"Obviously! Why did she have to be so mean to me?" Leo replied, treating the rock human like a confidant at a bar, his tone a mix of exasperation and indignation as he paced before the battered giant.

"I don't know, man. Maybe you just weren't to her taste. There are other girls who'll accept you. No need to be down over just one girl," the rock human offered tentatively, its words cautious as it hoped to appease Leo and halt the onslaught, its cracked surface trembling with each labored breath.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm not to her taste? You think I'm not good-looking enough too?" Leo demanded, a deep frown creasing his face as he took the rock human's attempt at comfort as an insult, his anger flaring anew at the perceived slight.

"No, that's not what I meant!" the rock human stammered, trying to backtrack, but Leo was beyond listening, his patience completely eroded by the day's rejections and the rock human's words.

"What a waste of time. And here I was thinking you'd get me," Leo muttered, his frown deepening as he summoned a massive arc of compressed, razor-sharp wind. With a swift motion, he swung it toward the rock human, cleaving the giant cleanly in half, its body splitting with a sickening crack as it collapsed into two lifeless heaps, dust and fragments scattering across the cratered ground.

"You really took your sweet time, didn't you? Well, no biggie. Thanks to you, I was able to take care of three of the strongest," King called out from a distance, his voice carrying a teasing edge as he approached, his chains dangling loosely at his sides, blood and dust streaking his armor.

"Just blowing off some steam, that's all," Leo replied nonchalantly, brushing off his hands as if dusting away the encounter, though his eyes still burned with lingering frustration.

"Whatever. Let's get this done. They were all weak. I'm not satisfied with the battle. None made my blood boil," King commented, his tone tinged with disappointment as he scanned the devastated surroundings, craving a challenge worthy of his skills.

"So, what's the next move?" Leo asked, walking toward King, his steps crunching on the shattered stone beneath him.

"We wait for the emperor to appear, devour this planet, and accept those he wishes as citizens. Then we move to the next world," King replied, activating the smartwatch Leonardo had crafted for them, its sleek interface glowing faintly as he contacted their strategist to report their progress.

---

Boom!

The Trident's energy blast hurtled toward Alice and her companions with extreme velocity, surpassing the speed of sound in a blinding streak of compressed power that distorted the surrounding water, creating rippling shockwaves that echoed through the ocean depths like distant thunder. The blast illuminated the azure expanse, casting eerie reflections off the distant coral formations and submerged ruins that dotted Planet Atlantis's vast seas.

"I got this, Mother," Flameborn said with a confident smile, positioning himself boldly between Aaron's wives and the incoming assault, his young dragon form radiating unshakeable assurance under the watery light filtering from above.

[◈ Obsidian Scales

Scales become blackened mirrors of night itself—absorbing magic, reflecting light, and rendering the dragon nearly indestructible under the moon's watchful gaze, each scale a fortress of shadow that hums with protective energy.]

Flameborn stood resolute, his small but imposing figure unmoving as he allowed the devastating blast to collide directly with his obsidian scales, the impact sending vibrations through the water that stirred schools of fish into frantic swirls. The mana-infused energy struck true, but instead of exploding in destruction, it was seamlessly absorbed into the darkened armor of his scales, the power dissipating harmlessly as if swallowed by an endless void, leaving only faint ripples in its wake.

"What the hell just happened?" Commander Rudolf demanded within the fortified defense room, his voice laced with disbelief as his mouth hung wide open in shock, his eyes bulging at the surveillance screens that flickered with residual static. The chamber, filled with the hum of advanced consoles and the scent of ozone from overworked machinery, fell into stunned silence as Atlantis's greatest invention was effortlessly neutralized by a seemingly harmless little boy, whose innocent appearance belied his formidable power.

"Fire again! Now!" Commander Rudolf commanded sharply, his face flushing red with refusal to accept the impossible scene unfolding before him, his fists clenching on the control panel.

"Yes, sir!" the operator responded promptly, his fingers flying over the holographic interface to recharge and realign the weapon.

The Trident fired once more toward the intruders, the blast erupting with the same ferocious intensity, slicing through the water at triple the speed of sound and leaving a trail of boiling bubbles in its path. Yet its fate mirrored the first. The mana was greedily absorbed by Flameborn's obsidian scales, the energy vanishing into the shadowy depths of his armor without leaving a mark, the young dragon's expression unchanging, as calm as a still pond.

"Again!" Commander Rudolf bellowed, his voice cracking with frustration as he slammed a hand on the console, still stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the futility, his mind racing through tactical alternatives in the dimly lit room.

"Yes, sir!" the knight replied dutifully, initiating the sequence for a third time, the Trident's prongs glowing brighter as it unleashed another lethal discharge, the sonic boom reverberating through the underwater structure.

"This doesn't even make sense. Fire again!" Rudolf roared, his denial bordering on mania as sweat beaded on his forehead under the harsh glow of the monitors.

"Sir... The Trident can only be fired three times in succession. We can't fire any more until twenty-four hours have passed," the knight reminded him cautiously, his voice trembling slightly as he glanced at the overheating indicators flashing red on the display.

"Fuck! Inform His Majesty at once. The rest of you, come with me," Commander Rudolf instructed the knights urgently, his mind shifting to more primitive tactics as he planned to confront the invaders the old-fashioned way, grabbing his weapon from a nearby rack with a determined grip.

"Sir...," a knight called out hesitantly to Commander Rudolf, his voice laced with alarm as he stared wide-eyed at the central surveillance screen.

"What?" Commander Rudolf snapped, turning sharply to glare at the knight, his patience frayed to its limit.

The knight pointed toward the surveillance screen with a shaky hand, his finger trembling in the air. Commander Rudolf followed the gesture, his eyes narrowing before widening in horror.

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