It was but a split second, but in that time, Brone realized Yuurei wouldn't be able to save him in time. So he braced himself the best he could as the fire enveloped him. Orange and red colors swarmed and the pain from the flames dances all about him. He couldn't hold back his voice; he shouted at the top of his lungs as he tried to pry himself free from the dragon's clutches, but there was no budging, there was no escape, just heat and pain.
When the fire ceased, the dwarf was unresponsive and quiet. Most of his hair, both on his head and his beard were scorched black; his mouth hung open as if he was still trying to shout but no sound came, and his eyes stared into the distance, pass the dragon, into nothingness.
Astarot dropped the dwarf in order to deliver a punch back to Yuurei, then a fireball at point-blank range. As the two were dealing with one another, Brone had awoken due to the pain from the burns. He wanted to cry out, letting the pain travel through his voice, but he had already tired his voice, now he was just trying to pick himself up from the ground. His thoughts were battling against the pain, trying to focus. It was frustrating, trying to steady his thoughts, but the searing pain was making it too difficult. The dwarf gripped the scorched dirt beneath him, anger starting to replace both his pain and thoughts.
He finally got to his feet, his hands were shaking, unsure if it was from his anger or from the pain. He looked about and saw his iron axe was shattered, but his steel axe was still intact, so he picked it up. As Brone looked up and spotted Astarot facing away from him, dealing with Yuurei, the dwarf gripped the handle of his weapon tightly. His anger surged, his thoughts were gone, all that remain was anger, pain, and instinct. He opened his mouth, trying to deliver a battle cry, but once again, his voice was gone, but he didn't allow that to halt him. Brone lunged forward. Just as Astarot was turning about to check on the dwarf, the steel axe slammed into draconic human's throat; though once again it felt like hitting stone, the attack still caused Astarot to choke for a moment. Brone pushed forward, putting all his strength into his attack, forcing the dragon to trip over his heel, then taking advantage, drove the weapon downward, bringing the dragon onto his back, slamming his head onto the floor.
Astarot's hands grabbed the blade of the axe, trying to push it away, but the dwarf kept it held there with all his might. They locked eyes, though the it was dwarf that had the searing anger like fire. The dragon inhaled, small bits of flame began to flicker from his mouth as he tried to ready another point-blank fire blast, but the dwarf wasn't allowing it this time, a raised a foot and stomped onto onto the back of his blade as hard as he could, the blade sank deeper, causing the fire within Astarot's throat to burn without escape.
Then there was a blast, causing the axe to fly from the dragon's throat. Once freed, Astarot leapt into the air, trying to fly, but since he had only one good wing, he dropped back to the ground, tumbling some distance away. As he struggled to get to his feet, his hands went to his throat, every time he coughed, black smoke flew from his mouth, "Filthy -cough- insect -cough-" he had trouble speaking, but as he began to regain his composure, his appearance was now slightly distorted. His face was more scaly, his hands became claws, and his hair flickered like living fire. His eyes, now emitting actual flames, were focused on the dwarf. Brone had no fear within him at that point, for his anger and the searing pain was coating any other feelings as he ran forward towards the dragon, his axe at the ready.
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