[Hunter Exam Finale]

The Thornback roared as Erebus' bladed tendrils pierced into its flesh over and over with blurring speed. For the first time since the beginning of the fight, Kenji watched the Behemoth retreat in the face of Erebus' unrelenting assault. 

But the beast wasn't finished. In a display of immense strength, the Thornback's tail shot out and wrapped around the broken trunk of a tree, and with a roar, the Behemoth ripped the massive piece of wood from the earth itself. The Thornback sent the massive trunk rolling across the ground with a single flick of its tail. 

Instead of dodging, Erebus dug its clawed feet into the ground and braced. With a loud thud, the wooden trunk crashed into Erebus, who met it head-on with both clawed hands. 

An echoing roar bellowed from Erebus as it slid across the earth, digging deep furrows in the ground, Its claws sending splintering chips of wood flying off the log. 

Erebus' tendrils stabbed into the trunk, slowing the tree even further and burrowing deep into the wood. But before Erebus could bring the runaway log to a stop, a massive crack echoed through the air as the Thornback stampeded through the tree, shattering into pieces with its crown of horns. 

With its hand and tendrils occupied, Erebus was caught entirely off guard as a dense nest of razor-sharp horns was aimed to pierce and cave in its chest. Fortunately for the abyssal creature, it wasn't fighting alone. 

Kenji appeared between the two towering beasts in a puff of black ash as his cloak flared out, and a twisting sea of tendrils erupted from inside the dark, inky fabric. 

The appendages were practically carbon copies of Erebus's own tendrils, though far smaller. But what they lacked in size, they made up for in sheer numbers. 

Like parasitic worms, the conjured tendrils burrowed into the Thornback's flesh, anchoring Kenji as his sword flashed. There was a sharp hiss as the acid-coating Kenji's sword cut through the Thornback's crown of horns, sending the heavy pieces of keratin toppling to the ground. 

Still, Kenji was powerless to stop the momentum of the several-tonne dread beast, and it crashed into Erebus. But without its horns, the Thornback could only try and run Erebus over instead of piercing its flesh. 

Instead of trying to win a battle of brute strength, Erebus rolled over and grabbed the Thornback by the stump of its horn. In a move that would make any Judo master proud, Erebus flipped the Behemoth onto its back. 

The ground caved in under the Thornback's immense weight with the force of a miniature earthquake. Now, on its back, the Behemoth thrashed around, its primal instinct to protect its underbelly driving it to panic. 

But before the Thornback could right itself, Erebus crawled onto the Behemoth before becoming a flurry of motion as its feet, hands, and tendrils all lashed out, carving the Thornback's stomach to shreds. Copious amounts of blood, flesh, and eventually entrails splattered into the air as the Thornback's resistance grew weaker before stopping. 

Erebus stopped its relentless flurry of attacks as the Behemoth's limbs hit the ground with a thud and didn't so much a twitch. Raising its head to the heavens, Erebus let out its echoing roar that reverberated through the deadly silent forest. 

Walking over, Kenji nudged the massive corpse with his foot and grinned when the Thornback remained motionless, "You were worthy prey." 

Slinking from atop the carcass, Erebus walked in front of Kenji and crouched, though Kenji still had to look up to meet the abyssal creature in the eyes, "You did well Erebus. I feel bad about relying on you and your siblings so much." 

Erebus made a series of clicking sounds as its tendrils relaxed, becoming a tail once more before leading down and pressing its head against Kenji's chest, "Don't worry, I have a plan for it. But I think you deserve a rest for now." 

Kenji held out his palm as it split open, allowing his Chains of Tartarus to bind Erebus and return him to his home dimension. Once Erebus was bound, Kenji broke apart into a dense cloud of ash. Like a living swarm, he descended on the Thornback carcass as his gaseous body expanded, eventually covering the entire corpse and obscuring it from view. 

Over the course of a full minute, Kenji slowly started to shrink in size until he finally reformed his body, the Thornback corpse nowhere to be seen. For a moment, Kenji just stood in place as his body vibrated, and a faint purple glow came from his stomach. Then the moment passed, and Kenji sighed, "I think I actually....feel full."

Consuming the Thornback had rewarded Kenji with more Alpha Particles than he managed to collect during the entire exam, 'Is this the difference between Dread Kings and other Dread Beasts?'

Kenji recalled everything else he had hunted and realized that nothing he had fought came close to the terrifying power the Thornback wielded. 'It even managed to hold its ground against two of my prisoners and nearly killed Nyx. If I had been its sole focus, there was no way I could have brought it down on my own. Hopefully, with all these Particles, I can change that.' 

"Well, that was quite the show." 

Kenji looked up as Aizawa's voice came from above him, and he stared at the featureless black orb hovering in the air, 'It's one of those recording drones...what did Toga call them...pearls or something.' 

"I assume you've been watching the entire time?" Kenji asked as the Black Pearl floated down to hover in front of Kenji, "More or less, in here, every Dread Beast is assigned a Black Pearl for security and data collection. So only when you fought were we able to keep tabs on you. Though I don't think any of the examiners expected you to take on the Thornback." 

Kenji grinned, "What about you, Sensei?" 

"There wasn't a moment of doubt that when presented the opportunity do something rash and potentially suicidal, you would jump at the chance." 

" Not even the benefit of the doubt?" Kenji asked with mock hurt. 

"Not when you've come back from the dead," Aizaw replied through the pearl, "Not get out of there. The Lab Rats' are pissed enough that you've killed so many of their test subjects." 

---

"Kenji!" 

The moment the elevator doors opened, Kenji had to brace for impact as Toga threw herself at him before latching on tight, "Why did you take so long!" 

"I couldn't end the exam early; besides, it was only two weeks," Kenji argued, but he still wrapped Toga up in a hug and gave her a quick peck on the lips. As they broke apart, Kenji spotted Uraraka standing nearby, glancing between Toga and Kenji, clearly unsure of something. 

Taking a shot in the dark, Kenji moved over, pulled Uraraka in, and kissed her passionately before the shy girl could react. As their lips separated Kenji grinned as he saw the heavy blush spread across Uraraka's cheeks and the timid but satisfied smile across her face, "W-welcome back." 

"Ahem," Aizawa cleared his throat, making Toga drop to the ground with a mischievous smile, "Sorry, Guildmaster." 

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," Aizawa replied dully before turning to address Kenji, "Needless to say, you passed with flying colors, though you'll still have to go through a probationary period before you get your full license. However, that won't stop you from going on patrols." 

Kenji nodded but he only had one thing on his mind, "What about when it comes to Alpha Weapons?"