Part 2.5: Strike back!

"BOOM!"

"CRASH!"

"BANG!"

Each explosion thundered like a tempest in a clear sky, ripping through space as ice, fire, and earth clashed in violent collisions.

The sounds of magic and fury intertwined, forming a symphony of destruction that seemed endless.

Once a vast forest crowned with towering withered trees—now reduced to nothing but barren, desolate ground.

The entire landscape had been left in ruins, bleak and broken.

On one side of the battlefield, Kyouno and the Snow Wolf had slowly begun to seize the upper hand.

Their coordinated dual strikes—fiery bursts and freezing shards—took turns pressing the monster back, two opposing forces merged into one relentless assault.

Gravelmaw, the arrogant, domineering beast just moments ago—was now struggling under the onslaught. Its massive, fur-covered body bore dark, scorched scars—proof of defeat.

The thick armor of stone encasing its arms, once an impenetrable shield, now cracked and crumbling at the seams.

The once-mighty monster could no longer maintain its fearsome composure.

It was nearing exhaustion.

Each step it took grew heavier, slower.

Its dodges, once nimble and fierce, now clumsy, its giant form seemingly buckling under the weight of its own fatigue.

Even the stone domain it once controlled—its battlefield of earth and rock—

was crumbling, piece by piece.

Stone pillars collapsed into dust.

"..."

"Fireball!"

"Fireball!"

"Rapid Fireball Barrage!!"

Kyouno's sharp voice rang out through the smoky skies.

Faced with a weakening foe, she had no intention of retreating—instead, her attacks only grew fiercer.

Each fireball formed in an instant, then launched with searing speed, igniting the air itself as they homed in on the beast's vulnerable points.

At her side—

"WOOFFF!!"

The Snow Wolf roared with determination.

In sync with her rhythm, it unleashed a flurry of razor-sharp ice shards, glittering like deadly diamonds, streaking toward Gravelmaw like a storm of blades.

"GRAAWWW!!"

The monster bellowed in helpless rage, forced entirely on the defensive.

Its roars—once enough to shake the entire forest—were now fading, buried beneath the relentless cries of fire and frost.

....

It seemed the beast was moments away from being brought down.

But—

Just as the battle looked nearly won…

"RRRRROOOOOAAAARRRHHH!!!"

A deafening roar erupted, shaking the sky and earth alike.

Kyouno's heart clenched.

She snapped her gaze toward Gravelmaw, eyes sharp with sudden dread.

Around the beast, every speck of dust began to tremble—then spiral into miniature cyclones, swirling around its colossal form like deadly whirlwinds.

A storm was coming.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Kyouno quivered—a faint tremor at first, then quickly growing, spreading like a tide, shaking the entire battlefield.

"This... this is…!"

Kyouno's pupils shrank, her legs instinctively stepping back.

The Snow Wolf growled low, its fur bristling—sensing the approaching cataclysm.

There was no doubt now—

Gravelmaw was entering its berserk phase, its survival instincts pushing it beyond the brink.

Like any creature driven to the edge, staring into the abyss—its power now surged, uncontrolled.

Kyouno shivered under the overwhelming pressure radiating from the beast.

She knew—the next attack…

would be its ultimate strike.

A blow poured from its deepest rage, from a dying creature at the peak of its might.

A force strong enough to obliterate everything within hundreds of meters.

No matter how swift, no one within range would escape.

The feeling of dominance—

was now completely overturned, like a game of chess where the victor realized, too late, they'd been lured into a trap.

For most…

this would be the moment of despair.

But for her—this girl—

Kyouno…

She had long since lost everything.

Despair had already carved a place deep in her heart.

So even if she fell deeper—

So be it.

In that moment, she turned to the Snow Wolf.

Throughout the battle, their synergy had only grown stronger.

Fire and ice. She and it. Two opposites… now breathing as one.

Now, their eyes met.

No words were needed.

No hesitation.

Only unwavering resolve.

The Snow Wolf's gaze—void of fear, untouched by despair—

held only trust, and the will to fight until the end.

"I see… I get it now."

Kyouno smiled. A soft curve of her lips—gentle, but unyielding.

The smile of someone who would never back down.

She understood.

Once the beast released its next attack—it would end everything.

Not just her, but the Snow Wolf… the little wolf it was trying to protect… this forest, already in ruin—

All would be erased.

In that case…

Why despair?

Instead—

Why not strike back—

with everything they had left?

At that exact moment...

"Crack... crack..."

The sound of splitting stone echoed from the ground below. The earth trembled violently, as if groaning beneath the crushing weight of some otherworldly force.

The beast opened its eyes. Twin golden pupils flared—piercing, ancient, and brimming with bloodlust. That gaze—wild, primeval, and seething with hatred—locked onto the two of them like an invisible blade.

Then, without warning, the beast let out a voiceless roar and swung its massive arm backward. Its hand clenched into a fist—a monstrous hammer forged in hell itself—and came crashing down.

"BOOOOOOOM!!!"

The earth exploded. Shockwaves rippled outward like a funeral drum's toll.

In the wake of the impact, massive slabs of earth and stone were wrenched skyward, rising and curling into colossal walls. From the point of contact, the stone bulwarks surged like tidal waves, sweeping across the battlefield with unstoppable force.

A tsunami of rock, soil, and utter annihilation.

Facing that cataclysmic wave, the young girl stood still.

No trembling. No retreat.

She closed her eyes—not to surrender, not to escape, but to feel.

To feel the flow of magic coursing through her veins, streaming through the elemental core buried deep within her chest—the source of all sorcery, where mages connect with nature to command the elements.

And then—she felt it. A sudden burst of heat flaring from the depths of her heart.

A crimson blaze.

At first, it had been nothing more than a primal, unshaped flame—wild, raw, and unrefined, like instinct unbound by will. It had no form, only fury.

But through the crucible of battle—every strike, every breathless heartbeat—it began to take shape.

It was being forged. No longer chaotic, but evolving.

This... this is...!

.....