Liam''s Perspective


    The crushing weight of Axel''s mountain hand pressed down on me like the fury of heaven itself. Every bone in my body screamed in protest. Blood poured from my nose, my ears, my eyes. The world around me faded to a dull crimson haze.


    Is this how it ends? Crushed like an insect?


    My lungs burned for air that wouldn''te. Through the pain, I felt something stir deep within my core. The jade pendant against my chest pulsed with warmth, growing hotter by the second.


    Not like this. Not today.


    Something primal awakened inside me. The Divine Dragon Power, dormant since myst major battle, surged through my veins. My blood boiled with newfound energy.


    The ground beneath me cracked and sank further, creating a small crater. Axel''sughter echoed from above.


    "Farewell, Liam Knight!" he called out, his voice dripping with satisfaction.


    I closed my eyes, diving deep into my inner reserves. The Divine Dragon Power responded, flooding every cell of my body. My muscles tensed. My bones strengthened. With a roar that tore from my throat, I pushed back.


    The pressure eased slightly. Just enough for me to take a shallow breath.


    "Impossible!" Axel''s voice cracked with disbelief.


    I opened my eyes, now glowing with golden light. The Divine Dragon Power continued to build, a tsunami of energy threatening to break free.


    "More power!" Axel shouted. The mountain hand pressed down harder.


    I felt ribs crack. The pain was blinding. Yet the Divine Dragon Power surged more intensely in response to the threat.


    Through gritted teeth, I channeled every ounce of my will into resistance. The crater deepened around me as the pressure became unbearable.


    Then there was a sickening crack. My consciousness wavered.


    The mountain hand suddenly lifted, the pressure easing. The sudden relief was almost as painful as the crushing force had been.


    "Go check if he''s dead," Axelmanded one of his subordinates who had been watching from a distance.


    Iy motionless in the crater, my body broken but my spirit undefeated. I heard footsteps approaching, crunching on debris.


    The subordinate peered over the edge of the crater. "I think he''s—"


    My golden hand shot upward, grabbing his throat. His eyes bulged in shock as my fingers tightened. With a quick twist, I snapped his neck and dropped his lifeless body into the crater beside me.


    "I''m still here," I called out, my voice hoarse but clear.


    I rose slowly from the depression, blood streaming down my face, my chest, my arms. But I was standing. My body glowed with a golden-purple light, the Divine Dragon Power fully awakened.


    Axel''s face contorted with shock. "How? That attack should have crushed youpletely!"


    I stepped out of the crater, my appearance transformed. My hair had lengthened slightly, floating around my head as if underwater. The whites of my eyes had turned ck, making the golden irises stand out like mes in darkness. My skin had taken on a faint golden sheen.


    "You''re not the only one with hidden powers," I said, my voice carrying an otherworldly echo.


    Axel''s shock quickly morphed into anger. "So what? You survived one attack. You''re still no match for a Half-step Martial Marquis!"


    He charged forward, his fist cocked back and glowing with dark energy. The punch he threw could have shattered steel.


    I didn''t dodge. I met his attack head-on, catching his fist in my palm.


    The impact sent shockwaves through the air, but I didn''t budge an inch.


    Axel''s eyes widened in disbelief. "This can''t be!"


    I tightened my grip on his fist. "Believe it."


    With a quick twist, I pulled him forward and drove my knee into his stomach. The blow sent him staggering back, gasping for air.


    "Lucky shot," he spat, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth.


    I advanced steadily, my footsteps leaving small craters in the ground. The Divine Dragon Power had transformed me into something more than human. Each breath I took seemed to make the air around me shimmer.


    Axel''s eyes narrowed. He tracedplex patterns in the air with his fingers, leaving trails of dark energy. "Path of the Mountain Guardian: Crushing Descent!"


    The air in front of him distorted, forming hundreds of dark inscriptions. They shot toward me like bullets, each carrying enough force to punch through concrete.


    I raised my right hand, channeling my energy. "Absolute Beginning Sacred Fist!"


    Golden light erupted from my fist as I punched forward. The shockwave collided with Axel''s attack, neutralizing itpletely.


    Axel grimaced. "You''re forcing me to take this seriously." [emailprotected]</a>. pre%sen^t%ed by MV|#L&E$MP|Y!R.


    He pulled out a ck talisman, crushing it in his palm. Dark energy swirled around him, forming a protective barrier. "Thousand Mechanisms Seal!"


    The barrier expanded outward in waves, each carryingplex inscriptions that shifted and changed. Where they touched the ground, the earth was instantly pulverized.


    "This technique has defeated Martial Marquises," Axel boasted. "You stand no chance!"


    I watched the approaching waves of destruction. Even with the Divine Dragon Power, I couldn''t match a Half-step Martial Marquis in raw power. I needed something more.


    The Purple Spirit Fire within me stirred, responding to my desperate need. An ancient technique surfaced in my mind, one I had discovered but never dared to use due to its cost.


    Now I had no choice.


    "Spiritual Fire Seal," I whispered.


    I gathered all my Purple Spirit Fire, everyst spark. The mes inside me roared as I shaped them into a single zing emblem. The process drained me rapidly, but the result was beyond anything I had created before.


    A purple emblem materialized between my hands, burning so intensely it seemed to distort the air around it. Complex patterns shifted across its surface, each symbol representing a different aspect of fire''s destructive power.


    Axel''s eyes widened at the sight. "What is that?"


    "My answer to your Thousand Mechanisms Seal," I said, struggling to contain the immense power.


    I thrust my hands forward,unching the Spiritual Fire Seal toward Axel''s advancing technique. The purple emblem flew like aet, trailing mes that scorched the very air.


    The two techniques collided with catastrophic force. For a split second, everything went silent. Then came the explosion.


    A blinding sh of light erupted from the point of impact. The shockwave that followed was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It felt like the world itself was being torn apart.


    I was thrown backward by the force, my body mming into what remained of a stone wall. Through the chaos, I caught a glimpse of Axel being simrly tossed away like a ragdoll.


    The explosion expanded, consuming everything in its path. Purple and ck energies warred with each other, creating a maelstrom of destructive force.


    I raised my arms to shield myself from the onught, but there was no escaping the power unleashed by our shing techniques.


    Thest thing I saw before being engulfed by the explosion was Axel''s face, twisted in a mixture of shock and fear.


    Then everything went white.