Monster Hunt, part 4/4

The forest's silence was violently shattered as a burst of azure light pierced through the thick canopy of trees. An orb, luminous and intense, soared skyward, casting eerie silhouettes of branches and leaves in its wake. Within moments, the tranquil ambiance of the forest was engulfed in an explosion of plasma, the reverberating boom echoing through the woods.

"Graaaa!" A deafening roar emerged from the fiery aftermath, and the wyvern's golden eyes, seething with a mix of fury and torment, fixed intently on Tia.

Beep!

<<<<<<>>>>>>

New mission:

Objective --> Defeat the inferior magic creature

Rewards --> 1 x esper point; +1 to WILL; +1 to ENE

<<<<<<>>>>>>

'Wow, you really don't like magic...'

She floated above the ravaged forest, observing the aftermath of her attack.

'Hmm, I expected more from such advanced weaponry.'

With its scales charred and cracked, the beast lunged downward, the wind howling in its wake.

'I need to get down!' She had lost her opportunity for a one-hit kill and now was like a fish in a pond with a shark, floating open in the sky—the natural territory of the wyvern.

She darted downward to the forest below her, already feeling that the golden eyes drilling into her back were quickly approaching from above.

'Nenenenen!'1 Speeding up even further, Tia smashed through the branches and leaves, ignoring the pain as she landed on the forest soil in a roll to soften her landing. Not wasting even a moment, she leaped backward; her eyes and ears sprang in tension.

The wyvern, its reptilian eyes alight with an amalgamation of rage and pain, landed on the spot she stood just a split moment earlier with a ferocity that sent tremors through the forest, its impact yielding clouds of dust and rain of splinters from the destroyed timber.

"Graaah!" Trees shook and the ground trembled as the beast growled, its bulky yet slender, car-sized torso dwarfing the girl, covered in dust and dried leaves.

'I need to get some space.'

Tia, her senses acute and reflexes honed, moved with the elegance and precision of a seasoned toreador as she lunged backward, propelled by her telekinesis, retreating from the beast.

The guns appeared floating behind her, like wings of metal and plastic, their pulsing blue glow looking like stars in the shadows of the trees.

'Let's see how your durability compares to drones.' On her mental command, a barrage of blue bolts erupted, each turning into a blinding streak that cut through the air, bathing the dark woods in blue light.

A swath of destruction was carved through the once-serene woods. The trees collapsed and burst into flames under the hail of plasma blasting toward the beast. The silence was replaced by the crackling of flames and the tumultuous echoes of splintering wood.

The clouds of dust and rain of splinters from the destroyed timber filled the air and obscured her vision.

'Is it d...' She couldn't even finish her thought, and the wyvern erupted from the cloud of debris, charred scales falling from its body, and red blood sizzling and hissing from the injuries.

The winged beast used its wings like an additional pair of legs, generating a fearsome speed that turned its massive body into a speeding battering ram.

The trees bent and fell, the wyvern crashing through them, the pair of rageful eyes quickly approaching Tia.

Like a toreador, Tia drifted to the side, the world turning into a green blur with her sheer speed. The wyvern zoomed past her like an angry bull, and its long claws aiming for her missed, sending gushes of wind that sent her hair into a chaotic mess, cutting down a tree next to her like a twig.

'Shit!' Before she could recover, her eyes went wide in fear and terror as the bladed tail quickly approached, its sharp spikes approaching with such speed that the air was cracking and rupturing as if the tail had turned into a whip.

The world slowed down, with Tia's focus and attention reaching their peaks.

'Reach is too wide, and it's too fast.'

Calculating the directions and angles in a split second, a wave of kinetic force smacked Tia down, sending her hurling to the ground, the tail slicing through the air above her like a giant scythe.

'Fire!' The blue lights flashed and pulsed once more as the floating guns in the sky fired, dozens of burning bolts blasting the wyvern just as it spun, ready to pounce at the still-rolling girl.

The bangs and flashes of light reverberated through the forest, submerging the beast in clouds of dust. The waves of heat washed over Tia, bringing adrenaline and excitement together with them.

'Are you finally done?'

With a wave of Tia's hand, a shockwave blasted toward the dust clouds, making the trees creak and crack. The dust, stirred by the crashing shockwave, dispersed, unveiling the scene of destruction.

Charred trees stood as blackened and scorched silhouettes. The ground was pockmarked with craters left by the plasma bolts, and the burned soil was dark and smoking.

'Finally, you are done.' Tia breathed out in relief, seeing the beast lying on the ground, more than half of its entire body seared and burned, smoke rising out of it.

<Basic Telekinesis VI (103%)> --> <Basic Telekinesis VI (109%)>

Beep!

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Mission cleared:

Objective --> Defeat the inferior magic creature

Rewards --> 1 x esper point; +1 to WILL; +1 to ENE

<<<<<<>>>>>>

'I will take heart, horns, claws, and some blood.' With a grin, she stood up from the dust, patting down her clothes. Her eyes glowed with greed and dopamine—before her was no longer a beast but a pile of materials.