A painful roar left Isha’s lips as the powerful wave of lava slammed into her face, sending a chilling wave of pain through her entire being.
Her Frost energy rapidly covered her face, cooling down the heat, but when she opened her eyes, what awaited her was the sight of gigantic lava-filled claws lashing onto her face, sending her flying fifty meters into the sky.
WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The air cracked as a gigantic lava-infused tail arced through the sky, striking straight into Isha.
One of her wings barely managed to withstand the impact, but the searing heat burned through its flesh, leaving behind deep, charred wounds.
Her back slammed into the ground, sending her crashing toward the very place they had both come from.
Groaning, Isha adjusted herself to a stop, breathing raggedly.
As she opened her eyes, she found Ryuk standing before her, his hand raised toward her face, where a pill lay curled in his palm.
He opened her maw and tossed the pill into her mouth before stepping backward.
A deep flame spread through Isha’s lungs, searing her very core as the pill disintegrated inside her.
A powerful blue light flashed in her eyes, and in the next instant—
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAARRR!
A roar, even more powerful than the one she had unleashed before, erupted from her throat as Isha rose back to her feet.
The wing that had been burned instantly regenerated, all of her charred wounds closing up. Her skin cracked apart, revealing pure, pristine scales beneath.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The air exploded with force as Isha shot forward, hurtling toward the lava crocodile.
A crystalline ice rock formed in her fingers, and in an instant, she hurled it toward the beast.
The projectile blasted forward, but the creature responded with a burning wave of lava, reducing the ice to nothing before the two clashed once more.
Claw met claw. Fangs sank into flesh.
The impact sent debris flying through the air as the two beasts separated for only a moment—only to charge toward each other again with even more ferocity.
"This is what Isha needs..." Ryuk muttered to himself as he watched her fighting style shift, her movements adapting.
She had begun crafting sharp, crystalline ice shards with precision, controlling them with intelligence, turning the battlefield into a frozen war zone.
"More ferocity. Right now, she’s a cub to it. She holds too much power, but not much experience. This is never the right way. It is always better to be more experienced first."
"If Isha’s power keeps growing, but her ferocity lags behind—or worse, if it’s uncontrolled—she will become nothing more than another mindless beast, overflowing with power but lacking any true control."
’I wasn’t raised like that by Uncle Bob. He taught me to get used to killing barehand before giving me a knife.’
’Experience must precede power—not the other way around or the absolute lack of it.’
His thoughts trailed off as, once more, Isha’s gigantic body was sent tumbling. This time, one of her claws had been ripped from her body, and two of her wings were torn apart.
Ryuk stretched out his hand, her maw opening once again as he tossed another healing pill toward her.
The moment it entered her mouth, her injuries closed up, her body regenerating.
And with renewed strength, she lunged forward toward the crocodile once more, the battle resuming—this time with even more ferocity.
"Become ferocious, Isha. Listen to your primal desires. Watch how the true beasts of the wild fight. Learn their ferocity, their cunning, their battle strategy."
"And most importantly—learn how they apply this ferocity to their battles and prevail."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ground cracked apart as Isha was once again sent flying, crashing back toward Ryuk—this time looking even more battered than before.
Yet, just like before, Ryuk tossed a pill into her mouth, sending her running back toward the lava crocodile.
The beast, too, was covered in injuries.
Scorch marks, frost-bitten wounds, and deep gashes marred its form, its breath growing heavier.
But its eyes burned with something else.
The air burned hotter. A grin spread across the beast’s maw. Sparks crackled around its form as it snarled toward Isha, exhaling steam through its nostrils.
Ryuk’s eyes flashed in amazement.
"Never have I seen an enemy so valiant… Never have I seen one of my enemies get knocked down—only to rise back up. Again. And again.
"Without any hope of winning—yet still standing."
The lava crocodile lunged once more, but its body betrayed it. Its ferocity remained, but its strength was gone.
It collapsed onto the ground, breathing hard.
When it opened its eyes again, it did not find Isha before it.
Instead, a small, frail-looking creature stood before it—hands in his pockets, gazing down.
Pure lava suddenly erupted from the crocodile’s form, surging toward Ryuk in one last desperate attack. The beast’s eyes flashed with a sinister light—
Ryuk stood there, completely untouched.
The molten rock dripped from his body, but somehow never touched it, and his expression did not change.
It was as if he had anticipated the strike before it even happened.
The crocodile tried to move again, tried to kill the one responsible for its downfall.
But its body would not listen.
Slowly, Ryuk stretched out his hand, his palm pressing gently against the beast’s face. The crocodile flinched.
A sensation unlike any other spread through its form.
The one thing it hated most in this world.
And yet—this coldness did not bring pain.
This coldness... brought peace.
"You fought valiantly, Croc," Ryuk whispered. "Rest now."
The gentle words filled the battlefield with an eerie stillness.
A peace so profound, so complete... it felt like a baby being lulled to sleep.
The crocodile gave in.
Under Ryuk’s unwavering will, it accepted its end.
Frost spread from Ryuk’s palm, covering the beast’s body. Its eyes, once filled with rage, softened.
Relief flickered within them as its consciousness faded into darkness.
Like an ice sculpture, the beast’s body shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the ground before disintegrating into nothing but ashes.
[Congratulations! Host has defeated a Grade A Beast!]
[Total EXP: +20,000!]
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In and Out_SnowySmoos