It's not often when true powerhouses go all out in this world.
Lung, the first parahuman to truly hold his own against an Endbringer solo for a time. Not that this is truly public knowledge.
Sure, there are rumours. Survivors of that horrible day in Kyushu remember. They remember the scream of grief that resounded even in the heavy outpouring of rain.
They remember the young boy screaming profanities at The End whilst still holding his dead mother's body, with her blood still on his hands.
The beast did not give him any thought as it sent a wave that capsized their small boat.
It was in that sea that birthed a dragon that raised its claws in defiance of the Bringer of the End.
The Dragon, Lung, has the power and potential to someday even kill one of the three Calamities. He proved it right there that day.
He is the Dragon of Escalation. Every second the fight goes on, the stronger, faster, more powerful, and faster he regenerates. If you cannot put down Lung in your first exchange, you might as well run.
For you will not see tomorrow.
Flames lit up the Bay.
Already the Boat Graveyard had been reduced to ashes by the flames of the curse born from humanity's fear of volcanic disasters and the Dragon of Kyushu.
"Impressive. I didn't have high hopes for this battle, but you keep surprising me, Lizard! Put your back into it!" Jogo said as he reinforced his arm with Cursed Energy and hit Lung so hard his neck snapped from the impact.
Alas, Lung had already grown to more than ten meters, and his regeneration was so strong it could heal his broken neck in an instant. The Dragon of Kyushu gets stronger the more he is threatened.
What is a greater threat than a Curse born from Humanity?
Lung couldn't believe what he was seeing. It's been so long since he has had a worthy challenge. Ever since he had to carve a path from the Yangban camps after being dropped in China by that bitch, Alexandria.
For years, he has been drifting in Brockton Bay. He came to this city broken and injured, and in a matter of days, he was approached by tens of Asian gangs who had taken root in this city. That he should lead them.
Some of them saw him that day. They remembered him battling for his life against that deity who destroyed his home and his mother.
They went on their knees and begged for his protection as the Empire 88 were carving a swath through them. It was that day he met his Lieutenant Lee, who was a leader of one of the gangs. It was also the day he first donned the mask of the dragon.
Since that day, he has not met anyone who could stand against him. He easily defeated the heroes when they came with their righteous fury. He defeated Kaiser when he came with his psychopaths.
He hasn't had to fight for his life since the day the heavens threatened to drown him completely.
He grew even larger, and contrary to popular belief, he did not slow down the larger he got. If anything, he got faster.
He dashed quickly and appeared right in front of the Case 53 with a volcano-shaped head. Its eyes widening at how quickly he was able to move, completely taking it off guard.
His huge draconic fist met its face perfectly, and the amount of force sent it flying into a concrete building, which collapsed partially on top of it from the slight demolition job.
Lung's anger was not quelled in any way, as he was sure that cape was not dead from that hit, as it was clearly a brute too. After all, no normal human can snap a dragon's neck with a punch.
The temperature of the surroundings kept rising quickly. Already Lung could feel himself sweating from the heat, which is crazy because of how strong his resistance to heat is the bigger he gets.
He saw the cape walk out of the building he punched him through. His every step seemed to leave a footprint of… magma. The cape kept moving forward until he came to a stop right in front of him.
"You surprise me, human. Even at this level of heat, you still remain," it said with an appreciative look on its face.
In Lung's dragon form, speaking in sentences is hard, so Lung has long learned how to get his point across in two or more words.
"Kiiiilllllll yoooouuu!!!!"
"Then let's dance, human!"
For the first time in this battle, the Cursed Spirit Jogo has recognised Lung not as a lizard or insect he can easily crush, but as something closer to him. Not quite at his level, but not completely beneath him.
He has recognised Lung as a human. Since he has done so, he will now treat Lung as a human and grind his bones to dust personally.
To an ordinary spectator, the two of them became a blur. Lung had already grown to thirty meters, the same size as the Endbringer, Leviathan. Yet, he was moving almost as fast as the Protectorate hero, Velocity.
Lung unleashed a flame breath that was easily dodged by Jogo, who was caught off guard by a metallic tail about to impale him. With no foothold as he was in the air, he was fucked.
The Disaster Curse, Jogo, hates this new world greatly. There are none of his brethren, as Cursed Energy is not a thing in this universe.
He now knows he is wrong. There are people in this universe that can put him down, and that… puts a smile on his face.
In that moment, right before his death, Jogo is blessed by the sparks of black for the first time in his existence.
Jogo abandoned reinforcing his body and concentrated all his Cursed Energy on his fist, which he used in desperation to backhand the incoming tail about to impale him.
Black Flash!!!
The impact of the punch ripped right through the metallic tail, destroying it and causing Lung to scream in pain even as it regenerated.
"I'll kill youuuu!" screamed Lung as he dived at Jogo at full speed, intent to crush the cape with his own hands.
Fuck the Unwritten Rules! Dragons are not subject to the laws of mere men.
Unknown to Lung, whenever a Black Flash is hit, the user enters a flow state similar to the zone in athletes. Their Cursed Energy control takes a huge leap, and their comprehension is through the roof, allowing them to perform at 120 percent of their potential.
Jogo could not believe what he was feeling.
"So this was how far away I truly was from you, Satoru Gojo. If you were always in a state like this, then there is no reason you wouldn't crush me like a bug."
He clenched his fist and brought it closer to his face, reminiscing on the times when he bragged about defeating Gojo to his dear friend, Hanami. Remembering dying to Ryomen Sukuna. Moments that he believed he just needed to push a little more and he would have been an equal.
"In the end, I am still an insect at the bottom of the mountain. Regardless, I will keep moving forward."
Lung drew closer, his claws about to take off his head.
"Until I kill all my enemies."
"Domain Expansion: Grave of the Iron Mountain!"
(Yeah, changed his domain a bit to reflect the kind of person he is becoming now.)
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