Chapter 394: The fight
Host, should the system assess the opponent’s stats?]
The system asked as Luke casually descended the stairs, his eyes fixed on his opponent.
The man had risen to his full height, towering nearly eight feet tall, almost two feet above Luke. His shoulders were broad, his frame packed with dense muscle beneath the black shroud draped around his body.
His face was almost completely covered in coarse hair, save for a pair of golden eyes and a rugged jaw. Whatever had put him in such a foul mood, Luke had no interest in asking.
Luke briefly glanced at the owl-faced and as he thought the resignation on the older one’s face told him that he had given up on this case already. Well, not like Luke could blame him.
He was a mere human going against the apex predator. The one standing at the lowest stair facing the one standing at top.
But Luke never gave importance to such details.
He simply stopped a few steps away and asked, "Do you wait for her to commence the battle?"
The man’s lips curled into a snarl.
"Your presence disgusts me. But more than that, you bring dishonor to my lady simply by standing here."
His fist tightened.
With a sharp jerk, he tore the shroud from his body, revealing his massive, naked torso. The only thing covering him was a strip of fabric wrapped around his hips.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The air seemed to thicken as magic surged around the dragon in heavy waves. It pressed against the surroundings like an invisible weight, carrying the raw hostility radiating from his body.
Luke merely grinned.
He turned his head slightly, glancing over his shoulder toward Agatha.
"You sure he’s..." He tilted his head.
A fist tore through the space where his face had been.
Luke leaned back just enough for the punch to sail past his ear before calmly finishing, "...the right choice?"
Agatha narrowed her eyes.
Then her lips curved upward.
That reaction speed had caught her attention.
’He is going to be amusing.’
She had already formed her judgment of how the battle would unfold. Even so, she remained confident that the final outcome would favor her side.
"Raaaah!"
The dragon yanked his fist back and immediately reached for Luke’s head.
Luke jumped.
The massive hand closed on empty air beneath him.
The moment Luke began descending, the dragon was already moving. He charged toward the spot where Luke was about to land, his instincts reacting faster than most could perceive.
Luke faintly smirked.
He landed lightly on the tips of his toes and immediately sprang away, dodging another punch with effortless precision.
The dragon did not pause.
To ordinary eyes, he had become little more than a blur. Even Jorma, however, could follow every movement, and what he saw left him stunned.
Luke landed and tilted his head slightly to the left.
Another punch missed by inches.
A kick followed immediately after, but Luke simply raised his left knee and blocked it.
The impact sent a dull boom through the hall.
Neither side gave ground.
The dragon growled in frustration.
That frustration only deepened when Luke casually slipped both hands into his pockets.
"I am trying to impress your Queen here, so make me look cool, okay?"
The dragon’s golden eyes widened.
Then he roared.
The sound shook the entire courtroom.
Dust drifted from the ceiling as the dragon launched himself forward, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks. Every strike carried enough force to shatter bone and crush the body of the puny human standing before him.
But Luke was already somewhere beyond the realm of ordinary speed.
His domain had reached an entirely different level.
He could sense intent itself.
Every attack came with the unmistakable intent to kill, and that intent reached him before the attacks did. His body began responding almost on its own, moving before his conscious mind had even finished processing what was happening.
A punch passed beside his cheek.
A kick swept beneath his feet.
A fist grazed his shoulder.
Luke moved through the storm as though he had already seen every attack before it came.
The shockwaves generated by their movements left Jorma staring in disbelief.
The same human who had struggled to outrun the border security was now dominating an adult dragon in a contest of speed.
’Sure, he is in his weaker form... but still...’
Jorma could only watch.
The battle was heading toward a conclusion he had never anticipated.
Then the dragon suddenly pulled back.
"GET BURNT!"
His hand thrust forward.
A torrent of flames erupted from his palm and surged toward Luke.
Luke smirked.
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, he did nothing.
He simply focused.
"Huh?"
The dragon’s expression changed.
The flames continued pouring from his hand, growing wilder and more ferocious as they rushed toward Luke.
Yet they never touched him.
The fire stopped mere inches from Luke’s body.
Then it scattered.
The flames twisted violently around an invisible boundary, dispersing to either side as though an unseen barrier stood between them.
Luke remained completely still.
The dragon’s expression darkened.
He raised his other hand.
More flames erupted.
This time, the torrent was so enormous that it swallowed the entire battlefield in blazing light. The surrounding hall vanished behind the inferno, its walls and pillars reduced to silhouettes against the overwhelming brightness.
Agatha’s eyes widened.
Excitement flickered within them.
Even through the blinding flames, her gaze pierced the brightness.
She could see him.
Luke was stretching his neck.
Then his arms.
As though he were merely preparing himself before a workout.
He wasn’t even bothered.
The greatest pride of a dragon, his flames, were being rendered completely useless.
’He is a monster in human skin.’
Agatha’s gaze darkened with fascination as she rubbed her thighs, anticipation tightening through her body.
Then the flames finally began to subside.
The dragon lowered his hands.
He had realized.
They weren’t working.
Smoke and heat filled the battlefield.
For a brief moment, nothing could be seen through the haze.
Then Luke moved.
A blur flashed through the smoke.
His first strike landed.
DOOOOOM!
The dragon raised his arm just in time.
The blow crashed directly into his guard.
The force drove his feet into the floor.
Crumble.
The stone beneath him fractured.
Cracks spread outward in every direction, branching across the floor like a spiderweb.
The dragon’s arm trembled violently.
Yet he held.
His teeth clenched as he endured the impact through sheer physical strength.
Luke tilted his head.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"You thought the real battle would start now, right?"
The dragon frowned.
Luke raised his other hand.
His middle finger pressed against his thumb.
The dragon’s eyes narrowed.
"What..."
His words died.
Luke snapped his fingers.
Ting.
The sound itself was almost insignificant.
The aftermath was anything but.
A shockwave exploded outward, racing through the entire courtroom.
The air rippled.
The floor groaned.
The surrounding walls trembled beneath the sudden force.
And then came the spectacle that Agatha would surely remember for the rest of her life.
....
Meanwhile, what Luke completely failed to notice was a progressing meter at the corner of his eyes.
[1%...2%...3%...]
Something was changing drastically within him.
~~~
A/N:- Yeah...as you guessed...