Mocking Defeat

'Ahh so tough.'

Alex winced as he flexed his wrist, pain shooting through it. The cockatrice's beak was like solid steel and he had hit it with so much force his bone creaked.

'Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have done that.' Alex thought. But he had no regret.

Especially now that the arrogant look on the cockatrice's face had disappeared, utter shock replacing it.

Dreadfeather, with its head turned to the side, slowly redirected its gaze toward Alex. Disbelief is etched on its avian features. 

It blinked, trying to process what had just happened, and when it finally spoke, its voice was laced with cold fury. 

"How dare a mere Rank-E lay a hand on the mighty...."

"Shut up!" Alex interrupted."Shut up and let's get this over with. I don't want to waste too much time on you I've got things to do before the tutorial begins."

Dreadfeather was taken aback, baffled by Alex's audacity.

The human was inferior, yet it dared speak as if it was the apex predator. The insolence. 

Dreadfeather gritted its teeth and dove toward Alex with terrifying speed. Hatred burning in its eyes.

Alex extracted a couple [Blastshards] from his inventory and tossed them toward the fast-approaching cockatrice.

The cockatrice boss seeing this, recalled that it was the same kind of rocks that had exploded while battling with the goblin. 

Dreadfeather came to a halt and leaped backwards before the rock exploded.

But Alex activated the detonation of the [Blastshards] midair.

*BOOM

The force of it hit the cockatrice, sending it sprawling to the ground. A part of his feather burnt by the flames.

The cockatrice screeched in pain, glaring at Alex, who stood casually, watching the creature writhe with a satisfied grin.

"I amplified the force of the explosion three times. You should feel honored. You're an opponent I take seriously."

Dreadfeather despite being angry, cautiously distanced itself from Alex. It was now more wary of the foe it was facing.

Making sure its next attacks were carefully planned.

"You coward, you have to resort to such tricky means to battle," the cockatrice sneered.

"If it works then it's effective. And besides I didn't trick anyone. When I threw down these bombs, I didn't do any sneaking. You all were just too distracted to notice me." Alex responded with a shrug.

"You took advantage of our battle with the goblin. Like a coward. But no matter. Eventually, you'll run out of tricks, and then I'll have your head."

"I thought you were intelligent, but you're just as dense as the goblin." Alex said but Dreadfeather wasn't listening.

"I'll give you a chance to surrender. Let me kill you peacefully human or fight me and die a slow, painful death." Dreadfeather said, and

Alex frowned in confusion:

 "Surrender? Why would I? I mean look at you. You're the one on the verge of collapse here. If I were you, I'd be running for my life. But even if you healed up and came back, you still wouldn't stand a chance. So I'll show some mercy and end this in the next two minutes."

The cockatrice feathers flared in fury, and it panted heavily, rage consuming it.

"You bastard, I'll make sure you suffer worse than the green idiot."

Despite its injuries, despite the exhaustion wracking its body, the cockatrice was too blinded by hatred to retreat. So it lunged again, determined to fight until the bitter end.

Alex sighed, shaking his head.

"If that's how you want to play it..." He pulled out another set of [Blastshards]. "Then here, have some more rocks."

Alex hurled the [Blastshard] at the cockatrice, but Dreadfeather was quick, leaping back just as the explosion rocked the ground. Thick fumes filled the air, momentarily clouding the battlefield. The cockatrice darted backward, its sharp eyes scanning for movement through the haze.

Suddenly, Alex burst from the smoke, his form a blur, which came along with a gleaming [Eclipse Edge] heading dangerously towards the cockatrice's neck.

The cockatrice avoided the attack and whipped out its tail in a fierce counterattack. But it struck empty air. And the next thing the Dreadfeather felt was a powerful punch to its chest, the air knocked from its lungs.

Then another hit to its face which sent it reeling backward, its talons digging into the ground as its body skidded across the field.

"Come on now, don't disappoint me like this. Is this all you've got? After all that arrogant talk?" Alex taunted.

Dreadfeather's eyes flared with fury, humiliated by the mockery. With a sharp screech, it lunged forward, its razor-sharp blade-like talons slashing toward Alex. But Alex effortlessly darted backward in quick bursts, staying just out of reach.

The cockatrice, enraged and desperate, attacked like a beast possessed, but Alex calmly deflected its furious attacks with [Eclipse Edge]. Sword clanging against blades.

He had to admit he was enjoying himself, as the more he used the [Eclipse Edge], the more fluid and natural it felt in his hand. 

Meanwhile, Dreadfeather was starting to panic. Its stamina was rapidly depleting, and no matter how hard it attacked, it couldn't gain any ground.

The cockatrice had fought its way to the position of boss, completing every mission the cockatrice king had given it.

Yet here it was, struggling against a mere E-rank human.

Should the cockatrice king find out that Dreadfeather lost to a lesser being, it will never grant revival.

Unlike other monsters, such as goblins, second chances for cockatrices were much harder to come by because of how highly they valued their pride. To them, defeat wasn't just a setback but a permanent stain on their reputation.

Dreadfeather was seriously considering the thought of fleeing but Alex's mocking voice cut through its frustration like a blade.

"Are you thinking of retreating? You'll still end up dead if you do that."

"Damn you!" Dreadfeather screeched, its pride too wounded to walk away. It couldn't bear the idea of running from an E-rank human. No, it had to kill Alex at all costs, even if it meant its own death.

"You… you'll pay for underestimating me," Dreadfeather hissed, its throat swelling ominously.

Alex could sense something was wrong, but before he could react, Dreadfeather unleashed a deafening sonic blast.

The sound ripped through the air, and Alex barely had time to shield himself with his arms before the force of it hit him.

The blast sent him skidding backward, his boots digging into the ground. Though it hadn't caused much physical harm, the wave of sound left his head spinning. His muscles felt drained, and his steps turned into a stagger as he struggled to stay upright.

He wondered what was happening and checked his stats, only to see they had all been halved.

"What?!" Alex exclaimed in shock. He didn't think the cockatrice had an ability with such a crippling effect.

"Scared now?" the cockatrice said with an evil grin. "You should be."

The cockatrice moved to attack but Alex, immediately threw [Blastshards] at the boss, causing the cockatrice to halt.

Dreadfeather leaped backwards expecting an explosion, but nothing came.

"Shit, I'm out of mana," Alex exclaimed and Dreadfeather heard.

It found it made sense that Alex's mana had run out as he had caused so many explosions and damages.

Dreadfeather watched Alex with its sharp eyes and noticed Alex slowly stepping away. This made it realize Alex had indeed run out of mana and was trying to flee. A coward's move when faced with a dilemma.'

"Typical of an E-rank to overestimate their strength and fail to monitor their energy consumption," Dreadfeather taunted, strutting forward with a smug look on its face. "Thinking you're invincible, only to crumble before the end of the fight."

"Don't come any closer!" Alex yelled in panic. "Stay away from me, unless you want to get blasted to smithereens!"

Dreadfeather chuckled at how hollow and fear-filled the threat sounded.

"This is how it's supposed to be," Dreadfeather said, savoring the moment. "The prey, terrified of the predator."

Drawing its feather blades, the cockatrice prepared to tear Alex apart, eager to repay the humiliation it had endured. 

But suddenly, Alex burst into laughter.

Dreadfeather stopped and frowned.

"Have you gone crazy knowing your death is imminent?"

"Death?" Alex wiped the moisture from the corner of his eye. A grin still lingering. "The only one dying here is you."

Dreadfeather frowned, wondering if Alex had truly gone mad.

"When I said you're just as dense as the goblin, you didn't believe me. You were so blinded by the vision of your victory you lost all caution against a tricky foe."

"What are you talking about?" Dreadfeather demanded.

"I'm not the arrogant one here, you are," Alex said and then gestured for the cockatrice to look downwards.

The cockatrice followed and saw beneath its talon were rocks.

The same rocks that didn't explode earlier.

The [Blastshards] Alex had thrown, paused at one second.

Dreadfeather heart stopped. Its eyes widened in horror as it came to the realization. 

"Yeah, it's too late." Alex sighed about to flick his fingers. "And to think I warned you of this exact moment."