Its breath was horrendous—a putrid stench of rotting meat and damp fur, so strong that Ezra nearly gagged.
The bear's teeth were mismatched and yellowed, some longer than others, jagged like broken knives. Dried blood stained its gums, and chunks of flesh were still lodged between its molars, remnants of its last unfortunate meal.
Ezra swallowed hard, his stomach twisting in revulsion. His body screamed at him to move, but before he could react, the bear was suddenly yanked off him with effortless ease.
A blur of motion—and the massive beast was airborne.
Ezra barely had time to process what had happened before the bear crashed through the trees, snapping branches like twigs before slamming into the ground with a deafening thud.
Ezra looked up, his breath still caught in his throat. Standing there, completely unfazed, was his teacher, casually dusting leaves off his hair as if he hadn't just thrown a fully grown bear like it was nothing.
The bear, dazed but furious, shook itself off and let out a guttural roar, its bloodshot eyes locking onto the new threat. It dug its claws into the dirt, muscles coiling as it prepared to charge.
Ezra scrambled back, still half-sprawled on the ground, watching in a mix of awe and disbelief as his teacher remained utterly still.
"I told you to get me some food," the professor said, voice flat and unimpressed. "Not to disturb a damn bear."
The bear lunged forward with terrifying speed, its jaws snapping open, saliva dripping from its fangs, its claws swiping the air. It was relentless, and yet the figure standing before it was completely unfazed.
"Since my student is watching, I might as well show off, no?" the professor said, his voice calm and steady, as if the threat before him didn't even faze him.
With a casual flick, he pulled his long hair back into a bun, his movements fluid and almost lazy, yet purposeful. The air around him began to crackle, charged with an unseen force that rippled in the air like heat waves rising from an inferno. The world seemed to hold its breath for a moment, waiting.
Ezra's heart pounded, eyes wide with confusion and awe, as a sharp, almost electric sensation filled the air. Then, in a flash, a burst of green light engulfed the professor, swallowing him whole in a wave of pure energy.
The world around Ezra shifted, reality itself warping as he was transported to a different realm. He found himself standing in a vast, ethereal landscape. The sky above was impossibly wide, filled with floating dragon shapes, their massive forms casting shadows that stretched across the endless plains. The air was thick with power, humming and alive with a resonance that pulsed like the heartbeat of the earth itself.
Ezra's eyes were drawn to the center of the horizon, where a colossal dragon loomed, its emerald green scales glistening like molten metal under the sun. The beast's wings stretched wide, creating gusts of wind that tore through the sky, and its eyes glowed like burning emeralds. From its massive jaws, a torrent of fiery, ethereal energy erupted, coiling through the air in a devastating spiral. The sheer power of the dragon's blast shook the very air around Ezra, sending ripples of energy across the sky. It was as though the roar of a thousand dragons rang through his very soul, shaking him to his core.
The professor stood perfectly still, his eyes closed, arms slightly raised as if channeling the very force of the dragon's energy through him. The power surged around him like a protective aura, and Ezra felt the resonance calling to him—felt it deep in his bones—as if the professor was one with the dragon itself. The air hummed with an otherworldly vibration, and for a moment, everything seemed to pause.
Then, with a single movement, the professor released the stored power, sending the spiraling burst of dragon fire careening toward the bear, its ethereal tendrils reaching for the beast. The fire didn't burn—it consumed. It wrapped around the bear, engulfing it in an explosion of dragon's breath. The bear let out a final roar before it was swallowed whole by the searing green light.
The sound of the professor's power was deafening—a roar like the fury of the earth, and the sky shook as the last remnants of the attack faded. Ezra stood frozen, unable to comprehend what had just unfolded before his eyes, his chest tightening from the sheer magnitude of the attack.
When the light dimmed and the world around him returned to normal, the professor was standing exactly where he had been, unfazed. The forest stretched out before them, but it was a scene of devastation. The once lush, vibrant woods were now scorched, the trees blackened and twisted, their branches still smoldering in the aftermath of the professor's overwhelming display of power. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burnt wood, the ground charred and cracked.
The professor scratched the back of his head, glancing around at the scorched earth with a sheepish expression. "Oh… that was a bit too much," he muttered to himself, as if the destruction didn't even faze him. He surveyed the clearing where the bear had once been, but now, it was as if the creature had never existed at all. There was no sign of the massive beast, just the remains of the forest, blackened and broken.
"Well, there goes my breakfast," the professor sighed, his voice light and unconcerned. He didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that the bear was gone or the damage done to the forest. Instead, he simply shrugged and turned back to Ezra, as if everything was normal.
Ezra, still wide-eyed and stunned by what had just happened, couldn't help but stare. The sheer magnitude of the professor's power—and the effortless way in which he had unleashed it—was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. He had just witnessed the professor channel the strength of a dragon, and now, he stood casually, as if it were nothing.
Ezra's mind raced, still processing everything he had seen. "You—uh… you really don't care, do you?" he asked, his voice still a little shaky.
The professor gave him a lazy smile. "Eh, it's not like the bear was doing anything important. Besides, I can always grab something else." He shrugged again, unfazed by the devastation around them.