"You morons think you can survive against semi-dragons? You're just mere humans!" snarled the largest of the semi-dragons, his eyes burning with arrogance as he cracked his knuckles. His comrades roared in approval, their reptilian features gleaming under the harsh sunlight. The marketplace around them had become eerily silent, the onlookers tense with anticipation of the violence that was about to unfold.
Hydra, Xenon, and Phoenix stood unfazed, their expressions calm, unbothered by the growing aggression from their opponents. The leader of the semi-dragons clenched his fists tighter, flames igniting from his knuckles. The fire twisted around his arm, growing brighter and hotter as he prepared to strike.
"You're not going to love this one," he growled, his fiery fist aimed squarely at Hydra's face.
But as he locked eyes with Hydra, everything changed.
Suddenly, the semi-dragon's confidence wavered. Hydra's eyes—cold, gleaming, and ancient—shifted into something far more terrifying. The semi-dragon didn't see a young human standing in front of him anymore. No. What he saw was the true form of Hydra—the terrifying three-headed serpent. Black scales shimmered under an eerie purple glow, ancient letters etched into the serpent's body radiating dark energy. His fangs, dripping with deadly venom, seemed poised to strike at any moment. But it was the eyes—the eyes that bore through the semi-dragon's soul—that truly broke him. They were the eyes of destruction, of endless chaos, the eyes of a being that had survived countless battles, emerging from each one deadlier than before.
The semi-dragon's heart pounded in his chest, each beat faster than the last. His body trembled. His fiery fist, once ready to destroy, now wavered mid-air, frozen in the presence of such raw power.
Desperately, he tore his gaze away from Hydra, only to make a fatal mistake—he looked into Phoenix's eyes.
There, he saw another terror awaiting him.
In those fiery eyes, he saw the raging inferno of a burning star, a massive bird wreathed in uncontrollable flames. Phoenix's true form—a creature of fire and destruction—revealed itself within the depths of his gaze. His claws, sharper than any blade, tore at the very fabric of the semi-dragon's courage. The air around him crackled with the intensity of a sun's core, and the semi-dragon felt as though he was being swallowed by a blazing, endless inferno, his body unable to resist the sheer magnitude of Phoenix's presence.
Tears filled the semi-dragon's eyes, not from the smoke or the heat, but from the pure terror that now gripped his soul. His bravery, his pride as a semi-dragon, all shattered in that moment. His knees buckled beneath him, his once fiery fist falling limply to his side.
"Monsters!" he choked out, his voice trembling as he pointed at Hydra, Phoenix, and Xenon. "Monsters in human skin..."
His companions, confused by his sudden collapse, rushed to his side. "What's wrong with you?" one of them asked, gripping the terrified semi-dragon by the shoulders.
"They... They're not human," he whimpered, his eyes wide with fear. "They'll destroy us all…"
But to the others, Hydra, Xenon, and Phoenix appeared completely human, standing calmly as they had from the beginning. No beasts. No terrifying creatures. Just three men standing silently in the marketplace, seemingly unbothered by the situation.
Before they could comprehend what had just happened, a group of palace guards arrived, alerted by the growing commotion near the palace walls. Clad in heavy armor, each carrying spears and swords, the guards moved through the crowd, their presence silencing the remaining murmurs.
"What's going on here?" demanded one of the guards, his eyes scanning the scene. His gaze landed on the trembling semi-dragon, now a shadow of the warrior he had been just moments ago.
"They… they'll destroy this world! I saw them... I saw what they are!" the semi-dragon stammered, pleading with the guards. "Please, arrest them before it's too late!"
The captain of the guard, an older, grizzled warrior with scars across his face, chuckled darkly. "You've let your imagination get the better of you. These are mere humans—no more a threat to the palace than the wind itself." He stepped forward, drawing his sword. "But if they're from the Elementals, that's a different story. We'll take them in."
Xenon and Hydra exchanged a glance. They knew resistance would only escalate things. "Surrender," Phoenix whispered under his breath. "We need to play along for now."
Without a word, Xenon and Hydra complied, their hands raised slightly as the guards approached, placing the tips of their spears and swords near their throats. The guards moved swiftly, binding their wrists in thick iron chains and leading them through the crowd towards the palace gates.
As they were escorted, the trio passed by towering statues of dragons, their once-majestic forms now cracked and broken. The most striking of all was a statue of a human riding atop a dragon, but the human figure had been shattered, reduced to rubble. It was a clear symbol of the disdain this generation of semi-dragons held for humans—an ancient bitterness that had only grown more potent with time.
The palace walls loomed high above them, designed not only to repel invaders but to withstand the fury of the largest dragons. It was a fortress built for an era long past, one where dragons ruled the skies and their human allies stood beside them in battle. Now, it served as a reminder of that lost age, its grandiosity twisted by the current rulers' hatred.
The guards led them through vast hallways, so large they seemed built to accommodate dragons themselves. The air inside was heavy with history, the weight of ancient conflicts and betrayals palpable in every shadowed corner. Finally, they reached the entrance to the Judgment Hall, the massive doors creaking open as they were led inside.
As the trio entered the hall, their eyes were drawn to the far end, where a figure sat upon the throne—immense and imposing, cloaked in shadows. His presence dominated the room, exuding an aura of authority that even the guards dared not challenge. This was the king, the ruler of the semi-dragons, and the one who would decide their fate.
Hydra, Xenon, and Phoenix, though bound in chains, stood tall. The king's gaze fell upon them, and in that moment.