An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

“Open up!” Danny roared as he slammed his fist into the bronze door.

A surge of internal energy exploded from his body.

The door shook with a deafening boom, and dust scattered, but nothing unusual happened. The symbols on its surface flickered briefly before fading.

“Hmm?” Danny froze as he stared at the undamaged door in disbelief.

With his natural strength and the power his techniques granted him, he had expected the bronze door to shatter easily. But what he saw before him completely defied his expectations.

The murmurs behind him only added to his unease. He had boasted so confidently about smashing the door open, yet it hadn’t budged an inch. His face flushed with embarrassment.

“I don’t believe it!” Danny took a deep breath and channeled all his internal energy into his fists before striking the bronze door again.

Another loud crash echoed as the bronze door trembled, and the dust fell off. The mysterious symbols on the door glowed once more. Like before, the door remained intact, but his fist was numb from the impact.

Marcell frowned at the sight. He had expected Danny to be a formidable ally, but now it seemed he couldn’t even break a door.

“What’s wrong with Mr. Gallagher? Did he forget to eat? His punch was weak.”

“They say Danny’s got godlike strength, but from what I’m seeing, it doesn’t look so impressive.”

The two teams started murmuring among themselves and questioned Danny’s abilities. In their line of work, strength was everything.

confidence in his abilities. But now, with two failed attempts at breaking the door,

it! I’m going to break this

his fists began to rain down like a storm. With every punch, the door’s symbols would

internal energy in a raw show of strength. But no

Danny’s frustration reached a boiling point. How could he ever face his

He had given it his all, and now he was out of

on it lit up and swirled like tadpoles in every direction. What had been a jumbled mess of symbols quickly rearranged itself

rumble, the heavy bronze door slowly opened and

a moment, then broke into a wide grin. Turning to the group behind him, he shouted, “It’s open! The door’s

crap! Mr. Gallagher, you’re

up with excitement

finally cracked a smile. It seemed Danny wasn’t entirely useless after all. It had taken some effort, but he’d

this door was supposed to be indestructible. Guess I proved them wrong, didn’t I?”

something unexpected happened. A bolt of purple lightning

was flung backward as if hit by a freight train. He tumbled over ten yards before slamming

stunned by

Danny, they saw his body scorched black. His chest was a gruesome mess of burned flesh and blood, and he twitched uncontrollably on the ground as if a bolt of

expression turned grim as his sharp gaze