An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Faced with the black blade slicing toward him, Dustin stood firm. He didn’t flinch or evade. Instead, he simply extended two fingers and clamped down on it.

As soon as the blade met his fingers, it stopped and emitted a faint hum as it glimmered ominously in the light.

“Huh?” Jeremiah’s eyes widened as he watched Dustin catch the blade between his fingers.

With that strike, he had unleashed at least 80% of his strength, and the modified blade was sharp enough to cut through steel effortlessly. It was a force capable of slicing through anything- even a tank.

But Dustin had stopped the attack, and he had done so with just two fingers. Was he also some kind of genetically enhanced beast?

Jeremiah’s shock quickly turned to resolve as he tried to withdraw his blade. But before he could muster the strength, Dustin’s fingers twisted slightly, and with a sharp crack, the blade shattered.

Jeremiah frowned. Though he was surprised, he didn’t hesitate as he swung another blade toward Dustin’s head.

“Again?” Dustin repeated the move and extended his fingers to catch the descending blade. With a sharp twist, he snapped it in half.

Jeremiah staggered back a few steps from the force. He glanced down and saw both blades on his arms shattered. The weapons that could slice through steel now felt like paper in front of Dustin. It was a harsh blow to his confidence.

“Do you have any other tricks?” Dustin asked coolly.

spread his arms wide and

an eye. The blade

a severed arm, but if his head were

formidable and successful genetically enhanced soldiers, this was

eyes and was surprised by how quickly Jeremiah regenerated the broken blades on his

on!” Jeremiah charged forward

swung forward in unison. The sharp blades descended toward Dustin’s neck

scoffed upon seeing that and charged ahead. Just before the blades

shattered Jeremiah’s scales and created a bloodied, gaping wound the size of a fist. His

he flipped midair. He landed

frowned. His scales could withstand divine weapons and were

had broken through those defenses, creating a deep wound that exposed bone. His sheer power had far

would be on par with Fenley. While Dustin was a challenge, he hadn’t considered him a serious threat. But now, he realized Dustin was far more dangerous than Fenley, who was ranked fifth on

to hold back any longer. Though prolonged battles were his specialty, revealing more of his abilities would make the later rounds even more challenging. So,

took a deep breath

once-human face twisted into something beastly with a mouth full of sharp fangs that added to

aspect was the two red horns sprouting from his head and the lizard-like tail extending from his lower back. With horns on his head, a tail on his back, and a monstrous