An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Leander was sent flying, and for a heartbeat, everyone in the yard stood in stunned silence. Weapons slipped from soldiers’ hands and clattered to the ground, and their eyes widened in terror. Many instinctively stepped back and bumped against the wooden fence, but no one dared look down.

Nathaniel’s sword gave a sharp, buzzing tremor. He tightened his grip on the hilt, holding it so hard that the red marks of his fingertips were left on the scabbard.

The child’s earlier punch had been nothing but a blur. The small, chubby fist seemed harmless, yet when it struck Leander’s chest, it landed like a meteor.

Nathaniel saw Leander’s black armor cave in. He heard the sharp crack of ribs breaking, the grinding of bone scraping against bone.

“Captain Grimsby…”

A guard trembled as he tried to step forward and help Leander, but he froze after only two steps.

Leander, curled up beneath the fence, choked as black blood bubbled from his throat. Each breath was more ragged than the last, and his sunken chest writhed as if something were crawling beneath the skin.

The most terrifying part was his eyes. They bulged as though ready to pop out from their sockets, but his eyes were still fixed on the child on the swing. Even in death, his pupils were frozen in fear.

The child pumped his legs as the swing rose to its peak. His short jacket lifted in the wind, showing his chubby arm with soft rolls.

of his eyes reflected the morning glories on the wooden fence.

like a punch to the gut. Nathaniel broke out in a cold sweat. His battle robe clung to his

made a terrible mistake. On this island where immortals and demons were indistinguishable, how could a child wandering

casual punch contained earth-shaking power. It was probably more terrifying than the Dreadkraken they’d

knee. He was unable to hide the tremor in his voice. “We’re just ordinary people who wandered

behind him snapped out of their daze and dropped to their knees. The

couldn’t even withstand a single punch from this child, what kind of being were

softly. The child seemed oblivious to Nathaniel’s apology, or perhaps simply didn’t

as it was, the sound carried a lulling cadence, and more than

gritted his teeth and

saw the child suddenly raise his small hand and

within the grove. It

chest. He was thrown backward and collided with the soldiers

as everyone was swept away like dust

tree trunks, splitting their heads open instantly. Others tripped

and his vision went black. He struggled to lift his