Their fists met again, knuckles colliding with a crack like a tree splitting in a storm.
The shockwave blasted the dust between them outward in a perfect ring.
Karl slid his lead foot forward and twisted at the hips—his next hook coming in low and tight. Lucian shifted his weight just enough for the punch to graze past his ribs, then his palm shot up, fingers curled, striking Karl under the chin with a sharp snap.
Karl’s head tilted back but his counter was instant—his other fist swung down in a hammer blow aimed at Lucian’s shoulder. Lucian pivoted inside it, the strike brushing his collar as he drove his elbow deep into Karl’s sternum.
The sound was like stone cracking.
Karl grunted, then laughed through it, grabbing Lucian by the wrist and yanking him forward. His knee came up for Lucian’s gut, but Lucian twisted mid-pull, planting his free hand on Karl’s shoulder and flipping over him.
Boots hit the ground—Lucian spun on the landing, heel cutting a sharp arc toward Karl’s head.
Karl caught the kick with one hand, veins in his forearm standing out as the ground beneath his feet spiderwebbed. "Not bad," he said, before hurling Lucian across the ruined street.
Lucian’s body flipped twice before his feet found the earth, boots skidding a long trench through the dirt. The baby dragon on his shoulder dug in with a little hiss, eyes flashing silver.
Karl didn’t give him a breath—he blurred again, a streak of white-gold closing the gap, fists already chambered.
Lucian’s right arm came up, deflecting the first punch wide. His left palm glowed green as it slammed against Karl’s ribs—Verdant Core energy surging out in a sudden burst.
The hit drove Karl sideways, aura rippling like water under a storm. He skidded, boots tearing up stone, before pushing forward again.
This time, his speed spiked—each footstep leaving a burst of white-gold that lingered in the air like embers. His blows came in flurries now, harder, sharper. Lucian blocked what he could, slipped under others, green light flashing at each counter-strike.
The sound was constant now—meaty thuds of impact, the sharp crack of bone meeting bone, the hiss of torn air.
Karl ducked under a straight punch and shoved his shoulder into Lucian’s chest, knocking him back a step. His hand clamped around Lucian’s collar and he swung him in a half-circle before hurling him toward the fractured remains of a building.
Lucian hit the wall boots-first, absorbing the force before springing off it like a bullet. His body was a green-tinted blur as he crashed into Karl, the impact lifting both of them from the ground for a second before they landed hard, shaking the street.
Karl’s laugh was low now, not mocking—just... alive. "You’re pushing me, Lucian."
Lucian didn’t answer—his knee came up into Karl’s side, then his head snapped forward into Karl’s face. Bone crunched. Karl stumbled back half a step, blood running from his nose, but his grin never wavered.
Eron watched, jaw tight. "That Karl kid is enjoying this."
Athena’s gaze didn’t move from the fight. "That’s the problem."
Karl rotated his neck slowly, vertebrae popping in a chain. His white-gold veins began to glow brighter, the lines crawling further up his neck, under his jaw, toward his temple. The air thickened.
Lucian could feel it—his instincts telling him something was about to shift.
Karl flexed his fingers, the glow under his skin pulsing with each movement. "You’ve earned it," he said simply.
The ground at his feet cracked as his aura flared, not outward, but upward—white-gold flames spiraling from his body, shredding the last of the dust around them. His voice rumbled deeper, resonating in his chest.
"You wanted the truth, X Rank to X Rank?"
The light around him intensified, blinding for a moment. When it dimmed, the sound hit first—a deep, resonant roar that shook the air like thunder rolling through a canyon.
White-gold scales erupted across his skin in a ripple, starting from his forearms and racing up his body. His shoulders broadened, spine curving, claws tearing from his fingers. Horns pushed from his skull in a slow, deliberate arc as his eyes turned to molten gold.
Wings burst outward from his back with a wet crack of bone and sinew, each one longer than the building behind him, lined in gleaming metallic feathers that ended in razor points.
His face stretched, jaw elongating, teeth sharpening into rows of ivory blades. The glow of his veins was swallowed under the radiant heat of his true form.
A dragon stood where Karl had been—every inch of him pulsing with X Rank power pushed to its peak. The air was heavy with it, pressing down on everyone who could still stand in the field.
Garos took an involuntary step back, muttering, "Gods..."
Athena’s fingers tightened at her side. "So that’s his true form..."
Eron’s expression was stone, but his eyes were locked on Karl with something colder than caution.
Karl’s voice came from the dragon’s throat now, deep and layered like two voices at once. "This," he said, "is the peak of Rank X."
He moved—no, he lunged—his massive claw sweeping through the space where Lucian stood a heartbeat before. The ground split under the strike, stone and dirt exploding upward.
Lucian darted along the fracture, green light spilling from his palms, his movements now sharper, more precise. He closed in at the dragon’s flank, driving a strike toward the scaled ribs—
The blow landed, but the scales held, barely cracking. Karl’s tail whipped around, catching Lucian mid-step and launching him into the air.
Lucian twisted mid-flight, righting himself just in time for Karl’s wings to snap once, sending him soaring upward with terrifying speed. The dragon’s massive jaws opened, white-gold fire building in his throat.
Lucian raised his hand, green energy spiraling into a condensed sphere. The beam of dragonfire tore through the air toward him—Lucian thrust the sphere forward, the two forces colliding in a roaring explosion that lit the sky.
The shockwave sent chunks of debris raining down, rattling the broken streets. Evelyn shielded herself with a wall of crystal; Vyn’s magic flared, bending falling rubble away from Reia as she finished sealing the last remnants of the gate.
In the air, Lucian broke through the fading fire, smoke curling off his arms where the heat had scorched him. He dropped low, boots slamming into Karl’s upper wing joint with enough force to make the dragon’s body lurch sideways.
Karl roared, the sound vibrating through the earth, and swung his claw in a massive backhand. Lucian blocked with crossed arms, green energy flaring, but the sheer force still sent him crashing through two ruined walls before he came to a stop.
He stepped out from the dust a second later, chest rising slow, eyes locked on Karl.
The dragon crouched low, wings spreading wide, each movement deliberate and coiled for another strike.
Lucian rolled his shoulders once. The baby dragon on him let out a low growl, silver eyes fixed on Karl’s towering form.
The field was silent except for the sound of Karl’s breath, each exhale trailing a shimmer of heat.
Then Karl surged forward again—peak Rank X unleashed, his true form blotting out the sky.