Only I Awaken The Forbidden SSS-Rank Dragons

"For my own good?" Axel stared at Aleron with wide eyes. He felt something had changed in his brother over the years.

This was no longer the same brother he had grown up with, the one who was always optimistic and hopeful.

"Brother, what has happened to you?!" he shouted fiercely, regaining his stance.

Aleron froze for a moment but soon resumed his attack, not replying to his brother in the slightest.

Nothing had happened to him. He had simply realized the truth of the world.

Axel frowned at this development. Then, to Aleron's shock, he sighed and stopped defending. Instead, he let the rod Aleron had hurled towards him fly straight at his eyes.

He closed his eyes and accepted his fate. However, at that very moment, the situation shifted.

A faint breeze rustled against his closed eyelids. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw his brother standing in front of him, his expression cold and eerie.

The rod hovered silently in the air, mere inches from Axel's eyes, as though it were hesitating to strike.

Aleron stared at him and frowned.

"You are foolish. Too foolish. This will lead to your death. Take out your sword and attack me. Hate me!" Aleron roared and punched Axel hard across the face.

Yet that same silly, goofy smile remained on Axel's face even as he was sent flying through the air.

"Brother, you care about me, so why are you behaving like this?" The thought echoed faintly in his mind. He had seen the truth. Aleron didn't want to kill him.

If that was true, then what exactly was the problem?

Aleron grew furious at the expression on his brother's face. If he failed to make Axel hate him within the next few minutes, the curse would destroy him.

He could not allow that to happen. Aleron panicked inwardly, unable to restrain his impulses. He began punching his brother repeatedly.

Axel's face was swollen, blood dripping from his nose and mouth, but still he showed no sign of hatred or ill intent toward Aleron.

"Why?" Aleron's voice cracked. "Why won't you hate me?" he screamed, hurling another rod toward his brother.

It pierced Axel's ribs, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood. The pain was unbearable, radiating through every fiber of his body.

"Brother, I really can't… hold… on any longer. If you… continue… I might… really die," Axel whispered hoarsely.

"Then just hate me, and I will stop everything!" Aleron roared, sending another rod toward him. This time, it pierced his arm, nailing him to the ground.

Axel dropped to his knees in front of Aleron. Two rods had already been embedded into his feet, pinning him to the earth like a crucified doll.

His face was pale. Blood soaked his torn clothes, and his body trembled from exhaustion and pain.

Yet on his now unrecognizable face, there was a faint, peaceful smile.

"Bro… brother…" Axel muttered softly.

Staring at him, Aleron trembled with fury. His heart ached with a suffocating weight.

"I cannot be bothered with you anymore. Whatever happens to you now is not my fault. I tried to save you," Aleron said in a cold voice, as though trying to convince himself.

He had done his best, forcing his brother to hate him. But Axel remained unwilling. When the curse activated, Aleron could not be blamed for the outcome.

He let out a heavy sigh, and his expression darkened.

His emotions were fading. His heart was becoming a void.

'You want me to become a monster? Then watch as I become one.' Aleron thought grimly.

He turned away, ignoring his brother's weak groans. The rods embedded in Axel's legs slowly withdrew themselves, causing him to collapse to the ground with a dull thud.

Axel weakly raised a trembling hand toward Aleron, watching him climb atop his dragon.

The entire atmosphere was heavy with tension and sorrow. Even both dragons could sense that Aleron hadn't meant a word of what he said.

Recalling their father's curse, they understood the reason for Aleron's cruelty.

There was nothing more to say. No words could mend this.

Sitting atop his dragon, Aleron refused to glance behind him.

He could not bear to see his brother die from the curse.

Ashkar flapped his wings and soared into the sky, vanishing in a blink. Veldora followed closely behind.

Axel continued gasping, each breath shallow and painful. Even though death loomed over him, he still did not hate his brother.

At that moment, his heart thumped louder than ever.

Ba-dump.

'What is going on?' he wondered, startled. Faint arcs of lightning crackled across his skin.

'This…' he murmured in his mind, eyes wide with shock.

Just when he thought he would die under the pressure of the curse, a crack split open beside him.

Something impossible had occurred. His summoned beast had emerged from the summoning slot without being summoned.

From the glowing crack, a massive tail emerged and gently wrapped itself around him, absorbing the lightning, the curse, and even Axel's injuries.

Axel opened his eyes wide, stunned by the surreal sight before him.

'Is it my Twelve-Tailed Demon Fox? But it has never moved or helped me since the day I formed a contract with it.' Axel's heart raced with disbelief.

His eyes were filled with awe.

He looked down at his body, completely uninjured. He had always known his summon was powerful.

His parents had told him it was the most terrifying creature in the Origin World. But he had never expected it to be so powerful that it could restore his body in a blink.

He turned toward the distant horizon, where Aleron had disappeared.

'Brother.' He clenched his fist tightly. Something was happening behind the scenes. His parents might have hidden the truth from him.

He could feel that his brother had changed in ways he could not explain.

'I will come and find you, Brother.' Axel's voice was quiet, but his expression burned with conviction. Then he rose slowly and began to move forward.

He had no idea where Aleron had gone. He could only hope their paths would cross once more.

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere, atop the dragon, Aleron quietly arrived at the encirclement of the abominations.

'Ashkar. Veldora. Let's fuse.'

Hoping to rid himself of the pain in his heart, Aleron chose the only escape he knew.

He decided to unleash his rage through a killing spree.