Chapter 32
"Max! Max! Max!" Pix shouted as she shimmered into view, hovering in front of Max's body, which was buried beneath a pile of rubble.
"I… I'm not dead, so stop calling me like I am," Max grunted, twitching slightly as he felt the weight of the rubble pressing down on him. "I think imma just lay down here for a bit."
"No, you can't! You need to defeat that damned demon vessel before it's too late," Pix said anxiously.
"Nope. I… I didn't sign up for this. Heck! I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to live my life peacefully with the woman I loved… but she killed me instead, and here I am… in a hell where demons are actually real," Max sighed, carefully glancing up to see where the vessel was.
It was still six metres away, admiring its new look and newfound strength.
"Yes, you never signed up for this. Yes, you never wanted all of this! Heck, if you hadn't been killed, you wouldn't have gotten any of this. But you still did. The system specifically chose you! The dragon blood chose you to be its vessel and grow powerful.
Since the universe decided to choose you, don't you think you should prove it made the right choice? There is no way to get unchosen, and if you don't get up now, you will be killed again. And who knows if you would even get transmigrated again," Pix said with a heavy sigh.
"Well, that's touching and all, but how the hell am I supposed to defeat something more powerful than I am? I'm barely hanging on, my leg is injured.
Heck! My whole body is injured, and you want me to defeat it? How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Max asked quietly, not wanting to risk attracting the attention of the vessel just yet.
"By relying on your Draconic powers. You can't act like a human when you are something more. You are a Dragon vessel or not, act like one," Pix said, then began shimmering out of view, no doubt heading to Max's mind to observe what was about to happen.
'I'm a dragon, I should act like one, huh?' Max thought as he stared at his hands and then at the vessel, which seemed to be almost done admiring itself.
"Wait! I remember when the system gave me those quests, it gave me some skills as a reward," Max mumbled beneath his breath as he hurriedly navigated to his skill tab.
'Let's see what I got,' he thought, a spark of hope igniting within him.
__
Meanwhile, the quiet observer and commentator from earlier couldn't help but shake his head at what he had just seen.
'Sheesh! I thought this fool would amount to much, but it turns out he is so useless and weak that he can't take down a demon vessel. And it isn't even a normal demon but a vessel, and he can't defeat it?
Tch! Guess after I'm done with the demon vessel, I will just eliminate the dragon vessel. He is nothing but trouble for the world.
The longer he stays here, the more demons will get attracted to his aura and seep into our world,' the man thought with a sigh, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.
'We can't afford another full-scale war with the demons yet,' he thought, about to take a step when…
"Honestly, you hit like a toddler," Max's voice echoed out as he limped forward, his face, head, and leg bleeding, crimson droplets trickling down his body.
"You are still alive?" the demon vessel asked in surprise as a huge frown appeared on its face.
"How won't I be alive when you can't even kill properly? And you call yourself a gang leader? Tch! Useless," Max scoffed, his eyes narrowing as he could see the vessel clenching its hands in anger.
The snake-like veins snaking across its body pulsed rhythmically, matching the tension in its muscles, while its black eyes glowed with fierce intensity. Its teeth were clenched so tightly that Max could almost hear the strain.
'Atta boy. We are almost there,' Max grinned as he glanced at his hands and then quickly turned toward his system.
'System! Activate Healing!'
{Healing level 1 activated}
{-10 MP}
{MP: 70/100}
{Healing level 1 (requires 10 MP): This skill allows the host to convert 10 MP to 50 HP. The amount of healing increases with each level.}>
{50 HP added}
{HP: 76/100}
'Beautiful,' Max grinned wider, watching as his wounds started to close. A sense of renewed energy coursed through him, and he felt lighter, stronger, and more ready to face the vessel.
"Arghhh!" The demon vessel growled in anger, dashing forward with an immense burst of speed that made the air around it ripple.
'Come on,' Max thought, planting his feet firmly on the cracked ground and taking a battle stance. His eyes were locked onto the vessel's every movement, unwavering and sharp.
BOOOM!
The demon leaped into the air, aiming to crash down on Max, who stood rooted but with one key difference.
His hands were opened wide, fingers spread like someone preparing to embrace another person, while his face scrunched with focus and tension. A soft, radiant glow spread from his wrists to his palms.
{Draconic Force Palm activated!}
BAMMMM!
Max slammed his hands together in a deafening clap, sending a colossal shockwave radiating outward.
The impact was so tremendous that the vessel was blasted from the air, blood spraying from its mouth as its body hurtled backward. It crashed into a nearby building, reducing it to rubble, and bounced further, leaving destruction in its wake.
Those watching were nearly swept off their feet, struggling to stay upright. Gang members, town residents, and spectators clutched at anything they could find for balance, nearly being thrown across the street.
The lone watcher, however, stood completely still, a small smile on his face, unmoved by the chaos around him.
The ground beneath Max's feet, extending outwards for three metres, was cracked and scorched, with a small crater forming at its centre—a testament to the sheer power of Max's single clap.
"Ack!" Max coughed, specks of blood escaping his lips as he dropped to his knees, huffing and panting from both pain and exhaustion.
'Did that work?' he thought, blinking rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.
"Tch! Weak," a deep, mocking voice echoed out, making Max's heart skip a beat and sending a wave of fear down his spine.