Elric calmly turned his gaze toward the enormous Great Ape.
"I'm going to test its strength."
He looked at Luke.
"You take the lead. Engage it directly."
He calmly rested a hand on one of his daggers.
"I'm more of an assassin than a front-line fighter."
Luke nodded.
"Very well."
"I could argue..."
"...but some level of trust has to be established."
"I'll take point."
Elric gave a small nod.
Without another word...
His shadow suddenly expanded beneath his feet.
Unlike before...
There was no slow descent.
No gradual sinking.
The darkness violently swallowed him.
One moment he stood there...
The next...
He was gone.
Even Luke barely managed to register what had happened.
His eyes instinctively narrowed.
Fast...
Far faster than before.
He quickly forced himself to look away.
It's Midvest Academy.
If I stare every time someone surprises me...
I'll never stop staring.
Taking two calm steps forward...
Luke disappeared.
A gust of wind erupted beneath his feet.
The next instant...
He appeared directly before the Great Ape.
The enormous creature barely had enough time to lift one arm.
Luke's sword flashed.
A horizontal slash cut cleanly toward its abdomen.
The Great Ape reacted purely on instinct.
Its gigantic hand swept sideways.
BOOM!
The sword collided with its palm.
The impact exploded outward.
Dust.
Broken stone.
Fragments of nearby buildings.
Everything was blown away.
Luke himself was hurled backward, flipping repeatedly through the air before stabilizing with a burst of wind beneath his feet.
He narrowed his eyes.
Fast...
Ridiculously strong.
As expected.
Before the ape could pursue...
Something erupted from its own shadow.
A black sword.
It shot upward with frightening speed.
SHLICK!
The blade pierced deep into the Great Ape's abdomen.
The beast roared.
"MHWOOOOOO!"
Instinctively...
Its entire body hardened.
Dark fur compressed together until it resembled black steel.
The blade slowed.
It could still advance...
But only millimeter by millimeter.
The creature had effectively trapped it.
Luke noticed the opening.
He inhaled sharply.
Wind exploded beneath his feet.
BOOM!
He launched himself skyward like an arrow.
His destination...
The monster's face.
The Great Ape bellowed.
"MAWOOOO!"
The sound struck like a physical force.
Luke's expression immediately changed.
His vision blurred.
His ears burst.
A deafening ringing filled his head.
Sound attack!
His instincts reacted before his thoughts could.
Wind twisted beneath him.
His body violently changed direction.
A gigantic hand swept through the exact spot where he had been moments earlier.
CRUNCH!
The air itself shattered beneath the force.
Even the wind barriers Luke hastily created collapsed instantly.
...
Hidden inside the Great Ape's shadow...
Elric quietly watched everything.
He nodded to himself.
Poor guy.
Being Dante's subordinate had completely altered his standards.
Compared to Lexa...
Compared to Vexion...
This Great Ape honestly didn't feel particularly overwhelming.
The monster suddenly tensed.
Its instincts screamed.
Elric stepped out of its shadow.
The Great Ape immediately turned.
Unfortunately...
The sword lodged inside its stomach demanded its attention as well.
Ignoring it meant allowing it to continue digging deeper.
Elric smiled faintly.
Drawing a dagger, he casually remarked,
"You make a decent opponent."
He tilted his head.
"Unfortunately..."
"You're just too weak to compare with Lady Lexa."
"But..."
"It was a good attempt."
His shadow suddenly stretched upward.
It condensed into a massive pillar beneath his feet.
BOOM!
It launched him skyward with explosive force.
The Great Ape immediately understood the danger.
Its hardened fur rapidly spread across its entire body.
The sword embedded in its stomach continued advancing...
Slowly.
Painfully.
Still...
It was better than allowing the blade free movement.
The Great Ape bent its legs.
Then leapt.
Its enormous fist descended toward Elric.
Elric frowned.
I wasn't expecting that.
He sighed.
The shadow beneath him immediately changed shape.
The pillar transformed into a gigantic hand.
It grabbed his ankle.
Then violently pulled him downward.
Straight back into the shadows.
The fist struck empty air.
BOOOOOOM!
A crater hundreds of meters wide appeared beneath it.
The Great Ape landed.
Its massive eye darted everywhere.
It couldn't find Elric.
Then...
Its own shadow moved.
A gigantic black hand burst upward.
It wrapped itself around the beast's ankle.
The Great Ape panicked.
It immediately grabbed at the shadow.
Its fingers sank into it...
Only to discover it felt strangely elastic.
Like grabbing hardened molten rubber.
It refused to tear.
The ape pulled harder.
Nothing happened.
While its attention focused below...
Elric appeared from another nearby shadow.
His speed was astonishing.
The monster barely noticed him before he had already reached its face.
Shadows wrapped around both daggers.
The blades darkened.
Their edges sharpened.
Their durability increased dramatically.
Elric smiled.
Then plunged both daggers into its remaining eye.
MAWWWWWW!
Blood exploded outward.
The Great Ape screamed in agony.