My green eyes met the beast's deep brown gaze.
Rolling my shoulder, I straightened up. We stood three feet apart, staring at each other in silence.
I de-summoned my staff and activated [Absolute].
With a soft glow, the staff dissolved into particles and reformed into the tattoo on my arm.
The Law of Absolute activated, and I invoked it once more—this time on myself. I amplified my affinity with the lightning element, converting the Essence surging through my body into raw, destructive lightning.
Blue lightning crackled across my entire form, dancing over my skin like living veins of power.
In response, the bear rose onto its hind legs, widening its stance with a thunderous growl.
Just like my lightning, a shadowy energy began to roll across its thick fur, the unmistakable presence of the dark element, swirling like smoke and coiling around its limbs.
The beast struck first.
Shadowy energy gathered at its paws, swirling like smoke before solidifying into jagged, menacing extensions. With a guttural growl, it lunged—massive claws arcing straight for my head with brutal speed.
I barely leapt back in time. Its claws smashed into the ground where I'd been, the earth exploding in chunks beneath the force.
There was a gulf between us—more than fifty levels of raw experience and skill. But my talent had its own weight. Through Essence infusion, I forced stats beyond their natural peak, narrowing that gap.
Still, I couldn't ignore what fifty levels meant in control, instincts, and battle rhythm.
I dropped low, bent my legs, and shot forward. Lightning crackled behind me, propelling me into a blur. My muscles coiled and compressed around my right arm. Power surged—my arm thickened slightly as raw strength flooded into it.
I focused lightning into my fist and launched a punch toward the beast's skull.
It met my strike with a sweeping claw, howling as our attacks collided.
Boom.
We both slid back several feet, claws against knuckles, force against force.
The moment my feet touched ground, I lunged forward again. The air cracked behind me as I closed the distance.
[Absolute]
'Freeze.'
The command slipped into reality, space itself hesitated. The air around the beast compressed for just an instant, halting its lunge.
That was all I needed.
I twisted mid-air and drove a spinning kick into its head. As my heel connected, I allowed the lightning to break free—flaring violently from my leg.
[Seismic Burst]
Boom.
Electricity tore through the beast's skull and slammed it into the earth, carving a shallow crater beneath its body.
I landed in a low stance and immediately leapt back a few steps, eyes locked on the Feran girl and the other beasts watching. Just in case.
The bear growled. Its claws cracked, the shadowy extensions dissolving into smoke as it slowly rose again.
I frowned.
I had expected it to stay down.
But there it was—rising.
Fast.
Its legs bent sharply before it lunged at me, jaws wide open, aiming straight for my head.
I twisted my torso and launched an uppercut toward its chin, but before my fist could connect, the beast vanished into thin air.
My eyes widened. I felt a ripple in the Essence behind me, but it was too late.
A heavy blow slammed into my back, and I was sent flying through the air. My body crashed into the ground, a sharp pain jolting through my spine.
The bear reappeared exactly where I had been standing a moment earlier.
I groaned and pushed myself up, forcing my perception to lock back onto the beast. Shadows coiled and slithered over its fur like dark smoke as it stood tall on its hind legs.
My mind raced.
I didn't want to show too many of my abilities—not yet. Absolute was subtle enough to use unnoticed, and so far I'd only revealed two elements. I planned to stick to that. This fight felt like a test, maybe even staged, but I didn't care.
I had confirmed the presence of a Feran, and that was what truly mattered for my mission.
My eyes scanned the bear again. The damage from my earlier kick had been dampened somehow, likely from the same dark element cloaking its body.
I checked my Essence storage. Full.
My heart beat faster as power surged through me. My body felt primed. Every muscle hummed, reinforced by Essence.
I pushed 50 units into Strength, raising the stat to 478. My body responded immediately—muscles swelled, adjusted, tightened.
Then the shadows on the bear surged again—violent, writhing, and thick as smoke.
Above its head, two enormous claws of pure darkness took shape, each at least six feet wide and curved like a reaper's blade.
With a furious roar, the bear hurled both shadowy claws straight at me.
Gritting my teeth, I slammed my foot into the ground, channeling Essence through my legs and into the earth.
The air around me vibrated as Essence obeyed my will. In an instant, three towering ice walls erupted between me and the incoming attack, each one thick and reinforced.
The first shadow claw slammed into the first wall—
Boom.
Ice cracked. Steam hissed violently as the elemental clash raged.
Before the wall could fully recover, the second claw struck the exact same spot.
Boom!
A jagged web of fractures tore through the ice, and with a sharp shatter, the first wall gave out, exploding into glistening shards.
But the claws kept moving.
Now weakened, both slammed into the second wall almost simultaneously.
Cracks split across its surface like lightning. The wall groaned under the pressure but held on, barely, as the claws fizzled and disintegrated against its reinforced form. Mist and vapor danced in the air.
Through that mist, a heavy roar cut through.
The bear charged—its massive form crashing through the broken second wall with brute strength.
Ice shattered around it like brittle glass.
It didn't slow.
It rammed into the third and final wall with a deafening crash. The ice held, but the force shook the entire structure. Large chunks cracked off the sides, and the center began to buckle under the beast's weight as it snarled and pushed harder, aiming to break through and reach me.
I narrowed my eyes, already gathering lightning into my hand.
I spread my arms wide, drawing the lightning toward me.
Crackling arcs danced across my body, then gathered and twisted into a glowing spear.
I twisted my body, aimed, and threw the spear with everything I had—right where the bear would emerge.
The final wall crumbled.
The bear burst through, and the lightning spear met it in mid-motion. It pierced through the beast's right shoulder with a crackling screech.
It howled in pain and stumbled sideways.
Without wasting a second, I dashed forward, my strength still heightened, and leapt high. Midair, I summoned my staff.
Lightning spiraled down the shaft, crackling with anticipation.
I gripped it tight and raised it above my head.
"[Blitz Hakai]," I whispered.
My back arched, and I brought the staff down like a hammer onto the bear's skull.
The air trembled.
The strike connected—hard.
Boom.
A shockwave burst out. I was blasted backward by the sheer force, flipped once, and landed on my feet.
Dust and debris flew everywhere. The bear was buried in a crater, blood leaking from its head.
Last time, it had used the dark element to absorb some of the damage but not this time.
The lightning had ripped through its defense cleanly.
The bear groaned and staggered back up.
Blood dripped from its shoulder, chest, mouth, and head. Patches of fur on its upper body were scorched black.
Then, finally, the girl spoke.
"That's enough, Saya. You can stop."