An Expedition into the Forgotten Lands Part 4

Are you dreaming? Did you take the Blue Pill? Really?

Want me to pinch you?...

Ahem... So, I'll keep this short.

By the time you read this, I've likely written a few hundred or not a thousand more words.

I had around 9K words of unedited glory, and separated around four of them to this chapter but I'm not over yet.

For your information, this chapter is around 6.3K words long not counting the usual commentary.

However, I thought about it and concluded, that it would be best to post this part as I felt it fitting and give you guys something to work with as I finish the rest.

This way I can see your reactions to what I've written and better improve the next chapter, which I'll try to release either tomorrow or the day after.

That is about it, read the rest in the notes.

Peace!

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/BAAAAAM!/

'Back at the coast, a clash of titans ensued!'

"HUPP!"

/BOOOOOOM!/

'With his entire body transformed, mind his tail, Philip used every muscle fiber within his body to respond to the intense brutality of the beast in front of him.'

/CLANG!/

'Its barbaric appearance and weapon may indicate any lack of intelligence or thinking, but its actions proved otherwise.'

/SWIPE!/

'The Bladed Ahtoh countered every move it saw, piercing through Philip's defensive posture with ease, making faints and leading the rhythm of the fight while pushing its opponent to commit mistakes at every turn.'

/CRACK!/

'Philip had faced many creatures as monstrous-looking as this one, even uglier ones, but this may be the first one that outclassed him in skill… Maybe everything related to combat for that matter.'

'It was a beast made for War and slaughter, one whose age was unknown, likely centuries old. A monster born through countless clashes, something born for the sake of the edge alone.'

'It didn't matter if this was a Pure-Blodded Demon that came from beyond the Rift or one born through a swordsman's ego...'

'What mattered was that right now was that Philip was outclassed.'

/SLASH!/

/CLANG!/

/CLANG!/

/SLICE!/

"URG!"

'A series of fast slashes, each leaving behind trails of destruction that ravaged the coast as they sang across the air.'

'Each strike pushed Philip dozens of meters away as he kept retreating, trying his best not to have his head fly as he slid across the jet black sand and reddish ocean.'

'And with dozens of strikes every few seconds, both he and the Demon moved quickly across the coast, destroying the precipices surrounding them as they did so, causing a trail of destruction as they moved.'

'Ravines were created, craters formed, ancient rocks were overthrown as a flurry of powerful blows descended upon the area.'

/CLANG!/

/BOOM!/

'The Demon, on the other hand, kept blocking and counterattacking all of Philip's movements, using its superior strength, agility, and senses to smash him and his weapon against the environment.'

'No matter what Philip tried to accomplish, the Demon dealt with it, either through astucity or mere physical superiority.'

'Philip once thought removing the beast's weapon from his hand, but upon further thought, he realized the futility and foolishness of such act.'

'If he were to leave his clearly superior foe with his claws, extremely sharp and deadly weapons which would, without a doubt, be much faster than his oversized cleaver, then he would only be throwing himself further into a pit.'

'His blows may be heavy, but at the very least he could see them and respond to them, even if barely. Better that than ten sharp swords flying at him.'

/CLANG!/

/CUT!/

'But despite their clear physical differences, the Demon lacked many things…'

/Slash!/

/Cut!/

'Philip was resourceful, and albeit he may be clumsy or even fully unable to bring forth the potential of all of his resources at once, he could still use them to bridge the gap between them.'

/Burn!/

/Clang!/

'Armament covered the gaps in his defense, its heat enough to bring discomfort to the Demon.'

'It brought him enough strength to defy the beast, even if momentarily.'

"Huff... Huff... HUPP!"

'His magic may be useless given the speed of their confrontation, but whenever he had the time to breathe, Philip would channel a spell to either strengthen himself or heal his injuries and ever-chipping stamina.'

/CLANG!/

'Whenever he could, he chained Skills together with his blows, trying to gauge and break through the towering defense of the bladed demon.'

'Above them all, one of his newest Skills, Zone, was showing its worth by helping him maintain distance and somewhat match his opponent's movements with greater accuracy.'

'As his senses alone made it hard to follow, even for the abnormal size of the beast's cleaver.'

/BOOOOOM!!/

'His Shouts also played their roles in further destroying the environment, but with his lacking understanding of the world and the Dragon tongue, the most he could do with the Demon was push it around like a ragdoll, which certainly helped whenever he was in a pinch but wouldn't alter the course of their confrontation.'

'His Command and understanding over magic would do little in this situation, as his opponent was not one to dwell in supernatural forces.'

'His high Spirituality could increase his chances of winning, but with his equally if not lower understanding of it, he may as much as tickle the beast.'

'From his supernatural powers, the only thing he could apply to deal significant damage to the Demon was his Mental Power, but concentrating on it and fighting at the same time took its tool even on him.'

'Even if there was a chance Philip could live if his head was cut off, he didn't know if he would have the chance to even tie them back in the first place.'

'Alas, he still kept his Hunter Tools and Potions at bay, still believing capable of overcoming this challenge without having to rely on them, taking this fight as a chance to sharpen what he could not before.'

'Not that they would make much of a difference if he were to employ them...'

'Offensive Tools would do little to aid in his situation, and Restraining Tools may as well fail at their task, and a Hunter has little to no Defensive Tools.'

'This wasn't a Lich he was fighting, it wasn't that weak physically... Although Latur was rather strong for a bony body.'

'But anything would do, and as he would soon realize, he had no luxury to be a chooser.'

/Raise.../

'As the Demon swung his massive cleaver downward, instead of retreating, he rushed ahead!'

/SWING!/

'With incredible speed, the Bladed Ahatoh swung its cleaver diagonally from the ground, perfectly intercepting his target!'

/Shuaa…/

'But instead of hitting him, it went past him as Philip turned into mist, hitting the precipice to its right instead.'

/BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!/

'The strike carried so much energy within it caused ripples to travel across the surface of the stone wall, slowly crumbling it into dust as it could not withstand the impact.'

'Hundreds of meters of stone began to ripple, but that was only from its perspective…'

'To it, the world was so slow the precipice collapsed at the speed of a snail, still responding to its previous strike.'

'But for an ordinary Human being, it hadn't even been half a minute since Philip and the Demon began fighting for real, yet tens of exchanges had already taken place as they moved a kilometer along the beach.'

/PUNCH!/

'In the slowed-down world, Philip took this faint moment of carelessness to deliver a full-powered punch straight to the Demon's horn, taking it by surprise!'

'Never would the beast have expected its prey to aim for its horns instead of its head.'

'It grew with the thrill of the hunt, yet its opponent did not strike fatality…'

'Was it foolishness? It could only perceive it as such… If it even understood said emotion and concept.'

/CRACK!/

'Under the might of Philip's full power strike, the base of the Demon's horn cracked as it shattered, and to avoid any complications was immediately thrown into some pocket space, vanishing from reality.'

/ROAAAARR!/

"!"

'The Demon was immeasurably furious as it felt a type of pain it had never felt before.'

'Its distorted heart pumped blood across its body, moving its muscles as energy gathered within them. It was ready to strike back!'

/Tilt…/

'But for the first time since the fight began, the Demon's eyes changed as it noticed a massive problem.'

'With one of its glorious horns gone, the symmetry it once possessed, its perfected body meant for the most agile and brutal of combats...'

'Had lost its balance.'

/SLASH!/

/SMASH!/

'Without wasting this chance, Philip's body burst with power as he dashed ahead after the Demon, evading its clumsy counterblow as it slashed across its waist with his sword, sending the demon against the precipice as it cried out in anger and pain.'

'Its skin was so tough that even with his upgraded Darklight Sword, enchanted and reforged with the best items and spells he knew of while being employed by Philip's strongest martial art at a moment of weakness...'

'It did little but crack it.'

/PIERCE!/

'The Demon lashed out with its tail, but it hit nothing as Philip parried it to the side delivering another blow directly into the Demon's waist, but this time, with only his fist!'

/PULL!/

/SPLATTER!/

'In a mix of evergrowing madness, Philip pulled the scales and the flesh bound to it from the body of the Demon before using them as knives to stab its chest!'

/ROAAAARR!/

/STAB!/

'The tail Philip had previously parried returned, piercing his back and exiting from his stomach, but his eyes remained sharp and serene... As calm as he could get...'

"HAAA!"

'Philip screamed as his eyes were engulfed in the blue flames of Armament, rising high to cover his horns as they sparkled with intense embers, like flickering stars in the night sky.'

/Burn!/

'His entire body already transformed to its true form, his horns burning atop his head and his wings stretched out behind him, the flames in his body began to burn fiercer as he let in to his inner desires.'

'It seemed that in the end, all Hunters gave in to their inner beast amidst the thrill of the hunt...'

"Urg... HAA!"

'But amidst his madness, there was still a strong tint of rationality and reason with his burning pupils as he raised his fists against the trapped Demon.'

/SLASH!/

/CUT!/

/ROAAARR!/

'With his left foot, Philip stepped in the Demon's right foot, driving it deep into the sand as he smashed his horns against the Demon's face!'

/Burn!/

/GRAB!/

/CRUNCH!/

/SPLATTER!/

'As the Demon screamed over the burning sensation of Armament over its sensory organs, Philip used his left hand to pull the tail into his mouth... Where he violently ripped it apart!'

'The Demon roared as flesh and fore fell upon Philip's throat, but he wasn't done yet.'

/PUNCH!/

'With his right hand, before it could recover from his advance, Philip smashed his fist against the Demon's head, sending him deep into the rocky wall before shouting with everything he had!'

"FUS-ROH-DAH!"

/BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!/

'Under the might of his voice, the entire mountain in front of him was pushed aside a torrent of formless energy breached the precipice into two sides like Moses parting the ocean with his staff... Like the slow-motion capture of a ball hitting a bag of sand...'

/DASH!/

/ROAARR!/

'Finally, the Ahatoh voiced his complaints and words of defiance, feeling the rising pain as his waist bled darkish blood onto its legs and ground.'

/Raise!/

'It raised its cleaver with clear intention, it wanted everything in front of it to disappear and vanish into nothingness, sending it down towards the ground like a smith striking iron.'

'But Philip was no nail to be hammered!'

/CLANG!/

'He pulled his entire body back before striking upwards, making a motion similar to that of a baseball player as he intercepted his opponent's blow.'

/BURST!/

'The clash of their weapons created a soundwave so intense it reduced the rubble around it to dust!'

'Behind them, the Ocean splashed around as its very bed was uprooted, rising like a pillar into the skies!'

/CLANG!/

/PUNCH!/

'But barely had any time to move, Philip parried the cleaver upwards as he followed with a mighty uppercut to the Demon's jaw, something he was found to be effective, sending it flying upwards with great speed!'

/GRAB!/

'Yet, before it could fly any further, Philip held its foot and smashed it against the solid ground before kicking it towards the open Ocean.'

/Switch.../

'As the Demon flew towards the Red Ocean, Philip quickly switched his blade as he ran after it.'

'The Darklight blade was definitely the most resilient weapon in his armory, but the Demon proved considerably resistant to its unique power.'

'He had many tools to assist him in breaking through the defenses of such creatures, he had spent countless hours improving them and preparing them for what's to come.'

'So it was time to resort to something else entirely, plain old sharpness.'

/Shing.../

'A dark hilt for a long curved blade...'

'This was the futuristic vibration blade, strengthened by the mechanical heart, reforged by his hand, and improved with the help of foreign materials and MTs guidance and control of the Remodeled Nanomachines that now run through its metallic interior.'

'Enchanted to further increase its strengths and diminish its weaknesses, that being its frailty, it was now itching for some bloodshed.'

'His sharpest weapon, would it do the trick?'

"Huff..."

/Splurge!/

 'With one direct pull, Philip removed the Demon's tail from his stomach, causing a small wave of brackish blood to fall from the wound.'

'But just as quickly as it fell, it stopped, leaving behind only dried marks on his clothes which were quickly burned away by the flames.'

/Jump!/

/SLASH!/

'Bitting his teeth as he pushed away the pain, Philip jumped after the Demon, using his wings to fly atop him before slashing across his waist once more.'

'In this position, the beast could do little to defend itself, but it still looked at him defiantly as it swung its weapon with great power!'

/CLANG!/

'The weapons collided, sending Philip into the skies and the Demon into the Ocean.'

/Splash... BOOOOOM!/

'It barely took a split second and the red ocean exploded with power as the Demon rushed upward amidst a torrent of water.'

/PUSH!/

'With his Mental Power, Philip pushed the Demon back into the water before following with a downkick, sending it crashing against the seabed as the water around them was pushed aside from the aftershock.'

/Buzz... CLANG!/

'His blade began to buzz as green bolts of lightning converged around its edge, spreading into the environment and causing the ground to tremble...'

'Meanwhile, the Demon stopped at nothing, slamming its cleaver against his body!'

/BOOM!/

'The impacts of their strikes kept pushing the water further and further away and turning any unfortunate being too close to mush.'

/SWIPE!/

/CUT!/

'The Demon cut sideways but with its balance broken, Philip took this chance to slash at its leg, but this time, the blade vibrated at a speed far too quick for even the Demon to notice!'

'Like butter, it split its scales apart and bisected its flesh as strange greenish bolts of lightning permeated its blood, pulling apart the broken scales like a net pulling fish.'

/CLANG!/

/KICK!/

'The Demon followed with a claw strike, one he blocked with his Mental power, pushing its disgusting hand away as he kicked the Demon further and deeper into the Ocean, towards an edge he could only describe as being the entrance to the Abyss.'

'Towards the edge of a sudden and sharp fall into the depths...'

/Bleed.../

'His head hurt from the aftershock of the creature's immense power, causing his nose to bleed soon after, something he paid no heed to as it soon stopped, becoming nothing but a red streak amidst the ocean as he dashed forward after his opponent.'

/DASH!/

/BOOM!/

"HAA!"

'He ran, his blade behind him as he gathered momentum to clash one more time with the Demon's cleaver, boiling the sea as the water imploded, creating a Vacuum around them.'

'And maybe due to the Demon's lost balance, their weapons bounced.'

/CLANG!/

'The Demon did not stop with its barrage, wasting no effort to strike again as its right feet dug into the earth, performing a sideways strike to blow Philip out of the way.'

/SLASH!/

'And he responded in kind, slashing sideways across the bone cleaver!'

/CUT!/

'To the Demon's utmost surprise, Philip's sword went straight through the bone, cutting a large section of it as it was sent deep into the Ocean...'

'The Demon barely had any chance to react to this, Philip placed his sword at its sheet as he quickly changed classes, becoming once again, the Descendant of the Jetstream.'

'Maybe today would be the last time the Jetstream would flow, how poetic that it is amidst a sea of red.'

/BANG!/

/SLASH!/

"?!"

/ROOOOARRR.../

'The trigger was pulled and the sword's sheath roared!'

'With his right hand, Philip held the blade midair, activating his Skills once more and causing the blade to explode with power as it twisted the very air around it.'

'And in the blink of an eye with a flash of light, the blade slashed through the Demon's stomach, bisecting it from one side to the other!'

'But blood did not flow... As its body had yet to process the cut, albeit the beast already roared in defiance and anger, understanding full well the extent of the damage it had just sustained.'

'Its thinking was far ahead of what its body was capable of sustaining, how fearsome would it be if its body was as proficient as its mind?'

'Regardless of the outcome, it did not let go of its weapon and neither Philip of his advantage...'

/... CUT!/

'It was at that time that the ocean behind the Demon split apart into two halves as it was lifted momentarily.'

'Like a blanket upon a bed, Philip had parted the red sea... Horizontally!'

"ROAAR!"

/GRAB!/

/THROW!/

'As he recovered from the recoil of his strike, the Demon gnashed its teeth in pure wrath, raising its clear hand, it reached to Philip's head, holding it before throwing it backward towards the depths of the Ocean.'

/Bubble... Bubble.../

'Leaving behind a long trail of steam bubbles, Philip cut through the water as the world turned dark, clenching his deep as the pressure around him increased quickly.'

'He saw as the light slowly turned into a dot, but as quickly as that came, he finally managed to stop his descent, floating just a meter from the precipice, sticking close to it as he did not feel safe in the open ocean.'

/SHUAA!!/

'In this dept, Philip could feel a horrendously strong current trying to swipe him away from the canyon, but it wasn't strong enough to push him away, at best, it was an inconvenience.'

'His flames swayed continuously in the water, proving yet again they weren't exact flames but something else entirely... Still, Philip felt as if he was in a bubble bath from all the bubbles his body was creating, annoying him even further.'

"..."

Light?...

'Amidst the darkness, there was a spark of brilliance, not monstrous in origin, thankfully.'

'It was Carnatita, shining a weak light around her hands as she looked at him with worry.'

/Smile.../

'But Philip smiled, turning his head upward as he felt the tides shift...'

/SPLASH!/

"?"

'Suddenly, a massive serpentine creature slightly larger than a blue whale appeared from the darkness, bitting through Carnatita and the cliffside as it devoured Philip whole!'

/Clench.../

'Or so it tried...'

'Amidst it's teeth, Philip resisted, angered.'

/CRACK!/

'With a powerful stop, he smashed its teeth, and with his hands, he held its large sharp teeth from devouring him whole.'

/SHAKE!/

'As he broke the teeth, he felt the whole world shake as it seemed the serpentine beast was in great pain, shaking its head from side to side rapidly as it tried to consume Philip.'

'But little did it know it should've spat him out instead.'

/SMASH!/

/CUT!/

'Using his hands, he cracked the Upper teeth in his hands before jumping towards the ceiling of the beast's mouth, shoving the teeth at its flesh before punching it upward and driving it deeper into its skull like a nail.'

/Tremble.../

'The world trembled momentarily, the beast was during its final moments, but Philip did not waste any more time with it as he quickly punched its teeth again, opening a safe passage outside.'

/Turn.../

'He turned around, looking at Carnatita, pulling her outside with him...'

/FWOOOOOOOSH!/

"!"

Give me a break...

'The moment he did so, a cannonball seemed to strike across the serpentine creature, splitting it into pieces as it left a bloody trail in the water.'

'Philip's eyes sharpened as he saw the canon curve in the ocean, striking against the precipice.'

'From the crater, a creature slowly raised, a piece of mangled flesh in its mouth as it devoured it whole.'

/Mend.../

'As it did so, its injuries seemed to heal at a rapid pace, causing his eyes to darken.'

/Shine.../

"Phew..."

'As that happened, Philip finished casting his water breathing spell, giving him a very much-needed recovery as it had been a while since his last breath.'

/SCREAM!/

'Albeit the sound of the Demon's roar was muffled by the water, it was still strong enough to push dozens of meters of it outward even at this pressure, shaking the very "ground" they now stood on.'

/DASH!/

'Immediately after, the Demon rushed after Philip, its cut cleaver in hand, not more like a sword than a big stick, it swung it with impressive finesse.'

/SLASH!/

'Using the precipice as his ground, Philip blocked the blow, being sent flying back closer to the surface as he prepared himself for another strike.'

/CUT!/

'The Demon was surprisingly agile in water, swimming through it faster than even the serpentine beast from before.'

'It struck its blade against his, pushing Philip deep against the rocky precipice.'

/Open.../

'This time, instead of cutting him down, the Demon pinned him against the ground, opening its terrific jaw as it tried to rip his face apart as it tried to do before!'

/Burn.../

'Just like the beast, Philip opened his mouth as well, spewing out a potent wave of fire directly into the creature's throat before partially turning his hand into mist and stabbing it straight into his partially closed chest wound, pulling apart the first solid thing he got his hand on with extreme brutality.'

/ROAAAAARRR!/

/BITE!/

'Amidst the heightened pain, the Demon bit down at Philip's shoulder as it missed his head by a hair's breadth, splattering blood all around the water!'

/STAB!/

'But before it could bite him down, Philip turned to mist once more, stabbing the piece of bone into its chest before shoving it further onto the surface.'

'And as he felt the blood in the water, like a shark, he ran after it with greater momentum.'

'He could feel it, the Demon was getting weaker and its injuries were accumulating, weighing it down.'

'So with violence written in his eyes, Philip reappeared behind the Demon... But the trick wouldn't work again.'

/SLAM!/

/PIERCE!/

/SPLASH!/

'Already waiting for his arrival, the Demon spun in the water faster the Philip could react, smashing its fist against his face as one of its nails pierced through his throat, sending him high into the surface and out of the ocean before he collapsed against the breach.'

/THUD!/

"Uh... CO... CH... Pfft..."

'By controlling his blood flow, Philip stopped the blood from rushing into his throat, quickly casting a healing spell as he tried to mend his air pipe.'

'Thanks to his spell and resilience, he wouldn't be drowning nor going anemic anytime soon, but he couldn't fight with blood filling his lungs.'

/SPLASH!/

'Soon after he felt the Demon burst from the water, its eyes changing once more as it saw Philip up and running.'

'It did not expect its prey to still be alive after it had delivered such a fatal blow.'

"Pfft!"

'Spitting some lingering blood onto the sand, Philip looked back at the Demon with a bloody smirk.'

/Vanish!/

"!!"

'Philip suddenly vanished, repeating right beside the Demon!'

/SLAM!/

/Block.../

'With its insane reaction time, the time swung its left hand at Philip, only for it to be blocked by his left hand as he held onto the Demon's wrist, pulling it toward him as he channeled his next strike.'

/PUNCH!/

'His back arched as his right arm trembled.'

'With one perfect hook, he punched the Demon straight in the face, sending flying upward towards the precipice with such force it pierced straight through toward the surface above it!'

"Huff…!!!"

'However, not all was well.'

'He may have blocked that blow, but the Demon's strike did not reflect its true capabilities.'

'Philip had not grown stronger.'

'The beast, in an awkward position swung its arm back without fully knowing his position.'

'And while Philip held its hand, his wrist had shattered… Yet this was only one such scenario.'

'With one arm the Demon could outpower most of Philip's moves unless he put himself in an advantageous situation where he could spread most of its power around due to a difference of stances.'

'There was a vast array of physical differences between to further widen their capabilities...'

'Still, this only caused his expression to widen further.'

'Immense excitement, to hunt something beyond monstrous.'

'He could feel it, something within him, maybe it was his Ego, maybe it was an effect of his destructive Dragon Blood and Soul taking further root in his body...'

'He looked at his left hand, it was bleeding, but he felt little pain.'

'His blue flames continued to burn, turning his tiredness and injuries to cinders.'

'There was still much to understand about Armament, especially now that had become a part of himself…'

'But that could be left for later!'

/JUMP!/

'Philip jumped after the Demon as he delved into the precipice, and soon enough, like two bullets piercing a plank of wood, both he and the Demon resurfaced from the depths of the earth and back into the flowing red fields of the plains as charged rocks splintered and fell apart like a rain of darkened ash.'

"..."

/Growl…/

'Atop the red fields, as the precipice behind him collapsed, both Philip and the Demon stared down at each other as they reassessed the situation.'

/Shine…/

'Taking this rare opportunity to recover and prepare, Philip began casting spells with his left hand, waiting for a chance to charge back and take back the initiative.'

/Burn…/

'At the same time, he finally took the chance to completely wrap Armament around himself, forming a bluish armor around his entire body.'

'This enhanced its properties while also intensifying its heat, causing the rocks underneath his feet to begin melting.'

'And as the flames around his turned all plants and life to cinder, he stood still as he studied his opponent.'

'It was wounded, without a horn and part of its tail, it was clearly having difficulty standing upright as its head kept tilting, especially since it held its cleaver with one hand in a rather unnatural position.'

'However, its eyes showed no confusion or distress, they weren't clouded nor empty like those of a beast.'

'They accessed Philip's existence and condition just as much as its own.'

'But different from itself, Philip's stomach was already fast recovering, his heart still pumping with great Vitality and Power, it was far from over as his Stamina recovered quickly.'

'The body of the Warrior born to take upon creation's vilest creatures was slowly unveiling itself.'

/Pressure!/

"..."

'Even now, Philip's innate pressure pushed the Demon into the ground.'

'But what before was but a weak drizzle had now grown into an actual bother, an invisible weight pulling the creature down.'

'Before, Philip was but prey, meant to be devoured...'

'It was weak, unable, strange... It wasn't meant to resist its approach at all.'

'Yet this creature was proving surprisingly resilient, it had thorns and they were sharp.'

'Its opinion was slowly shifting, from Prey... To a competitor.'

'And as its mind wavered, ***** Might took hold.'

[DING]

[The Great Desire of ***** has awakened]

[You have been challenged by a strong enemy]

[Extra effect: Extreme Apex has activated]

'Strangely enough, at that moment, the notifications played and Philip felt a rush of energy travel around his body.'

'And the moment it did, he knew what to do.'

/FLASH!/

/DASH!/

'He stepped on the solid, half-molten ground, pushing it back as he ran forward, pressing it down with immense force as he turned into an afterimage.'

/BOOOM!/

/ROARR!/

'The Demon roared once more, but instead of getting into a stance, it raised its hand towards its head, grasping its unbroken horn… Before snapping it with a powerful Warcry!'

'But this was enough time for Philip to act!'

/BURST!/

'His sword burst in flames as it accelerated forward, its heat so intense it cleaved all rocks in its path like butter, leaving behind half-molten cuts as it burned the air in its wake.'

'The Talon of the King, Molten Fang!'

/BIND!/

'With his eyes, intense mental waves echoed throughout the plains, enveloping the Demon in a translucent veil of pure Mental Power, bindings its movements.'

/CRACK!/

'But barely had the veil covered it, the beast freed itself from them.'

'However, that had already done its job!'

/SLASH!/

'With a combination of Multiple Skills and Martial Arts, Philip struck his sword against the neck of the Demon!'

/SLASH!/

'Following his strike, another one soon struck true, an invisible blade, even to the Demon!'

'His understanding still in formation, Phantom Sword!'

/Crack!/

'In one swift movement, taking the chance, he cut through the monster's skin and flesh!'

"!!"

/BOOOM!/

"GAH!"

/CRASH!/

"Phillip!" Carnatita exclaimed out loud as she flew after him

/Crumble…/

"Urg…"

/Push/

"Pfft… He got me good." Philip said as he spat out some bloody bits of flesh

My insides are a bit messed up, that punch hurt quite a bit.

But this is good… It means I threatened it.

And if it can bleed…

'The moment his blade was about to reach its neck, the Demon raised its hand and blocked his strike.'

'And at the faint moment where he recovered from the rebound of his strike, it struck Philip's chest with its claws, sending him flying backward where he eventually crashed against a distant mound.'

'His skin wounds were already healing, but his internal wounds were still in the midst of recovery, with some discarded fleshy bits still in the process of being discarded.'

'But it's not like he dealt no damage…'

I felt it, its skin crack, its flesh tear, and its bones break.

My attack left some damage on it, and its regeneration wasn't as fast as mine.

I must focus.

/Shine…/

'His entire body shone with light as he continued to cast Spells to heal and strengthen himself.'

'And by the time he got up from the ground, the Ahatoh had vanished.'

"W-What?" 

Where is it?

'Philip's eyes sharpened as he heightened his senses, but as he did so, Carnatita appeared next to him, pointing at a mountain in the distance.'

"He went there? Why?"

"..."

'Carnatita pointed at her mouth, the gesture was obvious to Philip…'

/Boom... Boom.../

'Distant echoes of explosions rang in his ears.

'If the sounds had reached him, it meant it was already quite far away.'

"Shit."

/DASH!/

I can't let it.

/BOOM!/

'Air split apart as he ran after the beast.'

'If everything was to be believed, the Demon had abandoned him to hunt something else and recover!'

'It wasn't an unusual behavior, but it pointed towards a far more dangerous scenario!'

"... Did you confirm it?" Philip asked Carnatita as he ran

/Nod/

"And?"

/Shake/

'Carnatita shook her head, causing Philip to frown even more as he gnashed his teeth.'

"So from the beginning… Dammit!"

/BREAK!/

/BOOM!/

'Instead of running Philip began to fly, becoming a streak of blue light as he flew a meter above the ground, sometimes using his feet to maintain his momentum.'

'His flames burned behind him, dancing across his body as he pierced through all barriers and distractions on his way.'

Previously… I estimated the Demon had used the body of the strange ocean creature to sneak attack me… That it had dug through the ground and its flesh to strike when I momentarily dropped my guard to look after the bonfire.

But I was wrong.

During our fight, Carnatita didn't remain still, as I expected, she checked the surroundings and confirmed my previous estimations.

The Demon didn't think that far, it wasn't stalking me as I thought it did…

It wouldn't have made sense for that to be the case, as in the first place, since I have Carnatita here, she would've noticed it.

The creature I slew had eaten it… It was digesting it... And I fucking saved it from death!

The moment I cut the eel's stomach, it must've weakened it just enough to give the Demon the courage to burst his remaining strength one more time and break through its confines.

This means that, from the beginning, I wasn't fighting the Ahatoh…

I was fighting a heavily weakened and tired beast that had just escaped being digested!

The Ahatoh is likely severely exhausted and weakened from the gastric juices of that eel.

Its skin is breaking, its strength is waning, its senses are numbed due to the eel's toxins… 

I was but food to hasten its recovery, but it backfired, growing more injured instead.

It must've determined me to be a high enough threat to its life, so instead of engaging in a conflict… It ran away to recover!

I did read in those damn books that Bladed Ahatohs are intelligent enough to deploy tactics comparable to Humans, it's competence is no lower than ours.

Of course, if it is given the chance to study and develop its wisdom, this is clearly a wild Ahatoh unless it's acting, which if it is I would give it a prize.

Regardless of that, if it devours anything and recovers… Then I'll have to resort to Carnatita.

If she had taken the Demon to be a high enough threat to my life when recovered, then she would've killed it right then and there.

But the fact she didn't mean she's confident she can take it down even if it does heal... She's just respecting my nonsensical wishes right now.

That is why… I can't give up just like this!

This is the perfect opponent to improve myself… As if I'm letting it go.

/DASH!/

"Tsk!"

I can feel it, smell its blood… It's heartbeat… It's in a worse condition than I thought.

Its wounds are widening with every step... That is?!

/FWOOSH!/

'As he ran, Philip saw a massive 'cleaver' on the ground, the makeshift weapon it was using against him.'

It even abandoned its weapon... It's putting it all this time.

It's getting away!

"No you won't... Shit..."

'Philip's eyes burned as he saw his opponent flee into the distance.'

I can't keep up by running... Teleportation may be my sole choice.

'But as he channeled Magicka around his body, part of his conscience focused elsewhere...'

... I never thought about this… But Armament's holding me back.

The way I use it, at least now that it's intertwined with my body... It's not making the cut anymore.

My current understanding of Armament is fundamentally wrong.

It's not the Martial Arts that compose it, those I have already mastered, it's the strange essence that envelops it.

Armament is the result of my techniques fused together and evolved more than once under the guidance and higher will of the System.

Had I properly grasped what their fusion became before then evolving and understanding them again... My perspective on this issue may have been different.

But Armament is not about just those anymore, it's much more than that now, trying to steer it from my previous understanding was wrong from the beginning.

... I always sought to understand what had changed, but I should've started from the beginning and not neglected it.

I tried to at first but feared for my lack of time, so I pushed such things away... Something I don't regret.

My reliance on Armament helped me slay Latur, and without it, I wouldn't be here in the first place, or at the very least, that last fight might've taken another route entirely.

Lavinda may have still saved my life, but I cannot say if that would've remained definite.

... But thinking about what I could've done better is not something I do, that is better left for a Regressor like Dae.

Nonetheless, now that I'm here, I can feel the consequences of my actions as I do not have a proper hold of it.

However, there is still something I can do.

/Burns…/

'Slowly, his bluish armor vanished, and most of the blue flames surrounding his body retreated, concentrating around areas such as his horns, wings, eyes, and nails.'

There's no point in trying to be excessive, I need to simplify this process.

In the first place, the martial Arts used as the base of Armament are internal, they push the body to achieve maximum performance.

Some of the Hunter Arts that compose it are a bit... Flashy, but they don't revel in covering their users in protective armor.

This is wrong.

/Gather…/

'The waving flames around his body condensed, becoming something akin to a film.'

'From the chaotically burning flames to a long string of light, like the strings of a ballet dancer, they transformed into a new shape.'

'No notifications played as this transformation took shape because Philip wasn't achieving anything he couldn't already do.'

'He was merely trying something different, all for the sake of reaching the prey as it fled into the distance.'

'And once he was done, he raised his right hand:'

"Get back here!" He commanded

/Fwoosh!/

'And with that, he vanished.'

…

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Notes

As you can imagine, given I write about 1K words per hour, the fact I have 9K words says how much I've worked on this, not counting everything else.

Yesterday I spent 2 hours studying previous chapters and notes, and this doesn't include the time I stood watching my screen thinking if things were correct with the writing of Zero Fate.

It made me remember just how big these chonkers are...

For now, I'll continue writing. I'll likely either separate the block of text I have into two chapters or post it all on one bigger chapter but I'll try to release it all within two days.

I'll now work on Danmachi and try to update it, see you all then.

And welcome back!