The Armored Bear's roar was powerful enough to shake the ancient trees, sending black leaves raining down like soot. This was no mere forest beast; its crimson eyes overflowed with a madness that did not belong to this world.
Corrupted "Eclipse" energy seeped from its pores like toxic smoke, coiling around its massive claws until they resembled daggers forged from glowing coal.
The jagged earth spikes, laced with darkness, shot toward Kael with terrifying velocity. Instead of dodging, Kael planted his feet firmly into the damp soil and held "Nameless" vertically before his face.
"Absorb!" Kael hissed.
The moment the first spike impacted the pitch-black blade, the sword didn't break, and Kael didn't budge. Thanks to the "Dead Iron" woven into the blade, the sword absorbed the dark energy, converting it into kinetic vibrations that dissipated within the sword's immense weight. It was like a hammer striking a solid anvil; the anvil doesn't move—it simply absorbs and redistributes the force.
But the bear gave him no time to recover. The massive mountain of fur and scales lunged at Kael. Every step the beast took left a deep crater in the earth. It raised its right claw, which had doubled in size due to the dark magic, and delivered a downward swipe capable of pulverizing an armored war-wagon.
Kael moved with a blacksmith's honed instinct. Avoid the sparks, strike the center.
He slid beneath the bear's massive arm, feeling the air pressure from the strike whistle over his head like a localized hurricane. In that split second, the bear's flank was exposed. Kael thrust his blade into the monster's side, but the sword hit the black scales and produced a high-pitched, metallic screech.
SCREEEEE!
Sparks flew, but the blade failed to penetrate. Supported by Eclipse magic, the scales were as hard as tempered steel.
"So, you're not just flesh and blood," Kael muttered, leaping back to avoid a treacherous kick from the beast. "You're a piece of unrefined ore... and you need a heavy pounding to break your shell."
Kael began to circle the bear slowly, keeping his breathing rhythmic and deep. He recalled Orik's lessons on the "Glass Cup." Energy must not be wasted; it must be concentrated at a single point, at a single moment.
He began to pump the blue Azura energy into his right arm, but this time, he didn't let it flow smoothly. He made it "pulse." A pulse... silence... a pulse... silence. He was mimicking the rhythm of a heavy hammer falling onto hot metal.
Sensing the shift in the air, the bear unleashed a terrifying howl. It summoned dark energy to form a spherical shield around its body, while its eyes began to glow with a lethal, concentrated red light. It was preparing a magical discharge that would obliterate everything within a ten-meter radius.
"Now!" Kael roared.
He lunged forward, but his movement wasn't linear. He moved in sharp, jagged angles, mimicking a blacksmith circling an anvil to strike metal from every direction.
Blacksmith Art: Echo of the Great Hammer!
Kael reached the bear's shield. He didn't strike once. Instead, he delivered three consecutive blows to the exact same spot with blinding speed, faster than the naked eye could follow.
The First Strike: Weakened the dark shield.
The Second Strike: Cracked the black scales.
The Third Strike: Carried the full weight of his concentrated Azura energy, exploding inside the monster's body.
BOOOOOOM!
It wasn't a fiery explosion; it was an explosion of raw, kinetic force. The blue Azura energy pierced through the bear's torso like a stake made of lightning. The beast froze instantly. The red aura vanished from its eyes, and its dark shield disintegrated like ash in the wind.
The massive bear crashed to the ground, creating a minor tremor. From the impact site in its chest, thick, black blood began to ooze, emitting a foul-smelling smoke.
Kael stood over the corpse, his sword pointing toward the earth. His chest heaved, and sweat mingled with the blood splattered across his face. A sharp pain throbbed in his right arm; he had pushed his muscles and nerves to the absolute limit to channel that concentrated burst.
"If this sword wasn't made of Star Steel, it would have shattered in my hands just now," Kael whispered, wiping the blade with a scrap of the bear's torn hide.
He leaned down toward the bear's open chest. He noticed something glittering amidst the charred, black meat. Using the tip of his sword, he extracted a crystalline sphere. It wasn't sapphire blue like his Azura core; it was deep black with purple veins pulsing inside like a tiny, living heart.
"A corrupted core..." a cold, familiar voice said from behind the trees.
Kael spun around instantly, raising his sword into a guard position. Out of the shadows stepped Lyra. She looked like a ghost in the dim light, her silver hair shimmering despite the darkness. She carried no weapon, but her presence alone was enough to make Kael's instincts scream danger.
"You've been watching me?" Kael asked, his tone wary.
"Orik sent me to make sure you didn't kill yourself before the tournament," Lyra replied flatly, approaching the bear's corpse. She looked at the black crystal in Kael's hand. "That is a 'Shadow Core.' The Eclipse Cult uses them to turn ordinary animals into obedient monsters. Its presence here means they've already started encircling the Academy."
Lyra placed a hand on Kael's shoulder. Her touch was as cold as ice, but for a fleeting second, Kael thought he saw a flicker of genuine concern in her silver eyes.
"Return to the wing, Kael. You've tested your sword enough. The tournament begins in a few days, and Darius won't be as easy as this bear. He has the intellect, the technique, and the hatred... and he's waiting for you, to commit a legal murder in front of everyone."
Kael looked at the black crystal, then at Lyra, and flashed a dark, mysterious smile.
"Darius might have the intellect and the hatred," Kael said, slipping the crystal into his pocket. "But he's never been placed on an anvil... and he's never been hammered until he softened. In the tournament, I will be the hammer... and he will be the metal I shape as I please."
Kael and Lyra left the forest, leaving the carcasses of the beasts for the crows. The wind blew fiercely, carrying the distant echoes of the upcoming tournament and the drums of war beating in the shadows.