Ryuji fought with an almost unreal ferocity.
In front of him, the basilisk looked less like a living creature and more like a natural disaster that had decided to take physical form. Its size completely dominated the battlefield, and every movement of its body made the ground tremble. Even its breathing sounded like the distant rumbling of a volcano.
And yet, Ryuji kept moving forward.
Compared to the monster, his body looked tiny. Fragile. Ridiculously small. More than once, several soldiers thought he would simply disappear under a single attack.
But he always came back.
The basilisk suddenly swept its tail toward him.
The air exploded.
Ryuji vanished from the ground a fraction of a second before impact. The tail tore through the area where he had been standing moments earlier and pulverized massive chunks of rock with a deafening crash.
Then he reappeared near the monster's flank.
— Dragon Flame.
The staff of fire ignited violently as Ryuji struck with all his strength.
The impact triggered an explosion of flames that engulfed part of the basilisk's body. The creature let out a furious roar and stepped backward, causing the earth itself to shake.
Several soldiers lost their footing.
— He pushed it back...?!
— That kid is a monster...
Even the men in black were now watching the battle with visible tension.
But the basilisk slowly raised its head.
And this time, it breathed out.
It was not a magical attack.
Not a beam.
Not poison.
Just... air.
But coming from a creature of that size, that simple breath became a wave of absolute destruction.
The atmosphere itself seemed to explode forward as the pressure swept across the battlefield with terrifying violence.
Soldiers were thrown into the air.
Weapons spun wildly.
Dust covered everything.
Even some mages lost concentration from the shock alone.
Ryuji immediately crossed his arms in front of himself, but it was not enough.
The blast struck him head-on.
His body was ripped off the ground before being violently hurled away. He crashed through several pieces of debris before rolling brutally across the rocky terrain.
Far away, near the safe zone where the injured had been gathered, Aeryn suddenly lifted her head when the shockwave reached their position.
The hot wind swept through the area.
Some wounded people cried out in surprise, while several healers were forced to their knees by the pressure.
Around her, survivors stared toward the battlefield with completely empty expressions, as if their minds had stopped understanding what they were witnessing.
Roy clenched his teeth.
— This thing is absurd...
Aeryn did not answer immediately.
Her eyes remained fixed on the distant figure slowly rising from the debris.
Ryuji.
Even from that distance, she could feel something abnormal about him. Something that deeply unsettled her.
Back on the battlefield, Ryuji slowly pushed one knee off the ground and forced himself back up.
His breathing was heavy and uneven.
Blood was already running down his right arm.
But when he lifted his head, the basilisk was already waiting for him.
Motionless.
Silent.
Like a predator watching prey that still refused to die.
Then the creature slowly raised its gigantic foreleg.
Its shadow completely swallowed Ryuji.
Several soldiers instantly realized what was about to happen.
— No...!
The claw slammed down.
The ground exploded beneath the impact with a monstrous sound that echoed throughout the valley.
Some people instinctively looked away while others remained frozen in place.
Then suddenly, immense heat burst beneath the monster's claw.
— Dragon Flame...
Ryuji's voice was low.
Almost broken.
And the next instant, the fire exploded.
A sea of flames erupted from beneath the basilisk's claw and climbed violently along its body. The creature let out a roar of pain as its flesh began to burn.
The basilisk immediately pulled its claw back.
And within the flames, Ryuji slowly stood up.
Smoke still rose from his body.
His clothes were nearly destroyed, and his skin was now covered in burns.
His left arm trembled slightly.
But what truly froze the witnesses in place was his gaze.
Empty.
Cold.
Completely devoid of human emotion.
Even the leader of the men in black felt a chill run down his spine.
— That boy...
He stopped speaking.
Because he had just realized something horrifying.
Ryuji was no longer fighting consciously.
His body was moving purely on instinct, like a cornered beast refusing to die.
Then suddenly, Ryuji stopped moving.
His body trembled slightly as a violent shiver ran down his spine.
Slowly, his right eye returned to normal.
The change was immediate.
As if a crack had suddenly formed within that uncontrollable state.
Ryuji grabbed his head.
An unbearable pain pierced through his skull.
— Ghh...!
Memories exploded inside his mind.
The golem.
The blood.
The screams.
Aeryn.
The sensation of losing control.
Everything came rushing back.
His breathing became chaotic.
For the first time since the battle began, he was truly becoming conscious again.
And unfortunately for him, it was probably the worst possible moment.
The basilisk moved instantly.
Despite its size, the creature surged toward him with absurd speed.
Ryuji's eyes widened.
— Too fa—
The monster's claw slammed into him violently.
The impact was so powerful that his body nearly vanished from the soldiers' sight.
Ryuji flew through the air before crashing into a massive stone wall. The impact covered the structure in cracks.
For a second, it felt as though every bone in his body had shattered.
His breathing stopped.
His vision blurred.
Then a memory immediately resurfaced.
The golem.
The wall.
His body being crushed against stone.
— Damn it...
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
This time, he felt everything.
The pain.
The exhaustion.
His ruined muscles.
His limits.
And even worse, fear was slowly returning alongside his consciousness.
In the distance, Aeryn clenched her fists.
She hated that thought.
She truly hated it.
But she could no longer deny it.
Ryuji was probably the only person capable of stopping this thing.
And he was dying.
The basilisk slowly approached him.
Each step made the ground tremble before the creature fixed its gaze directly on Ryuji.
Its eyes began to glow.
Aeryn immediately felt her blood run cold.
— No...!
The petrifying gaze.
In his current state, Ryuji would never be able to dodge it.
Even he understood that.
His body could barely move as the light inside the basilisk's eyes intensified.
Silence gradually fell across the battlefield, as though the entire world was holding its breath.
Then suddenly—
— Light Slash.
A massive blade of light suddenly tore across the battlefield.
It split through the dust, the air, and the silence itself before striking the basilisk directly in the eyes.
The creature let out a deafening roar of pain as its head jerked backward from the impact.
A shockwave swept across the entire area while dust rose into the sky.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Then a silhouette slowly appeared within the smoke.
A man.
A sword in his hand.
His cape fluttered lightly behind him as he calmly walked toward the basilisk.
And despite the distance, Ryuji immediately sensed something strange about him.
A heavy presence.
A calm and dangerous power.
The basilisk released another furious roar while the figure continued walking forward without the slightest hesitation.
And amidst that absolute chaos, a single thought silently crossed the minds of the survivors:
Another monster had just entered the battlefield.