Only I Awaken The Forbidden SSS-Rank Dragons

Aleron staggered, the force of the last blow ringing through his bones like a war drum. His golden light flickered dangerously, on the verge of collapse. But his eyes remained steady, unwavering in their resolve.

He spat out a thick mouthful of blood, the coppery taste sharp on his tongue, and narrowed his gaze.

Enough was enough.

Drawing a deep breath, he extended his trembling hand. The ground beneath him trembled violently in response. Shards of broken metal scattered across the battlefield quivered, then shot into the air, pulled by an unseen force as they gathered at his fingertips.

A crimson glint flashed in his eyes. It was faint, but it burned with fury. Aleron could not afford to wait for the creature to kill him. He had to retaliate. He had to end it.

The creature snarled and lunged again, but this time, Aleron moved with calculated precision.

His fused body blurred as he sidestepped the monstrous punch. In the same breath, he pivoted and slammed his fist into the abomination's side. The impact echoed like a thunderclap. Flesh burst apart and thick black blood erupted, splattering the scorched earth like a morbid fountain.

The creature screeched in agony.

Aleron offered it no reprieve.

His origin energy surged, flooding his limbs with raw power. His legs pushed off the ground, launching him high into the air. He descended like a meteor, fists flying, each blow empowered with layered origin energy.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Every strike forced the abomination backward. Its deformed body cracked and split, only to regenerate seconds later, the sickening process writhing beneath its skin like worms under flesh. Yet something had changed.

It was slowing.

It was weakening beneath Aleron's relentless barrage. Witnessing this, Aleron allowed himself a brief smile before continuing his onslaught with even greater ferocity.

The miasma the creature had emitted began to thin. Once as dark as obsidian, it now faded into a dull gray mist.

"Now," Aleron muttered under his breath.

He focused, drawing upon both of his origin abilities. A faint outline of metallic armor formed around his clenched fist. At the same time, golden energy shimmered to life, coating his arm like a second skin.

Aleron did not give the creature a moment to react. With everything he had, he punched forward.

The space before him cracked and warped beneath the weight of his attack.

But then, the battlefield shifted.

A strange grey energy flooded the air, seeping into every crevice. It hit Aleron like a wave, and in the next instant, dizziness overwhelmed him.

His eyes widened. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He stumbled, the momentum he had built dissipating in an instant.

The creature let out a low, pained screech and began walking toward him, slowly and deliberately.

Aleron's gaze remained locked on it, his chest heaving. He could feel that strange, familiar energy penetrating his body. His mind raced.

"Origin ability negation?" the thought struck him like ice. His heart pounded with disbelief. "How is that possible?"

He raised his head, eyes narrowed, and stared at the terrifying entity approaching him. Unlike before, when he could at least tap into a portion of his strength, it now felt as if something inside the creature was actively suppressing his fused abilities. His power had been cut off at the root.

The creature finally reached him. Its many eyes flared as it roared once more, then raised its massive fist.

Aleron could barely lift his arms in defense.

Bang.

The air split with a deafening crack. The ground fractured as Aleron was punched into the earth, his body sinking as the surface caved around him.

The creature didn't pause. It swung its other grotesque arm forward and struck again.

Bang.

The crater deepened. The earth trembled.

Anyone peering into the pit would see Aleron lying fractured in countless places. His scales were torn off, and his blood poured freely, pooling at the base of the pit and forming a crimson pond.

Aleron's breaths came in shallow gasps. His vision blurred. He was fading fast. One more strike would end him.

"Is this where I die?" The thought surfaced, cold and hollow.

Now he understood why the Genesis Coil had remained silent all along. They had laid a trap and waited patiently for him to step into it. And he had done so, without a second thought.

A bitter sense of regret welled up inside him. He should have been more cautious. He should have known better.

"Brother?" A voice suddenly rang through the battlefield, slicing through the silence like a blade.

Aleron's thoughts froze. So did the monster.

The creature turned its attention toward the source of the voice, its many eyes blinking in confusion. A young man was rushing across the field, running toward the pit with a fierce determination. His expression mirrored Aleron's but was free of weariness, unscarred and youthful.

The creature snarled, confused at the boy's lack of fear. The young man did not hesitate, nor did he stop. He simply ran toward the battered body of Aleron.

The abomination let out a deafening roar and charged at the youth. Aleron could die at any moment, but the creature now saw the new arrival as a threat that had to be eliminated first.

For a second, the youth looked startled. But he quickly recalled the teachings of his parents. With a swift motion, he raised his hand, and twin blades materialized in his grasp.

His aura surged outward, and shockingly, it matched the pressure of the creature itself. The weight of an origin expert radiated from his body.

Then he moved.

His speed was like a phantom, faster even than the creature. Before it could react, he struck it multiple times, his blades slicing through its defenses with pinpoint precision.

The creature screeched as the first blade slashed its chest, carving a glowing wound that refused to close.

With a fluid motion, the youth brought down the second blade, severing the creature's right leg at the knee and forcing it to collapse.

"You should never have been born," the young man said coldly.

The abomination writhed in rage and defiance, but its limbs trembled and its regenerative abilities faltered. It was dying.

The youth raised both sabers into the air and pressed them together. A single greatsword formed in his hands, shimmering with raw elemental energy—metal, fire, water, and lightning interwoven in harmony.

"Fall," he whispered.

He soared upward, sword raised high. The sky above darkened as clouds gathered. Light coalesced around him, forming a swirling vortex of elemental pressure.

The creature tried to rise, tried to defend itself. Its many eyes darted wildly, perhaps in fear, perhaps in instinct. It raised one mangled arm in a final act of desperation.

It was far too late.

The youth's sword descended like the wrath of a god.

A blinding explosion of energy erupted on impact. The very air quaked. Cracks radiated across the battlefield, and a shockwave burst outward, flattening everything within a hundred meters.

When the dust cleared, the abomination was gone.

Only a pit remained, glowing faintly with the residual light of origin energy. Black blood hissed and evaporated at the bottom.

The youth landed on one knee, panting heavily.

"Dad was right," he muttered, sheathing the greatsword back into his origin ring. "Fighting really is stressful."

Aleron, still barely conscious, stared at the boy in disbelief. The battle had ended, just like that.

But he did not rise. He remained seated in the pool of his own blood, chest rising and falling weakly.

With effort, he lifted his head and peered at the face of the one who had saved him.

It was a face that looked almost identical to his own.

But unlike his, it was pure, unscarred, untouched by battle or time.