The crowd swelled, eager to watch nobles crush an ant.

Several grim-faced figures slipped through the throng, circling the stall.

Yet the little girl sat perfectly still on her stool, wide-eyed and innocent—as if none of this was her doing.

Korean was seething. Not only did the loli show no fear, but that young man kept squatting nearby, munching a baked flatbread like he hadn’t a care. No lifeline offered.

*Unforgivable!* "Kill her!" he roared.

Shadows lunged from the crowd. Binding magic crackled in their palms—enough to trap her effortlessly.

"Begone!" Her lips parted slightly. A deafening shockwave erupted, hurling the attackers like dead fish into the walls with bone-crunching thuds.

Korean’s heart lurched. *Such power… She’d be wild in bed too.* He vowed to possess her.

Sky Qi chuckled dryly, watching the flood of private guards advance like clowns. Not one would lay a finger on her. No need for him to lift a hand.

"Humans… you push too far!" Her childish voice echoed unnaturally.

*ROAR!*

A beastly bellow tore through the air. Sky Qi threw up his arms—still yards away, the sonic blast nearly shattered his eardrums. His trembling hands dropped as he stared, dumbfounded.

*Dragon… roar?* This girl was a dragon in hiding. He’d sensed a caged beast in her eyes, but never guessed *this*.

Golden horns sprouted from her head. Wings of pure gold unfurled, radiating suffocating pressure.

*Holy shit. Since when do dragons live in CityofNoNight?*

"A Golden Dragon!" someone shrieked.

"Why’s a dragon here?!"

"She’s a Golden Dragon in human form—we’re all dead!"

"F*** your nobles! F*** you, Korean! You’ve doomed us all!"

Curses flew as the mob stampeded, trampling each other to escape.

Korean’s jaw hung slack, despair freezing his blood. Her tiny hand seized his skull—

*Squelch.*

She crushed it like a ripe persimmon. Blood and brains splattered across her flawless face.

"Humans… all must die." Her sweet voice turned demonic.

Sky Qi’s eye twitched. *She’ll blame everyone.* Not entirely innocent—the arsonist and the spectators shared guilt. Back at his S Rank peak with SS Rank luck, he’d have crushed her easily.

But now? B Rank strength and rotten luck? *Dragon-slaying?* He’d be swatted like a fly.

*Time to vanish.* Cold sweat slicked his palms—then his body locked rigid.

Not just him. Every onlooker stood frozen, limbs leaden under crushing weight. Weaklings coughed blood, collapsing.

*Dragon’s aura.* Sky Qi knew its power from battling Infernal Dragons. Their bodies were unbreakable. Their aura could flatten mortals. Their breath choked. Their wings leveled houses. Their roars shattered organs.

Even half-transformed, she could doom CityofNoNight. Dragons meant endless calamity.

Her aura pinned commoners and weak mages—but Sky Qi, a monster versed in all magic, shattered its grip with a thought.

Still, he dared not move. One wrong twitch, and he’d die horribly. He stood statue-still, sweat dripping, while his Sea of Magic churned, gathering power for a single escape chance.

*No fight left in me… but I can run.* She was S- Rank—stronger than Lin Xiarri.

*Please, spirits above,* he prayed internally, *don’t notice me. This isn’t my mess!*

The dragon loli ignored the groveling crowd. Her gaze locked onto Sky Qi.

*Damn it—she’s targeting me!* Power surged through his veins.

*Shadow Step.*

His body melted into darkness.

*WindStride.*

Magic propelled him like a gale. Both escape arts flared, his Sea of Magic whirling into a vortex of raw speed.

*No way she catches me now—* A confident smirk died as a tiny hand clamped his shoulder. His unstoppable flight halted dead.

One squeeze, and his arm would tear off at the socket.

*Even this failed.* He turned mechanically. His strength began draining away.

Half-dragon or not, she wore a little girl’s form—and Sky Qi hadn’t forgotten his curse: *beauty drains his power*.

No escape left. Against a dragon who could kill him without blinking?

"Human," she whispered, her breath hot on his neck. "You smell… familiar."