The world fell silent.
Every eye was locked on Xavier—and the massive, terrifying, yet majestic two-winged silver dragon that loomed behind him.
The beast's scales shimmered like polished steel under a dying sun, its breath hissing as a smoke-like gas curled from between jagged teeth—teeth sharp enough to tear through steel. Each exhale seemed to carry the weight of power, the raw scent of ash and molten earth.
Elowen. Jason. Sophia. Jack.
Xavier's friends stood frozen, chests tight, minds racing, yet bodies unable to move—paralyzed by a fear they'd never known before.
Jupiter, who had been standing next to Misaki, felt it too. His voice caught in his throat, the air itself feeling heavier around him, as if the dragon's presence alone was bending the laws of the world.
But Misaki…
Her heart thundered, but not just from fear. No—there was something else.
Shock. Recognition.
The electrical current she had been using to track Xavier… it was faint, but it was there, resonating within the dragon behind him.
Her hair, previously crackling with energy in her Ruinous Current form, slowly fell back to its normal state, static dissipating as she stepped back, gaze fixed on the scene, uncertain.
What is this…?
Reginald, standing a little further off, halted mid-step. His fight with Jupiter and Misaki forgotten, his eyes widened—not with fear, but with a strange, wild excitement.
"Incredible!" he shouted, voice echoing across the broken surroundings. A twisted grin tugged at his lips, a glimmer of madness dancing in his eyes. "Never in my life did I think I'd see a dragon—an actual dragon—with my own two eyes!"
He tilted his head slightly, admiration—and perhaps a touch of envy—coloring his tone.
"You truly are something else, just like he said, Xavier…"
But Xavier didn't reply.
His grip on Excalibur only tightened, his stance shifting, the air around him vibrating faintly, as if the blade itself hummed in anticipation.
Reginald felt it—a pulse in the air. His heart raced as adrenaline surged.
He roared, slamming his fists together, iron spreading across his body like molten armor cooling in an instant.
"Come at me, Xavi!r Show me what you've got!"
But it wasn't Xavier who moved.
It was Alcmena.
With a snarl, the dragon lunged, the earth cracking beneath him as he pounced, claws slashing through the air like twin guillotines.
Reginald barely dodged in time, skidding back, his breath catching in his throat.
What the hell?!
For a creature that size, Alcmena was fast. Too fast.
Reginald reacted, summoning massive iron spikes from the ground, launching them like spears at the dragon. They tore through the air with deadly precision—
—but Alcmena didn't even flinch.
The spikes shattered against his scales like brittle glass, sparks flying, heat radiating from his body.
Then Alcmena's chest swelled, his jaws opening, the air shimmering with unbearable heat.
A low, guttural growl rumbled deep in his throat, vibrating through the ground.
Then—
Starfire Breath.
The inferno exploded from his jaws like a volcanic eruption, a wall of flame that consumed everything in its path. Reginald barely had time to throw up a reinforced iron shield, but the flames melted through it like butter.
He grunted, throwing himself back, the heat singeing his skin even from a distance.
The moment the flames ceased, Reginald's eyes darted back to Alcmena, only to see the dragon already surging forward, wings snapping open, a monstrous shape of fury.
With a single swipe of a claw, Alcmena struck.
The force sent Reginald flying—miles—like a ragdoll caught in a storm. He crashed through abandoned houses, wood and brick exploding around him, until he lay sprawled in the rubble, coughing, blood trickling down his temple, staining half his face.
He lay there, grinning despite himself, breath ragged, fingers twitching in the dirt.
"At first… I thought I was hallucinating when that dragon first showed up," he muttered, a low, bitter laugh escaping his throat. "I had questions. So many questions. But one thing was clear… I wanted to fight that beast."
He coughed, the taste of iron filling his mouth.
"I've fought countless opponents… wild beasts, trained killers… but never a dragon."
He stared up at the cracked ceiling of the half-collapsed house, eyes glinting.
"Dragons… they really are as powerful as the old fairytales said."
His grin twitched, the weight of realization settling in his bones.
"Percival, you bastard… you knew a dragon would show up, didn't you? A creature no one's seen for thousands of years… not since the time of the Great Heroes."
His breath hitched, voice dropping to a near whisper.
"You set me up for failure from the start… cunning prick…"
But there was no time to reflect. A sudden pulse of dread coursed through him—Alcmena was coming.
Reginald's gaze snapped to the fractured gap in the wall, his pulse racing.
There, framed by the shattered wood and brick, Alcmena soared toward him, jaws parted, eyes glowing with an otherworldly fury.
Reginald's hands trembled.
"Ah… I'm starting to hit my limits…" he muttered, voice barely above a whisper. His fingers curled into fists, iron spreading across his knuckles.
"I need to end this… fast."
In a quick motion, Reginald raised his clenched fists, conjuring massive iron pillars that erupted from the ground. They shot upwards, targeting Alcmena soaring through the skies, with Xavier gripping tightly onto his back.
Alcmena's eyes narrowed. He weaved between the onslaught of iron pillars with remarkable agility for a creature of his size, but his gaze sharpened as something shifted. The pillars began twisting mid-air—morphing, contorting—until they transformed into giant iron arms.
One coiled around Alcmena's leg, yanking him down, while others grabbed onto his wings, his tail, his neck. In a swift, thunderous motion, Reginald commanded the iron arms to slam Alcmena back into the earth, shaking the battlefield with a deafening crash.
"Master!" Xavier's voice rang out, panic-stricken. He clung desperately to Alcmena's scales, barely holding on.
"Don't worry about me," Alcmena's voice rumbled, calm as an ocean's depths. His golden eyes flickered with a strange glint. "Focus on the battle ahead, Xavier."
Alcmena's flames erupted—Starfire Breath searing through the iron arms, melting them—but Reginald's constructs regenerated, wrapping tighter. Some lunged for Xavier, but he slashed through them with Excalibur, following up with a fierce "Vector Nova" that vaporized dozens of the encroaching iron limbs.
Then a manic laugh echoed across the battlefield.
Iron surged from the ground, coalescing into a towering golem—Reginald seated within its forehead, his aura igniting the house he had occupied moments before. Iron plates layered over iron plates, forming a monstrosity of sheer might.
Xavier unleashed a "Gravitational Downfall," trying to pin the golem, but Reginald broke free, shrugging off the weight. The golem's hands forged a massive iron spear, which it hurled toward Alcmena and Xavier.
Xavier's eyes blazed. He leapt into the air, shouting, "Vector Nova!"—the blast shattered the spear, sending fragments scattering.
But Reginald surged forward through the smoke. Alcmena burst from the haze, claws flashing, tearing into the golem's armor like paper. His jaws clamped onto an iron limb, tearing it off with a savage crack.
Reginald's fists slammed into Alcmena's face with a brutal thud, forcing space between them. Alcmena smirked, blood trailing from his scaled cheek, clearly amused by the man's resilience.
Reginald's eyes gleamed. He conjured more golems, sending them to dogpile Alcmena, fists pounding, iron blades slashing. He followed up with a rain of jagged projectiles, filling the sky.
Just as he thought he had the upper hand, Alcmena's golden eyes flashed.
The air twisted.
Black Star Authority—Cosmic Blackhole.
A sphere of swirling void erupted in front of Reginald, gravity pulling violently. His eyes widened in horror as his iron golems were torn apart, consumed by the singularity. He tried to retreat, but the pull was relentless—like swimming against a cosmic tide. Every step forward dragged him closer.
Then Alcmena's tail lashed out, smashing into Reginald's chest and sending him flying backward, away from the blackhole's maw. The void imploded, vanishing.
Reginald, chest heaving, glared up as iron sprouted from the earth—his dragon-like iron head lunged, biting into Alcmena's flesh, sinking fangs into his neck.
Alcmena's only response was a smirk.
Reginald scowled. "What's so funny, you lizard bastard?"
Alcmena's voice rumbled, smooth and unbothered. "Your efforts amuse me. It's been a very, very long time since I've faced an opponent like this."
Reginald blinked, shocked. "The dragon... can talk?"
Alcmena's gaze shifted, dismissing Reginald's attacks as if they were gnats. "I could have ended this from the beginning. But that would rob my pupil of his growth."
"Pupil...?" Reginald's mind reeled. "Xavier—where did he go?"
Before the thought could settle, Xavier appeared before him—Excalibur glowing, vortexes spiraling around it. His voice rang out like a thunderclap: "Stasis Oblivion!"
In an instant, a blinding arc erupted from Xavier's blade—splitting the sky, tearing through the battlefield with overwhelming force. The earth beneath seemed to recoil as the blast consumed Reginald's golem, obliterating everything in its path.