"I wonder what's going on there." Lana muttered as they were still where they stood earlier when the demon had been smashed away.

The bangs and explosions from the battle echoed all around the town, the vibrations even reaching where they were standing, making the ground tremble slightly beneath their feet.

"Come on, let's go check it out and see if we can help." Jake said, attempting to take a step when his knees buckled, nearly causing him to crash into the ground, only for Lana to dash forward and grab him at the last moment.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, though her face still carried that usual cold, indifferent expression. "You are so terribly injured and you want to go and fight? Who does that?"

"I need to help… Max is there. I can't let anything bad happen to him." Jake groaned as he stared forward, gritting his teeth while he pushed himself to his feet with great effort. "So come on, let's go." He began staggering forward, determined despite the pain coursing through his body.

'The battle has been dragging on for so long. What happened? I thought an S rank should be a powerhouse, so why is he still struggling against the demon?' Daki thought as she lent a shoulder to Jasmine, and together they slowly made their way toward the battlefield.

"I swear, after all this, Lana, no matter what you say, I'm not taking missions for a week." Jasmine shouted, limping forward with Daki's support.

"We are taking missions tomorrow infact," Lana muttered, frowning.

"Luckily you aren't the leader of our squad," Jasmine scoffed.

'But still though, what was that voice in my head? What did it mean by takeover? When I accepted, I suddenly lost control of my body. Though my subconscious self remained unconscious, I could still feel my body moving. What is going on with me? Who am I really? I thought I was just a regular human.

But on second thought, I should have been asking these questions when I scored high on the assessment. No human has ever scored that high. Something is wrong somewhere, and I need to figure out what it is.' She thought as they got closer to the battlefield.

Suddenly, a huge shockwave blasted out, slamming into them and forcing them to brace themselves, holding each other tightly to avoid being thrown off balance.

Once the dust settled, they continued forward, finally reaching the battlefield about three minutes later, just in time to witness Hunter Drey unleashing a massive slash that split the demon in half, immediately followed by a precise decapitation.

They watched in awe, mouths wide open, as the demon turned into shimmering fragments before disappearing completely. Max crashed to his knees, utterly exhausted, while Hunter Drey coughed up a mouthful of blood.

'Shit! I went ahead and drew half of the essence from this weapon. It was a gamble, as I've never needed more than a quarter before.

I wasn't sure if my body could handle it, but luckily it did. That means my limit is at fifty percent. I just hope nothing forces me to go to a hundred percent and destroy my body.' Drey thought, staring down at the pair of boots on his feet and the weapon in his hand.

Then he glanced at the new entrance, before finally lifting his gaze to Max, who was still on his knees, staring into the air as if reading something invisible.

'So this is the dragon that A rank Hunter Elijah was tasked with locating and bringing to the Association, huh? And he is a B rank? I wonder what his draconic rank is. Based on what I saw tonight, he seems reliable enough to handle most threats in his path.

Even though the enemy was overpowered, he still gave it his all, helping to defeat it. Hmm! I never thought I'd see a dragon in my lifetime, but here he is.'

"We… we… we did it! The demon is dead!" Jasmine cheered loudly, a beaming smile spreading across her face as she looked around at the aftermath of the battlefield.

"Max, are you okay?" Jake called out, but he was met with silence. The dragon seemed completely absorbed in whatever he was reading on his system screen, utterly ignoring the world around him.

Tring!

[Quest Completed! Host Survived]

[Rewards will now be distributed.]

[Calculating…]

[Calculation done! Rewards distributed]

[Rewards: +10,000XP; +20 free stat points; level up×2… remaining rewards will be distributed as soon as it's done.]

'It is done? What is… Oh shit! Times two level up? Fuck, I'm going to…' Max thought, his mind racing even as his body remained still.

Tring!

[Host has met requirements for evolution. Do you want to evolve?]

[Yes/No]

'Huh? It's asking me? I thought it just forced it on me before. Should I say no now? Or…'

[Sike! Evolution begins!]

'Wait! I'm not rea…'

"Max! Are you okay?!" Jake shouted for the third time, limping forward. Even the S rank hunter was confused, staring at the dragon who still showed no sign of responding.

'Huh? Did the demon do something to him? Why isn't he replying? His eyes… they're bulging like he's seen a ghost. Is everything okay? I wonder if…' the hunter thought as he and Jake stepped closer when suddenly…

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!"

A blood-curdling scream tore from Max's throat, so powerful that everyone instinctively covered their ears, shielding themselves from the intensity.

"AHHHHHH!" The dragon roared again, veins instantly bulging across his body. His eyes protruded as if they might pop from his sockets, hands trembling violently, face contorted in agony. Blood poured in waves from his eyes, nose, and mouth, spilling across the ground.

"No, no, no! Max!" Jake shouted, darting forward in panic, but before he could reach him, Drey's hand grabbed him and flung him casually backward with immense strength.

Daki skidded forward and caught Jake's body just in time, preventing him from crashing to the ground.

"Nobody should approach him. Let him be for now." Drey said coldly, his eyes narrowing as another roar from Max split the air. The dragon collapsed onto the ground, his entire body spasming violently as blood seeped from every pore, glistening in the night light.

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