing my strength, aren’t you?” He said, and Bal nodded, not bothering to hide it. “No wonder you beat all the others. But you ain’t gonna beat me.”
“Bal’s already close to your strength.” Bal gave a flex, and sure enough his arms were almost as thick as Batzz’s, his body still lacking some of the heft of the black dragon’s but definitely getting there. Batzz had no plans of letting him get any closer: Once again he disappeared, but this time he was slightly slower when he reappeared. Instead of an instant strike Bal caught a glimpse of him winding up, having dashed to right in front of him, and he matched it with his own. Batzz was rocked but Bal was once again sent flying, although this time he dug his claws into the ground and skidded to a halt. Batzz was shocked to realise he’d actually felt that blow, his cheek was aching from the impact. It was a far cry from the dragon that could barely scratch him just moments ago - now he was at the very least a worthy foe, one that he had to respect. But of course his ego wouldn’t let him do that, and so he charged again, and again the pair of them met in the middle. This time they caught each other’s hands, and Bal’s grin widened as he felt himself get even stronger. Batzz was forced to watch as the formerly puny dragon slowly pushed upwards, his grip getting stronger and stronger with each passing second just as Batzz’s grew weaker. He tried to break the contact, but to his horror he couldn’t do it anymore, Bal was growing too strong for him. It was astonishing just how fast the gap between them was closing, and there was nothing he could do about it. Bal grinned as he felt himself slowly pushing Batzz back.
“Feel that? Bal feels it. Bal feels like your strength is Bal’s now.” The sun dragon grinned, and try as he might Batzz couldn’t break that grip. It was the truth - Bal had taken so much strength that he had surpassed the thunder king, and he was starting to realise it. For the first time in his life he found himself scared of his enemy, scared of the thought that he couldn’t beat Bal. He strained his body to the limit, but there was nothing he could do.
Well, there was one thing he could do, one final trick up his sleeve. If his body was at its limit, then he would push it beyond that. Batzz let the lightning flow through him, let it coalesce in his body. Slowly the air around them began to charge, the taste of copper filling Bal’s mouth as electricity played along his scales. After a second of charging Batzz exploded with power, instantly doubling in muscle mass and forcing Bal away. The power increase was immense but temporary, and Batzz made the most of it. He tore into Bal, pummelling him with dozens of punches in the space of seconds, his fists blindingly fast and too rapid to even see, let alone block.
“What’s the matter, not strong enough? Where’s that carefree attitude gone?” Batzz grinned, his confidence coming back as he surged forward, relishing his speed advantage just as much as his sudden strength. Bal just had to hang on, to survive this furious onslaught - with each punch he felt his own speed increase, his body swelling to meet the blows. At almost 33ft tall he was approaching Batzz’s size now, and the black dragon was desperate to end the fight as soon as he could, to prevent Bal’s ascension. He tried one last desperate gamble, once again slamming into Bal and pinning him to the ground. One forearm squeezed onto Bal’s girder of a neck, hoping to cut off his air before he had the chance to start draining, but Bal was just about quick enough to grab a hold of his arm. They fell, Bal underneath straining to keep Batzz from pushing him down, but he could feel new energy rushing into him. The lightning that was currently pulsing through Batzz’s frame was slowly dissipating, coursing through Bal’s body instead as he ripped it out of his opponent. His muscles slowly expanded, and as they did Bal could feel his strength surging over and over, seemingly without end. Batzz was a powerhouse, but now that power was leaving him and he was watching himself slowly being pushed up. Bal managed to get up off the floor, at first straining to do so, but after a few seconds the movement was smooth and powerful, and far too strong for Batzz to halt. The black dragon felt the ground leave his feet, and he realised that Bal was slowly lifting him above his head, still draining even while he did so. He tried to fight it but by now Bal was really starting to eclipse him - just one of those arms was as thick as his chest and held twice the muscle, and he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of fighting them.
“See that? Bal’s bigger than you now, and much stronger!” Just saying those words sent a little thrill of power through Bal, the thought that a dragon as mighty as Batzz was now beneath him. The strength required for such a feat, the size, it was all his now, and he would put it to good use. Batzz couldn’t even form a rebuke - the truth was plain to see, his title of strongest dragon no longer belonged to him. The lightning completely left his body, and Bal chuckled as he felt himself power up, a faint whine filling the air as electricity mixed with sun energy to push him even further ahead, those same muscles throbbing harder and harder. He let one arm fall to his side, and Batzz was stunned to see his whole 40ft, multi-ton body held up with one hand. Bal didn’t even look like he was trying - there were no wobbles, none of the little shakes that came with lifting a heavy weight. He looked like he was holding a small pebble. Batzz had about three seconds to admire it before Bal threw him across the ground. He slammed into a tree with enough force to drive the breath from his lungs, having travelled more or less from one end of the training grounds to the other, and before he could catch his breath Bal appeared in front of him. All the speed Batzz had enjoyed was now Bal’s, and he made good use of it as in a flash he got Batzz into a headlock.
Now there was no way that Batzz could get him off, not that he didn’t try to, his claws scrabbling at Bal’s thick forearm. It simply wasn’t possible, and his struggles grew weaker as Bal finally surpassed him in height. 40, 45, 48, 50 - he kept getting taller, stronger, more powerful. Muscle fought for space on his frame as every last inch of his body was stuffed with strength, as he evolved into something monstrous, something unbeatable. Batzz finally sagged as the last of his power was taken, and to his shame he was forced to tap on Bal’s arm to get the dragon to release him. Bal took a couple of seconds to comply, making sure to take every last drop of power before letting Batzz go, laughing at how small the dragon seemed now. He was only 10ft taller than Batzz, but the other dragons looked like ants to him now, tiny and insignificant. Batzz’s head was roughly around his chest height, meaning that he was forced to crane his neck backwards to meet Bal’s eye. Just the act of looking up felt so submissive for him - usually everyone looked up at him, and it was unnerving to be on the other end of that deal.
“Remind Bal who the strongest dragon is?” Bal laughed at Batzz’s indignant reaction, the dragon going after him once more. He did the same thing that Batzz did before, just stood there with his arms crossed and let him hit as many times as he wanted, emphasising just how little effect he had. “Bal thinks you should leave the fighting to the pros.” He said with a grin. He held up an arm and flexed as hard as he could, marvelling at the sheer size of his bicep, a gargantuan slab of muscle that rippled with barely contained strength. “Bal wants to compare!” He said, looking pointedly at Batzz. The black dragon of course refused, not wanting his inferiority to be shown off, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter as Bal grabbed him and manoeuvred his body like a doll. The difference in their biceps was so huge it was laughable, Bal was almost three times the size of Batzz now. Batzz hadn’t shrunk, but when he was being compared to biceps the size of cars he looked puny. Bal forced Batzz to do a most muscular pose too, grinding his once impressive pecs together, and again he might as well have been flat-chested compared to the utterly immense wall of muscle just behind him. The height difference was also huge - Bal was 50ft tall, towering over Batzz and so tall that the smaller dragons could barely make out his face.
“Look at Bal’s chest!” Bal said, once again forcing Batzz to mirror his pose of both hands behind his head, chest thrusting forward, and now it was Batzz conceding the size difference.
“Tch. Thanks to my strength you’re at least three times my size.”
“Bal reckons its four times actually.” Bal said with a grin, picking up Batzz with one hand again. “Bal thinks he has more muscle in one arm than you do in your whole body!” He said, flexing a bicep just to test his theory. Batzz wanted desperately to argue, to mock his foe, but the truth was Bal was right. He was staring at a bicep that was almost as large as him, and just from poking it he could feel it was completely rock solid, nothing but dense muscle without an inch of give. Bal almost felt sorry for Batzz when he saw how dejected the black dragon looked - he’d spent his whole life working for strength after all, and to see himself outclassed so vastly was depressing at the very least.
“Bal’s decided. If Batzz wants, Bal will train him.” Batzz suddenly lifted his head, new energy in his eyes.
“You’d teach me to steal strength?”
“Bal will.”
Batzz laughed, his mind full of revenge. In his head he was eager to take revenge for this defeat, his mind set on once again becoming the strongest. He was so preoccupied he didn’t wonder why Bal would do such a thing. Was it out of the kindness, out of pity? For the old Bal that might have been the case, but the new Bal was not someone who cared too much about others. It was hard to care for insects after all - no, he was concerned only with his own strength, and should Batzz grow even stronger then he would prove a juicy meal for him to feast upon. Bal grinned as he flexed once again, revelling in the feeling of his muscles exploding with strength. He couldn’t wait to add more to them.
Some good ol'fashioned small to big draining, only this time I got an excuse to write Batzz into a story so win-win on my end ^^
Ah! That tickles Bal!” The orange dragon squirmed as salve was applied to the burn on his arm, the cool paste soothing the redness as it soaked in. His last fight had been tougher than expected, and left him with injuries that had to be looked at if he wanted to continue training any time soon, so he had come here. It was a small office near the outskirts of the city, and it contained a very strange-looking dragon doctor. He was small in stature, sporting red scales and bright yellow hair, and he claimed to be able to heal these wounds in record time.
“Hold still, would you?” The doctor grimaced as he worked the salve in, pressing on Bal’s scales until the sun dragon yelped and withdrew. “Sorry, need to work it all the way in. That’s the only way the charge will penetrate the scales.”
“Charge?” Bal gulped as the doctor turned away and began to lower a large contraption from the ceiling. It looked like a cross between a tesla ball and a butcher’s shop, various sharp implements dangling as arcs of electricity crackled between them. The doctor had refused to give his name, preferring to just go by his title to save time, but Bal had spied a name written on one of the computers around the lab, part of a name - Xe. Doctor X was a sinister sounding nickname, and certainly not representative of the rather cheerful dragon currently trying to heal him, but it would have to do.
“This is going to sting a little bit, but only a small amount.” The doctor’s device looked like a cross between a tesla coil and a butcher’s shop, various sharp prongs hanging down and electricity arcing between them. It looked utterly terrifying, but Bal had faith. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
When the charge actually came it felt very odd. Bal had felt plenty of electricity before, mostly from Batzz losing his temper, but this was a different kind of charge. It wormed its way deep into his body, using the salve as a way in, and ran lines of power up and down his nerves. It wasn’t painful so much as intensely uncomfortable, like his body was being deep cleaned from top to bottom, and he shuddered as his muscles contracted independently of his will. Just as suddenly as it had started it was over, and Bal felt himself relax as the electricity was turned off.
“Yes! YES!” Doctor X seemed pleased with the result, and Bal opened his eyes to see that his burns were completely gone. There wasn’t even a mark left on his scales, not a single indication that they had been there at all.
“Bal feels great!” He said, testing the scales with his claws to see if they really were healed. It was true, he had not a scratch on him, and he jumped off the table in excitement.
“Now you may experience some side effects, so be - ” the doctor found himself cut off as Bal left the room, clearly eager to train once again. “-careful.” He finished, before sighing and wiping the goggles on his forehead, cleaning them with a piece of his coat.
Bal meanwhile was eager to find something to test himself on. He settled for a rock on the outskirts of the forest, charging up a fireball and blasting it right in the middle. He managed to actually burn a hole through it, a result that he was definitely pleased with.
“The hell are you doing?” Bal turned to see a cranky looking green dragon walking towards him, arms folded. “You’re just gonna burn holes through a perfectly good rock?”
“Bal’s sorry! Bal didn’t know it was your rock?”
“Yeah? Well it is, and now it’s got a hole in it! You gonna fix that hole, are you?” The dragon went to walk towards the rock but tripped on something, falling right in front of Bal. He went to catch him almost instinctively, but the moment he made contact with the dragon’s scales something strange happened. He felt a sudden influx of energy, like he’d just been charged with sunlight in the span of a few seconds, and he grunted as his body swelled slightly. The dragon he was holding also grunted, but the vibrancy of his scales seemed to fade, and he went from indignant to out of breath.
“Are you okay?” Bal said as he helped the dragon onto his feet, but he knew that something was up. The green dragon looked very tired, the indignation taken out of him by fatigue, whereas Bal felt amazing. He could have sworn he was slightly larger too, he had to look down a bit further to meet the green dragon’s eyes.
“Ah i’m too old for this. Just don’t go messing up any more of them, I’m trying to make this place look nice and you’re not helping. I...I’m gonna go lie down.” The green dragon sagged as he walked off, and once again Bal noticed he seemed drained. He looked at his hand, and wondered if that experiment had given him an unexpected gift. He needed something to test it out on, and as he looked around he saw a deer in the distance. Perfect.
The animal cried out as Bal jumped onto it, holding it tight in his grip. Once again when he made contact he felt that same rush of power, less this time but definitely there. He could also now see little sparks of energy jumping between their bodies, some kind of electrical charge forming a connection. Just as he suspected, when he released the deer the animal collapsed to the floor, too tired to run away. And yet again Bal was bigger, stronger, more powerful. He could see the deer falling away as he grew to a bulky 6ft 3, muscle springing into life across his now chunky frame. It didn’t take him long to put the pieces together - somehow he had gained the ability to drain strength from others, from the looks of it by touch. The thought excited him - how much stronger could he get from this? What were the limits? One thing was for sure though, he needed a strong opponent. And as he opened and closed his claws a few times and smiled, he knew exactly which one it would be.
*
“Hey, you got any more?”
“That was the last batch i’m afraid.” The chef chuckled as the dragon in front of him made a dejected face. “Oh cheer up Drum, we’ll have some more in later. Not my fault you eat every last bit of pudding in this place.”
“Guess I’ll be back when you do then.” Drum said with a wink, swinging his legs away from the table. He turned and stopped as he saw Bal standing there, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. “Oh hey.”
“Bal thinks we should have a rematch.” Bal still had the memory of the last fight in his head, one that Drum had won easily. The older dragon had not just many years more experience, but he was much stronger too, having trained for those extra years.
Drum tilted his head. “There’s something different about you. Have you been doing some new training or something?” He couldn’t help but think that Bal looked larger, his build heavier. He couldn’t quite put his claw on it exactly.
“Maybe.”
“Then who better to try it out on!” Drum smacked a fist into his claws, his face lighting up all of a sudden. “Come on, we can do this in the park, it’s close.”
The park was little more than an open green space, dotted with benches here and there, but otherwise empty and perfect for their needs. Drum stretched out his arms, cracking his neck from side to side as he did.
“Alright, show me what you got!”
Bal did just that, not wasting any time and immediately charging forwards. Drum made like he was going to meet him head on, but instead he dodged to the side at the last minute, grabbing Bal’s foot on the way past. Bal’s eyes widened as he was flung around in the air, eventually thrown into a nearby tree and crashing through it in a hail of leaves and branches. Drum’s laughter just spurred him on even more, and he ignited fire underneath himself to give his next charge some extra speed. It worked - Drum couldn’t react in time and he was forced to block the assault, clutching at Bal’s hands to hold him in place. The moment the contact was made Bal could feel the strength flowing into him, he could feel the fatigue being banished from his limbs as new power rejuvenated his aching muscles, made them swell and pop. It was just a brief contact though, Drum almost immediately kicking him in the chest hard enough to send him flying backwards.
“Hngh, that felt weird.” Drum tilted his head. “Is that some kind of new move? What was that?”
“Bal thinks telling you would ruin the surprise.”
“Huh. Well then, guess I should take you a bit more seriously.” His smile dropped as he hunkered down, his body glowing slightly as power thrummed through him. Bal didn’t see it as threatening, rather he only saw the opportunity to gain even more strength from this, and he grinned at the prospect. That grin was wiped as Drum came at him with ridiculous speed, planting a fist in his chest so fast that Bal couldn’t even see it. He would have gone flying if he didn’t manage to grab Drum’s arm, but even so he felt the shockwave of the blow ripple through his body. Drum once again made the mistake of choosing to grapple, still unaware of Bal’s abilities, but right now the strength difference was so great that it didn’t even matter. This close the size difference between them was emphasised even more - despite Bal being close to 6’5, Drum still towered over him and was significantly larger. He pressed down and forced Bal into the dirt, levering his superior strength and once again flashing that cocky grin.
“Heh, losing your….nerve….” Drum trailed off as he felt that strange sensation again, and slowly but surely he felt himself being pushed back. His arms trembled as he pushed as hard as he could, but slowly the force pushing him upwards grew stronger and stronger. He could literally feel Bal’s claws growing in between his own, the sun dragon’s hands expanding right before his eyes. “What the hell?”
“Bal told you it would be a surprise!”
Right then Drum realised what was going on, and he immediately broke off the contact and dashed backwards. It was too late though, the damage was already done - he could feel the fingers of fatigue wrapping around him, and even as he tried to stand he felt his body shaking more than it should. He knew his limits like the back of his claws, and he shouldn’t have been anywhere near them, but right now his body was shaking like a leaf. Worse still Bal looked huge - the sun dragon was slowly standing and Drum’s eyes widened as he saw how big he was, his body thick and muscular. They were equal in height now, both around 7ft, but Bal was the bulkier of the two.
“Bal thinks you’re losing.” He flexed a bicep as he said this, and Drum couldn’t help but notice the size of Bal’s arms, great knotted trunks of muscle that were larger than his own. Bal was still smaller in some areas, but certain muscles were definitely larger - chest, biceps, quads. The difference between them had already gone past the point of being even, and was now looking like Bal was the bigger of the two.
“Shuttup!” Drum gritted his teeth. His pride as a clan leader was on the line here, he couldn’t forfeit to a dragon so many years his younger! He had to push through, force his body onwards no matter the cost. He planted his feet, trying to stop the shaking, and yet again he ran forwards. His charge was sluggish this time, and Bal easily met him in the middle. Instead of going head on it was his turn to step to the side and manoeuvre around to Drum’s back, only this time he hooked his arms around Drum’s shoulders and looped them into a headlock. Drum could feel his strength fading, and his feeble attempts to get out of the lock only made it worse - Bal’s strength was increasing as fast as his was falling, the arms around his neck only getting thicker and thicker. There wasn’t a millimetre of give in those arms, and every time he punched or hit them he felt like he was trying to break down a brick wall.
“Mmmm, Bal likes the feeling of your strength. Feels...spicy.” Bal grinned, squeezing Drum just to impress the size of his muscles on the now smaller dragon. He loved the feeling of tightness running through his body, of muscles pulsing with energy as they surged larger. It was an intoxicating sensation, like a full-body orgasm stretched out over minutes rather than seconds, only getting stronger over time. “Bal wants you to try a bit harder, you’re too easy to drain.” Drum sagged as Bal grew even taller, rounding out at 8ft and still growing stronger, draining his foe of as much energy as he could. Drum felt the disorientating feeling of his feet leaving the floor as Bal surged taller, so tall that his headlock easily kept him suspended in the air. He couldn’t fight it, he could do nothing about this except…
“Agh...I give, I give!” Bal released him and Drum collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily as his body burned with fatigue. He felt like he’d just run a marathon, everything aching and tired, and he rolled onto his back with a weak chuckle. The dragon looking down at him was not the one that he had challenged just moments ago - Bal looked truly intimidating now, his body swollen with strength and glowing slightly with a familiar light - Drum realised it was his own red energy, stolen from him. Well, borrowed - he could still generate it, although he felt so weak that he struggled to even make a spark right now, but it was definitely still there.
“Hahhh, that’s some move.” Drum said, slowly getting to his feet having taken a breather. Bal was taller than him now and then some, meaning that he was eye level with the dragon’s pecs. Both of which were noticeably larger than before, great cushions of muscle shaping his body into a definitive T shape.
“Bal likes it.”
“I bet you do.” Drum chuckled. “Gonna have to teach me that one.”
“Bal promises.” Bal was more concerned with his voice, which was deeper than before. Everything looked weird, the ground around him was further away and he had a weird feeling of vertigo whenever he moved around. But more than that he felt heavy, his body swung around with increased momentum and he felt himself sinking into the ground slightly, more than he did before. It was strange to be sure, but he found himself liking it more and more.
“Bal’s going to go find some more challengers.” He said at length, something that Drum picked up on.
“Bet the cavalry’ll be eager to fight you. They’re probably hanging out at the usual training grounds. You go ahead, I still gotta catch my breath.” Drum watched Bal walk away, fierce intent in his eyes. Silently he wondered just what he’d unleashed.
*
Drum’s old training grounds were not somewhere you just wandered into. For a start the entrance was pretty heavily guarded, the two dragons up front both in full armour and wielding pikes. This was the pride of the Drum clan after all, and they were hardly going to just let anyone in. Bal was expecting to have to explain himself to the guards upon arrival, but to his surprise they acknowledged him and let him in. It seemed that word of his defeat of Drum had spread fast, and they were eager to challenge him to see if the stories were true. He certainly looked the part - at his new height Bal was at least a couple of feet taller than even the largest dragons there, and far more muscular as well. He looked like a tank of a dragon, and in Bal’s mind he felt like one too. Confidence was brimming from his grin as he strode into the grounds, dragons left and right stopping their training to stare at him. He loved the attention, the reverence - by the end of this the whole world would look at him like that.
“Bal is here for a challenge!” He yelled out as he stood in the middle of a small clearing, dragons surrounding him bristling with weapons. “Bal defeated your leader, and now he wants to see if anyone else can beat him!” He grabbed the sword planted in his chest and pulled it out, igniting fire in his claws and extending it to the blade. “Who wants to take on Bal!?”
As he stood there a red dragon walked out of the crowd, his own sword resting on his shoulder. “You got a lotta nerve just walking in here. Yeah you beat Drum, but you ain’t beating all of us.”
Bal grinned. “Bal will see.”
“Someone’s got a death wish.” The dragon grinned, swishing his sword around impatiently. “Name’s Doble, and if you’re looking for a fight then that’s what you’re gonna get. Only it ain’t just gonna be me doing all the work.” He held up a hand and 6 more dragons appeared from the crowd. They were a variety of sizes and colours, each wielding their own weapons.
“Meet Meglax, Mizaru, Merak, Arkaid, Fuad and Alliot. We’re the Fifth Omni Cavalry dragons, and we’re gonna all take you on at once.” Doble grinned. “You couldn’t even beat one of us. Let’s see how long you last against the whole crew.”
Bal internally gulped. 7 v 1 was long odds, but he knew it was winnable if he managed to get past a couple of them. He briefly considered backing down, but the thought of adding all of their considerable strength to his own was just too tempting, and he couldn’t pass it up. He readied his sword, held up one hand and beckoned for them to come.
With a roar the fifth omni dragons charged, and Bal immediately knew he was in trouble. They barely said a word to each other but they instinctively had a formation already, likely due to years fighting with each other. Doble and Mizaru were up front, both wielding swords and keeping Bal on the back foot, dancing around each other with uncustomary grace. They were both smaller than him but only by a few feet, meaning the advantage was theirs as thy could attack him from lower angles and blind spots. Every time he managed to make an opening on one of them he would be interrupted by the lance of Merak, who was just behind them both covering the gaps. He didn’t even know where the other ones were, his attention was already split between the two swords constantly aiming for him. An arrow thunked into his back, sticking into his shoulder, and he turned to see Meglax drawing back the string on her bow once again, another arrow already nocked. He ducked under that one but took a sword slash to the side for his troubles, Doble’s form impeccable.
Bal needed a weak link, he had to find one. He knew that while he was on the defensive he stood no chance, but the moment he got a hold of one of them the tide of the battle would turn. The opportunity presented itself in the end - both Doble and Mizaru stepped back as an icy storm erupted in front of them, the result of Arkaid’s magic, but what they didn’t realise was that Bal was more or less unaffected. He simply spread sun energy across his scales so the ice melted before it hit him, and although Alliot was covering Arkaid with his shield they had forgotten about the two swordsdragons still just behind the storm. Bal burst through and managed to get a good slash on Doble, although the dragon’s armour blocked most of it. It was just a ruse to get Mizaru to jump in, which of course he did, and Bal seized his opportunity. He let the sword slice between his fingers, cutting between them but allowing him to grab Mizaru’s hand and begin to drain his energy.
“Haha! Finally!” Bal yelled triumphantly as once again he felt that familiar surge of energy, Mizaru crumpling in his grip. The drain was a lot faster this time, it was just a few seconds of contact but he felt power swell in his body and Mizaru seemed to shrink in his hands. It was just an illusion as he grew, but it made him feel so much more powerful as he surged upwards, his wounds healing themselves and his body throbbing with force. Mizaru had started with his head roundabout Bal’s chest height, but when he was finished the black dragon just came up to his abdomen. When he finally let go Mizaru collapsed to the floor, completely out of strength, and Bal was left standing even more intimidating than before.
“ENOUGH!” Bal heard the shout from his left, and as he turned to look he felt Merak grab his left arm and hold it. The dragon was only slightly larger than Mizaru, meaning that he needed both arms to even get purchase on Bal’s massive limb, but he somehow managed it. Again Bal felt the drain starting but it wasn’t fast enough to stop what was coming. The only dragon he hadn’t kept track of was Fuad, and now he was bearing down on Bal with a massive hammer. The red dragon was the largest of the cavalry, just about reaching Bal’s neck in height, and that size allowed him to wield his immensely heavy weapon with uncanny precision. There were jets at the back of it, propelling it to even faster speeds as he swung it right at Bal. With Merak holding him there was no way he would be able to dodge, and all he could do was hold up his sword and block it. There was an almighty clang as sword and hammer collided, sparks flying as Bal held the line. There was no doubt he had the strength to hold the hammer shot back, but his sword just wasn’t up to the task - there was a strange ringing sound, and Bal found himself sliding backwards all of a sudden. He held up his sword, laughing as he saw the end had been snapped off. He straightened up and dropped the sword, putting his claws together and cracking his knuckles with a grin.
“Guess Bal is going old school then.” He said, flexing a little just to show off his new muscles. Mizaru and Merak were both down, the pair of them now on their knees but panting, clearly too worn out to continue fighting. Doble and Fuad were both up front, with Alliot Arkaid and Meglax behind them. Just out of curiosity Meglax fired an arrow, but this time it just bounced off Bal’s scales. She nodded, dropping her bow and adjusting her hat. It wasn’t hard to see that Bal had grown stronger - he was close to 10ft tall now, towering over the other dragons, and they knew their weapons wouldn’t have an effect on him anymore. Doble was the next to follow, sticking his sword blade-first into the ground.
“Well, guess it wouldn’t be fair to let you have all the fun.” He said with a grin, one that Fuad mirrored as he too dropped his hammer. Arkaid and Alliot kept their weapons, something Bal noted but was forced to ignore as he charged forwards. It seemed Doble was able to team with any of the other cavalry dragons, as his combinations with Fuad were just as elegant as they were with Mizaru. The pair of them covered each other’s weaknesses, but as he dodged and counterattacked he became aware of his limbs growing heavier. He looked down to see ice forming around his joints, locking them up for a few moments before he burned them away. He had a lot of energy stored up but having to melt this ice was rapidly burning through it all - Arkaid had to be his next target. He fired off a quick flash of light as a distraction before charging at the mage dragon, his movement heavy and obscenely powerful. Alliot was there to block the attack, but even with his shield he couldn’t stop the attack that was thundering his way. After all he was tiny compared to Bal, his shield barely the size of the sun dragon’s fist, and Bal hit him like a freight train at full speed. Alliot’s shield shattered into pieces as he was sent flying, the impact kicking up an enormous dust cloud. When it cleared the remaining dragons saw Bal holding both Arkaid and Alliot by their throats, one dragon in each hand. Bal’s claws easily wrapped around their necks, their heads smaller than his hands as he held them with ease, their bodies only slightly larger than the arms holding them up. They both squirmed for a few seconds before their strength was ripped from their bodies and they went slack in Bal’s grip. Bal grinned as he once again surged larger, as he bumped up to 11ft and widened even further. Now the difference between them was so substantial that it didn’t even seem like a competition anymore - Bal was double the other dragon’s height, and as he dropped the two Cavalry dragons he felt like he was going to explode from the power in him.
“Take this!” This was Meglax, who was not the greatest hand-to-hand fighter in the world. She had charged at Bal from behind, hoping to use the element of surprise to tackle him to the ground. Instead she collided with what felt like a redwood tree, solid and immovable, bouncing off it with a shocked expression. It was hard to believe that this was a living creature anymore, it felt more like trying to tackle a building, or a telephone pole. She looked up and her ears flattened as Bal seemed to stretch into the heavens, huge and intimidating. Bal just smiled as he placed a hand on her back and pressed her to the floor, taking her strength and shivering in pleasure as he did so. She struggled a little bit but quickly joined the others in fatigued stupor, too tired to move.
“And then there were two.” Bal said with a grin.
“I’ve had enough of that smile! You won’t be smiling in a bit!” Fuad roared, charging forwards.
“Fuad no!” Doble yelled, but it was too late. Their formation had been broken, and now it was falling apart. Fuad was long past teamwork, he just ran up and launched the strongest punch he could muster, ramming all his force right into Bal’s abdomen. Bal didn’t even acknowledge the punch, he just looked down and smiled again.
“Bal thinks you’ll need to try a bit harder than that.” In response Fuad unleashed a flurry of punches, each one hard enough to shatter rock, each one utterly ineffective against the wall of muscle in front of him. Bal just stood there, at one point even yawning, which only inspired Fuad to hit even harder. The dragon might have been the largest amongst the cavalry, but now he was an insect compared with Bal, he looked like a kid next to the colossal sun dragon. With each punch a portion of his energy was drained, so that each punch was weaker than the last, and while Fuad had started punching Bal’s waist he ended punching his thigh.
“Bal is impressed, you kept it up even after losing your strength.” Bal watched as Fuad slowed more and more, his final punch a trembling, weak touch that caused him to collapse on the floor. “Well, seems it’s only you left.” Bal said, looking at Doble. The red dragon looked terrified now - he knew there was no winning this. He had the technique, but no level of skill would bridge the tremendous strength gap between them now. After a certain point skill took a backseat to strength, and they were long past that now. Doble knew this but his pride wouldn’t let him back down. He ran forward and was met with Bal stepping forward and bringing him into a crushing hug. Those arms of muscled steel wrapped around him, each one thicker than his torso, and the last thing he saw was Bal’s grinning face before the dragon fell on top of him and squashed him into the ground. He was pinned for only a couple of seconds, but on top Bal wriggled and grew, panting in pleasure as he took Doble’s strength. When he stood up Doble was at the bottom of a dragon-shaped crater, looking a bit flat and completely out of strength. Bal laughed as he saw the Omni cavalry defeated around him, as he flexed a body that was a literal weapon. Power felt so good, and this kind of power - where even the strongest dragons couldn’t even scratch him - was the best kind.
“Nobody else? That makes Bal the strongest!” Bal said, holding his claws up in celebration.
“I beg to differ.”
Bal saw the shadow before he saw the dragon casting it, mostly because he was damn near drowning in it. It stretched out along the ground, meaning that whatever was behind him right now had to be massive. He turned, and he was right - the dragon standing behind him was huge. Easily 40ft tall, heavily built and black scaled.
“I heard you’ve been making some waves around here.” Batzz said with a grin. His imposing stature was matched with a cockiness that seemed to come naturally, a confidence in his own strength.
“Bal has been challenging others to fights. And winning.”
“Oh yeah?” Batzz chuckled. “Well I’d hardly call this lot a challenge.”
“H-hey!” Doble yelled from the floor. “I’d still w-wipe the floor with you!”
“Mhmm. L-l-let me know how that works out for you kid.” Batzz said with a condescending wink, laughing at Doble’s outraged expression before returning his attention to Bal. He’d met the sun dragon before, a long time ago now, and although some growth was to be expected this seemed excessive. Bal was just pushing 13ft tall, barely a third the size of Batzz, but even at that height he was muscular, his physique actually bulkier than Batzz’s own. It was troublesome, and something was telling him that this was a bad idea, but he was not about to back down from a challenge, especially not from some puny dragon that he could probably crush underfoot.
“Bal wants to fight you.” Bal stretched his body, feeling all that muscle pop and strain under tension. He’d never realised stretching could feel so good, but when you had many times more muscle than before it became quite pleasurable feeling it all strain simultaneously.
“Hah! Hahaha!” Batzz’s laughter was just like him, overbearing and loud. “Well I’ll be happy to oblige. Tell you what, I’ll even make this a one-on-one fist fight.” He slowly began to uncinch his armour, revealing scales shaped by muscle and marked with scars, the result of countless battles. “Just remember that you’re the one asking for this. Might wanna remember that when you’re spitting out teeth.” Batzz grinned, but he didn’t settle into any kind of stance. Instead he just stood there, waiting for Bal to make the first move. Bal did just that, charging in like he had been doing against the fifth omnis, but he realised his mistake straight away when Batzz seemed to disappear. He blinked and just like that Batzz was behind him, already swinging. He could do nothing but try and block, but the sheer force of the blow sent him flying into a nearby tree, breaking through it and slamming into the one behind it. He gasped, blood trickling from his mouth as he felt the shockwave reverberate through him, his body shuddering in pain.
“Oops. Bit too much for you?” Batzz said, folding his arms as Bal slowly dropped to the floor. The black dragon was in a completely different league, Bal could feel it, but that only spurred him on more. He got to his feet, grinning and igniting fire in his hands. Before he had a chance to cast it though Batzz responded with his own spell, which took the form of lightning. He covered his claws in it and then slammed his hand into Bal’s body, squeezing him against a tree and sending electricity searing through his body. It was unbearably painful, but through it all he could feel Batzz’s mistake costing him strength - the dragon had made contact, and the process was already starting. It was enough to heal his wounds but he couldn’t take the pain, and so he raised a hand and fired a beam of pure sunlight. It had the desired effect of blinding Batzz for a second, enough time for Bal to climb the tree and jump onto Batzz’s back. That contact felt better than anything else he had drained thus far; the other dragons had been small spots of light, faint glows of strength, but Batzz was like a supernova of heat and power. The dragon was immeasurably powerful, but now that power yielded itself to Bal as he held on for dear life.
It took Batzz a couple of seconds to regain his bearings, but in those few seconds Bal surged with height and mass, going all the way to 20ft tall and widening in the process. The feeling of tightness was stronger than ever, of power thrumming through each vein, his body like an engine slowly revving up. But he didn’t have enough time to drain all Batzz’s power - eventually black claws grabbed around his body and he was thrown off. Batzz’s eyes widened as he saw the difference in Bal, how the dragon had grown in mere seconds. He felt the drop in his own power, and he put two and two together.
“You’re stealing my strength, aren’t you?” He said, and Bal nodded, not bothering to hide it. “No wonder you beat all the others. But you ain’t gonna beat me.”
“Bal’s already close to your strength.” Bal gave a flex, and sure enough his arms were almost as thick as Batzz’s, his body still lacking some of the heft of the black dragon’s but definitely getting there. Batzz had no plans of letting him get any closer: Once again he disappeared, but this time he was slightly slower when he reappeared. Instead of an instant strike Bal caught a glimpse of him winding up, having dashed to right in front of him, and he matched it with his own. Batzz was rocked but Bal was once again sent flying, although this time he dug his claws into the ground and skidded to a halt. Batzz was shocked to realise he’d actually felt that blow, his cheek was aching from the impact. It was a far cry from the dragon that could barely scratch him just moments ago - now he was at the very least a worthy foe, one that he had to respect. But of course his ego wouldn’t let him do that, and so he charged again, and again the pair of them met in the middle. This time they caught each other’s hands, and Bal’s grin widened as he felt himself get even stronger. Batzz was forced to watch as the formerly puny dragon slowly pushed upwards, his grip getting stronger and stronger with each passing second just as Batzz’s grew weaker. He tried to break the contact, but to his horror he couldn’t do it anymore, Bal was growing too strong for him. It was astonishing just how fast the gap between them was closing, and there was nothing he could do about it. Bal grinned as he felt himself slowly pushing Batzz back.
“Feel that? Bal feels it. Bal feels like your strength is Bal’s now.” The sun dragon grinned, and try as he might Batzz couldn’t break that grip. It was the truth - Bal had taken so much strength that he had surpassed the thunder king, and he was starting to realise it. For the first time in his life he found himself scared of his enemy, scared of the thought that he couldn’t beat Bal. He strained his body to the limit, but there was nothing he could do.
Well, there was one thing he could do, one final trick up his sleeve. If his body was at its limit, then he would push it beyond that. Batzz let the lightning flow through him, let it coalesce in his body. Slowly the air around them began to charge, the taste of copper filling Bal’s mouth as electricity played along his scales. After a second of charging Batzz exploded with power, instantly doubling in muscle mass and forcing Bal away. The power increase was immense but temporary, and Batzz made the most of it. He tore into Bal, pummelling him with dozens of punches in the space of seconds, his fists blindingly fast and too rapid to even see, let alone block.
“What’s the matter, not strong enough? Where’s that carefree attitude gone?” Batzz grinned, his confidence coming back as he surged forward, relishing his speed advantage just as much as his sudden strength. Bal just had to hang on, to survive this furious onslaught - with each punch he felt his own speed increase, his body swelling to meet the blows. At almost 33ft tall he was approaching Batzz’s size now, and the black dragon was desperate to end the fight as soon as he could, to prevent Bal’s ascension. He tried one last desperate gamble, once again slamming into Bal and pinning him to the ground. One forearm squeezed onto Bal’s girder of a neck, hoping to cut off his air before he had the chance to start draining, but Bal was just about quick enough to grab a hold of his arm. They fell, Bal underneath straining to keep Batzz from pushing him down, but he could feel new energy rushing into him. The lightning that was currently pulsing through Batzz’s frame was slowly dissipating, coursing through Bal’s body instead as he ripped it out of his opponent. His muscles slowly expanded, and as they did Bal could feel his strength surging over and over, seemingly without end. Batzz was a powerhouse, but now that power was leaving him and he was watching himself slowly being pushed up. Bal managed to get up off the floor, at first straining to do so, but after a few seconds the movement was smooth and powerful, and far too strong for Batzz to halt. The black dragon felt the ground leave his feet, and he realised that Bal was slowly lifting him above his head, still draining even while he did so. He tried to fight it but by now Bal was really starting to eclipse him - just one of those arms was as thick as his chest and held twice the muscle, and he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of fighting them.
“See that? Bal’s bigger than you now, and much stronger!” Just saying those words sent a little thrill of power through Bal, the thought that a dragon as mighty as Batzz was now beneath him. The strength required for such a feat, the size, it was all his now, and he would put it to good use. Batzz couldn’t even form a rebuke - the truth was plain to see, his title of strongest dragon no longer belonged to him. The lightning completely left his body, and Bal chuckled as he felt himself power up, a faint whine filling the air as electricity mixed with sun energy to push him even further ahead, those same muscles throbbing harder and harder. He let one arm fall to his side, and Batzz was stunned to see his whole 40ft, multi-ton body held up with one hand. Bal didn’t even look like he was trying - there were no wobbles, none of the little shakes that came with lifting a heavy weight. He looked like he was holding a small pebble. Batzz had about three seconds to admire it before Bal threw him across the ground. He slammed into a tree with enough force to drive the breath from his lungs, having travelled more or less from one end of the training grounds to the other, and before he could catch his breath Bal appeared in front of him. All the speed Batzz had enjoyed was now Bal’s, and he made good use of it as in a flash he got Batzz into a headlock.
Now there was no way that Batzz could get him off, not that he didn’t try to, his claws scrabbling at Bal’s thick forearm. It simply wasn’t possible, and his struggles grew weaker as Bal finally surpassed him in height. 40, 45, 48, 50 - he kept getting taller, stronger, more powerful. Muscle fought for space on his frame as every last inch of his body was stuffed with strength, as he evolved into something monstrous, something unbeatable. Batzz finally sagged as the last of his power was taken, and to his shame he was forced to tap on Bal’s arm to get the dragon to release him. Bal took a couple of seconds to comply, making sure to take every last drop of power before letting Batzz go, laughing at how small the dragon seemed now. He was only 10ft taller than Batzz, but the other dragons looked like ants to him now, tiny and insignificant. Batzz’s head was roughly around his chest height, meaning that he was forced to crane his neck backwards to meet Bal’s eye. Just the act of looking up felt so submissive for him - usually everyone looked up at him, and it was unnerving to be on the other end of that deal.
“Remind Bal who the strongest dragon is?” Bal laughed at Batzz’s indignant reaction, the dragon going after him once more. He did the same thing that Batzz did before, just stood there with his arms crossed and let him hit as many times as he wanted, emphasising just how little effect he had. “Bal thinks you should leave the fighting to the pros.” He said with a grin. He held up an arm and flexed as hard as he could, marvelling at the sheer size of his bicep, a gargantuan slab of muscle that rippled with barely contained strength. “Bal wants to compare!” He said, looking pointedly at Batzz. The black dragon of course refused, not wanting his inferiority to be shown off, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter as Bal grabbed him and manoeuvred his body like a doll. The difference in their biceps was so huge it was laughable, Bal was almost three times the size of Batzz now. Batzz hadn’t shrunk, but when he was being compared to biceps the size of cars he looked puny. Bal forced Batzz to do a most muscular pose too, grinding his once impressive pecs together, and again he might as well have been flat-chested compared to the utterly immense wall of muscle just behind him. The height difference was also huge - Bal was 50ft tall, towering over Batzz and so tall that the smaller dragons could barely make out his face.
“Look at Bal’s chest!” Bal said, once again forcing Batzz to mirror his pose of both hands behind his head, chest thrusting forward, and now it was Batzz conceding the size difference.
“Tch. Thanks to my strength you’re at least three times my size.”
“Bal reckons its four times actually.” Bal said with a grin, picking up Batzz with one hand again. “Bal thinks he has more muscle in one arm than you do in your whole body!” He said, flexing a bicep just to test his theory. Batzz wanted desperately to argue, to mock his foe, but the truth was Bal was right. He was staring at a bicep that was almost as large as him, and just from poking it he could feel it was completely rock solid, nothing but dense muscle without an inch of give. Bal almost felt sorry for Batzz when he saw how dejected the black dragon looked - he’d spent his whole life working for strength after all, and to see himself outclassed so vastly was depressing at the very least.
“Bal’s decided. If Batzz wants, Bal will train him.” Batzz suddenly lifted his head, new energy in his eyes.
“You’d teach me to steal strength?”
“Bal will.”
Batzz laughed, his mind full of revenge. In his head he was eager to take revenge for this defeat, his mind set on once again becoming the strongest. He was so preoccupied he didn’t wonder why Bal would do such a thing. Was it out of the kindness, out of pity? For the old Bal that might have been the case, but the new Bal was not someone who cared too much about others. It was hard to care for insects after all - no, he was concerned only with his own strength, and should Batzz grow even stronger then he would prove a juicy meal for him to feast upon. Bal grinned as he flexed once again, revelling in the feeling of his muscles exploding with strength. He couldn’t wait to add more to them.
Category Story / Muscle
Species Dragon (Other)
Gender Male
Size 120 x 68px
Listed in Folders
I was expecting people to be on team Batzz, seems Bal has more fans than I thought
I never was a huge fan of Buddyfight, but Batzz definitely left quite the impression on me. Also the way you describe the growth and Bal's actions makes it easy to imagine how deep and powerful sounding Bal's voice became as he became bigger. Great read!
Honeslty used to watch the show a long time ago, kinda fell out of it though. Took me a while to get back into it for this one XD
Also Batzz is hot i'm just gonna say it
Also Batzz is hot i'm just gonna say it
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