Chapter 3 – Clash of Heaven and Hell
The night air was tense, charged with energy.
The courtyard of the Gremory mansion had transformed scorched earth, shattered pillars, and a crimson aura hovering over everything.
Ren Asakura stood at the center, his left arm glowing red, scales shifting with the heartbeat of Ddraegon inside him.
Across the courtyard, Airi Tenshima floated effortlessly, her black wings spread wide. Her silver spear radiated light that cut through shadows like a blade of judgment.
"You… survived my spear. Interesting," Airi said coldly, her gaze sharp as ice. "But now… you die."
Ren swallowed. His heart raced. "I-I won't… let you… hurt anyone else!"
"Focus, boy. Let me handle this," Ddraegon's voice rumbled inside his mind. "You can't fight her alone yet."
Ren felt his blood heat, his arm pulsing like molten metal.
Scales crawled up his shoulder and chest, igniting in crimson flames.
"I'm not alone anymore!" he shouted, and with a roar, the dragon energy surged outward.
The First Strike
Airi lunged, spear first, aiming for Ren's chest.
Time seemed to slow as the red gauntlet swung up scales flashing, energy erupting like magma. The spear shattered against his arm in a brilliant explosion of light and fire.
"Hah! You'll have to do better than that!" Ren yelled, feeling Ddraegon's power coursing through him.
Airi's eyes narrowed. "Pathetic. That's just a human's strength… no, a devil's power. You're mine to erase!"
She dashed with impossible speed, striking from multiple angles.
Ren's body moved instinctively his gauntlet flaring, forming dragon claws to parry each strike.
"Enough playing, boy. Let's turn up the heat," Ddraegon hissed.
The gem on Ren's arm glowed green, then red, then gold a blazing pulse of raw, untamed power.
Dragon Awakening
Ren's aura exploded. Flames roared across the courtyard. His arm shifted again, transforming into a dragon gauntlet with claws long and sharp as swords.
He could feel Ddraegon's mind inside him, calm yet feral:
"Now… let me show you what it means to be the Red Dragon Emperor."
Ren's body moved faster than his own thoughts. Flames coiled around him, forming dragon wings made of fire and light. He leapt into the air, closing the distance between him and Airi in an instant.
Airi tried to strike him, but the gauntlet erupted, flames scorching her spear away.
She staggered back, shocked.
"Impossible… this power… he's… no human!"
Ren roared, the flames spreading across the courtyard like a wildfire.
"I'm not human anymore! I'm the Crimson Dragon Emperor!"
With that, a single strike from his gauntlet shattered the ground beneath her, forcing her to retreat. The air itself trembled.
Airi hovered a few feet away, panting. "You… you've… awakened the Emperor inside you…?"
Ren's chest heaved. His arm still pulsed red, the dragon energy inside him alive and growing. "Yeah… and I'm just getting started."
Riasha landed beside him, her wings folding elegantly. "That's enough for today. Don't overdo it the dragon's power is strong, but unstable. You could lose control."
Ren looked down at his arm, scales glinting like molten metal. The dragon's presence was still there, calm now.
"This is only the beginning… next time, I will show you what true power feels like."
Ren clenched his fists. "I'll be ready. And next time… I won't hold back."
From the shadows above, Airi's black wings glimmered as she disappeared into the night.
"This isn't over, Ren Asakura… not by a long shot."
The Red Dragon Emperor had awakened. The battle for the balance between Heaven and Hell had just begun.