Discimer:

  Issei Hyoudou and all its characters belong to Ichiei Ishibumi .

  I don't own anything other than the original characters I create.

  Chapter 4: The Dragon's Roar

  The chaos of battle raged around them. Ferak was in fmes, its structure reduced to a graveyard of steel and blood.

  Explosions lit up the sky, ripping chunks out of the base and sending debris flying everywhere. Valhara 's mechs continued to advance, crushing bodies, destroying what remained of the resistance.

  And in the middle of that hell, Issei Hyoudou opened his eyes with a fierce gleam.

  Your Boosted Gear glowed on his left arm, the red scales vibrating with pure energy. The power of Ddraig , the Red Dragon Emperor, slumbered within that gauntlet… but not for long.

  " Boost !"

  A pulse of energy ran through his body, and the ground beneath his feet cracked.

  The scientist, who had been following him until now, froze, her face reflecting a mixture of terror and astonishment.

  — "W-What… are you?" —he stammered, taking a step back.

  Issei did not respond.

  The heat of combat enveloped him, the air stank of death, and the mechanical roars of the mechas Valharians rumbled like bloodthirsty metal demons.

  There was no time for expnations.

  There was only one thing to do.

  — " Ddraig …" —he whispered.

  — "I know, Issei ."

  The dragon's roar erupted within his mind, a thunder in the storm of battle.

  — "Bance Breaker !"

  An explosion of scarlet light enveloped Issei .

  Red fmes erupted from his body like a hellish storm, devouring the air and causing the ground beneath his feet to tremble.

  Dragon scales began to cover his skin, first his arms, then his torso, then his head… until his entire body was covered in crimson armor, imposing and terrifying.

  His energy wings spread out, creating pressure so intense that debris floated around him .

  The Bance Breaker : Scale Mail was complete.

  The age of man was over.

  The Dragon Age had begun.

  Issei He looked up, his green visor glowing like the eyes of a beast.

  And then, he disappeared in a fsh of speed.

  A wick Valharian turned towards him, his detection system finally picking up on Issei 's overwhelming presence .

  The pilot inside the machine barely had time to react.

  Issei was already upon him.

  With impossible speed, he crashed into the mecha's torso , sinking his scale-covered fist into the armor.

  The metal twisted.

  The steel broke like paper.

  And then… Issei 's fist pierced through the cabin.

  The enemy pilot didn't even scream.

  His torso was pulverized in an instant.

  Blood sprayed out of the holes in the mecha's armor , spttering the remains of the armor with a dark, sticky red.

  With a brutal movement, Issei tore his arm from inside the machine and with a single blow shattered the mecha's head , making it colpse like a soulless corpse.

  A second enemy lunged at him, brandishing a massive psma sword.

  Too slow.

  Issei He raised his hand and caught the sword in his cws.

  The glowing metal sizzled against his armor , but Issei felt nothing.

  With a brutal movement, he spun around and unched a kick directly at the mecha's torso .

  The impact was devastating.

  The mecha He flew away as if he had been hit by a speeding train. It crashed into a destroyed building and exploded in a fireball.

  Two deaths.

  And it was just the beginning.

  Blood soaked the battlefield.

  Feron soldiers , seeing the massacre Issei was unleashing, were left in shock.

  — "By the gods…!"

  — "W- Who the hell is that?! "

  Valhara mechas they did not stop.

  Three more surrounded him , firing in frantic bursts. Missiles, psma bolts, armor-piercing bullets.

  Issei moved.

  He vanished in a burst of speed, dodging each attack with precise and ferocious movements. He leapt over the mechas , descending upon the first one with the force of a meteor.

  His left bracelet charged with energy.

  — " Dragon Shot !"

  A beam of hellfire shot out from his fist.

  The impact disintegrated the enemy mecha in an instant.

  The second tried to react, but Issei was already upon him.

  He ripped off its mechanical arm, used it as a makeshift weapon, and split the machine's torso in two.

  The third mecha tried to flee.

  Issei did not allow it.

  He jumped onto its back, grabbed the cockpit with both hands, and ripped it off the mecha's body as if he were opening a can of preserves.

  The pilot inside screamed in terror.

  Issei She looked at him for a second.

  And then he squeezed the cockpit with his hands, crushing the pilot inside like an insect.

  The enemy's body exploded into a pool of blood and viscera.

  Issei He dropped the remains , letting the pieces of flesh and metal fall to the ground.

  Three wicks less.

  And there were still many more.

  The mechas Valharians finally understood what they were facing.

  He was not a simple soldier.

  He was no ordinary human.

  He was a force of nature.

  It was the Red Dragon Emperor.

  But it didn't matter. They couldn't turn back.

  With orders from their commanders, they charged en masse towards Issei .

  Dozens of highlights.

  Missiles rained down on him.

  The bullets flew like a storm of steel.

  Issei He smiled inside his helmet.

  — " Ddraig …"

  — "Yes, Issei . Crush them."

  The energy wings ignited.

  The thrusters roared.

  And then, Issei charged towards Valhara 's army , bringing with him the dragon's fury.

  --

  The sky burned over Ferak .

  Fire and smoke covered the horizon , dyed a hellish red, as the st vestiges of the base colpsed under the siege of Valhara .

  And yet…

  In the middle of the battlefield, a single scarlet figure stood amidst the rubble, surrounded by the corpses of war machines.

  Issei Hyoudou .

  The Red Dragon Emperor.

  The st survivors of Feron took refuge behind what remained of the colpsed barriers, watching with wide eyes as the red-armored demon single-handedly faced an entire army of mechas.

  It was a massacre .

  But not yours.

  It was the Valhara massacre .

  From the enemy ranks, they fell upon him like a pack of wolves.

  Valhara's mecha charged , unleashing a frenzied barrage of missiles, psma fire, and high-caliber shells .

  The sky darkened with the storm of destruction.

  Any other being would have been pulverized.

  But Issei It was not just any being.

  — "BOOST!"

  A surge of energy exploded around him.

  The wings on his armor spread out with a burst of power , and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

  The mechas fired into the void.

  — "Where is it?! We lost it!"

  And then, they felt it.

  The air was torn apart by a devastating roar .

  A crimson fsh fell from the sky like a meteorite.

  — "DRAGON SHOT!"

  Issei 's energy projectile exploded in the center of the enemy formation , sending mechas flying into pieces, shattering the ground and splitting everything in its path.

  Explosions lit up the battlefield , reflecting off Issei 's scarlet armor as he nded with a rumble.

  And then, he moved.

  --

  A Valhara MK-V Titan , an armored mecha standing over 15 meters tall, raised its psma cannon and fired.

  The crimson lightning crossed the battlefield in an instant.

  Issei He raised his arm and stopped the attack with one hand.

  Psma roared against his gauntlet , but the energy of the Boosted Gear absorbed him completely.

  — "Is that all?" —his voice echoed through the enemy communicator.

  The pilot of the Titan MK-V he stood paralyzed.

  Before he could react, Issei jumped in.

  It shot through the air like a red lightning bolt.

  And with inhuman brutality, he pierced the Titan's torso with his fist.

  The metal cracked.

  The circuits crackled.

  The pilot inside screamed… and then, he was silenced.

  The mecha burst into fmes.

  But Issei was no longer there.

  He had already changed his target.

  The few remaining Feron soldiers watched the carnage in disbelief.

  Hidden among the rubble, wounded and exhausted , they saw everything.

  — "W-What the hell is that guy…?"

  — "It's not human..."

  — "No... it's a monster."

  Valhara 's st heavy mecha tried to flee.

  The pilot, trembling, shouted into his communicator:

  — "Retreat! This is no ordinary enemy! This is a damn force of nature!"

  But Issei was already behind him.

  The Boosted Gear glowed , packing devastating power into his fist.

  And with a voice that echoed throughout the base , he shouted:

  — "BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!"

  The increase in power exceeded the limits of his armor.

  The earth cracked beneath his feet.

  The air vibrated as if the very world trembled before his fury.

  And then, he unleashed all his power in one blow.

  "DRAGON SMASH!"

  The impact disintegrated the mecha in a fraction of a second.

  The ground split into a giant crater.

  The remains of the machine scattered like ashes in the wind.

  The soldiers of Valhara those who remained… fled in terror.

  The battlefield fell silent.

  The only sound was the crackling of the fires and the moans of the dying.

  Issei He stood in the center of the disaster, his red armor still vibrating with energy.

  The few survivors of Feron looked at him with a mixture of fear and reverence.

  One of them knelt down.

  — "You… You saved us."

  Issei did not respond.

  He looked at the sky. The enemy ships were retreating.

  I had won.

  But something inside her knew… that this wasn't over.

  The Red Dragon Emperor had shown himself to the world.

  And now…

  Everyone would come for him.

  --

  The battlefield of Ferak was a graveyard of steel and ash.

  The rubble from the destroyed mechs formed mountains of charred metal. The smell of blood, gunpowder and burning flesh permeated the air , while the glow of the fmes painted the horizon in a hellish red.

  But for Xara , the battle was not over yet.

  Because in the midst of the devastation, there was still one st hunt left.

  The traitor.

  The man who sold Ferak to Valhara .

  Captain Drelk .?

  Xara gritted her teeth in rage as her squad advanced through the smoldering remains of the base.

  Her Magnus X-12 mecha lumbered through the rubble, its servomotors roaring with each step. Beside her, the few survivors of the Third Division followed determinedly.

  — " Drelk must be hiding somewhere," Zeck , his second in command, spat . "He knew what he was doing. He didn't stay to fight."

  Xara did not respond.

  He had only one thought on his mind.

  "Find him. Skin him if necessary. Make him pay."

  The traces of their escape were obvious . A heat signature on the scanners, hurried footprints in the sand, and debris moved by someone desperately trying to hide.

  Finally, they found it.

  Huddled inside an emergency capsule half-buried in the rubble.

  Xara leapt from her mecha and strode forward, psma rifle in hand.

  Zeck and the others ripped off the door of the capsule .

  And there he was.

  The man who betrayed them.

  Feron officer uniform It was dirty, torn and covered in sweat.

  His eyes were wide.

  — "Don't kill me! I can expin! Feron was lost! Valhara offered me a way out! You would have done it too!"

  Xara didn't say anything.

  He just looked at him.

  And then he hit him in the face with the butt of his rifle.

  Drelk spat out blood and fell to the ground with a scream.

  But they weren't done with him.

  They dragged him out of the capsule and threw him to the ground.

  Xara leaned over him, her boot pressing into his chest.

  — "How long have you been working for Valhara ?"

  Drelk he gasped, coughing up blood.

  — "Months… Direct contact… Encrypted messages… I knew Ferak was going to fall… They offered me a future."

  Xara increased the pressure.

  — "How many more? How many traitors are there in Ferak ?"

  Drelk He ughed weakly.

  — "More than you think."

  Zeck He kicked him in the side, sending him rolling on the ground.

  — "Speak, you damn bastard!"

  Drelk He writhed in pain , his face pale and covered in sweat. His nose was broken, his lip split, and fear consumed him.

  But she still tried to smile.

  — "It doesn't matter if they kill me... Valhara already won..."

  Xara gritted her teeth .

  — "We won't kill you yet."

  Drelk He opened his eyes in panic.

  - "That…?"

  Xara turned to her soldiers.

  — "Make him talk. Use whatever methods are necessary. But I want every damn name he has."

  The shadows of his soldiers moved over the traitor , and his first cry rent the night.

  The torture sted several minutes.

  Drelk He screamed, begged, and confessed every detail of his betrayal.

  But then, something changed in the air.

  Xara felt the vibration before she heard it.

  A roar.

  primitive, terrifying, ancient sound .

  Something had awakened.

  Everyone looked up.

  And they saw it.

  In the distance, in the middle of the battlefield, a crimson figure emerged from the fmes.

  It was Issei .

  But he was no longer the same unconscious prisoner as before.

  Now, he was a god of war.

  The Feron survivors watched in complete silence.

  Xara couldn't believe what she was seeing.

  The man who had been standing motionless in the containment room… was now smashing mechas like they were toys.

  With impossible speed, Issei He tore through enemy ranks, dodging missiles, cutting through metal, crushing cockpits with his bare hands.

  His armor was beyond compare.

  His fists pierced through the mecha 's armor like burning bdes, ripping out the energy core of his enemies and causing them to explode from within.

  The battlefield became a sughterhouse.

  Valhara 's mechas fell.

  The pilots screamed in terror.

  The sky lit up with explosions.

  Xara's soldiers stood motionless, witnessing the massacre.

  Zeck he swallowed.

  — "That... That's not a human."

  Xara felt a chill run down her spine.

  Drelk , despite being broken and bloody, He ughed weakly from the ground.

  — "Now do you understand... why Ferak couldn't hold him back...?"

  Xara ignored him.

  Because his eyes remained fixed on the battle.

  And in that instant, he knew the truth.

  They hadn't saved Issei .

  Issei had saved them.

  But… at what price?

  --

  The burning wind of Ferak It blew through the ruins , den with the smell of molten metal, charred flesh, and the blood of the fallen. Fmes still danced across the rubble, casting flickering shadows over the shattered bodies of enemy mechs .

  The battle was over.

  And he was standing on a field of death.

  Issei He exhaled slowly , feeling the weight of exhaustion on his shoulders. He wasn't at 100% yet. His body still hadn't fully recovered since his arrival in this world, and the amount of power he had just unleashed was draining him.

  He couldn't stay.

  They would all come for him now.

  Feron , Valhara , any other power in this world that had witnessed what he was capable of doing.

  Now they knew it existed.

  And fear of the unknown is the greatest trigger of war.

  He straightened up, looking around.

  The few survivors of Feron stood motionless, watching him as if they were seeing something impossible.

  Their faces showed a mixture of emotions: fear, astonishment, uncertainty.

  They knew that without him they would be dead.

  But at the same time, they knew they couldn't control it.

  Issei did not belong here.

  And they knew it.

  Among the faces of the survivors, one in particur caught his attention.

  The scientist.

  The woman who had taken him out of his cell , who had tried to save him without knowing what he really was.

  She was covered in dust and sweat, her white coat torn and stained with blood. Her eyes were rge and incredulous , reflecting something different from the rest.

  While the soldiers looked at him with fear , she looked at him with something else.

  Curiosity.

  Maybe respect.

  Maybe something deeper that had no name.

  But she was alive.

  And that was what mattered.

  Issei He nodded once, almost imperceptibly.

  Then, he turned his gaze.

  In the distance, he saw Xara.

  She and her squad stood on a hill of rubble , watching him in complete silence.

  Feron 's commander , the one who had ordered that he be analyzed, that he be kept as a prisoner to be studied.

  Their eyes met for a single second.

  There were no words.

  There was no need for them.

  Xara didn't look down, but she didn't try to stop him either.

  Maybe he understood.

  Maybe not.

  But in that brief moment, something important became clear.

  Issei was not his ally.

  But neither is his enemy.

  Not now.

  Issei looked up at the sky.

  His armor still vibrated with energy. He didn't have much time left.

  If he didn't leave now, his body would colpse.

  His energy wings unfurled with a roar , and the pressure in the air increased around him.

  Feron 's soldiers They took a step back, feeling the overwhelming force still radiating from him.

  Issei He flexed his legs, gathering the st of his power…

  …and shot into the sky like a red lightning bolt.

  The earth cracked beneath his feet , and a bst of wind and dust enveloped the battlefield as he ascended.

  In a single blink, he was already far away.

  A crimson fsh crossed the sky , disappearing beyond the shattered mountains.

  Leaving Ferak behind .

  Leaving behind the fmes, the war and the corpses.

  Free.

  For now.

  Author's Note: If you have a moment, I'd love for you to leave a comment, vote, or leave a review if you have the time.

  Your support means a lot to me and I would really appreciate it! If you like my work, you can also support me on Patreon, where you can get access to 2 advance chapters.

  Additionally, you'll find images of the characters and the story world avaible for free. Thank you for your support!

  patreon.com/LordStick