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.

Jeremiah spread his arms wide and

the blink of an eye. The blade was an extension of him, and his body

a severed arm, but if his head were completely

and successful genetically enhanced

Jeremiah regenerated the broken blades on

it on!” Jeremiah

descended toward Dustin’s

before the

a bloodied, gaping wound the size of a fist. His body flew back over

to the ground, he flipped midair. He landed firmly on his feet, and it left

chest and frowned. His scales could

deep wound that exposed bone. His sheer

a serious threat. But now, he realized Dustin was far more

his specialty, revealing more of his abilities would make the later rounds even more challenging. So,

took a deep breath and activated

bones expanding as his black scales gradually turned red. His once-human face twisted into something beastly

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