Smoke… Screams… The stench of blood and ash.
Alpha flew overhead, his flight heavy and deliberate.
He landed atop a shattered house overlooking the city. Gazing ahead, he spoke calmly:
"This isn't a battle… it's a massacre."
The cries of women, the sobs of children, and bodies filling the alleys.
From afar, a guild member shouted,
"Fall back! They're surrounding us!"
Alpha stood firm on the broken rooftop in the heart of the city, his wings folded, eyes locked onto the dark sky.
The monsters had stopped moving — as if his mere presence had unsettled them.
One of the mercenaries muttered:
"He's with us… right?"
The king replied with unwavering confidence:
"He's our ally now. Do not fear, as long as we don't betray him."
Suddenly, Alpha's voice echoed across the ruins — deep and thunderous:
"Come out… Don't think I can't see you. Go on, show yourself, coward."
The sky began to tremble. The vortex above the capital slowly started to shrink…
The monsters suddenly recoiled, taking cautious steps backward. Fear clouded their eyes. They twisted in place, as if fleeing from something far greater.
They fell back, scattering just slightly—
Then from the shadows, a strange creature emerged. Unlike the others. Its sleek, black skin gleamed. Its eyes burned with malice.
It spoke:
"I thought I was hidden from you… How did you find me?"
Everything froze. The air became dense with tension.
Alpha answered in a clear, cold voice:
"Your scent. No one can hide that level of filth."
The soldiers and mercenaries watched silently. The monsters stopped advancing—some even began slowly retreating.
The king gave an order:
"Do not interfere. This fight is not yours."
Alpha moved without warning. His wings flared, and he leapt from the rooftop. Landing before the creature, he raised his claws.
He struck the ground hard. Stones shattered, earth cracked. The creature jumped back.
Alpha said:
"I won't repeat myself. If you don't vanish now, I'll crush you."
The monster growled:
"I came to claim this city. I won't leave."
Alpha lunged. His claws slashed. The creature blocked the strike but staggered back.
Another blow — this time harder. The monster flew into the air, slammed into a wall.
It fell, gasping.
Alpha stood amidst the rubble. He looked skyward, then slowly folded his wings. His body began to shrink. Scales dissolved. The rumble of his voice faded. He shifted into his human form.
The transformation was complete.
He stood on the ruins, bare-chested, a black dragon tattoo covering the left side of his torso and trailing down his arm. His golden eyes glowed steadily. He raised his right hand, combed back his hair, and spoke softly:
"Now I can fight in comfort."
He turned toward the monsters. His gaze was unwavering. His steps were slow.
In a low voice, as he approached, he asked:
"Isn't that right?"
In an instant, the black monster lunged at him. A blur of motion — claws aimed straight at Alpha's heart.
But before they could reach…
The monster exploded.
It wasn't a normal blast.
Alpha had focused pressure into a single point within the monster's body. The force didn't ripple outward — it drove inward.
Energy pierced through the skin, entered nerves and bones. Tissues tore from the inside. The pressure annihilated everything in its path.
The heart stopped. Blood vaporized. The skull fractured and dissolved.
To the onlookers, it was over in a blink.
But for the monster, that instant was eternal — endless agony ripping through it before it collapsed into dust.
Its remains scattered at Alpha's feet, who hadn't taken a single step.
He lowered his hand and, without changing his tone, said:
"Next."
Silence reigned.
The soldiers were frozen in place, eyes wide, breath held. One of them whispered:
"W… What was that?"
Even the other monsters stepped back. They didn't growl. They didn't charge. They simply watched, in silence — as if they finally understood they were facing something beyond them.
Alpha ignored them. His gaze drifted to the ground.
He spotted a sword, half-buried in dust and rubble. Stained with blood and mud. A regular human sword — unbalanced, its grip worn, its blade dull.
He calmly walked toward it, knelt down, and picked it up with his left hand.
He raised it to eye level, studied it for a moment, then said:
"How pathetic…"
Then he twirled the sword lightly in his hand, testing its weight.
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he muttered under his breath:
"…But a lousy sword is enough—if you know how to kill."
He lifted his head toward the monsters still watching him. His grip on the sword tightened.
With unwavering confidence, he said:
"Well then… let's continue."
None of the monsters dared to approach.
They remained rooted in place, staring at him—bodies tense, eyes shifting nervously.
Alpha smirked mockingly and said:
"If you won't come to me… then I'll come to you."
He took a slow step forward.
The monsters recoiled, stepping back.
He paused, then took a second step—slower than the first.
Again, the monsters retreated.
Alpha came to a full stop. He raised the sword slightly and said in a clear voice:
"Are you really going to keep playing this childish game?"
He lifted his left eyebrow, eyes locked on the creatures.
"Advance, retreat. Advance, retreat… This isn't a fight."
Then, he lowered the blade a bit and added:
"Fine. I'll force you to fight—whether you like it or not."
Alpha took a step forward, and before his foot even touched the ground—he vanished.
By the time it did, he was already in the center of the horde.
In a flash, he raised the sword at one of them, and in less than a second, severed its head.
The body dropped silently to the ground.
The monsters shuddered.
And then… they broke.
They ran in a panic, stumbling over each other, trampling, screaming in strange, broken voices.
There was no will to fight left—only the instinct to flee.
Alpha didn't move. He simply watched them and said:
"Weak."