As Falcon rapidly approached D City at supersonic speeds, we finalized our operational plan. In truth, it wasn't much of a plan.

“When we arrive in D City, Arima and Ayle, the two of you will remain aboard Falcon to counter the Chairman of D Corp's magic,” I instructed.

Given the circumstances, it was certain that the Chairman of D Corp was a dragon, and the most dangerous thing about him was his unpredictable use of magic. If Arima could simply block his magic attacks from the air, that would be sufficient. Ayle needed to stay back to protect Arima, who would be vulnerable while focusing on the magic.

“After that, Galrm and Leviathan, you two will descend to the ground and find the boss. Our goal is to rescue the boss, not to fight the enemy, so keep that in mind.”

“Hmm, I get that— but what exactly are you going to do, scientist?” Galrm asked.

“I’ll be creating a distraction, making sure that the enemy doesn’t have the chance to focus on you all, even if you go on a rampage.”

As the executives stared at me, puzzled by what I meant, I pulled out another small robot from my coat. Galrm burst into incredulous laughter when he saw the toy-sized robot.

“Ha! So that’s where it went... you were the one who took it?”

“Yes, I took it without anyone noticing.”

“Pfft! You sure pulled it off, huh?”

While Galrm continued laughing at the sight of Steel Titan, we drew closer to the city, the buildings now visible in the distance. Realizing we were almost there, Falcon’s engines flared up, spewing flames, and far ahead, a massive energy surge emerged from a towering skyscraper.

At the same time, the radar blared with warnings, and a blinding flash of light shot from the skyscraper, enveloping Falcon.

“Is it destroyed?”

At the very top of the skyscraper, Hisberk, who had fired the magic, took a casual sip of wine and returned to his seat.

He wasn’t too concerned with what the object was. It had been traveling at Mach speeds— possibly a space shuttle or the military’s latest fighter jet— but no reports had indicated such objects flying near the city today.

He was the owner of Dragon Corp, and Dragon Corp owned D City. Therefore, he was essentially the master of the city. There was nothing about it that he didn’t know.

‘Or maybe it’s something sent by that Singular Point.’

Hisberk had already confirmed that the Singular Point wasn’t a dragon like him. He had uncovered this from Regalia’s memories.

Disappointed by this realization, Hisberk had impulsively imprisoned Regalia and her team. He couldn’t keep them locked up forever, of course, and he would eventually have to erase their memories and let them go.

“Hm?”

For a moment, Hisberk sighed in disappointment at the thought of being the last of his kind. But then, he furrowed his brow, noticing the mysterious metal object approaching from afar.

It was the very same object he had just shot down with his magic. It was still flying. How?

‘That spell should’ve pierced through the deck of a warship…’

Perplexed, Hisberk cast another spell, launching it once again. As a long beam of light cut through the air, Hisberk realized how the object had survived his previous attack.

It had dodged the spell with an acrobatic maneuver straight out of a cartoon. Now that it was closer, Hisberk could finally make out what it was. A massive aircraft— no, a robot.

‘That’s the one that appeared in W City…’

Hisberk quickly recognized the robot, connected to the business dealings he had been involved in. It was the result of advanced science that had emerged in P City, which had nearly destroyed W City. Then, it had vanished, causing P City’s downfall.

He had wondered where it had gone… it seemed that another Singular Point had secretly taken control of it.

“I was curious about its strength... it’s quite an amusing machine.”

Its ability to dodge his magic and move at such insane speeds gave Hisberk a clear sense of its destructive power.

The sheer mass of that giant robot crashing at those speeds would generate destruction comparable to an asteroid strike. No one could survive a direct hit from that— except for him, the dragon.

“Let’s see if I can bring it down,” he muttered.

Dozens of magic circles appeared around Hisberk, and in the next instant, beams of light shot out from them.

Each beam was powerful enough to pierce through the armor of a warship in a single blow. These high-speed homing lasers would be impossible to dodge, even for the most advanced fighter jets powered by psychic abilities.

But the robot dodged them all as if it could see the paths of the lasers, narrowly avoiding each one. Its movements were so precise it almost seemed staged. Hisberk scowled in frustration.

“...Hmph.”

Annoyed by the sight, Hisberk began chanting a wide-area spell. It was a colossal extermination spell capable of wiping out an entire army in an instant.

As he cast the spell, filling the sky with the ultimate area-of-effect magic, a shocking sight unfolded. The pulse emanating from the heart of the robot’s chest canceled out Hisberk’s spell. A dispel— a magic that nullified other spells.

“What is this…?”

In that moment of hesitation, shocked by encountering a dispel he had never expected to see in this primitive era, the pulse wave didn’t stop at the spell— it struck the Dragon Tower itself, and of course, Hisberk.

Caught in the disruptive magic that forcibly unraveled all spells, Hisberk writhed in pain as his polymorph spell slowly began to break down.

“Ugh, curse it—! A mere human…!”

Unable to let his tower be destroyed, Hisberk leaped outside and transformed into his true form— a massive dragon, towering hundreds of meters high.

As Hisberk transformed into the ancient, colossal creature, he realized that the entire city was now blanketed in dispel magic. The opposing mage had cast a dispel across the whole city. Such skill, so impressive, that even a dragon like himself couldn’t immediately dispel it.

—Impudent humans! Let’s see you dodge this!

Hisberk took a deep breath, his lungs expanding massively, beginning the magical combustion. The dragon’s breath— an intense beam of superheated magical energy— was fired.

This attack could not be nullified by dispel, nor could the mage, who was solely focused on the dispel, possibly block it.

Hisberk believed this would end everything. But to his surprise, another robot descended from the sky before he could release the breath.

[Uoooohhhh!]

With both arms outstretched, the steel warrior absorbed the dragon’s breath with its forearms, landing heavily on the ground before swinging its fist directly into Hisberk’s jaw. The dragon's head snapped upwards, carving through the sky and clouds.

For a moment, it felt like space itself had been pierced, as blackness adorned the sky.

On the ground, Steel Titan ripped a skyscraper from its foundation and wielded it like a sword.

[Guardian of justice—! Steel Titan has arrived!] —You wretched tin can...! A monster that slaughtered humans dares—! [I know! My sins will never be erased! But, even so— I will punish evil!]

With those words, Steel Titan swung the skyscraper like a sword, striking Hisberk in the jaw. The massive dragon’s head was knocked further back, exposing Boss and Vira through the debris of the shattered building.

Upon seeing them, E-tan shouted:

[Boss—! Are you alright—!?]

In the distance, Boss waved lightly, while Galrm and Leviathan carefully jumped from Titan and rushed to rescue the two. Hisberk, focused on the large-scale battle, failed to notice the small creatures.

E-tan realized that it was now up to him to keep the giant lizard’s attention, accomplishing something no one had ever done before.

‘Controlling a giant robot and fighting a genetically modified dragon...’

If he ever told anyone back on Earth, they’d dismiss him as a braggart. But once they scanned his memories and confirmed it was all real, he’d surely become a sensation on social media.

Even if that fame was short-lived, he would still leave his mark in history. With that thought, E-tan clenched his fists.

“Come at me, lab lizard.” [Come at me, lab lizard.] —...How dare you, you lowly creature.

As Steel Titan echoed his words, Hisberk roared in rage.

Thus, the pinnacle of science and the apex of biology clashed.

The enormous tail whipped past, shattering nearby windows with the force of the wind alone. But it wasn’t enough to damage Steel Titan’s visual lenses.

I moved the controls— reminiscent of an arcade machine— and steered Steel Titan. While I couldn’t claim to be better than boxing champions, I was at least more skilled than Steelstone when he had controlled Falcon.

The reason Steel Titan’s controls resembled a video game console? It was because I had a knack for fighting games back in school.

‘Up, left, down, down.’

Slashing, biting, and swinging.

The beast’s attack patterns were obvious.

It didn’t look like the creature knew MMA, and even if it did, that massive body wasn’t suited for pulling off any moves.

Using reflexes, combat AI, and big-data prediction simulations, I dodged all of the dragon’s attacks. Meanwhile, our own strikes were landing with increasing precision. I could already see the frustration building as the dragon was hit over and over again.

—Graaaagh—! You wretched humans! Tin can!

[Hahaha—! Rocket Punch!]

Steel Titan’s knee strike smashed into the dragon’s abdomen, sending a shockwave through its organs and causing it to spew saliva. Grabbing its lowered head, Titan followed up with another knee strike.

As the dragon groaned, reeling from the repeated blows, I readied a finishing stance. Just like inputting a special move command in a fighting game, I maneuvered Titan accordingly. Holes opened all over Titan’s body, and boosters fired from them.

[Final—!]

With a quick 720-degree spin, Titan’s back kick struck the dragon’s jaw squarely. Just like a confirmed critical hit in a fighting game, Titan’s attack didn’t miss, supported by AI and simulations.

—…!

The impact was so tremendous, it felt as though the dragon’s head could have been ripped off. The beast, too, seemed to have been affected the same way— its massive body slowly collapsed toward the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as it rolled.

Watching the dragon fall, I adjusted Titan’s stance for a finishing move. But there was no need. The dragon didn’t rise again.

[The enemy leader! Defeated!]

Even with Steel Titan chanting the resurrection spell, the dragon remained down.