MY HIDDEN TALENT IS FORBIDDEN BY THE HEAVENS-Chapter 134: VOID AND FANG

Chapter 134 — VOID AND FANG

Darkness swallowed them.

The fall wasn’t long, but it was violent. Stone tore at skin. Air vanished from lungs. They hit hard against uneven rock below the shattered chamber, sliding across a slanted slab before coming to a stop.

For several seconds—

There was nothing but ringing silence.

Then Zehell inhaled sharply.

She pushed herself up first.

Pain shot through her burned shoulder, but she ignored it.

"Long Hao."

He was on his back, dust coating his face, blood at the corner of his mouth. His chest rose slowly.

Not dead.

But close to empty.

Above them, faint light filtered down through the broken floor of the upper chamber. And silhouetted in that fractured opening—

The Black Steel Dragon moved.

Not retreating.

Descending.

It folded its wings partially and dropped into the lower cavern with controlled grace, claws carving sparks into stone as it landed.

It had chosen to finish this.

Zehell stood fully now.

Her spear scraped against the stone as she picked it up.

The dragon’s molten gaze locked onto Long Hao first.

Always him.

Long Hao coughed once and rolled to his side.

The triangular lattice inside him flickered violently.

One node cracked.

Another dim.

Longyu’s voice was strained.

"Host at critical threshold."

The silver fragment spoke colder than ever.

"Authority insufficient. Retreat recommended."

Long Hao laughed once, low and broken.

"Retreat where?"

The dragon advanced.

Each step slow.

Final.

Zehell stepped in front of him again.

"No."

The word was not loud.

But it was absolute.

The dragon’s tail snapped forward.

Zehell twisted aside, barely avoiding decapitation as the steel mass carved a deep trench into the cavern wall.

She countered instantly.

Her spear flashed, striking at the dragon’s jaw hinge.

Sparks exploded.

The dragon retaliated with a backhand claw that slammed into her guard and hurled her across the cavern.

She rolled, came up to one knee—

And spat blood.

It was stronger.

Faster.

More stable.

The Black Steel Dragon was not testing now.

It was executing.

Long Hao forced himself upright.

His vision swam.

The dragon opened its jaws again.

Molten black light gathered.

Zehell saw it.

She didn’t think.

She ran toward the dragon instead of away from it.

She planted her spear into the ground mid-sprint.

Her aura detonated outward in violent waves.

"LYKANA!"

This time—

The wolf that emerged was not behind her.

It burst through her.

Silver light exploded from her back, forming massive spectral limbs that wrapped around her like living armor. Fangs extended from her shoulders. Claws formed along her arms.

She leapt directly into the dragon’s breath.

The wolf lunged.

Silver met black.

The beam scattered.

The cavern exploded in light.

Zehell slammed into the dragon’s snout, driving it backward with sheer force.

The ground cracked beneath both of them.

But the dragon’s claws sank into stone and stopped the momentum.

Its jaws snapped shut inches from her torso.

She held it back—

Barely.

The steel fangs scraped against her aura, sparks cascading like rain.

"LONG HAO!" she shouted.

Inside—

Something shifted.

He remembered.

Not the house.

Not the blank face.

The fall.

Her body covering his.

Her hands in his hair.

"You’ll anchor me."

She had said she would.

Now—

He needed to anchor her.

The triangular lattice trembled.

Longyu’s voice steadied.

"You cannot overpower it."

The silver fragment added:

"Overpower is inefficient."

Long Hao inhaled slowly.

"I’m not overpowering."

He stepped forward.

The dragon’s tail whipped toward him—

But Zehell twisted, grabbing the tail mid-swing with spectral claws and slamming it into the cavern floor.

She roared through clenched teeth.

"NOW!"

Long Hao clenched his fist.

Inside the void—

He did not issue suppression.

He did not issue regulation.

He reached into the empty space between nodes.

Into the space he had created.

And he compressed it.

The void folded inward around his fist.

Space distorted.

Sound vanished.

The air cracked like brittle glass around his arm.

The silver fragment whispered:

"Unknown technique detected."

Longyu’s voice pulsed.

"Void compression."

Long Hao stepped into range.

The dragon’s chest plates overlapped tightly, protecting its core.

It turned its molten gaze toward him—

Too late.

He drove his fist forward.

Not into steel.

Into space.

The compressed void detonated outward on impact.

VOID PUNCH.

The cavern imploded.

Not from explosion—

From absence.

The dragon’s chest armor did not shatter outward.

It collapsed inward as if crushed by invisible gravity.

Steel folded.

Plates bent.

The molten script lines flickered violently.

The dragon roared—

This time not mechanical.

Agonized.

Zehell saw the opening.

Her eyes sharpened.

The wolf behind her grew larger still.

She sprinted along the dragon’s coiling body, using its scales as footholds, ascending toward the fractured chest plate.

The dragon convulsed violently.

A wing blade snapped toward her—

She ducked.

A claw slashed upward—

She twisted midair.

She reached the broken seam Long Hao had created.

Her spear glowed blinding white.

She drew it back.

And screamed.

"LYKANA!"

The spectral wolf manifested fully around her—massive, luminous, primal.

It lunged with her.

Spear and fang struck simultaneously into the exposed core seam.

The impact tore through steel.

Through molten script.

Through whatever ancient logic bound the guardian.

Light exploded from the dragon’s chest.

Molten gold poured outward like a ruptured star.

The dragon thrashed violently.

Its body slammed against cavern walls, bringing rock down in avalanches.

Long Hao staggered backward from recoil, blood pouring freely now from his nose.

The triangular lattice cracked again.

But held.

Zehell did not retreat.

She drove the spear deeper.

The wolf bit down.

The dragon’s core screamed—

And fractured.

The molten gold turned unstable.

Black steel plates began to lose cohesion.

The dragon lashed blindly.

One final desperate swipe caught Zehell across the ribs and sent her flying backward.

She hit stone hard and rolled, breath gone.

The dragon staggered.

Wings faltered.

Molten light flickered erratically inside its chest cavity.

Long Hao forced himself upright again.

His vision blurred.

But he could see it.

The instability.

He stepped forward one last time.

The dragon reared weakly.

Its molten eyes dimming.

He raised his hand.

Not to command.

Not to regulate.

To end.

He compressed void again—

Smaller this time.

Precise.

He thrust forward.

The compressed point of absence pierced directly into the exposed core.

Silence.

Absolute.

Then—

The dragon collapsed inward.

Steel folded in on itself like paper consumed by invisible fire.

Molten light imploded.

The cavern shook violently.

And then—

Stillness.

Black steel fragments clattered across stone.

The massive form disintegrated into inert metal shards.

The molten glow faded completely. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The anchor above pulsed once—

Then dimmed to stable silver.

Dust settled slowly.

Long Hao remained standing for half a second.

Then his legs gave out.

Zehell moved on instinct.

She caught him before he hit the ground.

This time—

He didn’t black out immediately.

He looked at her.

Both breathing hard.

Both bleeding.

Both barely standing.

"You okay?" he asked hoarsely.

She stared at him in disbelief.

"You punched a dragon."

He gave a faint smile.

"You bit it."

She almost laughed.

Instead—

She pulled him closer.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

Bronze Squad groaned in the background, slowly regaining consciousness.

Colby’s weak voice echoed from somewhere behind rubble.

"Did... did we win?"

Marek coughed.

"Feels like it."

Zehell helped Long Hao sit against the cavern wall.

The anchor light above stabilized fully now, no longer hostile.

The Black Steel Dragon was gone.

Not suppressed.

Destroyed.

The trial had been answered.

Long Hao exhaled slowly.

Inside—

The triangular lattice glowed steady.

Damaged.

But unified.

Longyu spoke softly.

"Authority validated."

The silver fragment added quietly:

"Adaptive governance acknowledged."

Long Hao leaned his head briefly against Zehell’s shoulder.

She didn’t move away.

Outside the cavern—

The wind resumed.

For the first time since entering the cave—

There was no pressure.

No threat.

Only aftermath.

And the quiet understanding that they had faced something meant to judge them—

And survived.

Together.

[Chapter ENDS]