Only I Awaken The Forbidden SSS-Rank Dragons

"Hehehehe. Die!" he laughed maniacally and tore open the seal, unleashing the creature hidden within the box.

The moment the seal shattered, a pulse of ominous energy swept through the area. The skies darkened as if the heavens themselves recoiled in horror.

A low, guttural growl rumbled from the box. Something ancient stirred.

"What… is that?" someone muttered, their voice trembling.

Aleron was frozen.

From the narrow confines of the container, something began to ooze forth. At first, it looked like a shadow—wet, slick, and pulsing. But then, it twisted and unfolded into a horrific form that defied all logic.

A monstrous head emerged, crowned with bony ridges and thorn-like protrusions. Its skin was a patchwork of stretched flesh, sinew, and metal-like scales, each layer writhing as though alive.

Dozens of bloodshot eyes blinked out of sync across its warped skull, each one twitching erratically. Sharp, jagged teeth jutted out at irregular angles from a gaping, vertical maw that dripped black saliva, which hissed upon touching the ground.

Despite its grotesque proportions, the moment it stood, it towered over everyone reaching nearly three meters tall.

And then it let out a sound. Not a roar, but a slow, soul-chilling screech, like the tortured cries of countless voices trapped within it, begging for release.

It turned its head toward Aleron and Veldora, completely ignoring the young man who had released it.

A pained expression flickered across its disfigured face.

"Eat dragon… become a god." Faint, fractured memories surged within the creature's fragmented mind.

Once, long ago, it had sensed the aura of forbidden beings—dragons. But before it could act on its instincts, it had been captured and subjected to a wave of merciless experimentation.

The torture was so intense it gradually forgot its ambitions, its goals, its identity. It had become nothing more than a puppet.

But now, standing before the dragons, something buried deep within it reawakened.

The pain of the past still echoed inside it, but the desire to ascend, to become a god, far surpassed those memories. That desire was burning—ferocious and absolute.

If it could devour a dragon, it believed it could ascend. All its suffering would be justified. Its body, riddled with mutations, was already far stronger than the dragons before it, both of whom were still at Rank Four.

With a deafening roar, the creature lunged forward. The stone floor cracked beneath its immense weight as it moved, and distorted screams echoed from its twisted limbs, as if the creature's own body was resisting its every motion.

In the blink of an eye, it appeared before Aleron and the dragon.

Despite sensing their terrifying power from afar, the abomination was unfazed.

Without hesitation, it launched a punch.

Bang.

A thunderous impact rang out. Flesh, bone, and warped organic material collided with overwhelming force.

Aleron was sent reeling, stunned by the sheer strength behind the blow. It wasn't the least bit weaker than the woman from earlier—if anything, it was even more powerful.

"Ashkar!" Aleron shouted, knowing he stood no chance on his own.

Instantly, the black-scaled dragon let out a powerful roar, shaking the heavens. The sheer pressure of dragon might surged out, pressing heavily on everything nearby.

A sonic boom erupted. Aleron and the dragon were both flung several meters through the air.

A sickening crack followed.

Aleron turned to find Ashkar groaning in pain. One of the dragon's claws was fractured, its dark scales cracked and torn. Though it was regenerating, the damage had already been done.

Aleron's eyes widened. He had underestimated the creature's strength. Again.

He gritted his teeth and jumped off Ashkar's back, landing firmly on the ground below.

There was no time to hesitate.

"Ashkar, fusion."

His voice was calm, but his mind raced.

At the same time, he reached out to Veldora mentally.

Far above, the water dragon let out a low cry, then flapped its wings, diving straight toward Aleron. The skies trembled. A surge of origin energy flooded the battlefield as the two dragons merged their power into Aleron.

But before the fusion was complete, the abomination charged forward again. Its aura had grown heavier, more violent. It threw its massive body forward like a battering ram.

Just as its fist hurtled toward Aleron, the fusion process completed.

A golden glow burst from Aleron's body. He raised his fist to meet the attack.

Bang!

Another explosion rocked the battlefield. Aleron, now fully fused with the dragons' energy, was hurled backwards.

He crashed into the ground, dust and rubble billowing into the air. The earth groaned beneath the pressure, and a chilling silence settled for a brief moment.

Then a wave of miasma slithered through the air like a living mist.

Aleron groaned and stood up slowly. He could feel something was off.

"What kind of power is this?" he muttered, brushing away the blood at the corner of his lips. His body ached, cracks running along his arms and shoulders.

He looked up and saw the creature already lunging again. There was no time to think.

It punched once more, and a thick corrosive miasma surged from its arm, roaring toward Aleron.

"An Origin Ability?" Aleron's heart skipped a beat.

So far, only one other non-human he had encountered possessed an Origin Ability—a rare Rank Five abomination. Could this creature also be one?

He couldn't afford to hesitate.

Aleron summoned his power. The surrounding metal trembled, then twisted under his command, forming a silver shield in front of him. The shield clanged into place just in time to absorb the bulk of the poisonous miasma.

But he wasn't done.

He activated his Infernal Eyes.

A sudden burst of heat exploded from his body as fire spirits materialized around him. The temperature soared. The very air rippled with heat distortion. Without waiting for commands, the fire spirits lunged at the grotesque creature.

The abomination showed no fear. With a wave of its massive hand, a dark wave of miasma spread forth, latching onto the spirits.

With a series of sharp cracks and bursts, the fire spirits were obliterated on contact.

Aleron's expression changed drastically.

Before he could regroup, the creature blurred. It appeared before him again, its mutated fist crashing toward his chest.

Knowing he couldn't block this one, Aleron redirected his origin energy through his body. A golden radiance erupted from his form as he activated his second-grade Origin Ability.

Light covered him like armor.

But even then, it wasn't enough.

A horrible cracking sound echoed across the battlefield.