Code Collector

The ground had fully cracked and the claw of the Fire Dragon appeared. Jack grit his teeth at the intense flames that burned from underneath, slowly seeping out of the cracks and filling the room with the heat.

"What the f*ck," Jack cursed. "This was even hotter than the first one. Chen you f*cker. What did you do?!"

Chen laughed hysterically. He was flinching while in the chains, giggling at himself. "It's beautiful! It's very beautiful!"

"F*ck you!" Rourke growled. "Boss, let me go. I can help! Please, boss. And that boy vanished. He must've left us all alone. He saved his own ass. I knew it."

"I told you to shut up," Jack said with a menacing tone. "Stay there and let Antoni treat your injuries. He's good and capable of doing so. Let the battle to me if you really think of me as your boss and you respect my decision."

"You're really good at your words," Peter muttered as he gained his consciousness. "I can see that I'm the last one to wake up. Even Franco is already up."

Among Jack's men, Peter was the most injured one. Considering that he had a mage role, his defenses were rather weaker than the rest who had warrior roles. Peter was the most vulnerable, so even when him and Franco were attacked the same way, he suffered more damage.

"Rest first," Antoni said to his fellow. "Your body is the most fragile one here, and you had endured quite a lot of cuts— deep cuts."

Peter only shrugged, relaxing to the chain that was still binding him, Rourke, and Franco. He let Antoni heal his wounds while his eyes lingered on the large claw that pierced from the ground. After the dragon showed its claw, it didn't move again.

It has been like that for almost a minute, making everyone worry even more. What could it possibly do while it was underground?

"Do you think it stopped?" Rourke asked. "I think it stopped. Oi, Chen, your experiment failed."

Chen grit his teeth and rolled his eyes. "As if. The Fire Dragon had already emerged from its eggs a few weeeks ago. It was only sleeping underground, waiting for its servants to call its name."

"But the servants are dead," Jack said. "Maybe they didn't finish calling it or something."

"They didn't–" Chen paused. "Impossible. I don't believe that to be true."

"Whatever the case may be, we still shouldn't let our guards down until the police comes," Jack said. "When that happens, we'll let them handle this while we take Chen with us. They can kill this beast. They've done it before."

"What do you mean they did it before?" Rourke scoffed. "It was us who killed the zombies. And if it wasn't for us, the servants would've called the Fire Dragon and the entire camp would've been destroyed."

"But they were still the one who killed it," Jack smirked. "Even with our help, they dealt the finishing blow."

"That Lewis Nixon b*tch," Rourke growled. The mention of the name was like a bell in Allen's ears. He was hiding in the darkness when he couldn't help but overhear their conversation. He slowly moved to where Rourke was at, closing their distance so he can hear him better.

"He stole the spotlight after that fight. That little motherf*cker," Rourke cursed. "If it wasn't for Miss Lin, he couldn't get his hands on those Codes that defeated the Fire Dragon. And after the fight, when he gained recognition, he abandoned his team. Can you even believe that?!"

Allen was listening intently. He might've had lost memories that he was now considering his truth, he wasn't wrong on the part that Lewis Nixon was a vile man.

In his memories, when he was clinging to the headless body of Alice, Lewis and the other members of their team fought the Fire Dragon. This must be after they acquired Codes from Lin, a Primordial Beast Bearer. She gave them Codes so they could fight the Fire Dragon for whatever reason.

"She could've given the Codes to stronger Hunters, or even send top tier Hunters at that fight," Allen thought to himself. "Why did she have to send Lewis's team back after giving them better Codes."

He was still listening to Rourke who was also rambling about what happened three years ago.

"Lewis Nixon was indeed a b*tch," Chen added, grinning at himself. "He was a submissive b*tch that he even let me get all the Codes given to him by Lin just so I don't kill the mute boy."

This made Allen's eyes widened. He was now even more invested in their conversation after hearing himself there. There wasn't any mute boy that was close to Lewis except for him.

"What do you mean, Chen?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes at his own son. "You threatened Lewis?"

Chen shrugged. "I was only giving him a deal. After they defeated the Fire Dragon, Lin let them keep the Codes she gave them. This piqued my interest since they were Grand grade Codes, so I offered him protection in exchange for the Codes."

"You offered him protection from yourself!" Jack growled. "You're a monster Chen, and the longer I hear you speak, the worse you get."

"Whatever," Chen sighed. "Anyway, Lewis offered the Code, but I was bored so I took out the boy."

Allen's world froze. He watched Chen move his lips more, while sparks of anger and resentment grew in his body, boiling inside like it was a pot of water over a burning fire.

'Kill.'

"I purposely used my illusion on their group and led the others to a different path," Chen laughed.

'Kill.'

"I watched the boy try to find his team, aimlessly walking around the woods in search for his friends. He had none after all. Then I watched him get swamped by bees and left because I got bored. All in all, he was dead—"

'Kill.'

The air got cold and a head rolled to the ground as the neck gushed out blood as if it was a geyser. Everyone's eyes widened, seeing the head on the ground eyes wide as the person did not expect to get killed so suddenly.

Knees fell to the ground before the body of the decapitated fell. A Fire Dragon's servant laid lifeless on the ground just. Allen just slashed its head while he watched another from the corner of the room, chanting something under its breath.

"Stop!" Allen yelled, but he was too late. Before he could reach the zombie, it grinned as it spoke the words.

"Awaken!"

Allen's blade pierced through the zombie's heart, stopping it from beating. He stood there, slowly retracting his arm as the ground shook once more.

"Oh, no," Jack whispered. "They've been trying to wake it up this whole time!"

The claws of the Fire Dragon moved slowly, its open fingers slowly clenched as its arm went further out of the ground. The air was now hotter, as through the sun itself was kissing them.

"Run!" Jack yelled. "Everyone, run!"

Just when they were about to exit the building, the walls glowed with burning red flames, coating it like it was paint. The flames around the entire establishment made the hall ten times hotter, making everyone sweat intensely.

"F*ck!" Jack cursed. He opened his hand and clenched it, deactivating the golden chain that tied his allies. He waved his hand and the chain was now wrapping Chen alone. "This is all your fault! Boy, come here."

Allen did as was told and ran to where the group was. He was now with them, helping the injured stand up as they tried to find another way out.

"Can you cast a shield?" Jack asked their healer, who which nodded right away.

Antoni slammed his hands to the ground as he casted his skill, creating a bubble that surrounded them. "We only have five minutes. This bubble has absolute time effects, cancelling out heat and even pain."

"This must took a huge toll on you," Rourke said. "Wait, can we go underground? Maybe we can find a tunnel there."

"Not a bad idea," Chen said, nodding his head. "The tunnels underground are all safe considering that the heat above is way less hotter than the heat underground. Dumb*ss."

This remark made Rourke snort. He slammed Chen's back while he had a wide grin on his face, "You're quite smart, aren't you?"

Chen gave him a deadpan then rolled his eyes. "F*ck off."

Just when things couldn't get any worse, the claw moved again and the entire head and body of the Fire Dragon came out of the ground. The intense heat and force from the beast made Antoni gasp and lose his consciousness, along with his shield.

Now, if felt like everyone's flesh was burning. The flames was too much that they were slowly losing their consciousness.

Allen stood there, watching the beast rose from the ground. For the first time in a long time, he felt helpless. "Is this the end?"