Overcoming One's Limits

As the very last rays of the sun were close to being dimmed out completely, and that the sun would duck below the visible horizon only to be replaced by the merciless, cold night, a reptilian, bipedal lizard's figure could be seen lying in the dirt.

As the memories of the day's disgraceful events have re-emerged and began to flood his mind, causing him to recollect himself and begin to examine the third iteration of his new body.

Truth be told, him suffering another defeat at the hands of another unexpectedly powerful beast, anyone could have suffered some lingering damage to their mindset.

Yet, Aziel only growled to himself as he stood up from the ground. Turning his gaze towards the starlit, clear heavenly abode above, he couldn't help but let an uncanny sigh escape from his lips.

Though he seemed unaware, there were other, gradual changes to his body along with each incarnation.

'Another one to add to the list…' He muttered to himself, letting a cruel smirk creep up on the edges of his lips.

Taking an extra moment, he began to check his body to see what adaptations he had received from his death by the massive snake.

First focusing on his forelimbs, he noticed that they once again gained some small amount of length, turning from the initial short little useless stubs to something that could actually be useful. Additionally, whilst he was still very much a theropod, and had only 3 fingers, they were much more sophisticated than before.

His claws also seemed to have undergone some sort of evolution and have been greatly enhanced. For one they were now visibly much sharper, gaining a great deal of extra length as well. Additionally, they also became jagged, greatly increasing his cutting potency.

He also noticed that his skin was much thicker than it was before, gaining a more rock-like appearance. It also became a slightly darker shade than his previous skin tone, making him be able to blend in much more effortlessly to his surroundings, especially during the dark of the night.

Another surprising change was that he noticed he was slowly but surely making a lasting imprint on the ground. His feet as he stood still were slowly sinking, inching deeper into the ground.

'Hmm… Interesting…' He muttered to himself as he scrutinized all changes in his body.

Approaching a nearby tree that seemingly had the same thickness as an elephant's leg he extended his claws.

*SLASH!*

The tree was sliced cleanly into several sections, matching each claw.

*THUD!*

The separated tree trunks fell to the ground in that moment, as he easily, effortlessly cut through.

'These claws are rather useful, I guess…' Suddenly his eyes glimmered with a golden light as he glanced towards his right, seemingly gazing into nothing but the lush, dense forest that seemed to cover everything.

Yet, his eyes squinted as if it found his target.

"Time for round two!" He exclaimed.

Planting his feet, he jumped onto the branch of a nearby tree and began searching for the bastard that had just killed him.

After a while Aziel had found the snake, it was coiled up in a spiral position, appearing to be soundly sleeping after his fulfilling meal.

Seeing this, Aziel jumped down and landed in front of it. The snake seemed to sense this, as it uncoiled itself and looked at the pesky reptile with menacing eyes.

Annoyed at the weakling in front of it, the snake launched itself immediately at the fragile-looking opponent bearing its sharp teeth with its mouth agape. However, before it could bite its prey, Aziel jumped back just as it snapped its mouth shut.

Satisfied by his reaction time, Aziel changed into offensive, he rushed at the monster.

*SLASH!*

He slashed at the snake, leaving a deep gash on its torso. This caused the snake to begin bleeding profusely.

With visible confusion at the sudden turn of events, the snake backed away from the much smaller predator, not understanding how the prey he just consumed had come back, stronger than before.

With slow pace Aziel circled around the tree the oversized snake resided at, looking at it with an obvious contempt flashing in those large golden eyes of his.

This seemed to anger the humongous apex predator to no end.

With a loud hiss, the snake threw itself at his opponent, baring its fangs, hoping to cause him a fatal wound. Sadly, in the eyes of Aziel, the snake might as well be moving in slow motion towards him.

He took a small step to the side, completely evading the creature's assault. As its head passed him, he already had his claws raised into the air.

'F*ck you too...' He mumbled inwardly, slashing down with his claws in the next instant.

*SLASH!*

A clean slice cut the snake's head off.

*THUD!*

The head landed on the ground with an audible thud. The snake's eyes dimmed as it slowly succumbed to its inevitable demise. It died unable to understand how its prey came back so much stronger than before.

Seeing this Aziel sighed with happiness. The last thing the creature had seen before the life left it was the face of his prey grinning at it uncontrollably.

Once the snake had moved on, Aziel walked up to its head. As he touched it, the mass of the corpse began to liquefy and fuse with him. It seamlessly transformed into a black, oily viscous fluid and began to merge with the contacting clawed arm.

While this was happening he walked over to the rest of the body and absorbed it as well.

As the large carcass vanished in a few blinks of a time, Aziel suddenly felt the pain coming deep within from his chest.

*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP*

The sound of his heartbeat could be heard, getting louder and louder with each passing second.

His body began to heat up, glowing red as steam began to emit from the pores of his body.

*GRUNT*

He felt discomfort all over his body as he began to grow taller. His height increased, his bones became bigger and stronger. His muscles expanded then condensed, his skin became rows and rows of golden-brownish scales, appearing to be unbreakable by normal means. His eyes soon became slits, replicating that of a reptile.

Yet, what was most eminent was that his body shape changed. From the forward-leaning stance, he had now a humanoid shape. Thick scales like medieval armor covered the entirety of his body. Five fingers, -with long onyx curved jagged claws protruding from their tips- rested on each of his hands and feet.

Trying to recollect himself, Aziel examined his changes and became amazed by the boost he gained by absorbing the monstrous creature.

He was now over 9 feet tall, dwarfing over his previous size of 6 feet.

He walked up to a nearby rock about his height. Picking it up with shocking ease, placed it in his right arm, then threw it full force into a tree a few meters away from him.

*BOOM!*

The rock collided with the tree, causing it to explode into splinters on the ground.

Amazed by his newfound strength, Aziel was speechless. He looked at the remains that just a moment ago was a proudly standing tree, now shattered remains on the solid ground.

Positioning himself, Aziel launched himself forward, soon vanishing into the deeper parts of the jungle.

His journey, spanning even before the emergence of a species that will cause a great amount of annoyance, almost with all the other emotions-, has just begun.