I look at the monster in front of me and find myself debating whether this was a good idea.
Standing before me was the tyrant of the desert, with its two imposing horns, followed by a crest like that of a Triceratops, massive wings on each side of its body, and a tail ending in a double-bladed axe-shaped mass.
"The screen never did you justice; you seriously look like a demon."
Even though I knew the monster couldn't understand me, I doubted that when it roared right after I finished speaking.
I didn't have much time to think, as I had to dodge a charge.
"For your size, you're deceptively fast."
I ducked to avoid its tail striking my head and then had to jump back to avoid a hit from its horns.
Seeing that its attacks weren't working, the monster used its signature move—using the claws at the ends of its wings to dig into the ground, it began to tunnel with its horns.
I knew it could burrow quickly, but seeing it underground in less than ten seconds was still impressive.
But when I felt the ground trembling beneath my feet, I noticed a critical problem: when it digs, it leaves no visible trace of where it's going.
In the game, when the Diablos burrowed, the ground above it changed texture. But here, that doesn't happen.
I expected some differences between the game and reality—I had already encountered a few—but when thinking about the fight, this had never crossed my mind.
I felt the earth stop shaking for a second, and at that moment, I knew I had to move.
Just as I took my first step to the right, a pair of horns larger than a person burst from the ground, followed by the rest of their owner's body.
Taking advantage of the Diablos still reorienting itself, I slashed at it with claws powered by [Thunder Core].
Only to find my claws barely left a mark on the tough skin of the Diablos's chest—the only thing that did any real damage was the electric shock from my attack, and even that was minimal.
I braced to dodge a strike from its horns or tail, but I wasn't prepared for the side charge that hit me.
The blow sent me flying several meters, though it didn't cause serious injuries.
But if I didn't dodge the next horn attack, I wouldn't be able to say the same.
I rolled to avoid being impaled and, seeing an opportunity, threw a right hook powered by [Thunder Core] to the Diablos's snout.
The blow made it turn its head, and I think I caused a minor concussion, but when it looked at me, I saw that aside from a burn and a clear bruise on its face, I hadn't done much.
I had to dodge another tail swipe and tried to strike again, but instead, I had to avoid a side blow from the monster.
This isn't working.
I used [Alternate Form], causing my body to lose a lot of muscle mass and my scales to thin. I lost defense but gained speed.
I also used [Demonic Blood] to gain more speed and strength, and on top of that, I used [Poison Cloud] to poison and paralyze the monster, finishing it off with [Distracting Buzz] and [Strong Bioluminescence].
Blinded, the monster roared, and I took the opportunity to land an uppercut on its jaw.
The blow made it lift its head, and exploiting that vulnerability, I kicked it, slamming it into the ground.
I wanted to continue the combo, but the Diablos blindly launched a horn attack that forced me to retreat.
The monster still couldn't see, and I believed its ability to sense things on the surface while burrowed didn't work aboveground, so it could only throw aimless attacks.
That didn't make them less deadly—the Diablos had remarkable strength and speed for its size.
Seeing that it wasn't safe to approach and that [Poison Cloud] wasn't taking effect, [Demonic Blood] was only draining me unnecessarily.
So, I made a quick decision and launched a fireball from my mouth, hitting the monster's left wing.
Feeling the hit, the Diablos turned in that direction and continued its attack.
But the real strike came from the opposite side.
I punched right where the wing connects to the torso, reinforcing the blow with [Enhancement] and [Thunder Core].
When my punch landed, I felt something break beneath the monster's skin, and as if confirming the feeling, the Diablos roared in pain.
The agony seemed to force it to regain its sight, and without wasting a second, it charged at me.
I jumped to avoid the horns, and even in that precarious situation, I noticed something—the Diablos struggled to maintain its balance. Instead of running in a straight line, it staggered with every step.
Looks like hitting its wing was a better idea than I thought.
Even with a useless wing and unstable footing, the Diablos wasn't disabled—just limited in options.
It tried to impale me again, this time with a slightly more stable gait. I dodged again and struck its side as it passed by.
This, along with its damaged wing, caused it to lose balance and roll over itself until it stopped.
If looks could kill, the glare the monster gave me would have killed me several times over.
I ran to keep fighting, but the Diablos burrowed again.
I moved while feeling the vibrations, and when they stopped, I rolled to my left to avoid being impaled.
But at that moment, I made a judgment error: the Diablos has two ways of emerging from the ground. The first is simply ramming upward with its horns, and the second is launching itself out of the ground and charging with its entire body.
And I realized too late that it had used the second method. How late? When its horns were practically in front of my face—and the next instant, I was flying with a massive pain in my chest.