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.

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

going to break this door

still hadn’t moved, Danny’s rage boiled over, and his fists began

internal energy in a raw show of

How could he ever face his men again if he couldn’t

had used every trick in the book. He had given it his all, and now he was out of options. It was clear-this bronze door couldn’t be broken through

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

loud rumble, the heavy bronze door slowly opened and parted

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

Mr. Gallagher,

up with excitement at the

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

supposed to be indestructible. Guess I proved

A bolt of purple lightning shot out from behind the door and struck his

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

stood frozen and was stunned

chest was a gruesome mess of burned flesh and blood, and he twitched uncontrollably on the ground as if a

turned grim as his sharp gaze swept

door finally opened, an elderly man dressed in tattered gray robes stepped out. His disheveled hair and gaunt, skeletal frame gave him the look of