Despite the searing heat from Terrosk scorching the vines and flowers on its body, the Elderwood Beast advanced—slowly but relentlessly, as if nothing could stop its instinct to survive.
The flowers growing from its back twisted and writhed, launching tendrils to shield its body from the intense flames emanating from Terrosk.
Terrosk roared, spurting molten lava from its mouth, raising the battle's temperature to a peak. Refusing to let its enemy seize the initiative, the Elderwood Beast charged in. It didn't hesitate. It wasn't afraid of the fire. A heavy punch smashed into Terrosk's face, causing the creature to stagger.
But it wasn't enough.
Terrosk retaliated almost instantly, jaws blazing with fire, attempting to bite down on the Beast's head. The deadly snap barely missed. Ashen—watching from the shadows—took note of this. He realized something clearly:
That monster... had changed.
It was no longer relying solely on brute strength and primal instinct. It was using its mind.
After dodging the attack, the Elderwood Beast steadied itself, its cold eyes locked on its charging foe. Without hesitation, it grabbed a nearby tree trunk and swung it at Terrosk. The blow didn't slow the beast.
With a whip of its tail, Terrosk flung the Elderwood Beast like a ragdoll. Its massive body slammed into a cliff, rocks exploding from the impact.
Terrosk lunged after it immediately. Its flaming jaws aimed to finish the fight. But then—a loud, cracking sound. Terrosk shrieked in pain. At the last second, the Elderwood Beast had seized a fractured rock and smashed it into Terrosk's head.
Once. Twice. Three times...
Again and again.
The crushing impacts echoed hideously. Each strike deepened the cracks in Terrosk's armored skull.
But it still wasn't over. Terrosk coiled its elongated body around its foe, constricting like a massive serpent.
The heat and crushing pressure pinned the Elderwood Beast in place. The protective vines began to snap and fall away like broken armor.
The pain was undeniable.
It struggled, but couldn't escape—it began to fall to its knees. As if accepting its fate.
But no...
A wild, feral scream erupted. Despite losing an arm to molten fire, it threw its remaining arm around Terrosk.
And then the Elderwood Beast did something even Ashen hadn't anticipated.
It gathered strength in its legs, and with a sudden burst, launched into the sky—taking Terrosk with it.
It wasn't a normal jump—it was a desperate, final leap, crashing through the treetops, through the mist, as if to defy all limits.
A final effort. A last act.
Ashen leapt from cover—he knew the collision to come wouldn't be anything ordinary.
And then—an earth-shattering boom.
The ground quaked. Trees were torn apart by the shockwave. Ashen was hurled into the air despite the distance.
He pulled himself from the debris. His shirt was torn at the shoulder, knees scraped, but his eyes remained clear, focused. No cry of pain. No panic.
He looked toward the explosion.
Without hesitation, Ashen ran.
Wind howled through the shattered ruins, smoke and dust choking the air. Trees lay uprooted, the earth scarred as if by a meteor. Ashen didn't stop—until he reached the heart of the impact.
A massive crater, as if the ground had opened its mouth.
Ashen slowed.
He didn't get too close.
Both creatures should've died from that crash—but this wasn't the old world. The old rules no longer applied.
From within the haze, something shot out. Ashen instinctively jumped back. As it came into view, he let out a heavy sigh, his eyes weighed with dread:
Both—Terrosk and the Elderwood Beast—were still alive. But the cost...
Terrosk had lost two of its claws. Its once-proud armor now cracked like shattered brick. Blood sprayed in crimson arcs.
The Elderwood Beast looked no better. The vines that had once covered its body now hung limp like dead leaves. The flowers on its back wilted, its skin scorched and peeling.
No words. No hesitation.
The battle resumed.
Terrosk roared and charged again like a frenzied beast. But this time, the opponent was ready. The Elderwood Beast caught the flaming jaws, stopping them from biting deep.
But Terrosk wasn't all fangs. Its tail—its whip of death.
Crack! A lightning-fast strike slammed into the Beast's face.
But this time, it made a mistake.
It wasn't the only one that could bite.
The Elderwood Beast dodged to the side, then lunged forward. It clamped down hard on Terrosk's tail—and ripped.
Snap! A chunk of tail tore free, blood spraying.
A fitting payback—for the arm it had lost.
Without pause, the Elderwood Beast shoved Terrosk back. It grabbed the severed tail. The end of it—sharp like a spear.
As Terrosk roared in defiance...
Thud!
The Beast drove the spike into its face. Not once.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Again and again. No mercy.
And then—the final blow.
A savage strike—shattering Terrosk's skull. The monstrous creature collapsed.
The Elderwood Beast stared down at the lifeless body. It delivered a harsh kick.
No response.
Terrosk was dead.
The Beast raised its head, ready to roar in triumph.
But then… it froze.
Above, silhouetted against the sky—was Ashen. He had warped onto higher ground, right where the Elderwood Beast now stood.
In his hand—an axe. Its blade engraved with strange runes.
Ashen tightened his grip, igniting the weapon with purple fire.
He spat the words:
"The fuck you lookin' at?"
And then, he swung.
BOOM!
A pillar of flame erupted, engulfing the Elderwood Beast in a blazing vortex.
Ashen jumped back, eyes fixed on the smoke—waiting to be sure it was dead.
But then… something stirred within the smoke.