Chapter Nine: When Monsters Learn Fear
The dust finally settled.
The stench of ash and molten stone assaulted my senses, thick and suffocating. Heat rolled across the shattered land in slow waves, the ground beneath fractured and glowing faintly like dying embers.
The red orc slowly lifted its head.
Its face was calm.
Too calm.
Like the surface of a still sea before a storm.
It looked up at me—directly into my eyes.
Its aura was no longer violent or chaotic.
It was sharp, compressed, heavier than before—dense enough to bend the air around it.
A chill crawled down my spine.
Just moments ago… I had almost died.
I rose slowly into the air, maintaining distance.
The orc followed—ascending effortlessly until it hovered at my level. Its expression never changed, as if this battle was nothing more than routine.
SWISH!!!
It vanished.
BOOM!!
I blocked a punch from behind with my elbow, retreating backward as the force tore through the air.
I turned—
Gone again.
BOOM!
A fist skimmed past the back of my head. I tilted slightly, dodging by a breath, and drove an elbow into its ribs, sending it skidding backward through the air.
I reappeared above it.
Hands clasped together.
An axe-fist slammed down.
BAAAAM!!!
The orc was driven downward at beyond sonic speed.
I vanished again.
Reappearing on the ground—right where it would land.
The orc twisted midair, adjusting its body to land on its feet—
Unaware.
I raised both palms upward, fingers folding with practiced precision. Three fingers tucked. Two extended forward like barrels. Thumbs angled.
A gun.
Energy flooded inward.
Condensed.
Focused.
The orc sensed it.
Too late.
BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
A massive, blinding blue beam erupted from my fingers, engulfing its entire body. The sky lit up as the beam tore upward, ripping through clouds and atmosphere, vanishing into the heavens.
Air pressure exploded outward.
BOOM!!!
The attack detonated far above—so distant it should've reached space… if this realm even had one.
I lowered my hands.
Shifted into a stance.
My expression went cold.
This time—I was serious.
I drew my energy inward completely.
My presence vanished.
No aura.
No pressure.
No signature.
Even if someone stood inches from me… they wouldn't sense a thing.
I scanned the sky, pupils glowing bright blue.
The attack wasn't enough.
I steadied my breathing.
Merged with my surroundings.
BOOM!
The orc appeared in front of me and threw a punch.
I tilted my head, dodged, and countered—
Only for it to evade just as easily.
Smoke rose from its body.
The smell of burned flesh spread through the air.
Good.
That attack had done its job.
Punch after punch.
Kick after kick.
Everything was dodged.
Everything was countered.
We locked eyes—expressionless.
The battlefield around us collapsed under shockwaves alone.
BAM!
Our elbows locked.
Its massive frame dwarfed mine—but my footing didn't budge.
I moved first.
Tilting my body, using its own weight against it.
The shift caught it off guard.
Its balance broke.
BOOOOM!!!
A punch drove into its gut, knocking the air from its lungs as it skated backward.
I didn't hesitate.
I surged forward.
A barrage of strikes followed—angles unpredictable, timing ruthless.
BAM! BAM! BAM!!!
No room to breathe.
No room to react.
Its expression twisted.
It forced a counter.
Caught—
I slipped beneath its fist and drove a punch into its ribs, lifting it slightly off the ground, then finished with a right hook that sent it spiraling backward through the air.
I appeared beside it.
Point-blank.
An air-pressure blast detonated.
BOOM!!!
Its body drilled into the ground, carving a deep hole.
An explosion erupted from below.
I reappeared high above, looking down at the destruction.
The land was ruined—melted stone, burned rock, magma beginning to pool from the intense heat.
Then—
A pillar of energy erupted upward.
I twisted clockwise, dodging at the last instant.
A sonic wave tore outward, expanding the crater even further.
Smoke and dust were blown away violently.
There it stood.
The red orc.
At the center of the pillar.
Its pupils burned crimson—glowing like miniature suns.
Veins pulsed beneath its skin, glowing like molten magma. Heat poured from its body, melting the ground beneath its feet into liquid stone.
A massive hole formed beneath it as its power surged again.
I watched expressionlessly.
Its body was reaching its limit.
There was no further evolution left.
ROOOOAR!!!
It screamed and launched upward in a blur.
The ground it left behind became a boiling pool of magma—expanding rapidly, threatening to turn into plasma.
BOOM!!!
Sonic waves tore through the sky.
I charged forward.
BOOM!!
We collided.
The impact sent us skidding backward.
It vanished.
Reappeared.
A left hook.
I tilted—dodged—and countered with a rapid barrage.
Everything was met. Everything was answered.
BOOM!!!
Our fists collided.
BAM!!!
Suddenly—it exploded forward.
Too late.
I crossed my arms.
CRACK!!!
I was hurled backward through the air, my arm numb, bones screaming from the impact.
We clashed again.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Jabs.
All exchanged at blinding speed.
BOOM!
A fist slammed into my chest.
I blocked in an X-shape, skidding backward as my skin burned from the heat. The smell of my own scorched flesh filled the air.
It was desperate.
I could feel it.
It charged again—wild now—launching fists and energy blasts.
I dodged the blasts easily.
Punch met punch.
I ducked under its next strike and countered—shoulder, elbow, face.
CRACK!!!
Bone shattered.
ROAR!!!
A wide backhand swing.
I dodged.
Unleashed a ruthless barrage to its gut and ribs—
—and finished with an elbow strike to its neck.
CRACK!!!
More bones gave way.
The orc went berserk.
Energy blasts erupted in all directions.
I dodged—and caught its massive fist.
Shifted my weight.
Twisted with its momentum.
Double knee strike to the spine.
ROAR!!!
Pain and rage exploded from its throat.
BOOM!!!
An axe-palm slammed into the back of its head, sending it downward.
I roared back.
ROAR!!!
The phantom of a white tiger manifested behind me as I fired a full-power blast into its back, driving it faster—harder—straight toward the molten ground.
BBBBBOOOOOOM!!!!
The explosion was deafening.
Magma turned to plasChapter Nine: When Monsters Learn Fear
The dust finally settled.
The stench of ash and molten stone assaulted my senses, thick and suffocating. Heat rolled across the shattered land in slow waves, the ground beneath fractured and glowing faintly like dying embers.
The red orc slowly lifted its head.
Its face was calm.
Too calm.
Like the surface of a still sea before a storm.
It looked up at me—directly into my eyes.
Its aura was no longer violent or chaotic.
It was sharp, compressed, heavier than before—dense enough to bend the air around it.
A chill crawled down my spine.
Just moments ago… I had almost died.
I rose slowly into the air, maintaining distance.
The orc followed—ascending effortlessly until it hovered at my level. Its expression never changed, as if this battle was nothing more than routine.
SWISH!!!
It vanished.
BOOM!!
I blocked a punch from behind with my elbow, retreating backward as the force tore through the air.
I turned—
Gone again.
BOOM!
A fist skimmed past the back of my head. I tilted slightly, dodging by a breath, and drove an elbow into its ribs, sending it skidding backward through the air.
I reappeared above it.
Hands clasped together.
An axe-fist slammed down.
BAAAAM!!!
The orc was driven downward at beyond sonic speed.
I vanished again.
Reappearing on the ground—right where it would land.
The orc twisted midair, adjusting its body to land on its feet—
Unaware.
I raised both palms upward, fingers folding with practiced precision. Three fingers tucked. Two extended forward like barrels. Thumbs angled.
A gun.
Energy flooded inward.
Condensed.
Focused.
The orc sensed it.
Too late.
BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
A massive, blinding blue beam erupted from my fingers, engulfing its entire body. The sky lit up as the beam tore upward, ripping through clouds and atmosphere, vanishing into the heavens.
Air pressure exploded outward.
BOOM!!!
The attack detonated far above—so distant it should've reached space… if this realm even had one.
I lowered my hands.
Shifted into a stance.
My expression went cold.
This time—I was serious.
I drew my energy inward completely.
My presence vanished.
No aura.
No pressure.
No signature.
Even if someone stood inches from me… they wouldn't sense a thing.
I scanned the sky, pupils glowing bright blue.
The attack wasn't enough.
I steadied my breathing.
Merged with my surroundings.
BOOM!
The orc appeared in front of me and threw a punch.
I tilted my head, dodged, and countered—
Only for it to evade just as easily.
Smoke rose from its body.
The smell of burned flesh spread through the air.
Good.
That attack had done its job.
Punch after punch.
Kick after kick.
Everything was dodged.
Everything was countered.
We locked eyes—expressionless.
The battlefield around us collapsed under shockwaves alone.
BAM!
Our elbows locked.
Its massive frame dwarfed mine—but my footing didn't budge.
I moved first.
Tilting my body, using its own weight against it.
The shift caught it off guard.
Its balance broke.
BOOOOM!!!
A punch drove into its gut, knocking the air from its lungs as it skated backward.
I didn't hesitate.
I surged forward.
A barrage of strikes followed—angles unpredictable, timing ruthless.
BAM! BAM! BAM!!!
No room to breathe.
No room to react.
Its expression twisted.
It forced a counter.
Caught—
I slipped beneath its fist and drove a punch into its ribs, lifting it slightly off the ground, then finished with a right hook that sent it spiraling backward through the air.
I appeared beside it.
Point-blank.
An air-pressure blast detonated.
BOOM!!!
Its body drilled into the ground, carving a deep hole.
An explosion erupted from below.
I reappeared high above, looking down at the destruction.
The land was ruined—melted stone, burned rock, magma beginning to pool from the intense heat.
Then—
A pillar of energy erupted upward.
I twisted clockwise, dodging at the last instant.
A sonic wave tore outward, expanding the crater even further.
Smoke and dust were blown away violently.
There it stood.
The red orc.
At the center of the pillar.
Its pupils burned crimson—glowing like miniature suns.
Veins pulsed beneath its skin, glowing like molten magma. Heat poured from its body, melting the ground beneath its feet into liquid stone.
A massive hole formed beneath it as its power surged again.
I watched expressionlessly.
Its body was reaching its limit.
There was no further evolution left.
ROOOOAR!!!
It screamed and launched upward in a blur.
The ground it left behind became a boiling pool of magma—expanding rapidly, threatening to turn into plasma.
BOOM!!!
Sonic waves tore through the sky.
I charged forward.
BOOM!!
We collided.
The impact sent us skidding backward.
It vanished.
Reappeared.
A left hook.
I tilted—dodged—and countered with a rapid barrage.
Everything was met. Everything was answered.
BOOM!!!
Our fists collided.
BAM!!!
Suddenly—it exploded forward.
Too late.
I crossed my arms.
CRACK!!!
I was hurled backward through the air, my arm numb, bones screaming from the impact.
We clashed again.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Jabs.
All exchanged at blinding speed.
BOOM!
A fist slammed into my chest.
I blocked in an X-shape, skidding backward as my skin burned from the heat. The smell of my own scorched flesh filled the air.
It was desperate.
I could feel it.
It charged again—wild now—launching fists and energy blasts.
I dodged the blasts easily.
Punch met punch.
I ducked under its next strike and countered—shoulder, elbow, face.
CRACK!!!
Bone shattered.
ROAR!!!
A wide backhand swing.
I dodged.
Unleashed a ruthless barrage to its gut and ribs—
—and finished with an elbow strike to its neck.
CRACK!!!
More bones gave way.
The orc went berserk.
Energy blasts erupted in all directions.
I dodged—and caught its massive fist.
Shifted my weight.
Twisted with its momentum.
Double knee strike to the spine.
ROAR!!!
Pain and rage exploded from its throat.
BOOM!!!
An axe-palm slammed into the back of its head, sending it downward.
I roared back.
ROAR!!!
The phantom of a white tiger manifested behind me as I fired a full-power blast into its back, driving it faster—harder—straight toward the molten ground.
BBBBBOOOOOOM!!!!
The explosion was deafening.
Magma turned to plasma.
The land was utterly ravaged.
When the dust finally cleared…
The orc lay at the center of a massive crater.
Its body burned.
Broken.
Motionless.
The battle—one that had raged for hours—
Was over.
I descended slowly, landing on the shattered ground.
"This battle is over," I said quietly.
And the world finally fell silent.
ma.
The land was utterly ravaged.
When the dust finally cleared…
The orc lay at the center of a massive crater.
Its body burned.
Broken.
Motionless.
The battle—one that had raged for hours—
Was over.
I descended slowly, landing on the shattered ground.
"This battle is over," I said quietly.
And the world finally fell silent.