An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

The symbols on the bronze door abruptly stopped rotating, as if caught in a jam. It swayed back and

forth with an unsettling creaking sound.

"Huh? What's happening? Why did it stop moving?"

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances.

"Captain Wilder, what's going on?" Grace furrowed her brow in unease.

"Ms. Linsor, calm down. After all, it's been over a thousand years, and it's normal for the mechanisms

to show some signs of aging. Just give it a moment, and it'll be fine," Garrett said with a faint smile.

He had encountered similar situations before. In the past, he had dealt with traps that, even when

triggered, remained inactive due to years of neglect.

As he examined the bronze door's material, he felt assured that its internal mechanisms were likely

undamaged, albeit possibly less responsive.

Given the earlier smashing and explosions, he reasoned that there must have been some impact.

Then, the symbols and characters, which were initially rotating clockwise, suddenly began to turn

counterclockwise.

"Ah! It's rotating again!" Silva exclaimed in relief. Just a moment ago, she had feared something went

wrong, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

"Ms. Linsor, you see? Everything will be okay soon—" Garrett began to smile, but his words were

abruptly cut off.

In an instant, symbols on the bronze door sank, revealing rows of thumb-sized dark openings.

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Simultaneously, countless golden steel arrows shot out from these openings. The flurry of arrows, swift

and unexpected, took everyone by surprise.

Garrett, who happened to be standing closest to the door, found himself becoming the main target.

"Captain, be careful!"

Silva acted quickly, shoving him aside and shielding him from the barrage of arrows. As a result, she

took hits to her shoulder and arm from the golden steel projectiles.

If it weren't for her selfless intervention, Garrett, who was reveling in his victory, could have been fatally

struck then and there.

"Silva!" he exclaimed upon spotting her injuries. His expression changed as he hurried over to check

on her.

"Captain, I'm okay. It's just a scratch," she reassured him, forcing a smile.

"Here, take this sanguine tablet quickly!" Garrett urged.

He retrieved a red tablet from his pocket and handed it to Silva. As he swiftly wrapped a bandage

around her, he felt a sense of relief—it wasn't a critical injury. With the sanguine tablet, he knew she

would recover in a few days, but it might temporarily affect her movements.

"Captain, what happened? Everything was fine a moment ago. Why did the mechanism trigger

unexpectedly?" Silva asked, looking puzzled.

"Most likely, there was a malfunction in some internal components, leading to a misfire in the

mechanism," Garrett explained, furrowing his brow.

It was rotating clockwise and then suddenly switched to counterclockwise. Clearly, something was off.

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"Captain Wilder, the rune on this door has stopped rotating. Can it still be opened?" Grace asked. Her

heart raced from the sudden turn of events.

Garrett hesitated and was momentarily thrown off by the unexpected question. Once brimming with

confidence, he now found himself in an awkward position due to the unexpected setback.

"Ms. Linsor, what happened earlier was just an accident. I believe the captain can still open this bronze

door," Silva spoke up, offering her support for him.

"Ms. Linsor, I'll give it another shot. No problem," Garrett said, taking a moment to collect himself. He

cautiously approached the bronze door and studied it carefully.

After ensuring it was safe, he replicated the previous procedure, pressing the ruby eye and turning left

three times, then right three times. Despite his efforts, this time, the bronze door remained

unresponsive.

Garrett attempted the process multiple times, knocking and testing, but to no avail.

Somewhat embarrassed, he turned to Grace and admitted, "It appears that the mechanism inside this

bronze door is either malfunctioning or broken."

"Broken?" Grace furrowed her brow. "So, you're saying this door won't budge?"

"You're right." Garrett nodded.

He added, "This door has been around for ages, and now the mechanism is unresponsive. The recent

explosion might have caused internal damage. At this point, I'm powerless to do anything about it."

"Isn't there any other way?" Grace's brow tightened even more.

"I can't open it, and honestly, I doubt anyone else in the world could." Garrett sighed.

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Dustin, unable to hold back any longer, stepped forward. "Let me give it a try."

"You?" Garrett sized up Dustin with a smirk. "Dustin, I recognize your strength, but when it comes to

mechanisms, you're not on my level. If I can't open it, you'd be better off saving your energy."

"You won't know if I can't do it unless you let me try," Dustin said calmly.

"Hmph! Enough with the showboating. Even our captain, who's quite knowledgeable, is stumped. Why

do you think you can figure it out?" Silva sneered.

Garrett had clearly explained that the internal mechanisms were damaged. No one on Earth could

unlock the door.

"Dustin, know your limits. If you're not up for it, don't go grabbing attention," Garrett quipped

sarcastically.

Dustin brushed off the sarcasm, heading straight for the bronze door and examining it closely.

"Save yourself the trouble. It's a lost cause. You can't even decipher the symbols above, and you want

to open this door. Good luck with that," Garrett said.

Then, he declared with a touch of bravado, "If you manage to unlock it, I'll gladly slam my head against

the bronze door."

"Really?" Dustin smirked. Then, he clenched his fist and delivered a powerful blow to the bronze door.

The impact resonated, making the ground tremble and sending a cloud of dust into the air. The strong

shockwave pushed everyone back, almost knocking them off balance.

As the dust cleared, the once-unyielding bronze door now lay in pieces, shattered by his mighty punch.

Everyone was stunned by the sight.

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