Amidst the battlefield of the Redwood Forest, where titan trees shuddered like toothpicks, the fighters and tanks charged frantically at the Titan Dragon!
"Haaaah! Taste my blade!" Lucas roared, soaring through the air. He swung his colossal greatsword with everything he had, striking the beast's thick ankles. Clang! Clang! "Damn it! Its scales are as hard as diamonds—not even a scratch! Is this thing even sturdier than the Fire Dragon we faced before?!"
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, the dragon's hind leg, the size of a house, delivered a devastating kick. Lucas was sent hurtling through the air, slamming into the base of a massive tree with a sickening thud. "Gack!"
"Don't let it move!" another young fighter shouted, lunging forward with massive magical chains. "Binding Chains!" He hurled the iron links, locking them around the Titan Dragon's neck. But with a single jerk of its head, the fighter was flung away, dragged into the Rushing River. "Aaaaaargh! I'm not letting go!" He clung to the chains even as the current tore at him.
BOOM!!! Maduro, an S-Rank adventurer, surged into the fray. His muscles bulged with raw power. "Move! I'll punch its lights out myself!" His giant right fist slammed into the dragon's jaw with bone-shattering force. The beast's head snapped back from the impact, and dragon blood sprayed across the clearing.
"Phase 2! Assassins... STRIKE!!!" the Hero Isel commanded, brandishing her sword.
Instantly, dozens of dark shadows blurred from the undergrowth at speeds exceeding light. The Rank A assassins lunged for the dragon's blind spots, driving poisoned daggers and shortswords into the gaps between its scales until they began to crack. But then... the Titan Dragon's eyes suddenly flared with a blinding white light!
"That move...!" Lucas, who had witnessed a dragon's self-destruction before, screamed at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, get back! It's going to explode!!!"
"It's too late!" Maduro hissed, gritting his teeth. He planted his feet and invoked his ultimate spell. "Manifest! Barrier of Truth!" A golden dome of light encased the core group of adventurers just in time.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A colossal explosion erupted from the dragon's body, the blast radius tearing through everything within three kilometers! The giant trees were incinerated and leveled in an instant. Adventurers outside the barrier were scattered like autumn leaves, thrown into the river in every direction. Even Maduro's barrier began to spider-web under the overwhelming pressure.
As the dust settled, the Titan Dragon beat its massive wings, sending the survivors tumbling. It soared into the sky above the Redwood Forest, its maw agape as it gathered a gargantuan fire—ready to melt the entire forest into ash.
"Phase 3! Archers, open fire! Aim for the wings!" Isel barked, using her blade to cleave through the gale-force winds whipped up by the dragon.
The archers who had survived the blast scrambled into formation. They drew their bows, notched with arrows imbued with light and ice magic, and unleashed a volley that rained upon the dragon's wings like machine-gun fire. Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!Amidst the inferno consuming the Redwood Forest, an S-Rank archer drew his steel greatbow until the string was taut to the breaking point. "Light Piercer!"
Whoosh! The arrow of pure radiance streaked through the air in a perfect line, driving deep into the Titan Dragon's eye with a thunderous crack. The colossal reptile let out a deafening shriek before plummeting from the sky, its massive weight shaking the very foundations of the forest as it hit the earth. But it refused to yield. The moment it struck the ground, it unhinged its maw, unleashing a concentrated beam of annihilating fire directly at the gathering of adventurers.
"Here it comes again! Maduro!" the Hero Isel screamed.
"I know, I know! Barrier of Truth!" Maduro bellowed, channeling his essence to manifest the golden dome once more. The torrential flames slammed into the barrier, splashing outward in every direction and reducing the surrounding ancient trees to white ash in a heartbeat.
"Phase 4! Mages... BEGIN!!!" Isel raised her blade, signaling the final gambit.
A dozen Rank A mages thrust their staves toward the heavens. "Magic Circles: Fire! Lightning! Ice!" A kaleidoscope of arcane spells rained down upon the dragon's limbs and wings like a relentless storm. Explosions rocked the battlefield, and the beast's thick, diamond-hard scales began to flake and peel away in jagged shards.
[At the Edge of the Redwood Forest]
"Hey, look! We have to go check it out! What is that noise?!" Ceylon hopped up and down with insatiable curiosity, tugging at Rooster's sleeve. "With tremors this big, it has to be the Titan Dragon! It's a legendary beast that's lived in this forest forever!"
Rooster picked his ear with a look of utter boredom. "I heard you, woman! Noise this loud isn't just some ants brawling... Huh? Did you say 'Titan Dragon'? A titan-level ant, is it? Hmph, sounds interesting enough. Maybe its meat will be firmer than the last dragon I ate."
[Back at the Heart of the Redwood Forest]
The Titan Dragon, battered and bleeding from the relentless assault, began to descend into a state of primal frenzy. Its eyes turned a stark, hollow white as the thermal energy within its body surged past its breaking point. "It's going to detonate again! Everyone, get down!!!"
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
Another cataclysmic explosion tore through the clearing. Maduro took the brunt of the blast head-on; however, his barrier began to spider-web with deep, ominous cracks. Hundreds of adventurers caught outside the shield were sent flying, crashing into the river or disappearing into the debris. Only Isel, the S-Rankers, and about ten Rank A survivors remained standing.
Isel wiped a smear of blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes burning with grim resolve. "It looks like my turn has finally come... Ultimate Skill: Reaper Form!" Deep blue and violet flames began to flicker around her. As the elemental blade glowed with a blinding azure light, Maduro muttered under his breath, "So, it's finally time."
[With Rooster]
"Sigh... I suppose I should go take a look. Before those ants wreck the forest any further," Rooster muttered.
"Wait, where are you going?!" Ceylon called out.
Rooster didn't answer. Instead, his body was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant, shimmering golden light. His form expanded and contracted with violent speed until he transformed into a tiny chicken. Yet, he radiated a divine aura so overwhelming that Ceylon had to shield her eyes. "Wh-what?! You turned into a golden chicken? Don't tell me you're actually the—!"
"Stubborn human... you know too much," Rooster said, his voice now a resonant, deep bass. He raised a small wing. "Sleep... One-Minute Memory Wipe!"
Ping! A flash of white light struck Ceylon's forehead. Her eyes went wide for a fraction of a second before she collapsed into a deep slumber. "Now then... how shall I deal with you, you lowly lizard? To think you dared to stand out more than me!"
Voom!
The divine chicken vanished, leaving nothing but a trail of fading golden dust. Rooster blurred through the forest at speeds the naked eye could never hope to track, heading straight for the epicenter of the explosion where Isel's party fought for their lives.
"Repent, you overgrown lizard..."
How do you imagine the dragon will react when it senses this tiny but terrifying divine presence approaching?