The forest shuddered as if screaming in agony.
The sound of crashing trees and wind smashing against stones filled the space, and the echo of the battle resonated even to the edges of arabisel.
Between every roar of the beast, the sound of the wind rose, broken, angry...
Ryo stood in the middle of the devastation, his body covered in dust and blood, holding no sword, only his two fists stained with ash.
His eyes sparked with intense focus, and his muscles were taut like a bowstring about to snap.
"My sword... is finished. It's fine, the wind has always been my true sword, isn't it?"
He whispered with cold confidence, then bent slightly, as if preparing for a deadly dash.
The air began to swirl around him in a light vortex, slowly transforming into a miniature hurricane.
Opposite him, stood the colossal creature—its breath producing thick red vapor, and every exhalation increased the air's temperature for a few seconds.
Its cracked chest split open, and the flaming scales emitted a flickering light, as if they were small volcanoes preparing to erupt.
The beast let out a roar that pierced the quiet of the forest:
"Grrraaaah!"
Then it lunged towards him with a speed disproportionate to its size.
Its claws struck the ground, scattering rocks like arrows.
Ryo leapt upward with unnatural agility, then spun his body in the air:
"(Wind Shield)!"
The wind formed a rotating barrier around him, blocking the beast's first strike, but he was pushed back two meters by the intensity.
When his feet touched the ground, he yelled with a force that brought the forest back to life:
"Now... it's my turn!"
He dashed forward, his fists glowing with a white aura.
A strike, then another, then a third—each one creating an air explosion in the beast's chest.
But it barely flinched.
The creature countered with a devastating attack, its long tail striking the ground like a whip, smashing into Ryo's body and tossing him into the air.
He hit the ground hard, his chest bleeding, the air leaving his lungs with difficulty.
But he laughed. He laughed despite the pain.
"You truly deserve the title of a beast from arabisel..."
He raised his hand to the sky, and the wind began to gather around his arms, as if the forest itself was answering his call.
His body was trembling from exhaustion, but his eyes were fixed on the target.
"Kūki Sōrashō!"
(Air Vacuum Strike)
He struck the air with his right hand, and a column of condensed atmospheric pressure shot out like an invisible projectile, piercing the beast's chest. Its burning blood scattered like red rain.
The beast screamed in madness, then began to gather flames in its mouth, a gigantic fireball forming inside it, a vortex of blazing energy spinning within.
The entire forest trembled from the energy; even the distant shimoro felt a suffocating heat reaching his location.
He opened his eyes wide and said to himself:
"Ryo... what is that idiot doing?!"
In the battleground, Ryo wore a tired smile.
"A fireball this size... if I don't evade it, nothing will be left of me."
He retreated two steps, then closed his eyes, and began concentrating the wind around his entire body.
Small wings of wind formed behind him, and the air around him resembled a halo.
"Accelerated Wind Wings... Level One."
He lunged forward, with a speed surpassing anything he had shown before.
The moment the beast unleashed the gigantic fireball, the winds in front of Ryo split into dozens of paths, like a path of light.
He collided with the counter wind pressure, and the flames spread across the sky instead of the ground.
Ryo vanished amid the smoke and heat, then reappeared directly in front of the beast—his right hand illuminated by a white aura, his left hand holding a small vortex of condensed wind.
"This is the end for you!"
He struck the beast's chest with both hands, forcing the wind pressure into it, followed by a silent explosion.
Ryo paused for a moment.
Then...
BOOOM!!
The beast exploded from the inside, its remains scattered and the air screaming from the force of the blast.
Ryo hit the ground, rolling, panting, his hand shaking, and he looked at the beast staggering, trying to stay alive.
"You're still... standing?"
He raised his hand again, barely able to lift it, and said in a hoarse voice:
"This is... the wind's finale."
Ryo concentrated a single particle of his energy into one last strike, a small vortex that pierced the beast's chest.
But... the extremely exhausted beast, in an attempt to stay alive, roared loudly and began charging a fireball from its mouth while Ryo was unprepared...
The sound of footsteps...
And in the distance, night drew its curtain over the arabisel forest...
The ground was shaking under the impact of the beast's roar, and the air was filled with suffocating heat.
Flames gathered in the creature's mouth, a fireball the size of its gigantic head, with red sparks revolving inside like dead stars.
The sky above them turned crimson for a second due to the beast's surging EIU energy, and the air became heavy as if boiling.
Ryo was on his knees, panting heavily, blood dripping from his shoulder, and sweat mixing with ash on his face.
He raised his head with difficulty and said in a broken voice:
"Damn it... I don't have enough energy left..."
The winds around him were almost still, as if waiting for a new command but refusing to move.
He reached his trembling hand toward the ground, searching for anything... any sword, any stone, any hope.
Then... the sound of footsteps was heard coming from behind the smoke.
Calm, steady, carrying a sense of coolness amidst this fiery inferno.
Ryo raised his head wearily, his eyes widening when he saw that blue aura cleaving the darkness.
And from between the burnt trees, shimoro emerged—covered in side wounds, an ice layer frozen onto his right arm, and in his hand, a sword made of frozen wood, glittering as if a star had materialized into a blade, surrounded by a blue aura: "the EIU."
shimoro yelled in a voice that echoed through the forest:
"I managed to use my ice and wood power to make this sword... Don't you dare die, you wind idiot!!"
He threw the sword with all his might toward Ryo, and it pierced the air in a streak of cold brilliance, settling in Ryo's hands just as the beast completed charging its attack.
Ryo grasped the frozen blade, feeling a sharp coldness penetrate his palm, but it awakened something inside him.
He smiled, and stood up with a steady step, his eyes shining with confidence not seen since the beginning of the battle.
"Hah... an ice sword? Not bad, I'll make the wind love it too."
He raised the sword in front of him, and the air began to swirl again, but this time it was mixed with a flash of ice.
A small vortex of white wind formed, wrapping around the blade and making it shine like celestial metal.
In that moment, the beast unleashed the gigantic fireball.
Hellish flames shot toward him with incredible speed, burning everything in their path.
Ryo yelled with all his might:
"(Wind-Ice Harmony)!"
He stamped the ground with his foot, and raised the sword with both hands.
The wind and ice merged into a rotating barrier, forming a semi-transparent shield in front of them.
The fireball struck the barrier, and the explosion roared like the sound of thunder when it is enraged.
The air pressure was unbearable.
Trees shattered, the ground cracked, and the flames partially rebounded onto the beast itself.
But Ryo did not emerge unharmed—the wave of fire exploded in front of him, pushing him backward with minor injuries to his arm and also his leg.
"Ryo!!" shimoro yelled, rushing towards him.
Ryo was smiling despite the pain, looking at the blade that was beginning to crack from the pressure.
"A beautiful sword... but it is not yet born to withstand the wind completely.."
"Idiot! If I had been any later, you would be ash now!" shimoro said with rare emotion, extending his hand to help him up.
Ryo laughed lightly, then took his friend's hand and said:
"Then let's finish the escape together this time."
The two bolted through the smoke, Ryo limping slightly, and shimoro erecting a wall of ice behind them every few steps to prevent the flames from catching up.
The beast was still roaring behind them, but its sound gradually faded as they moved away, for the beast was also unable to fight.
After minutes of running, they reached a low valley in the arabisel forest.
Ryo sat leaning against a rock, panting, while shimoro sat beside him, staring at his hands trembling from exhaustion.
"My ice is still fragile... I haven't reached the level yet to make it withstand your wind power or the power of the beasts in this forest..."
Ryo answered with a wry smile despite all the pain.
"Don't worry. One day, a sword will be forged that combines my wind and your ice. That day... will be the beginning of your power."
The two fell silent for a moment, hearing only the rustle of the wind between the rocks.
Then shimoro raised his head toward the sky and said in a grim calm, yet feeling a little terror.
"A beast of this level on the outskirts of the forest... that means the depth hides something bigger, doesn't it?"
Ryo replied, clutching his wound:
"Yes... it seems the Red Fish isn't the only beast we'll face."
Then he laughed a tired laugh, coughing heavily:
"But at least... I'm not dead yet, just as you wanted, Ice Boy."
shimoro smiled lightly, and replied with his usual coolness:
"And I'll make sure you don't die until I repay you for protecting me."
The wind cooled, the night quieted, but beneath this silence...
The forest trembled—as if watching the heir of ice and the son of the wind, as they entered the deepest path into the abyss.
To be continued...