the Dragon who can see future

Chapter 43 – The Future Seen by Dragon Eyes

(Volume 4: Ascendancy of the Dragon Monarch)

The wind had grown quiet.

Even the birds, once chirping in distant trees, had disappeared as if sensing the storm that was about to unfold. The sun hovered low in the sky, casting long shadows across the battle-scarred land surrounding Lee Hwan's villa.

Smoke from the destroyed mountain ridge still curled into the air in the far distance.

And yet, despite the chaos, Lee Hwan stood calm.

Three assassins already lay motionless around him. One had been knocked unconscious, one paralyzed, and the last—restrained by aura chains, still gasping for breath. But this wasn't over.

Far from it.

Suddenly, Lee's gaze shifted slightly—his head turning as if he heard a whisper no one else could.

He extended his right hand out behind him.

Fingers open. Waiting.

"You're too slow," he said calmly.

The assassin who had just lunged from behind him—one of the more muscular elites, cloaked in a refractive aura—froze in mid-air.

His dagger had been aimed right for Lee's spine.

But instead, he landed exactly where Lee's hand had been waiting.

CLANG!

Lee's aura-infused grip caught the blade mid-swing.

The muscular assassin's eyes widened in disbelief. The force of the block sent a shockwave of energy rippling through the ground beneath them.

"W-What… how…?"

Lee's voice was quiet—but thunderous in its impact.

"No point hiding anymore. I saw it coming."

The assassin gritted his teeth and tried to leap back, but Lee didn't let go.

Instead, Lee tilted his head slightly and muttered something that shook the man to his core:

"True Dragon Eye… lets me see five seconds into the future."

The assassin's eyes trembled.

"What…?!"

Before he could react, Lee spun and slammed the man into the ground like a meteor. Cracks burst through the earth where his body landed.

A moment later, another enemy tried to capitalize on the opening—rushing from the forest with enhanced boots, wielding a chained weapon charged with lightning energy.

But Lee had already stepped to the left—before the man even moved.

"Seen it."

Lee ducked, let the whip pass over him harmlessly, then lunged forward. His hand wrapped around the assassin's throat—and with a surge of aura—he lifted him like he weighed nothing.

"You tried. I respect that."

CRACK!

A single strike to the chest sent the man flying back like a ragdoll, crashing into a tree that promptly snapped in half.

From the shadows, the last hidden assassin stepped forward—he was different. His aura was… older. Experienced. This one wasn't just some elite mercenary. He was a veteran hunter. A killer.

And he wasn't scared.

Not yet.

"Your future sight has a delay," the assassin said coldly. "Five seconds… But if I act within two—"

Lee was already behind him.

"Wrong."

SLASH!

The assassin's arm was cut open before he even realized Lee had moved.

"You thought you'd out-time me?" Lee said, appearing right in front of him now. "You're three seconds late to that thought."

The assassin fell to his knees.

Breathing heavily.

Clutching his wound.

Lee turned his back on him and walked toward the center of the clearing once again.

"This isn't even worth my training time."

But just as he began to walk away—

BOOM!

An explosion of smoke and compressed mana surged outward from a point near the destroyed villa gate.

And from it stepped a man in bulky armor, his presence weighing down the very air. His aura was like molten steel—dense, suffocating.

Lee didn't turn.

He didn't have to.

"I was waiting for you," he said softly.

"The real back-up."

The bulky warrior moved fast—too fast for someone his size. His fists were lined with enchanted metal, powered by internal combustion cores. He was one of the Reclaimers' top-grade enforcers, built like a war machine.

He closed the distance in a blink.

FWOOM!

His massive fist hurtled toward Lee's back.

But just as it was about to connect—

Lee raised his hand.

At the exact spot.

With absolute precision.

CLANGGGG!

The ground shattered beneath them.

A sonic boom echoed across the valley as the impact between their auras clashed.

Dust exploded outward. Trees nearby bent and cracked.

The bulky warrior was shocked.

"He… blocked me without turning?"

Lee turned his head slightly.

His eyes were glowing gold now.

"Your punch is strong. Stronger than most. But not stronger than my will."

He twisted the warrior's arm, threw him over his shoulder, and planted his heel into the ground. A massive pillar of stone burst upward—impaling the man mid-air and trapping him in a crushing hold of stone and aura.

"That's one for the Reclaimers. Try again later."

Lee turned toward the city skyline in the distance.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

A helicopter buzzed far above, too high for ordinary people to see. He sensed them watching. Recording. Observing.

Let them.

He would no longer hide.

That evening, Lee returned to his villa.

The damage was minimal thanks to the barriers he had installed. He walked into the training room, removed his shirt, and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

Bruises were already fading. Scars from past battles glowed faintly with aura. His body was a map of survival, of endless war, of ascension.

He sat cross-legged on the wooden floor.

Closed his eyes.

And then whispered softly to himself.

"If I could see five seconds into the future… what would I see five years from now?"

The silence answered him.

Only the sound of wind filled the room.

But he already knew the answer.

He saw a throne.

He saw a world in flames.

He saw dragons soaring across black skies.

He saw the tower crumble.

And in every version of that future—Lee Hwan stood alone.

Undefeated. Unchallenged.

The one who chose his path, regardless of destiny.

[End of Chapter 43]