I wore a golden five-finger chained bracelet on my left hand. It was something I used to make my gold manipulation flow more freely.
The monster turned its gaze toward the direction the cadets had fled, and for the first time… it frowned.
We didn't know it then, but that fiend stood at the rank of Depravity - a Terror-class monster.
Milo slammed his sword into the ground.
Blue flaming light erupted around us, forming a barrier. His eyes widened in horror, desperation burning within his gaze.
The monster dragged its exceptionally long, powerful arms against the barrier. Its limbs ended in enormous talon-like claws.
They looked designed purely for tearing. And that was exactly what they did.
The creature began ripping through the barrier itself, though the raging flames forced it to halt momentarily.
Its hind legs bent violently, digitigraded.
It walked on its toes like a predator, the limbs ending in similarly lethal claws built for explosive movement and devastating charges.
Then it lunged with dangerous speed, its claws missed us by mereinches.
Only because I had yanked Milo from the ground in desperation, dispelling the barrier as we dove backward.
I couldn't even see the monster's movement.
All I could track were the fractures it left beneath the earth where its hind legs had pushed off.
Then at the last possible second -
The bastard became visible. It spun violently, sweeping its tail in a follow-up strike.
Insane…
It really was a Terror. Milo and I raised our weapons instinctively.
He grunted as our blades collided against the armored tail… and the impact launched us even farther away.
We flew violently.
I heard bones cracking. No… I felt them.
Pain exploded through my body as we crashed through colossal trees and pale rock formations, leaving behind a storm of splinters and debris.
We were still tumbling when Milo slammed against a hill in an unnatural stance.
I crashed into the same hill almost immediately after.
For a brief moment, I caught sight of the Terror. Then it vanished.
A blur, like wind itself. Suddenly—
Blue flames erupted from Milo.
With a roar, he unleashed a massive sphere of condensed flame toward the creature.
The monster crashed directly into the attack.
Its movement never changed, like a true monster.
The flames engulfed its body.
For the first time, I saw it clearly, dark gray skin, nearing black, a rough, scaled texture.
The inferno illuminated red-orange streaks along its shoulders and chest. They looked like dried molten blood.
As if volcanic energy slept beneath closed wounds under its hide, its battle scars glowed. Its body sparked.
Showing monstrous durability, it emerged from the explosion unharmed. Sharp, irregular crystalline spikes armored its body. They covered its back, shoulders, and skull, creating a jagged silhouette.
Smaller ridges extended down its limbs and tail. And then—
Milo intercepted it… in a heroic leap, his massive blade crashed directly into the Terror's maw.
Blue fire exploded outward,. I narrowed my eyes. Milo had forced out that power, he was using aura incorrectly. Aura Overflow.
There were two ways one could enter this dangerous state. The first -
Facing a far superior aura user, when such an opponent forcefully overwhelms your own aura field, their aura causes violent destabilization within your own.
Aura counter flow.
The weaker aura begins raging uncontrollably against itself, a vicious technique, deadly.
The second—
Self-indulgence, forcing one's body to emit more aura than their aura plane could safely sustain.
The recoil alone could kill.
If pushed far enough, it triggered Counter Flow internally.
The excess aura would violently escape through the mouth, nose and the eyes.
If not controlled… sudden death was guaranteed, and Milo… was using the latter.
I possessed far greater control than he did, even though we were both within the same rank of Mental Plane. I possessed a lord-tier world, and he possessed an elite-tier world.
Naturally…
My control far surpassed his, yet he was carrying everything alone.
Acting as the tank… the shield. I shouted at him to stop, but the two figures clashed again. Their speed was horrifying. I could barely follow.
The monster drove its talon-like claws deep into Milo's armor. Yet he gritted his teeth and tried to burn the fiend alive regardless. The monster became enraged.
Then -
Its crystalline scales rose upward, volcanic light ignited across them. In the next instant –
Multiple magma shards erupted outward, Milo was blown backward, unable to block. He released waves of blue flame in desperation, trying to burn away the incoming shards. But it wasn't enough.
His body began deteriorating.
Blood -
And glowing blue liquid -
Began pouring from his eyes, ears, and mouth.
The Terror's attack slammed into him.
He spun violently through the air, the impact was horrifying. He crashed directly into the hill beside me.
Then –
The monster vanished again.
Too fast.
I slammed my palm against the ground. Multiple layers of golden walls rose around us.
Defense… Protect! I thought, but it didn't matter.
The creature crashed through every single layer, and smashed both of us directly into the hill.
The entire thing collapsed. Milo lost consciousness instantly, I was seconds away myself. Blood poured freely.
I couldn't tell for certain - but our skulls had been severely bashed.
The pain was unbearable, and then I saw it.
Through its scaly fingers, magma gathered within its ragged maw. The heat made its armor glow red. I swung my blade desperately.
A cyclone-style slash.
Fast enough to deflect the wicked claws from our face that held us still. But it wasn't enough, we were too close. I grabbed Milo.
Then formed a golden arc sphere around us… a final defense. The next second -
A sea of magma engulfed everything: its explosion obliterated the hill entirely.
We were launched straight into the sky, then we fell. Crashing through the forest below.
Trees shattered around us as we spun uncontrollably.
I could feel the gold melting. I thought we were about to burn alive. And then -
Everything went blank, I think… I passed out.