Various sounds of heavy breathing flooded the area.

Their origin was easy to find; they came from a group of humans. In addition to their breaths, their faces filled with terror, with their dilated pupils, evidenced their desperation in the situation they found themselves in.

In front of them stood a terrifying being. Its aura was powerful enough to paralyze some of them.

The creature, without mercy, quickly crushed all those unpleasant insects that dared invade its territory, in search of their lives. They hadn't been the first to try, nor would they be the last to face such a fate.

Unfortunately, the monster lamented.

"Hmpf. Humans are such petty creatures," thought the being as it observed the bodies scattered on the ground.

Some were carbonized by its powerful breath, leaving only ashes, while others were mutilated, their limbs and organs scattered in various places. Still, there were also several corpses piled on top of each other.

No matter how strong their equipment was, they couldn't withstand the power of that mythical creature, seen only in legends.

In Lyrica, monsters were quite common appearances, but this didn't apply to dragons. Ancient legends spoke of enormous winged beings, with scales resistant to magic and a breath capable of reducing mountains and cities to dust. However, for most people, this was nothing more than fanciful stories. After all, it had been over 10,000 years since they had encountered a dragon. That is, until now.

Driven by rumors of a place where they could find great treasures, a group of humans climbed the mountain. They were all as well-equipped as they could be, believing it would be enough. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It never crossed their minds that they would come face to face with such a creature. In the end, all their efforts to survive were futile, resulting in the current scene.

As it decided what to do with its unwanted guests, or what was left of them, the dragon noticed something strange. The blood that fell from the bodies began to gather in one place, forming a small sphere. While observing this unusual situation, it noticed a light behind it. Turning around, it came face to face with a kind of light orb floating, which had emerged from its collection of objects, ranging from gold to magical items it had acquired after countless battles against insects that wouldn't leave it alone.

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"What is this?! Another trick?" However, the idea that the humans could have activated some magic seemed impossible; after all, they were all dead. Without understanding the situation and since it didn't seem to be aiming at it, the monster remained still but alert for a few seconds.

That's when... The orb advanced towards the blood, merging with it in an instant. The fusion created a blue luminous explosion that filled the entire cave and blocked the dragon's senses.

When they finally returned, the creature noticed something different as it looked back at that spot. A humanoid figure had taken the place of the orb, remaining immobile. The figure wore something resembling a completely dark armor, covering its entire body, and what looked like an equally dark mask hid its face.

"...Another human? Tsk. Doesn't matter. Anyone invading my territory will die." After concluding its thought, the dragon quickly opened its mouth, where a small purple sphere formed and began to grow.

"I'll end this in a single attack. I'm already fed up for today. Regret your luck."

(Warning! Hostile unknown life form detected. Begin neutralization process).

After this command, the mysterious figure raised its left arm and pointed it at the dragon.

"Are you going to try to use magic? Hmpf! It's useless." The dragon mocked itself at the futile survival attempt of its new guest.

"However, don't think I'll let you attack fir..."

Its speech was interrupted by a new movement of the humanoid being.

"What?! Why did it lower its hand? Is it surrendering? But it's too late. There's no turning back for you. Your fate is already sealed..."

Again, the dragon interrupted its thought. Something was wrong. Its energy beam had dissipated some time ago, and it hadn't realized. How? Why? Its mind was confused. But the answer came quickly when it looked down at its body. In its stomach, there was a large hole.

When did this happen?! How??

There wasn't even any pain!

Could it have been when it lowered its hand? But no! That doesn't make sense! It can't have been so quick. I must have... Lost... Ev...

Unable to reason due to the injury, the dragon finally fell unconscious to the ground.

(Target neutralized).