Breaking News! Dragon Humors Dying Human!

Asteris decided that it was about time for him to go on a job again. He spotted the small town of Oshibana even from above the clouds and he gave a toothy smile. He began to dive through the air into the town, looking for a job board for him to poach and consequently return. He found it at the edge of town and shifted his body so he was flying towards at at high speed. When he got close enough he suddenly flared his wings and snatched the board from the ground, ripping it from the posts that anchored it.

Board in hand he took to the sky once more and hovered above the clouds, his wing beats being the only thing he could hear at such a height. He brought up the board and began to read through it, searching for a job that he could do. A lone poster to the side caught his interest. He carefully tore the poster from the board and held it up to read. "Interesting, interesting. A human is asking for an honorable death..." He said aloud. "I think I shall be doing this today." He slipped the poster into one of his many pocket scales and began to descend upon the town once more.

The board was hastily placed against a wall near its original location and left there.

The request brought him to a small home on the outskirts of Oshibana. The sound of his wing beats must have alerted the lone resident of the house for the moment he landed a man marched out looking ready for battle. He was and old man but Asteris knew that he was a warrior. Aged he may be but the way he carried his longsword and shield, the way he held himself, the look in the man's eyes, they all screamed of a veteran warrior.

"Ior Valiir." Asteris announced as the man got closer.

The man paused in his stride. "Yes, that is I."

"Ah good, didn't want to make the mistake of having the wrong person." Asteris chuckled. "Ior Valiir. I have come to grant your request of an honorable death." His long feathery dragon wings stretched out and he pounded the ground. "Face me in battle Ior. Come! Revel in this dance of steel and scales!"

It was rare for Asteris to goad someone into physically attacking him, especially in such a grandiose manner. He felt that this level of grandstanding was needed for what basically amounts to a paid execution.

The warrior and client, Ior Valiir, looked both at peace and excited. Asteris could only guess that he was getting what he wanted, a last blaze of glory in the grandest way possible. A fight with a dragon. Asteris knew very few humans that had fought dragons. He knew even fewer that had won. Asteris braced himself for battle as he beckoned the warrior closer.

"Come warrior! Test your steel against my scales!" He yelled, marking the start of the fight.

Ior raised his sword high and let loose a strained war cry. He charged Asteris with all the fight he had left in his old body. Asteris watched the man approach him from and let him come closer, his arm lifted as Ior drew nearer. When Ior was about a few feet away from him Asteris swung his arm down and smashed the ground. Ior jumped onto his arm, dodging his blow, and tried to drive his sword into it.

Ior did not expect for his sword to meet an invisible resistance. Asteris innate dispelled from the blow, impressing him for a few moments before he shook him off of his arm and flung the warrior away from him and into the ground in front of his house. "Stand warrior. Surely this isn't the best you've got?"

Ior stood and he gave a happy smile. "Hah!" His aged voice rang out. "You've seen nothing yet dragon!" The man held up his sword and shield.

Asteris strode forward as a his horns began to glow, gathering energy for one of his spells. Ior braced himself by holding up his shield, just in time for a beam to suddenly hit his shield. He weathered the continuous beam without taking any damage but he was slowly being pushed back against the wall of his home. Asteris kept the beam up as he kept walking forward and once the beam stopped he broke into a charge, gaining a protective cover of his magic as he tackled the man through the wall of his own home.

Due to the sudden presence of large dragon the rest of the house collapsed.

Asteris shook off the debris that had fallen on him and leaned his head to the side as he heard a weak cough. He backed away from the remains of the house and found a spot nearly his size clear of debris. There Ior lay, weak yet happy.

"Y'know." Ior coughed out as he lay on the ground. "As a kid...I've always wanted to fight a dragon." He laughed. "I went all my life, fighting monsters, other people, a weird cactus thing. Never found a dragon to fight." He looked towards Asteris with a satisfied smile. "I thought I'd never get to."

Asteris loomed over him with a stoic visage. "Well, I suppose you're happier now having fought one." His arm loomed over him. "Do you have any last words?"

"I wish you didn't break my house."

"You'll be dead anyways." Ior shrugged. "Ior Valiir you have fought well. May you find peace and happiness in the afterlife." A quick Aura Bold marked the end of the warriors life as orbs of energy crushed the man's body, snapping his bones with a loud crunch and piercing his organs. Asteris stared for a few moments before picking up the mans longsword and stabbing it into the floor beside him. The he picked up the man's shield and leaned it against the sword.

He turned around an walked away from the ruins of what was once the small home of Ior Valiir before taking flight.