A Struggling King
The storm raged on.
Lightning carved through the sky, illuminating the battlefield in violent flashes of gold and black. The air hummed with a deadly charge, thick with destruction and power.
Alex and the Thunder Wolf clashed again, their movements creating shockwaves that tore through the lands. Every time their blows met, the ground beneath them cracked and splintered, leaving deep scars on the earth.
The wolf's muscles tensed, refusing to believe what was happening.
A mere Grandmaster should not have been able to react to its movements, let alone counter them.
Yet, Alex's figure never lagged. Every time the wolf blurred forward, he followed. Every strike meant to overwhelm, he dodged. He absorbed or deflected a bolt of black lightning meant to incinerate him.
It was an impossibility.
Alex was strong—too strong.
The wolf's golden eyes flickered with disbelief as it lashed out again, its claws coated in chaotic thunder. It ripped through the air with the force to split mountains apart.
Alex didn't move until the last second.
Then—a flicker.
A single step sideways.
The claws missed by a hair's breadth, slicing into the earth and shattering it like glass.
Alex, already in motion, twisted in a counterattack. His katana blurred, a silver arc of destruction aiming for the wolf's exposed ribs.
But the wolf reacted instantly, its instincts honed through centuries of dominance.
It threw its body back, avoiding the brunt of the slash, but not before the blade sliced through its hide, leaving behind a burning golden wound that crackled with residual lightning.
'I have been wounded again; I a Legend-rank being.'
The realization was infuriating.
The beast let out a thunderous roar, its anger fueling a violent surge of black lightning that spread outward in a chaotic storm. Trees ignited, stones melted, and the entire battlefield distorted under the raw power unleashed.
Alex stood firm, lightning dancing across his skin, his blade humming with energy.
His domain had already settled.
The once untouchable dominance of the Thunder Wolf was no longer absolute.
The wolf's breaths came heavy, muscles rippling with rage and growing unease.
This was no ordinary Grandmaster.
No—this was a monster in human skin.
'It is infuriating, I, a Beast king, have been humiliated like this, No more playing around.'
'I will destroy him and finish that arrogant Tigress after '
The Thunder Wolf's fury reached its peak.
The thought of being pushed back—wounded—by someone so beneath its rank was nothing short of an insult to its existence.
It bared its massive fangs, golden eyes burning with untamed rage.
And worst of all…
Nyxara hadn't even moved.
The white tigress, an equal in power, simply watched, her massive form sprawled lazily far away from the battle. Her expression was unreadable. Unbothered.
That alone made the wolf's blood boil.
Enough.
The time for playing safe was over.
The storm intensified, thick clouds rolling in with the force of the wolf's unyielding will.
Lightning crackled in the sky, responding to its master.
But there was a problem.
Alex's Partial Domain interfered, warping the very nature of the thunder in the air. Though smaller in scale, his influence over the element was too refined and controlled.
The wolf gritted its fangs.
'You dare challenge my authority in my realm?'
The very idea was laughable.
A mere Partial Domain—a fragment of supremacy—could never match the vast power of a true Zone.
The wolf lifted its head toward the heavens, its mouth parting as it let out a deafening sound.
A sound so powerful it shook the very skies.
The heavens answered.
The moment the sound faded, the world itself shifted.
A great force erupted outward, crashing into Alex's Partial Domain like a tidal wave swallowing a ripple.
The land cracked.
The very air trembled.
Alex's thunder-infused domain shrank under the sheer weight of a superior existence.
The Beast's Zone had descended.
━━━༺⚡༻━━━
⚡ Beast's Zone – Lightning Beast of Destruction ⚡
━━━༺⚡༻━━━
The moment it took form, Alex's lightning dimmed.
The golden bolts that once danced beneath his feet flickered.
The oppressive will of the Thunder Wolf crushed down, forcefully suppressing Alex's command over the element.
The storm above was no longer a battle between two forces.
It belonged to the wolf now.
Its territory.
Its law.
As if the chaos wasn't enough, lightning wrapped around the beast, amplifying its ability to a whole new level.
And within it—only it reigned supreme.
The world inside the Beast's Zone shifted.
The air felt denser, like wading through an unseen force pressing from all directions.
The lightning bolts no longer responded to Alex as freely as before.
His Partial Domain struggled, the once rampant golden sparks at his feet dimmed, restrained by an undeniable truth—
A Partial Domain could never compare to a true Zone.
Yet, despite the imbalance—
Despite the overwhelming presence that bore down on him like the will of a god…
Alex stood tall.
His silver katana rested lightly in his grip, still humming with power.
His sharp, amber eyes, unfazed, observed everything around him.
Even now—even when the odds were against him—
He did not waver.
The Thunder Wolf watched.
It had expected rage.
Desperation.
Or perhaps even fear.
But none of those emotions surfaced in Alex's eyes.
Instead—
The golden-eyed human looked at it with interest.
Like someone testing the waters.
Measuring the weight of the wolf's power.
Something about that gaze irked the beast.
"You still stand before me with that ignorant look," the wolf's voice rumbled, its ancient tones echoing through the storm. Its form crackled with chaotic lightning, and tendrils of pure destruction wrapped around its hulking frame.
Alex said nothing; his posture was relaxed yet calculated.
The weight of the wolf's presence was immense—
But he had felt worse.
Instead of answering, Alex's fingers tightened around his blade.
Then—
He moved.
The wolf's eyes barely tracked him before—
CRACK!
A silver blur shot forward, breaking the sound barrier, the air splitting apart from the sheer force of Alex's movement.
The ground beneath his feet exploded, leaving a crater in his wake.
The wolf barely had time to react before—
SHIING!
The silver arc of his katana flashed—
And a deep gash opened along the wolf's side.
Thunderous howls erupted through the battlefield.
Alex didn't stop.
He twisted mid-air, redirecting his momentum, using the residual force of his slash to propel himself into another strike.
Another blur.
Another silver flash—
But this time—
BOOM!
The wolf unleashed a devastating counterattack, swinging its colossal claws wreathed in black lightning.
The force behind it shattered the earth, sending massive shockwaves rippling across the battlefield.
Alex dodged at the last second, the tips of the wolf's claws barely grazing his cheek, leaving behind thin trails of red.
He landed a few meters away, his katana still humming with stored energy.
For the first time—
The Thunder Wolf bared its fangs.
This wasn't just some reckless human.
No.
This was a beast of war.
And even inside the wolf's own Zone—
He was still fighting on equal ground.
Unacceptable.
The wolf's rage erupted in a thunderous roar, its golden eyes now burning with something far more dangerous than pride—
The will to destroy.
The storm surged.
And true devastation began.