The elder, who had repeatedly been blocking his own attacks, began to struggle until he suddenly appeared in front of him. The elder reacted too late and ended up getting hit by a powerful kick that sent him crashing down with immense force. Dust billowed high into the air, accompanied by a powerful shockwave that made people scream in surprise, rushing over to check his condition.
However, before they could reach him, the dust slowly cleared, revealing the elder already standing tall again, staring sharply upward as if the previous attack had only had a minor effect.
After all, he was of the Dragonar race—apex predators at the top of the food chain. There was no way he would fall that easily.
"No wonder humans steal the powers of other races. If they're this strong even after stealing power, how were they in the past? There's no way humans could've won," he muttered to himself, raising his hand to the side. From his right palm, a cluster of radiant energy in various colors formed, accompanied by glitches.
He was growing bored of just using fists and feet. He wanted to try something new, especially now that his power allowed him to do so many things.
"I hope he doesn't die instantly from this."
"Is that all you've got!?" he shouted.
He enclosed the cluster of energy with both hands and pulled it outward, forming a thick, long staff, which he then spun around like in kung fu movies.
When the end of the staff slammed through the air, a massive shockwave erupted, nearly pushing the elder back, forcing him to brace himself with mana. Yet on his face was a wide smile—a smile he couldn't hide after finally finding a worthy opponent, someone who could make his blood boil.
Of course, he had held back his strength so the elder wouldn't die right away. After all, he still needed him to carry out his plan.
Then suddenly, he vanished from sight.
The elder looked left and right, trying to search—even using detection magic—but he couldn't be seen at all, as if he had truly vanished. As soon as he heard a sound like a broken cassette playing, he turned around—and the staff struck his face, sending him flying through three buildings behind.
Before he could even catch his breath, the glitching sound returned, and now he was in front of him again, slamming him downward with a spear so hard that the building they were on crumbled into ruin.
The Dragonar citizens released their mana, ready to help, but their movements were too slow to keep up, so they hesitated, afraid they might accidentally hit the elder instead.
Not even two seconds later, the elder was being dragged across the ground at high speed, carving a deep and long trench past the Dragonar citizens who quickly jumped out of the way. Some were too late and got thrown back, shocked by the sheer power of the clash between the two.
It was like witnessing two heroes battling each other.
The elder was thrown, then struck again by the staff, sending him tumbling across the ground before he finally stopped himself with his claws, blood flowing from his mouth and various parts of his body.
The elder didn't know what kind of weapon he was using—how could it make his body feel like it had been smashed by a sledgehammer that not only hurt but seemed to tear his body apart with every hit?
What he didn't realize was that his body wasn't being torn—it was vanishing, piece by piece, due to the glitches that had invaded his organs. It wouldn't be long before he felt their full effects.
"How's that? Was it enough?" he asked with a grin, slamming the staff into the ground.
Before the elder could reply, blood poured out of his mouth.
Now feeling his internal organs wounded, the elder stared sharply at the figure in front of him, shocked to find he was far more terrifying than expected. "Damn it… who would've thought the day I got defeated would actually come," he rasped, spitting to the side and standing tall once more, still able to fight a few more rounds. "Don't think it's over, boy. You'll need more than that to take me down."
Suddenly, the elder was pulled forward, his neck caught in a vice-like grip. "No need to rush. I still have plenty of time. And even if I don't, I can just rewind time and repeat this until I'm satisfied."
The elder was stunned.
Before he could react, his body was slammed to the ground so hard that the earth cracked and shattered into pieces. Blood spurted from his mouth, but he still hadn't given up.
He was pushed even deeper, glitches spiraling around them like a protective shell—but in truth, it was the world itself trying to delete him, a futile effort that would never succeed.
Before he could do more damage to the elder, a powerful blow came at his face—stopping just inches away. He glanced at the owner of the hand. "Has no one ever told you… attacking from behind is the act of a coward?"
The figure was flung backward, crashing but managing to hold their ground, although clearly shaken—they had just used a power that would've seriously injured other heroes. Yet he had stopped it without doing anything.
Feeling this had gone on long enough, he looked up to the sky, where a massive storm cloud was forming—the largest ever seen on the planet. Winds roared, nearly blowing everyone away, and lightning struck repeatedly with thunderous noise that made the earth tremble.
It was as if the planet itself was preparing for the worst disaster in its history.
And it wasn't wrong—because moments later, a colossal bolt of lightning struck straight down toward the figure who had been standing nearby, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the blinding light and cover their ears from the deafening sound.
Many dropped to their knees, unable to withstand a sound louder than a bomb explosion, especially while feeling electricity surge through their bodies.
Fortunately, they were Dragonar—not humans.
Any ordinary human would've died.
When the lightning faded, the figure who had remained conscious was now standing motionless, eyes blank, before collapsing forward.
Amazingly, he still held on despite suffering severe burns.
He quickly regained consciousness, chest heaving and heart pounding, realizing he had just stood before death's door.
One more push, and he would've vanished from the world.
"W-who are you… and why did you attack us?" the elder asked weakly.
His body could no longer fight. Almost all his internal organs were damaged, and without treatment, he would certainly die.
"Because you asked for proof. So I gave it to you," he answered without a trace of guilt. "Now, can we finally talk peacefully? Or do you need another demonstration, like…"
As he snapped his fingers, a massive crack formed above them—an impossible one, because it was in the sky, not on any surface.
He had just cracked reality itself. And that made the elder realize—this was no human, nor any ordinary being.
But a monster.
The Dragonar citizens could only remain frozen in fear, watching the phenomenon etched into their memories forever. A deep trauma—some even fainted, unable to endure it.
The elder coughed and replied, "I'll listen."
"Why didn't you say so earlier? I had to go through all this trouble."
But the figure, who had just been inside the scorched crater, was suddenly right in front of him again—sharp claws halted in mid-air. A face full of hatred stared back at him, prompting the elder to scream:
"No! Asthar, stop!"