The Multiverse Hunter

Ali rose from his seat alongside Catherine, their movements drawing every eye in the theatre. The crowd's murmurs fell into a tense silence as Gunther descended from the stage, carrying the summoning scroll in its intricate wooden box.

His steps were cautious, his shoulders stiff, and when he finally stood before Ali, he avoided meeting his gaze. Handing over the scroll with trembling hands, Gunther stepped back quickly, as though proximity to Ali might be dangerous.

Without hesitation, Ali turned toward the exit, where the towering figure of the supervisor stood like a statue of judgment, his leonine form radiating quiet authority.

"You didn't have to do that," Ali said as he approached, his tone measured.

The supervisor remained silent, his golden eyes boring into Ali's for a moment before stepping aside, his enormous frame shifting smoothly to allow Ali and Catherine to pass.

"What was that about? Do you have some kind of deal with him?" Catherine asked, her voice low but filled with curiosity as they walked out of the alley and into the dimly lit streets.

"No," Ali replied curtly, his thoughts elsewhere. He stopped and turned to face her. "Catherine, it's been a great night. I'm taking my leave now."

He didn't give her time to respond, pivoting sharply and walking away, the scroll held firmly in his hand.

Catherine stood there, watching him disappear into the shadows of the Slum's labyrinthine alleys, a soft sigh escaping her lips before she turned and headed toward her apartment.

Ali moved swiftly, his senses alert as he moved through the narrow alleys. He could feel the presence of players following him, their attempts at stealth clumsy and obvious to someone of his caliber.

After taking several sharp turns and disappearing into a shadowed corner, Ali stopped and waited, silent as a predator. Moments later, the faint sounds of footsteps faded entirely—his pursuers had lost him.

Satisfied, he resumed his journey, eventually reaching his apartment. Closing the door behind him, he let out a small sigh of relief, setting the scroll down beside his bed.

He stood over it, gazing down at the intricate design of overlapping red circles. The scroll seemed to pulse faintly in the dim light of his room, almost as if alive.

'A beast summon that depends on luck,' Ali thought, rubbing the back of his neck.

'If it were up to me, I wouldn't have bought this. I don't trust my luck, and I don't think a beast could be of much use to me. But…'

His eyes lowered to the mark on his wrist, which still radiated a scalding heat, the surrounding skin red and blistered. He clenched his fist.

"When it's burning this much, I have to trust the mark Veska left me," he muttered.

Reaching for his quinque, Ali activated the weapon. The sleek handle transformed into the massive red longsword, its blade shimmering with an organic, sinewy texture.

Without hesitation, he extended his arm over the scroll and slashed the tip of his blade across his forearm.

Drops of blood spilled from the wound, falling onto the scroll. As the crimson liquid touched its surface, the scroll glowed intensely, absorbing the blood into its intricate design.

The red circles shone brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire room in an eerie light.

Ali tossed his quinque onto the bed as the wound on his arm healed within moments. He waited, watching the scroll intently as nothing happened for several agonising seconds.

'Do I need to give it more blood?' Ali thought, his hand hovering over the scroll again.

Suddenly, the entire scroll erupted in a blinding red light. The illumination engulfed the room, and Ali felt the floor vanish beneath his feet.

One moment, he was standing on the cold, hard surface of his apartment, and the next, he felt a strange, gritty texture beneath his boots.

Ali opened his eyes slowly.

It's dark.

The world around him was pitch black, the air heavy and oppressive. The silence was deafening, broken only by the faint sound of his own breathing. Ali's enhanced senses began to adjust, his sharp eyes picking up faint shapes and contours in the distance.

He took a cautious step forward, the sand-like texture beneath his feet shifting slightly. His eyes finally focused on a massive object in front of him, its immense size rendering it impossible to fully comprehend at first.

'It looks like… an eyelid,' Ali thought, his mind reeling.

The object twitched. Then, with a slow and deliberate motion, it opened.

The darkness surrounding Ali was replaced by a deep, otherworldly purple light. Before him was a colossal black iris with a slit pupil, sharp and menacing like a serpent's. The sheer scale of the eye dwarfed Ali, its gaze piercing through him as if laying bare every secret he carried.

The air around him vibrated as an ear-shattering voice boomed inside his skull.

"WELL… WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE…"

The sound wasn't merely a voice—it was a force. The words slammed into Ali's mind like a tidal wave, each syllable reverberating through his body.

His head throbbed, a migraine erupting instantly as if his brain were being crushed under the weight of the dragon's presence.

Ali gritted his teeth but refused to falter, his expression calm despite the agony.

The eye moved, rising slowly as the shadows around him dissipated, revealing the terrifying reality of what he was facing.

It wasn't just an eye—it was the eye of a dragon.

The creature unfurled itself from the shadows, its titanic form towering over Ali. Black scales covered its immense body, each one as large as a boulder and glistening like polished obsidian.

Its massive wings, folded behind its back, stretched briefly before settling into place, their span large enough to blot out the sky.

The dragon's head was monstrous, its snout elongated and filled with jagged teeth, each one the size of a small tree. Its nostrils flared, releasing twin jets of dark smoke that curled into the air.

The creature's presence was overwhelming, radiating a primal power that made the air around Ali feel heavy.

"A HUMAN…"

The voice came again, though softer this time, carrying a chilling whisper that seemed to come from all directions.

Ali turned, his sharp senses alert, and saw another dragon behind him.

This one was equally massive but vastly different in appearance. Its scales were a gleaming emerald green, and a shimmering aura of wind surrounded it, literal whirlwinds forming and dissipating along its body.

Its movements were fluid and graceful, almost as if it were gliding through the air despite standing still.

Ali's eyes darted around, realising that he wasn't surrounded by just two dragons. More emerged from the darkness—each one unique, each one emanating a different elemental energy.

Flames danced across the crimson scales of one; another was shrouded in a haze of frost, the ground beneath it freezing solid.

Before Ali could fully process the scene, the black dragon loomed closer, its massive head descending toward him.

"HUMANS… IT HAS BEEN SO LONG… I HAVE FORGOTTEN THE TASTE," the dragon growled, its voice like thunder rolling across a storm-ravaged sky.

The earth trembled as the dragon opened its massive maw, rows upon rows of teeth glinting menacingly.

The ground around Ali erupted as enormous dragon heads burst forth, each one a construct of shadow and earth.

Their jaws snapped open, revealing serrated teeth that gleamed with malice. They surged toward Ali, their speed blinding as the air itself seemed to part before their ferocity.

Ali stood still, his body unmoving, his gaze locked on the oncoming barrage of death.

His expression betrayed no fear, no panic. His calm eyes and composed demeanour were unshaken, even as the jaws of doom closed in around him.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The dragon heads froze, mere inches from Ali, as if held in place by an unseen force. The black dragon's voice returned, deeper and more resonant than before, carrying a note of admiration.

"IMPRESSIVE… NOT A HINT OF FEAR, EVEN IN THE FACE OF MY TEETH…"

The dragon lowered its colossal head, its piercing black eye staring directly into Ali's. Smoke billowed from its nostrils, the scent of brimstone filling the air. Its voice dropped into a menacing rumble, reverberating through Ali's very bones.

"WHAT BRINGS YOU TO OUR HOME HUMAN…"

Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.

Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312