An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

“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.

been a vote of confidence in his abilities. But now, with two failed attempts at breaking the door, they were starting to lose

going to break

fists began to rain down like a storm. With

all his internal energy in a raw show of strength.

heavily and covered in sweat, Danny’s frustration reached a boiling point. How could he ever face his men again if he

all, and now he was out of options. It was clear-this bronze

up and swirled like tadpoles in every direction. What had been a jumbled mess of

door slowly opened and parted in the

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

crap! Mr. Gallagher, you’re

others lit up with excitement at

had been frowning moments ago, finally cracked a smile. It seemed Danny wasn’t entirely useless after all. It had taken some effort, but he’d gotten the job

be indestructible. Guess I

unexpected happened. A bolt of purple lightning shot out from behind the door and

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

stood frozen and was stunned by the sudden turn of

of burned flesh

turned grim as his

man dressed in tattered gray robes stepped out.