The dragonkin looked at him with absolute trust, their spirits lifted. Alister, too, felt a warmth in his chest as he watched their relief turn into hope.
This was his duty. His responsibility. And he would ensure their safety, no matter the cost.
…
The first of the humans stirred in the van, his head falling forward as he groaned, clutching his temples.
“What… what the hell happened?” he muttered, his voice was slurred. His blurred slowly vision focused on the scene outside the windshield, and his breath caught in his throat.
Another man, rubbing his forehead and blinking rapidly, gasped as he noticed the humanoid dragon hovering above.
Now surrounding it were dozens of floating dragonkin, their bodies glowing faintly under the sunlight.
“Are those… dragonkin?” he whispered in confusion.
The man beside him, now fully awake but clearly disoriented, followed his gaze.
“They’re not in the vans anymore,” he croaked. His eyes widened in realization as he whipped his head around.
“The cargo… it’s gone! They’re all gone!”
“How?!” another man snapped, panic rising in his voice. He twisted in his seat, craning his neck to look out of the shattered rear window.
“They were locked down tight! This can’t be happening!”
“Shit! I’m out of here!” one man suddenly shouted, fumbling with the door handle. His breathing was ragged as he stumbled out of the van, barely able to stand upright.
“Wait for me!” another man yelled, kicking open his door. He staggered onto the ground but collapsed to his knees, his legs trembling as though they no longer obeyed him.
The first man to step out turned to the others, his face pale.
“We have to run! That thing… it’s going to kill us all!”
“But I can’t even feel my legs properly,” another groaned, trying and failing to steady himself.
He took a step forward and immediately fell face-first onto the broken road, his forehead now bleeding.
“What the hell did that roar do to us?!”
Up above, Alister’s sharp eyes noticed their pathetic attempts to flee.
He turned to the dragonkin hovering around him. “Wait here. I’ll speak with you later. I still have fools below who require judgment.”
The dragonkin were all excited to hear the words of their lord.
They began to cheer him.
“Do it, Overlord!” one shouted, her voice trembling with fury.
“Make them pay for what they did to us!”
“Avenge my mother!” another dragonkin cried, his hands clenched into fists.
“Show them the consequences of their arrogance!”
Alister gave them a small nod before descending slightly, his golden eyes narrowing.
He activated Petrifying Gaze, the power emanating from him in an invisible gray wave.
Down below, one of the humans running suddenly stumbled and fell with a…
THUD~
“Wait!” he screamed at the others, his voice cracking with desperation.
“Don’t leave me! My leg-something’s wrong with my leg!”
The man nearest to him glanced back, his face twisting in frustration.
“Are you a fool? You’re telling us to wait now? Keep running!”
But as he turned to look, his words died in his throat.
The fallen man’s leg had been broken off… yet it wasn’t bleeding-it had turned to stone, jagged cracks splitting it where it had snapped. The petrification crept further up his body, the dull gray consuming his skin.
“What… what is this?!” one man stammered, his voice trembling as he stumbled backward in
fear.
Another man screamed as his arm began to stiffen.
“No! My hand! It’s… it’s turning to stone!”
One of the fleeing men clutched his face, his eyes wide with panic.
“Something’s wrong with my eyes! It’s like they’re… burning!” His scream rose in pitch as the
petrification began at his pupils, spreading across his face like frost.
Another, gasping for air, stopped dead in his tracks, clutching his chest.
“Why… why does it feel like my heart is slowing down?” he choked out, his breaths coming in
shallow, uneven gasps. “I can’t… breathe… What is this?!”
Sweat poured down his face as he collapsed to his knees, clawing at his armor.
Looking at the others, he realized something.
The petrification didn’t start at the same place for everyone.
“Don’t tell me… no!” His eyes widened in fear.
With trembling hands, he tore at his equipment, ripping off his shirt to look at his chest.
His chest… was already half-covered in stone, the hard surface creeping over his ribcage and toward his neck.
The others watched in horror as their comrades fell one by one, their bodies succumbing to the petrifying curse.
Panic consumed the group as they realized the inescapable nature of their fate.
Above them, Alister observed coldly, his voice a low growl.
“You dared to imprison dragonkin. Now, you all will face the weight of your actions.”
Alister’s voice rang out as he uttered,
“Shattering Gravity Law.”
The ground behind him trembled violently as chunks of the cracked road began to rise into the
air.
Large slabs of asphalt, dirt, and debris floated upward, defying nature’s hold, and began to
pile together above him.
Even the dragonkin stared in awe at the display.
“Is he… rewriting the laws of the world?” one whispered, their voice barely audible.
Another dragonkin replied, “This is why he’s the Overlord. He can command the laws of
reality itself.”
The floating debris continued to rise, forming an enormous mass of rock and rubble.
The humans below, watching in terror as the shadow of the forming orb grew larger, began to
panic.
“Wait…” one of them muttered, his voice shaking. “Does he mean…”
Another man answered grimly, “Apparently so. It’s… it’s literal… this… is the weight of our
actions.”
The sphere of rock, now colossal, hovered ominously in the sky. Its sheer size cast a massive shadow over the battlefield, dimming the sunlight and swallowing the humans in darkness. The glow of Alister’s golden eyes rivaled the sun in this darkness as he spoke again.
“Altering Gravity Law.”
The massive sphere began to compress, the rocks grinding together with a deafening sound. The sphere grew denser, more compact, but it remained massive.
He addressed the terrified humans below.
“Be grateful, humans, for you shall meet your end at the hands of the Overlord of Dragons. Burn this image into your very souls, so you may recount it in vivid detail to your foolish
comrades in the afterlife.”
He raised his hand, then swept it downward in one smooth motion.
The sphere began to descend.
The humans, petrified both in stone and terror, could only mutter in shock.
“That… that isn’t just some dragon…” one whispered, his voice trembling.
Another corrected, his face pale as he stared at their impending doom. “No… that thing… is a god.”
The massive boulder collided with the earth with a deafening…
BOOOOOM!
The impact flattened the road completely, sending a shockwave that shook the surrounding
area. A towering cloud of dust billowed into the air, blotting out the remnants of the sun’s
light.
The dragonkin hovered in stunned silence, their awe and respect for their Overlord reaching
new heights.
One finally broke the silence, whispering, “The Overlord is absolute… unmatched in power.”
Another nodded.
“And this is the judgment of a god.”
