Dredge grinned, unfazed by Erend's confidence.
"I've been waiting for you from the start, beast!" he sneered. "Why did you take so long to appear? Were you afraid?"
Erend threw his head back and laughed wildly.
"Afraid? Of you?" His crimson eyes gleamed with amusement. "I was just waiting for the right moment. If I wanted, I could kill you all in the blink of an eye."
Dredge's smirk vanished, replaced by a glare of pure fury. His teeth clenched. Then a deep mechanical whirring sound echoed from within his body.
The energy inside him surged, rising to a breaking point.
BOOM!
A crimson and black aura exploded outward from him, crackling with power that feels dangerous. The air around him twisted, distorting from the sheer force radiating from his body.
Erend felt the shift instantly. His instincts screamed at him — Dredge's strength had just increased severalfold.