Only I Awaken The Forbidden SSS-Rank Dragons

Then, just as the monstrous creature inched closer, a deep, guttural roar erupted from the abomination's throat, like the groan of a collapsing mountain.

Aleron's expression changed drastically. The only thought flashing through his mind was—

'I'm dead!'

He turned nervously to look at Ashkar, who was in the midst of breaking through to Level Two.

But from the look of it, Ashkar wouldn't step into the Origin Apprentice Realm anytime soon.

Aleron clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, trying to calm the surge of panic threatening to overwhelm him.

His eyes scanned the rooftop desperately, seeking anything that could be used as a weapon.

But apart from the metal rod he'd found earlier, there was nothing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The heavy, thunderous footsteps of the abomination echoed as it strode forward.

The very ground trembled under its weight.

Within a few strides, the monster reached Aleron.

ROARRRRRRRR!

The creature let out a deafening roar that shook the air itself. Its decaying, bloated flesh rippled as it raised a massive hand and swatted toward Aleron like one would an insect.

'Shit!' Aleron cursed, but he didn't freeze.

His eyes flared open, igniting with crimson light. The black pupil of his eyes disappeared, replaced by fierce, fiery red slits.

"Get back!" he shouted.

The temperature spiked instantly. The very air rippled with heat, distorting the rooftop around him.

But the oncoming palm showed no sign of slowing.

It tore through the searing heat as though it didn't exist.

In a blink, the abomination's hand slammed against the rooftop with a thunderous impact.

Aleron ducked to the side at the last possible second, rolling away. 

Fortunately, the trajectory of the palm was far from Ashkar's position. He didn't have to worry about the dragon for now.

Purposefully drawing the creature's attention, Aleron darted away from Ashkar, dodging successive strikes.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Chunks of concrete exploded around him as the abomination attacked with relentless fury. 

Shards flew through the air like knives, but Aleron was quick and agile, barely staying ahead of the monster's attacks...

'If my strength hadn't increased, I would've been dead ten times over by now…'

As he evaded strike after strike, he began to realize just how far he'd come since arriving in this strange world. 

The speed, the power coursing through his limbs… It was on a different level entirely.

A smirk threatened to rise on his lips, but he suppressed it. 

Now's not the time to feel proud, he reminded himself, grimacing. His body still ached from earlier injuries.

Then, the abomination suddenly halted its attacks.

It stood still, glaring down at Aleron with eyes devoid of light, yet filled with raw, primal intent.

It was as though it had realized that brute force alone wouldn't be enough.

ROARRRRRRRR...

A low, vibrating growl reverberated from the creature's throat, vibrating through the building, the air, and Aleron's very bones.

He clutched his ears instinctively, but it was too late.

His eardrums rang violently, and a trickle of blood ran down the side of his face. 

He coughed out a mouthful of blood as his vision blurred.

The color drained from his face.

'This is bad!'

Even as he reeled from the roar, another, more sinister sound echoed around him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The same heavy footsteps, several sets of them, echoed through the surroundings.

'It summoned others?' Aleron thought, horror dawning on his face.

He quickly glanced around. 

Emerging from the distance, climbing rooftops, and smashing through buildings, more than two new figures stepped into view, all similar in appearance to the monstrous abomination before him. 

Their eyes glowed with the same eerie pitch-black light, and they radiated the same suffocating pressure.

Aleron's heart raced.

He was completely doomed.

He had barely survived against one abomination and now there were more. 

It was only a matter of time before his body gave in.

He looked toward Ashkar and noticed that there were still no signs of the breakthrough ending.

Aleron's thoughts raced like a storm. Gritting his teeth, he made a reckless decision.

"Hey, abomination!" he shouted. "Come and fucking get me!"

He raised his middle fingers at the creature before bolting toward the edge of the rooftop.

The abomination looked as though it understood the insult. 

With another roar, it abandoned the thought of targeting Ashkar and pursued him with thunderous steps.

Aleron reached the edge of the towering building and leapt.

There was no hesitation.

Below, a swarm of over a hundred Tier 1 abominations were present, but Aleron didn't care.

Since his power had grown, these lower-tier monsters couldn't hurt him easily anymore.

Besides, he had timed his descent perfectly.

Using his Infernal Eyes, he had leapt in the direction of those with the weakest auras.

As he fell, the wind howled in his ears, and the world spun around him. 

He hit the ground hard, his knees buckled, and his bones strained, but he absorbed the impact.

Still, it hurt, and his legs throbbed with pain, which also shot up his back.

Without wasting a second, he lunged toward the nearest abomination, gripping the rod tightly.

He struck with all the force of his fall behind the blow.

The impact was brutal, bone-cracking, and skull-splitting. The creature's body crumpled, but it still twitched.

Aleron ignored his own pain, his arms had gone numb, and he felt a few fractures tear through muscle and bone. 

Blood stained his tattered shirt, but he held on.

With a low growl, he twisted the rod violently, ripping through the abomination's torso and causing its insides to spill out in a grotesque wave.

But it wasn't enough.

Unless the head was completely destroyed, abominations couldn't die.

Aleron knew that.

He used the creature's collapsing body to launch into a flip and landed on his feet, dodging two more strikes aimed at him from behind.

Surrounded now, Aleron moved fast and every one of his movements was calculated.

His movements were sharp, his eyes darting from target to target. 

Despite their numbers, the creatures' sheer size gave him room to maneuver.

He weaved between them, sliding under the arms of some while leaping over the shoulders of some others.

From the corner of his eye, he kept track of the four Tier 2 abominations that had begun descending.

'They won't reach me anytime soon,' he thought, calculating.

The Tier 1 crowd was dense. The Tier 2 abominations would have to push through them to get to him.

But Aleron had miscalculated.

As he charged toward another Tier 1 abomination, preparing to leap off its back to the next target, he felt the air change.

Something was wrong.

'What is this? Why does it feel so heavy…?'

He turned around quickly and froze.

The abomination before him now radiated pressure far beyond what it had before.

'No... this is Tier 2 pressure!' Aleron's face went pale.

He had scanned this creature earlier using the infernal eyes. Its aura had been weak, almost barely noticeable; that was why he chose it.

But now…

ROARRRRRRRRRR!!!

There was no time to react.

The creature moved with shocking speed, faster than any of the others.

Its hand slapped him before he could even react.

Bang!

Aleron's body flew like a ragdoll, slamming into the side of a massive building. 

He tumbled down, crashing through walls before finally hitting the ground.

His body was bruised, bloodied, and battered.

His limbs twitched as he struggled to rise to his feet

He barely managed to get up, only to see a massive palm coming down at him again.

'Shit!'

The strike sent him crashing into a nearby vehicle, causing the metal to crumple with a dent. 

Glass shattered as pain exploded in his chest. Aleron felt his ribs crack apart, and even breathing became difficult. 

His chest tightened, and each breath burned like fire. 

The pain was excruciating, and the threat of death felt closer than ever. 

He understood it clearly that receiving that palm strike one more time would definitely lead to his death.

But there was nothing Aleron could do.

His body was sluggish and his muscles screamed in pain. 

He raised his head weakly to look at the large palm approaching him again, his black hair cascading over his face, soaked in blood. 

His vision turned blurry as blood dripped down from his hair, mixing with the dirt on his face.

The palm grew closer and as it did it blocked the sky, casting a dark shadow over him.

Soon, the world around him faded.

The sight of the gigantic palm reaching towards him vanished, and instead, images of his life began flashing through his mind. 

His body trembled and his mind screamed for him to run away from the strike but his limbs wouldn't move no matter how much he struggled.

His heartbeat slowed, and his blood felt cold.

His lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

'I'm dead without a doubt.'

That was Aleron's last thought as the massive palm cracked through the air and reached him.