FLAW: FIFTY-FIVE

**MAICA POV**

A month had passed, and the situation was worsening. While attacks were previously isolated, they were now happening simultaneously. Due to this, we could no longer attend school. Our program heads even called to inform us that they would drop us, a decision we readily agreed to—not because we were tired of studying but because we had more important things to do. Schools were rendered useless if the world was falling apart. Besides, we could resume our studies once it was over if it ends.

We were now in an abandoned factory with the Enigma club. Trevor was also with us, having recovered from his severe flu infection. We learned that he had been dealing with a severe flu, which kept him away from the group for three weeks. It was that serious.

"According to witnesses, a dragon resides here," Calli reported, reading from a report on her tablet.

"A dragon, at last," Justin exclaimed, seemingly intrigued.

We also discovered that each club member had a field of expertise regarding supernatural phenomena. Calli, as you may know, was an expert in fairies. Justin focused on reptiles such as dragons. Wernie specialized in ghosts and demons, while Trevor dealt with aliens and witches. As for Dao, he chose to maintain a factual and scientific approach, contradicting his companions' beliefs yet still respecting them.

"It seems like it has been here for a long time. The energy shift started a week ago," Dao informed me while looking at his laptop.

"Then, how does it eat?" Wernie asked in amazement.

"That's what we're going to find out," Justin suggested. We continued walking until we reached the interior of the factory. The walls were deteriorating, the metal bars were rusty, thick cobwebs covered the place, and the floor was filled with countless puddles. There was also a somewhat foul smell, resembling rotting meat.

"I think I know what it eats," Justin informed, catching our attention. He raised his hand, holding a rat's tail—

"Gross!" Wernie complained, taking a step back from Justin.

"Is that a rat's tail?" Calli asked in surprise.

"Bingo!" Justin exclaimed, creating an echoing effect throughout the factory.

"We're talking about a dragon here, Justin. And dragons are huge. How can a colossal dragon be satisfied with just a small rat?" Trevor pointed out.

"One is not enough, but with enough numbers, it will be an all-you-can-eat buffet," Justin explained, which bewildered us.

"And how will it do that?" Alex asked.

"You see, there are very special dragons and one of them..." A sudden, deep humming noise filled the place, surprising us. "...is like the Pied Piper," Justin continued.

In a matter of seconds, we heard the squeals of rats. Their numbers were so great that we were sure there was an entire battalion of them. We were taken aback when, suddenly, hundreds of rats emerged from different parts of the factory. They were like fans who had just seen their idol.

"Gross!" Calli exclaimed as a rat passed right by her. Even Trisha and Wernie jumped a little. As for me and the boys, we just looked at the rats as they scattered.

"Let's go," Sky invited, and he immediately walked along with the rats. We followed him until we reached the other end of the factory. We quickly hid when a massive dragon appeared before us.

Its back turned to us, but it immediately looked in our direction, sensing the waiting rats. It was just an ordinary dragon, like the ones you see in movies. In a matter of moments, it lowered its head to the ground and opened its mouth. It let out another hum, revealing how it fed on the rats. Rats willingly ran towards the dragon's mouth as if offering themselves to it against their will.

"Just like the Pied Piper, that dragon uses his hum to summon rats," Justin informed. So, his hum was some kind of a spell, and all these rats were bewitched.

"Umm... why are we going to kill this dragon again?" I asked, causing everyone to look at me.

"Don't be fooled, Maica. Even if it eats only rats, a time will come when it will come out. If that happens, humans will be on its menu, too," Trevor pointed out, and he had a point.

"Alex," Sky called, making the determined-looking man turn towards him. "Ready?" he inquired, and Alex nodded in response.

The two were about to leave their hiding spot when suddenly, the rats started running away from the dragon. Wondering, we looked at it and noticed that the dragon was looking at something. Since we were hidden, we couldn't figure out who or what it saw.

But we were sure it didn't like it. We watched as the dragon furrowed its brows in anger, gritting its bone-breaking sharp teeth, accompanied by a growl. It slowly stood up until we saw its entire size.

"Based on his size, I'm sure he's matured," Justin commented as he gazed at the gigantic flying lizard before us. We were surprised when it suddenly breathed fire from its mouth. I thought it was directed at us, but it wasn't. It had a different target, and we didn't know who it was.

Screams of agony and pain echoed in the room after the dragon's ruthless attack. We were more curious when we heard that there were many of them. We could listen to some of them shouting orders to tranquilize the dragon. It meant they were here to capture it. Who were they?

"There are many of them, reaching a dozen," Alex said, eyes closed as he used his endar.

"What should we do? Should we help them? Or what?" Trevor asked in a panicked and confused tone.

"None," Sky answered, furrowing our brows. "Only one person is interested in creatures like these."

"Glias," Alex whispered.

"So, what are we going to do? We can't just fight them both," Justin pointed out, and he was right. We couldn't fight two opponents at once.

"Let me handle this," Alex suddenly said, emerging from his hiding spot and surprising us with his actions.

******

**ALEX POV**

I walked towards the dragon, and he immediately noticed me. He looked at me, appearing even angrier than before. Glias' personnel were also surprised when they saw the logo on their uniforms. The dragon spat fire at me, but it was ineffective due to my force field. I glanced at Glias and started walking towards them.

The dragon continued breathing fire, but as I mentioned, it failed. The Glias personnel stepped back whenever I approached them. When I reached them, I lifted their guns and systematically shot each one with tranquilizers. Once they lost consciousness, I threw them towards the dragon.

"You're hungry, right?" I asked, but he still glared at me. After a while, he started eating them one by one. I could hear the crunch of bones being chewed by his sharp teeth and strong jaw. Blood from his prey also oozed from the sides of his mouth. He was enjoying it, and I was glad he was because once he finished eating, he would be next.

After a minute or two, he finished. Blood was dripping from his mouth, creating a puddle of red on the floor instead of water.

"Done?" I asked, but he still seemed angry. "Silence means yes," and I turned the Glias' guns into sharp blades. I thrust my hands towards him, and they mercilessly struck him. The dragon screamed in pain, followed by his fiery breath at me. I deflected it and counterattacked using three psi balls.

Explosions from the three psi balls echoed in the deserted factory, making every corner of it tremble. The dragon was bleeding, but he still stood strong. I would end this in just one shot. A metal bar caught my eye, which I immediately levitated. It hovered above the dragon, transforming into a thick, sharp spear. I heated it until it emitted an orange glow.

At first, I thought of targeting his heart, but then I remembered that the brain controlled everything. Without it, the entire body would lose its ability to function. So, I adjusted the angle of the spear I created, and in an instant, I released it. The spear dashed towards the dragon's head and mercilessly pierced through. It penetrated through the back of his head, followed by the fall of his entire body.

The ground shook as the dragon's body collapsed. Blood oozed from the wound while its eyes stared lifelessly. My friends emerged from their hiding spots and looked at the lifeless dragon. Justin couldn't resist and touched it. Calli took some pictures while others just stared. Sky walked towards me, accompanied by Dao.

"I thought the energy shift would disappear, but I was wrong," Dao suddenly said, grabbing our attention. "Looks like we're not done yet."

The ground suddenly shook, surprising us. It trembled until something burst from the ground close to where the dead dragon lay. A massive snake emerged, but it wasn't an ordinary one. Aside from its main head, it had about six smaller heads, with a seventh as its main head.

We thought it would attack but were surprised when it bit into the dead dragon's stomach. All of its heads chewed into the flesh of the dead dragon as if having a feast.

"Move slowly," Wernie reminded us, slowly walking towards my back. The others followed until they were all behind me. I quickly summoned a force field, watching the colossal snake feast on the dragon.

"Justin? Do you have any trivia about this?" Trevor called.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's the legendary snake that originated from China," Justin informed.

"China? How did it end up here?" Calli asked in surprise.

"I don't know," the guy answered.

"Let's get you to safety," Sky suggested, and we nodded. We slowly walked out of the hole the Glias personnel had entered earlier. But we were surprised when someone's phone rang.

"Shit!" Trevor hissed as he grabbed the phone from his pocket and immediately turned it off. "It's my mom."

"Well, you scold your mom later because she caught the snake's attention," Maica reported, looking up at the snake in shock and fear. The snake stared at us with all its heads, hissing, seemingly waiting for the right moment to attack.

"Nobody moves," Wernie reminded us. We were engaged in a staring contest with the snake because of our gazes. No one dared to look away, as it might provoke the snake and lead to an attack. Our breaths were shallow, trying to calm ourselves even though we were now covered with fear and anxiety. We waited, fearing that the snake would strike at any moment.

Maica jabbed my flank, causing me to look at her. She gestured her eyes downward as if trying to tell me to look down. At first, I was puzzled, so I furrowed my brow. But she did it again, this time with widened eyes.

I slowly lowered my head, following Maica's gesture. I saw a rat sniffing Maica's feet. This wasn't good. Once Trisha, Wernie, and Calli found out about this rat, I was sure they would—

"Aah!"
The Mindbender's Journey
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