Lost in thought, I almost miss Caesar’s wave. His bodyguards swarm me again, their shields glowing softly. A forcefield snaps into existence around me. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, a viscous liquid oozes into the enclosure, quickly hardening around my feet like cement.

“Your… durability…” Caesar’s voice echoes from behind the safety of his guards. “Is of little consequence. I will break you eventually. It simply means I get more time to enjoy the process.”

My focus snaps back to the present. Trapped in this forcefield cage, I casually flick the adamantine bars of the scales off my arm like matchsticks. My hair flares with iridescent light, brushing the gold bars in my hand as it loses its orangey sheen.

The dense aura I felt before surges back, and time slows to a crawl around me. With my iridescent hair now fully under my control, I calmly formulated a plan. Sea serpent form is out; I need something bigger, more destructive, and, crucially, mobile on land. Rexy’s form might work, but since I didn’t get much of her memories, controlling a four-legged body naturally is… challenging, to put it mildly.

But then, inspiration strikes. A flashback to the anime of my past life.

Of course! Why didn’t I think of this before?

I hold out my palm, and Rexy clambers onto it. “We are going to level this mansion,” I murmur to her under my breath, undoing her leash. “But keep Caesar alive.”

She begins to grow, the process noticeably slower within my aura. As she expands, I visualize a suit of armor engulfing her entire body. This isn’t about just protecting her; it’s about maximizing the ensuing chaos.

Controlling my hair like extra limbs, my thoughts now carry real weight. A simple decision sets off a chain reaction. Unseen energy flows along each strand, animating them.

My hair twists and twirls, wrapping around Rexy as she grows, expanding, pushing against the glowing shields. Forcing them apart.

Boom!

An explosive force levels the top floor of the mansion. Under the dark, cloudy sky, a cloud of dust and debris billows out, briefly obscuring a gigantic shadowy figure.

If this were an anime, epic BGM would definitely be playing right now…

The massive dinosaur-lizard now stands fully encased in iridescent scale armor. Razor-sharp claws protrude from her front limbs. Rexy is armed to the teeth—or rather, to the tongue!

I sit comfortably on Rexy’s back, looking down at Caesar, whose eyes are wide with terror. His bodyguards are scattered across what’s left of the mansion’s upper floor, which has now become its roof.

“No… no, this can’t be! You… you’re not real! An illusion!” Caesar repeats, his voice cracking, while pressing a button on his arm.

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Instantly, Caesar is covered by a swarm of nanobots, which morph into a thick mech suit, arming him from head to toe. “Enough! All the likes of you shou…”

“Wreck him,” I interrupt Caesar’s cliché remarks.

Rexy instantly shoots out her long tongue, wraps it around Caesar’s ankles, and smashes him on the floor, then on another part of the floor, then back to this floor part, then back to the other part…

Caesar lies wasted in the rubble of the smashed floors, eyes completely blank.

Rexy stares down at Caesar with a dismissive glance, as if saying, “Puny creature…”

“Bring him to me, please,” I said, pointing at Caesar.

Rexy hoists him up to me by the ankle. Hanging upside down, he’s already lost consciousness from all the smashing, but he’s alive. Caesar’s nanobot mech suit is slowly regenerating. I rip the nanobot device from his arm and grab him by the collar.

“Fire! Fire!” Screams erupt from below, and dozens of beams of red light converge on us.

“Arrgr?” Rexy gives me a confused look, tilting her massive head. The energy beams dissipate harmlessly against her iridescent armor.

“Don’t worry, these scales will protect you from anything,” I say, patting Rexy on the head. “Now, lay waste to this place.”

If anything does manage to get through, though I highly doubt it. I’ll perish with you… we can still be besties in the afterlife.

Rexy bounces with excitement, ready for some destruction. The bodyguards below watch in abject terror.

“Fire the rail guns!” someone yells. A blinding flash of electrical force slams into Rexy, forcing us to stumble sideways. A dozen more shots follow, each one creating a small explosion against her armor.

I glance down at the group still clutching Caesar like a discarded doll. “If you don’t care about what happens to him, feel free to do whatever you want!” I shout.

“WAIT! Hold the fire!” one of the bodyguards cries out. “Release Master Caesar! We can discuss any demands you have!”

I ignore him, focusing on the rampage. It’s a great way to let off some steam. Rexy seems to agree, demolishing everything in sight. During the chaos, she even snags a couple more adamantine bars and tosses them up to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Lawrence scrambling into a sleek black vehicle, attempting a hasty getaway. A wall of guards provides cover for his retreat. Can’t have that. If word gets out too fast, I won’t have the chance to save Bailey.

“Rexy, go get him!” I direct. She barrels through the remaining guards’ shields as if they were made of tissue paper. One swift swipe of her claw transforms Lawrence’s sleek getaway car into a mangled mess of scrap metal, sending him tumbling out onto the lawn.

"N-no! Wait! I… I didn't mean it! I'll… I'll give you anything!” he whimpers, scrambling backward on his hands and feet. I ignore his pleas, my attention shifting back to the bodyguards, who are now frantically trying to raise more shields.

Rexy’s tail cracks through the air, shattering the newly erected shields like cheap ceramics. The bodyguards are sent tumbling across the lawn in a disorganized heap.

We charge the mansion wall once more, bursting through one side and out the other. The building groans, shudders, and then implodes in a cloud of dust and debris.

Standing atop the rubble, I survey the scene of utter devastation. Then, I stare at Caesar. His face is completely drained of color, his eyes wide and vacant.

So this is what raw power feels like. Acting without a single consequence to consider. It’s… exhilarating.

A wave of euphoria washes over me, but a quick reminder of my own promise, specifically the ones about not becoming a power-mad maniac, snaps me back to a more reasonable state. It’s a trick I picked up in my past life, mostly for keeping my temper in check. Though, admittedly, this is a slightly more extreme application.