Chapter 13- The apex

August knew he was probably hoping for too much. But, if presented with a chance to make things right, could he really be blamed?

If Alia had really survived and continued to have done battle with the beast, it meant she was at least alive somewhere in the forest.

Or dead somewhere, potentially in the carnivorous rhinoceros' stomach.

That result wasn't the kind of thought August wanted to focus on.

'I really am doing that much more often nowadays, aren't I?' He frowned to himself, turning his attention back to the battle.

The white lion danced around the behemoth, only encroaching to tear plates from the dazed beast's armor. If it wasn't for the rage seething in every fiber of his being at the armored beast, August would have almost felt sorry for it.

The armored rhinoceros was injured, and most definitely not as fast or as nimble as when he and Alia clashed with it.

The white lion, however, was also gravely injured. August could tell from the beast's dedication to not using it's left hind leg for any large or powerful attacks. Countless other small scratches coated patches of the white lion's fur in deep red blood.

Neither beast was willing to relinquish their territory however. The armored behemoth continued to attempt to impale the white lion on it's horn. Whilst the nimble feline tore, slashed and ripped into the monster's armored plates.

On one such occasion, the white lion dashed in, but was a fraction of a second too slow. The armored rhinoceros was upon it, headbutting the lion into a nearby tree, which broke under the weight of the impact, falling on it's injured left leg.

The behemoth, seizing its chance, charged the lion, clearly attempting to trample its competitor whilst it tried to free itself.

The lion roared out in pain, but at the same time violently turned it's head to meet the incoming charge. The beast was unable to free itself, but it could surely retaliate.

A stream of searing blue flame erupted from the mouth of the white lion, August himself felt the heat from almost fifty meters away, throwing his hands up to divert the burning sensation from his face.

'Jeez, if it could do this, why didn't it just open with it?'

The answer was actually quite simple. Whittling down the potential reasons, August found two that were most likely correct together or separately.

The first was that the white lion could only use the attack a few times, or some kind of internal limiter prevented it from repeatedly using it. August was guessing that aura was this limiter.

It could have also been that the ability posed some risk that the white lion did not want to take unless it was in dire circumstances.

The flames flushed the entire area blue. Causing August to look around in dismay.

At some point, the sun had started to set. This was quite bad for him, as August tried to avoid moving around the forest at night.

Under normal circumstances, maneuvering through a forest under cover of night was the best possible scenario. However, in the dark forest, some of the creatures possessed a superb sense of smell and a heightened awareness that August was not privy to.

Which is why he spent his nights in the bush, it was a safe, secluded areas with enough of a stench to mask his own.

However, it was already too late to return or find such a place.

He was forced to watch on as the armored behemoth attempted to charge through the stream of flames, which washed over it as if they were not flames, but a rushing current.

August watched as the beast's armor turned to ash and it's skin started to sear away, exposing the muscle underneath.

The white lion managed to pry its leg free, moving around on it tenderly as it slowly approached the rhinoceros head on. The armored behemoth could do naught but bury the gray hooves at its feet into the earth and slide back as the armored plates burned away.

August scowled at this turn of events, barely able to see as the contrasting blue light generated by the flame took over the cold darkness of the night. Sweat rolled down his brow and he himself had to assume a crouching position to avoid being blown away by the scorching winds.

'Come on you big gray piece of dung, do something! I need you alive!'

It was true, if he wanted to find whatever had harmed the behemoth, he would need to follow it. On the off chance it was his potentially dead companion, he would need the beast to survive this encounter.

Suddenly however, as the last plate of the armored behemoth's plates burned away, something happened..

A burst of red, swirling around the armored behemoth, before tightly wrapping around it, taking the forn of glowing red lines.

August watched on in intrigue as the armored rhinoceros burst forth with incredible speed and strength, pressing through the flames and gaining speed, then roaring thunderously as it's horn made contact with the lower jaw of the white lion.

In an instant, the feline was flung through the air, it's mouth being forced shut. Suddenly there was an explosion of blue flame, and August was flung back into a tree, searing burns coating his skin.

He held back a yelp of pain with everything he had, collapsing onto his stomach.

He passed out for a moment from the heat, coming to a moment later as he felt himself begin to suffocate.

He coughed and vomited blood as his airways cleared, his ringing and pulsating ears causing his vision to be blurred and covered in floating dark spots.

Struggling to regain focus and look up, the sight ahead was truly both a magnificent and somber one.

The armored rhinoceros, without any of its plates and exposed muscle and bone. Covered in deep, cauterized slashes.

The white lion, without a head, laying defeated on the ground amidst the burning forest.

The armored behemoth swayed and fell, but rose to its feet soon after.

The victor of the clash of predators, was the armored rhinoceros.