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.

the Hall of Gods had been a vote of confidence in his abilities. But now, with two failed attempts at

it! I’m going to break

boiled over, and his fists began to rain

and unleashed all his internal energy in a raw show of strength. But no matter how hard he

sweat, Danny’s frustration reached a boiling point. How could

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

up, the door suddenly trembled. The mysterious symbols on it lit up and swirled like tadpoles in every direction. What had been a jumbled mess of symbols quickly rearranged itself into a clear image of

bronze door slowly opened and parted

to the group behind him, he shouted, “It’s open! The

crap! Mr. Gallagher,

with excitement at the

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

be indestructible. Guess I proved them wrong, didn’t I?” Danny laughed

bolt of purple lightning shot out from behind the door and

Danny was flung backward as if hit by a freight train. He tumbled over ten yards before slamming to the ground. Even then, he skidded a few more feet

was stunned by the sudden

gruesome mess of burned flesh and

as his sharp gaze swept toward

door finally opened, an elderly man dressed in tattered gray robes stepped out. His disheveled hair and gaunt, skeletal