Jerry’s declaration was met with a roar that shattered the rest of the barrier. Anbord was in no way small. The land of Anbord was as large as three continents combined on Earth. It was huge in simple terms, so its barrier would also be very huge. A roar that could shatter its barrier or an energy blast that could destroy the barrier would only be from a particularly powerful being.

Jerry was unfazed by the roar that had generated a storm. He just stood there, his aura pushing back the storm as if it weren’t powerful enough to lay waste to a city.

The roar did not fade.

It expanded, and then it descended. At first, it was just a shadow. Then... mass.

A colossal body tore through the storm, scales grinding against space itself as it forced its way into the open. It was massive, easily the size of four skyscrapers stacked upon one another, its wings stretching wide enough to eclipse entire districts beneath it.

Its form was wrong.

Mutated.

Its scales were jagged and uneven, some glowing faintly with corrupted energy, others cracked like they were barely containing something volatile beneath. Its eyes burned a sickly crimson, veins of dark energy crawling across its massive body like living parasites.

Its breath came out in ragged bursts, each exhale distorting the air itself.

A lesser dragon, but twisted and elevated, forced into something beyond its natural limits. A Saint Realm existence at the first Ascension. It roared again, and this time, the ground below fractured for kilometers. Buildings collapsed, and the air itself recoiled.

Yet, Jerry didn’t move, didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink.

His mismatched eyes remained fixed on the creature, his aura expanding just enough to push the raging storm away from him like an afterthought.

"So this is what you send now," he muttered.

The dragon’s gaze locked onto him, and in that moment, it attacked without warning or hesitation. Its massive form vanished.

It blinked forward, its sheer size tearing through space as its claws came down with enough force to flatten an entire city.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The impact never reached the ground, because they were gone. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

...

Miles away, far beyond Anbord, beyond its borders, beyond its people, the sky split open, and both figures reappeared.

Jerry stood mid-air, calm and unbothered. The dragon followed a fraction of a second later, confused and enraged.

Its momentum carried through as its claws tore through empty space, the delayed shockwave ripping apart mountains below them in a chain reaction of destruction.

The land beneath them was desolate.

Perfect.

Jerry exhaled slowly.

"Better."

The dragon didn’t waste time. It roared and unleashed its breath. A torrent of corrupted draconic energy erupted from its jaws, a beam so dense it warped the air around it, carving a path of annihilation straight toward him.

Jerry raised his hand, and the wind answered violently. A vortex formed instantly, compressing and spiraling into a concentrated barrier that met the breath head-on.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The collision shattered the sky.

Shockwaves erupted in every direction, flattening everything below into dust as the two forces clashed violently.

For a moment, they held, then Jerry clenched his fingers. The wind twisted, compressed, and redirected the attack.

The dragon’s own breath curved unnaturally, spiraling upward before detonating into the upper atmosphere in a massive explosion of chaotic energy.

The dragon staggered mid-air. Jerry vanished and reappeared above it. His hand moved, and the sky split. A blade of compressed wind, infused with chaotic distortion, descended silently.

The dragon reacted instantly, its massive wings snapping upward to block...

Too slow.

The attack struck. Its scales shattered along the impact point as the chaotic wind burrowed into its body, ripping apart flesh and energy alike. The dragon roared in pain, its body twisting violently as it lashed out blindly, but Jerry was already gone.

He reappeared behind it.

"Too slow."

His voice was quiet. The dragon spun, its tail whipping through space with devastating force.

CRACK!!!

The impact landed. Jerry blocked it with his arm; the force detonated outward, shattering the air and sending ripples across the sky, but he didn’t move... Not an inch.

The dragon’s eyes widened... just slightly.

Jerry tilted his head.

"My turn."

Chaos stirred.

Reality warped.

The space around the dragon twisted unnaturally, directions folding over themselves as the very concept of distance became unstable.

The dragon tried to move: forward became sideways, up became nowhere. Its massive body faltered for the first time. Jerry stepped forward and punched.

There was no buildup and no dramatic wind-up.

Just impact.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The punch landed squarely against the dragon’s torso, and the world broke. The air shattered like glass. The dragon’s body compressed violently, its massive frame folding inward before being launched across the horizon like a meteor. It crashed into the ground miles away, carving a trench so deep it split the earth open.

Dust rose, and silence followed.

Then, the ground exploded.

The dragon surged back into the sky, enraged, its wounds already regenerating as corrupted energy surged through its body.

It roared louder, more violent, and more desperate. Its power spiked. The sky darkened further as it drew in energy, its entire body glowing with unstable force.

Jerry watched unmoved.

"Good."

The dragon lunged again, faster, stronger, and deadlier.

This time, Jerry didn’t evade. He stepped into it, and the two collided mid-air, fist against claw. Wind against raw draconic force. Chaos against corrupted power.

The clash tore the sky apart.

Shockwaves cascaded outward endlessly, the land below reduced to nothing but a shattered wasteland under the sheer force of their battle.

The dragon bit down: Jerry caught its jaws and stopped them barehanded. Its teeth cracked under the pressure.

"You’re strong," Jerry admitted quietly.

His red eye flared.

"But not enough."

Chaos bloomed, and this time, it wasn’t contained. The space around the dragon collapsed inward, folding repeatedly as unseen forces crushed it from every direction at once.

Its body contorted violently, scales breaking, bones snapping under pressure that didn’t exist in any normal sense.

It roared, screamed, and fought, but it couldn’t escape. Jerry lifted his hand slowly.

The wind gathered, and chaos condensed. A single point formed, small, dense, and unstable.

"Disappear."

He closed his hand, and the point detonated silently.

The dragon vanished.

Erased.

As if it had never been there.

The sky stilled, and the storm faded, and Jerry remained floating there, his aura settling once more into quiet, suffocating calm.

His eyes dimmed slightly.

"Next."

Because deep down, he knew that wasn’t the real threat, not even close.