The morning should have been bright.
Birdsong should have filled the forest, sunlight should have filtered softly through the leaves, and Alvin should have been clinging to Kazien's arm whining about breakfast.
Instead—The sky tore open. As if swallowed by a colossal mouth, the sunlight vanished, devoured instantaneously by a spreading black void. A dome—no, a barrier the size of a small village, materialized around the battlefield. Its surface shimmered like flowing ink, swallowing light and sound alike. Within seconds, the forest dimmed into something colder and crueler than night.
Alvin's breath hitched.
"M-My dear… what is that!?"
Kazien exhaled slowly, eyes sharpening.
"I don't know. But... So this is how an S-rank monster prefers to fight. Dramatic… but efficient."
He turned to Alvin and Rio, pushing them back with a firm yet gentle hand. "Both of you, step away. He's targeting me."
Alvin wanted to argue—wanted to cling to him, even—but the look on Kazien's face allowed no room for debate. So Alvin bit his lip, grabbed Rio's arm, and led him away.
The Shadow Tiger King stepped forward from the darkness.
The creature's black fur blended perfectly with the dome around them, and the rippling darkness beneath its paws made it seem as if the ground itself obeyed it. Its eyes glowed a chilling violet, reflecting hunger, intelligence, and killing intent.
So this is an S-rank monster? Not merely powerful—perfectly evolved to kill.
Kazien raised his stance. I have to copy all the magic this monster has.
But the moment he blinked—The monster vanished. There was no sound. Not even a vibration. Just pure disappearance.
Kazien barely sensed the killing intent before—"AKH!!!"
Crack!
His body was hurled backward like a broken doll, smashing into a massive tree, the bark exploding from the impact.
Cold pain shot up his spine.
Fast. Too fast! He's bending shadows to erase his presence.
The ground trembled with a sharp.
BAM! A monstrous claw cleaving through empty air where Kazien's torso had been a fraction of a heartbeat earlier.
He blink-dodged again, reappearing ten meters away.
Even so, sweat beaded his temple.
That was close. That claw… would've split me in half.
He fired three spheres of compressed flame.
Swoosh!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each blast detonated with force strong enough to uproot trees—but the Shadow Tiger King danced through them with ghostlike precision, leaving streaks of darkness in its path.
Crack!
The monster's claw tore through a tree behind him as Kazien spun, searching, calculating.
Left? No—behind—He jumped instinctively.
BAM!
The shockwave cracked the soil beneath him.
Kazien gritted his teeth.
"This is insane! He dodged my wind-enhanced strike… with ease."
He couldn't even detect its magic pattern.
This thing wasn't fast. It was untouchable.
A dark blur appeared above him.
Whack!
"AKH!!!"
Crash!
His body flew and skidded across the ground.
His ears rang. His chest burned.
The taste of iron filled his mouth. His blow is too strong. Right… I'm still weak. I can't even trace his spell matrices…
He forced himself up. Just in time to see shadow tentacles. Dozens. No, but hundreds.
They erupted from the ground beneath him like writhing serpents.
Before he could blink away, they wrapped around his arms, legs, torso—binding him completely.
"Damn it—!"
The tentacles coiled tighter, squeezing the air from his lungs.
The Shadow Tiger King prowled toward him, its fangs bared in triumph.
A lesser person would've panicked. But Kazien simply sighed.
I seriously don't want to learn this kind of magic.
He flared his mana.
Bling!
A radiant burst of light exploded from his body, shredding the tentacles instantly. The dome rippled violently as if wounded.
But the monster was no longer amused.
It roared—a deep, vibrating sound that made the dome tremble.
GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
The monster's mana surged. The ground split.
Kazien raised both hands.
"Alright. Let's dance."
Zing! Zing! Zing! Zing!
Thousands—literally thousands—of light projectiles formed behind him, each one sharp enough to pierce steel.
He launched them all at once.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The entire half of the dome lit up like a storm of falling stars. The explosions echoed far beyond the barrier—reaching Lazavis city where soldiers gaped at the rising plumes of smoke.
But inside the dome...
The Shadow Tiger King dodged every single beam.
Not even a scratch.
Kazien's smile twitched.
"Oh, come on…! I spent a solid two seconds gathering that!"
The monater lunged, Kazien blinked away. They clashed. Again. And again.
The dome shook with every strike—
Fire and darkness.
Wind and claws.
Lightning and fangs.
Kazien moved like a gale, a storm of spells swirling around him, but the monster, the monster moved like a phantom sharpened by instinct.
If I keep trading blows… I'll lose.
He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
Rio, watching from afar, trembled. "Why is he closing his eyes!? Is he giving up!?"
Alvin swallowed hard. "No… look at the mana around him. He's thinking. He's… calculating something terrifying."
And he was. Kazien expanded his mana sense, forcing it to merge with the natural mana of the forest. Then—
There you are.
He opened his eyes.
"I see you now!"
Lightning wrapped around his legs. Wind spiraled around his ankles. Darkness gathered into a sword in his right hand. A perfect three-element enhancement.
Bzzzt! Whoosh!
Kazien vanished.
No—he didn't blink. He simply moved.
The Shadow Tiger King's eyes widened for the first time.
Kazien was right behind it.
Zap!
He blinked. This time inside the shadow tiger king's blind spot.
The combination was oppressive: Wind for acceleration. Lightning for nerve-boosted reaction speed. Blink for instantaneous repositioning. Darkness for a killing strike.
Kazien whispered: "Checkmate."
Zrash!
His entire body and sword pierced through the monster's neck.
Not a slash. A full penetration.
The dome trembled. Then shattered—
BANG!
The Shadow Tiger King stumbled forward… then collapsed. Its dead.
Light returned to the forest.
Kazien, dripping in warm black blood, made a face of pure disgust.
"Yuck… why is it the neck I…"
Alvin ran toward him, nearly tripping on a root.
"My dear.... My dear!! Are you hurt!? Tell me where it hurts! Tell me—"
Kazien smiled, then answer him: "I'm fine, Alvin. Just slimy."
Alvin went red. Rio just stared, pale. Kazien turned to the corpse.
"Hm. This must be expensive."
Alvin gawked. "That's what you're worried about!?"
Kazien shrugged innocently. "If it's damaged, the price drops."
He placed his hand on the corpse.
Light spread.
Its wounds closed. Its blood dried. The monster's body returned to its original state as if it had never been killed.
Rio's jaw dropped.
"A-Amazing…!"
Kazien flicked his fingers, opening a dimensional rift, and stored the entire monster away effortlessly.
"Alright. Let's go home. I smell like death."
Alvin laughed despite himself.
"What kind of lunatic kills an S-rank monster by piercing it with his whole body!?"
"I have no choice! He can track my movements!."
And thus, with the dome gone and sunlight washing the forest once more, the three of them began walking back toward Lazavis city. Their steps echoing the memory of a battle that would be spoken of for generations.