<h4>Chapter 24: Dragon yer</h4>


    Neglecting to put distance between themselves and the destructive sh, Finn watched inplete disbelief at the power that someone had managed to achieve in such a short span.


    "...He''s doing it–is he really beating that thing?" Damian stammered out.


    The same thought was shared by the others as they witnessed the creature of mountainous proportions shake its head, forcing the man off who was left falling at the height of a skyscraper.


    Seung smiled, slowing his descent as he grabbed onto the building behind him, sliding along it as the colossal jaws of the beast parted.


    It was like staring into a star being birthed; a funnel of mes awakened,ing up the dragon''s throat as the burning light emitted from its open maw. The shine of it was like staring up at the sun, producing a blinding glow.


    "What is that–" Damian observed.


    "Get back–now!" Finn said, beginning to back up as he gestured for his friends to follow.


    –It was toote.


    From the gargantuan mouth of the beast, a tidal wave of heat emerged. It swept outward with a thunderous boom, causing the wind to howl. The shock wave alone was enough to push them back, nearly knocking Finn and Charlotte off their feet entirely–


    "Gotcha!"


    Finn found himself still kept upright, ncing behind him to see the armor-d friend of his supporting both his body and the girl''s.


    "Thanks–we have to get behind something!" Finn said, quickly moving.


    The closest object to use as a shield from the source of heat and light was a broken down truck. Finn jumped over the bed of it, slipping behind it while Charlotte spun around the back of it. In a more aloof movement, Damian slid over, taking cover.


    Using the body of the turquoise truck, the majority of the overwhelming burst of heat was shielded.


    Finn caught his breath, looking down at his reddened hands as he felt as though he just stepped out of an oven.


    Even from the distance they were, the mes that poured from the grandiose beast''s mouth was that intense; itid waste to multiple skyscrapers in the path of its exhale.


    "Fuck! How is something like that even allowed to exist?! It''s unfair!" Damian shouted, keeping his back pressed against the truck as it rumbled.


    The temperature continued to soar as Finn felt himself exuding sweat like he never had before. They all panted like dogs, having to expel each breath as it felt as though fire was inhaled and exhaled from the burning wind.


    Finn nced over the top of the truck bed, though having to immediately close his eyes from the sheer brightness beyond.


    After what felt like an eternity, though only spanned a few seconds, the destructive sh of fire fizzled out.


    Finn stood up, with the other two hesitantly doing the same. The sight was something straight out of a nightmare; the entirety of the top half of the cloud-reaching skyscraper was reduced to cinder, along with multiple blocks directly behind it.


    It looked as though an entire portion of the city had been painted ck, reduced to a lifeless crisp as embers fluttered in the air like a red hot snowfall.


    "I don''t care what "level" that guy was," Damian said as sweat dripped from his chin. "Nobody is surviving that. Nothing is."


    "Hey, Damian," Finn said.


    "What?"


    "Are you sure about that?" Finn pointed out.


    Beyond all reason, defying logic entirely, a radiant star flickered through the sky, sailing straight towards the colossal beast of such destruction. There was no doubt what it was, or who it was, yet it still made no sense.


    Like a meteor descending from space, the figure was engulfed in mes as he flung straight at the dragon. The skin of the reckless man was left as ash to the wind, leaving only the bare flesh, yet he still moved with endless persistence.


    "--That''s the stuff...feelin'' alive now!" The burning man imed with vigor unbing of the deathly state of his body, mming his gauntlets together.


    The great beast had its mouth still open, exuding a cloud of smoke as it seemed woefully unprepared for the tenacity of the ming human. Before it could close its maw, the man who burned with such a smile that the mes almost seemed to please him, flew straight into its mouth.


    "Ha-ha-ha!" Theugh of the scorched figure echoed through the tunnel of flesh as he jetted down the beast''s throat.


    From the deste street, Finn looked up at the perplexing sight as the dragon closed its mouth, only able to assume the man had been swallowed whole.


    "The hell was that about?" Damian asked. "Did he just fly into its–"


    Before the remark of the warrior could be finished, the city-crushing beast suddenly winced, recoiling in pain as its chest hit the ground.


    Finn noticed its tail recklessly swinging in their direction, scalping the top of multiple buildings in the process, "--Look out!"


    They all dropped down just as the scaled appendage swung overhead with a tremendous weight. It was a feeling of sheer powerlessness as in that moment, Finn could only pray on the tail not crushing him, having no other choice but to leave it to fate.


    As he looked ahead where the colossal dragon nowid itself, groaning out in pain with emissions that rumbled the asphalt, it happened–


    <i>SQUELCH</i>


    Through the beast''s back, a force pierced, rupturing its scaled body as a fountain of blood shot up like a crimson geyser.


    "Holy shit..." Damian remarked.


    Charlotte watched, stunned by the impossible sight, "He did it."


    The gruesome sight was followed by a downpour of the creature''s own arterial fluid as escaping its body was the one who willingly dove into it.


    The man whose skin had entirely burned away, revealing only his bare flesh, smiled as the mes were put out by the rainfall of blood.


    With the fall of the beast, a "level-up" was obtained by the gauntlet-wearing figure.


    Seung spread his arms and expelled his triumph throughughter as the blood trickled down the skin that stretched over his regenerated self.


    ["<i>At that moment, I realized just what it was that the old man meant–that humanity wasn''t done yet. The entire time, I had been fighting tooth-and-nail just to survive, hiding and choosing my battles, frightened of the fiends that lurked.</i>


    <i>However, seeing that manugh while hunting down a beast born of nightmares, standing atop its lifeless body, was the first time I saw a human take it back–watching someone show the monsters that trampled on humanity that this is our world</i>."]


    There was one thing that Finn wondered above all when looking upon the bloodstained figure who had in the dragon. Only peeking carefully from behind the truck, the question remained on his mind–


    Was the man a friend or foe of humanity?


    That question seemed like it''d be answered swiftly as Finn found himself making idental eye contact with the dragon-ying stranger.


    <i>''Shit–'' </i>Finn thought.


    Before he could attempt to duck back down, the air flexed as the figure was gone. The truck was knocked into the air, revealing the three as standing right there was the gauntlet-wearing man.


    It took a moment for Finn to realize what had happened, as the truck was flipped through the air so casually and the inposojf man now stood there.


    <i>''He...kicked it? The truck?'' </i>Finn realized just as the vehicle crashed back down onto the street behind him.


    They were all frozen, not so much as moving a muscle in front of the man who was just on fire moments prior.


    "You three are petrified. That means you recognize I''m way above your level—not bad," Seung remarked, scratching his chin as his eyes specificallyid on the assassin.


    Finn had already readied his dagger, squeezing the handle as he kept his eyes on the man.


    The golden-haired man of many scars stood a head taller than the assassin, still holding a rxed smile, "Even knowing that, you''re still ready to kill me."


    Seung''s words addressed Finn, though the cautious assassin remained silent, honing his focus to the highest degree.


    With such a disparity in physical ability, he knew that he''d need totch onto even the slightest inclination of hostility and act first.


    Finn found the man staring right into his eyes; it was like looking at an apex predator as Seung''s irises were sharp diamonds of a scarlet hue.


    "Ha-ha!" Seung suddenlyughed as the tension was dispelled. "I''m not going to attack you. Rx, rx!"


    "You aren''t?" Charlotte asked hesitantly.


    The blonde-haired man waved his hand, "I''m not interested in people of your level. As it stands, none of you are a threat to me—so, no issue."


    It was a bit underhanded of a reason, though Finn was relieved by the forward im of the man.


    "Anyway, got ces to be. Try not to die, or don''t—I don''t care," Seung casually said with a wave of his hand beforeunching into the air.


    Like a star flickering across the horizon, the strange man took his leave.


    "I''m jealous...What ss lets you fly around like that?" Damian said, putting his hand against his brow as he watched the figure disappear into the distance.


    "None. That flight is from his gauntlets," Finn informed him.


    "Seriously? That seems overpowered," Damian remarked.


    "Flight would be convenient," Charlotte added.


    "Yeah, I''m not sure how he got his hands on them," Finn remarked before beginning to move along.


    As they walked down the street with the charred remains of the block behind them, the entire experience remained fresh on everyone''s minds.