Six-Tails snorted, stepping forward to face the hulking behemoth in front of him. To my astonishment, the seven-tailed monkey loomed a full meter taller!
Despite only having one more tail, the black-furred monkey stood at nearly three and a half meters (11 feet) tall—massive, even by their standards.
The towering creature gazed down at Six-Tails with an overbearing intensity. If looks could kill, Six-Tails would’ve been dead seven times over.
But Six-Tails appeared unfazed, his voice filled with indignation. "Old Seven-Tails! Did you lose eyes? I have six tails now!"
Seven-Tails narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you do have six tails! It not matter though—you still one smaller of me!" he mocked, laughing as he stepped into the charred clearing.
Without missing a beat, the giant monkey launched himself at Six-Tails, his massive form kicking up a cloud of soot as he moved.
His speed was beyond my ability to follow, and within an instant, he vanished, only to reappear directly in front of Six-Tails.
Seven-Tails was surrounded by a blinding blue aura now, and I realized with a shock that he was channeling an immense amount of sapphire mana.
‘Wait... this monkey can use magic?’ I watched, wide-eyed, as Seven-Tails extended his clawed hand, sapphire energy swirling around it.
In one fluid motion, he raised his arm into the air, and with a burst of energy, a mound of ice erupted from the ground—right beneath Six-Tails’ feet!
This was the first time I had ever seen such an attack. I had previously seen my mother use ice magic, but it looked entirely different from what I was seeing now. My mother would always summon water first, and then turn that water into ice. However, this monkey was seemingly creating the ice out of nothingness!
Luckily, Six-Tails had been on high alert. As the massive mound of ice shot up from the ground, he leaped with incredible speed, his body twisting mid-air just in time to avoid the jagged spikes that erupted beneath him. His instincts were clearly sharp.
But not all were so fortunate. The wave of ice shot outward, freezing anything in its path with brutal precision.
A dozen nearby monkeys, caught off guard, were instantly encased in solid ice. The cold spread rapidly, their bodies becoming rigid statues, eyes wide in frozen horror. The ice continued its relentless climb, creeping up their limbs and spiraling towards the sky like jagged crystal spires.
The air was thick with the sound of cracking and breaking as the ice spread across their bodies, and the silence that followed was deafening.
The battlefield then burst into chaos as scores of terrified white monkeys shrieked in unison, panic taking hold. In a frenzied rush, they fled the scene, scrambling over one another to escape the new, terrifying power that had just been unleashed.
They wanted no part in this new battle, their instincts screaming at them to survive, to get as far from the carnage as possible. I didn't even fault the monkey’s for their cowardice, since they were completely outclassed here. I doubted they could even serve as meat-shields in the face of such power.
Unfortunately, this was far from the end of Seven-Tails' assault. As if summoned by some malevolent force, more jagged spears of ice shot up from the ground, their deadly tips aimed directly at Six-Tails.
The air crackled with cold fury as they extended several meters into the sky, a wall of sharp, glistening ice aimed to impale him from every direction.
It was impossible for Six-Tails to evade them all. One of the ice spears lashed out with brutal force, tearing into his leg, its sharp edge slicing through fur and muscle. He grunted in pain but twisted his body mid-air to narrowly avoid another spear aimed directly at his chest.
Seeing the opening, Seven-Tails leaped with terrifying speed, his hulking body soaring high into the air. He launched himself toward Six-Tails, who was now at the mercy of gravity, unable to evade the oncoming attack.
With a swift, fluid motion, the black-furred monkey extended his hand in the form of a Haito strike. I recognized the move—it was a simple technique from Karate, the kind of strike that cut through the air like a blade.
Back in my previous world, Karate had been considered a joke by many in the martial arts community, especially when compared to the more versatile disciplines like mixed martial arts. But seeing it executed by a hulking ten-foot beast, it was anything but laughable.
The sheer speed of the attack was blinding. In less than a second, Seven-Tails was upon Six-Tails, his claws extending like razors ready to slice through bone.
I knew, with a sinking feeling in my gut, that there was no way Six-Tails could dodge this. He had lost all momentum, and gravity was already pulling him downward.
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Sensing the urgency of the situation, I quickly summoned a surge of aether, sending it toward Six-Tails' position.
I carefully slowed its momentum as it approached, not wanting to risk blasting him from behind and inadvertently ending his life. Instead, I wrapped the aether around his body, pulling him toward safety.
Six-Tails let out a startled yelp as he was yanked backwards, soaring high into the air and out of the seven-tailed monkey’s reach. His sudden movement drew the massive creature's attention, and its gaze shot upward, locking onto me in the distance.
"What is this?!" Seven-Tails bellowed in confusion, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Is that flying monkey?"
The enormous beast began gathering more of his sapphire mana, his form radiating with power as six massive spears of ice materialized in the air around him. Each one was as large as a grown man, their razor-sharp tips gleaming with deadly intent.
I knew in an instant that even one of these spears could pierce through me like paper.
"Die!" Seven-Tails roared, sending five of the spears flying toward Six-Tails with terrifying speed. Just one, however, was aimed directly at me—likely because the massive monkey had deemed Six-Tails the greater threat.
Without hesitation, I jerked Six-Tails downward, just narrowly avoiding the icy spears that came screaming toward him. He landed with a thud, the ground beneath him cracking from the impact, as I immediately turned my focus to the deadly spear now hurtling toward me.
The ice was moving like a speeding arrow, its sharp point aiming straight for my chest. I had no time to waste. It took perfect timing, but I grabbed the spear with my aether, bringing the object to a halt.
I focused my mind and commanded my aether to twist the ice spear mid-flight, sending it hurtling back toward the seven-tailed monkey with blistering speed. The moment the spear shifted directions, I also noticed something.
The beast was making no attempt to stop this attack. It seemed as if the monkey had no control over his ice once it was created, a critical weakness I intended to exploit.
Seven-Tails turned in surprise, his eyes widening as the spear came barreling toward him. But the creature was no amateur—his instincts were sharp as well. Without missing a beat, he conjured a massive wall of ice in front of him, a barrier taller than even his monstrous form.
The ice spear slammed into the shield with a deafening crack, splintering into a thousand shards that scattered across the battlefield like broken glass.
The barrier barely budged, and I could already feel the weight of this battle pressing down on me. My aether couldn’t propel the spear with the same force and speed as the monkey’s ice, which put me at a severe disadvantage.
Seven-Tails’ gaze shifted toward me, now fully aware that I presented a greater threat than he initially believed. His lips curled into a wicked smile as at least ten more spears of ice formed in the air around him. Five of them shot straight for me, the other five aimed squarely at Six-Tails.
The seven-tailed monkey chuckled darkly, his tongue darting across his lips in anticipation. With a wave of his hand, the spears were launched, cutting through the air like missiles.
Six-Tails, however, had long since recovered from the last barrage. He leapt back into the fight with a fierce snarl, his body coiling as he retrieved the long wooden stick he had used earlier.
Without hesitation, Six-Tails swung the staff forwards with incredible force. As it sliced through the air, flames erupted from its surface, engulfing the stick in a fiery blaze. He met the incoming spears with the burning weapon, smashing them out of existence one by one.
The first three spears shattered into ice dust upon contact, the fire from his staff melting them in an instant. But the battle wasn’t over yet. Another spear slipped past his guard, its sharp point inches from his side.
Without missing a beat, Six-Tails spun, his fiery staff cutting through the air again, this time smashing the last spear before it could reach him.
The ground trembled with the force of the impact, but Six-Tails stood unscathed, his fiery weapon still blazing bright as he steadied himself.
I decided on a more direct approach to deal with my encroaching attack. With a concentrated surge of aether, I sent a powerful wave towards the sharp ice, sweeping up every spear in a single fluid motion.
Without hesitation, I scattered the spears, sending them plummeting toward the ground in every direction. I didn't risk precision—there were too many flying objects to keep track of, and I wasn’t about to chance missing my mark. The ice would rain down uncontrollably, but that was the point.
Looking back down, I saw Six-Tails charging toward Seven-Tails with fierce determination. Seven-Tails responded by unleashing a volley of ice spears, but Six-Tails was a blur of motion, dodging each attack with fluid, instinctual movements. He leapt, ducked, and dove with an agility that left me in awe.
I watched as Six-Tails plunged his wooden staff into the ground, using it to propel himself into the air. The move was so quick and precise, it took my breath away. With a burst of speed, he soared over a ten-foot-long spear of ice that had materialized below him.
In mere seconds, Six-Tails was above the larger monkey, his staff aimed directly at their body.
Seven-Tails reacted instantly, raising a barrier of ice to deflect the strike. But the moment the staff made contact, the barrier shattered like glass. Undeterred, Seven-Tails conjured another ice wall to his side in an attempt to block the follow-up swing. It too was obliterated by Six-Tails' relentless barrage.
The air crackled with the clash of wood against ice as Six-Tails pushed Seven-Tails back with a rapid flurry of strikes. The larger monkey stumbled, forced to retreat step by step, his defenses crumbling under the constant assault.
This was my chance. With Seven-Tails fully absorbed in defending himself, the moment had come for me to strike.
I spotted a stray piece of jagged ice sticking out of the dirt a short distance away. It had likely been dislodged during the chaos of the previous ice barrage, now lying half-buried in the soil. An idea—dark and devious—popped into my mind. My pulse quickened as I cautiously wrapped my aether around the shard of ice.
At this height—twenty meters in the air—I was pushing the limits of my abilities. Using aether at this range required immense focus and precision. My brain tensed with the strain as I summoned all my concentration to extract the spear from the dirt.
Slowly, inch by inch, I guided the ice free from its resting place, floating it behind Seven-Tails with deliberate care. Every movement had to be smooth, stealthy—if I was too hasty, they'd notice.
Down below, Seven-Tails had just blocked another savage strike from Six-Tails' fiery staff. The smaller monkey’s flames lashed against the larger beast’s hands, but to my amazement, the seven-tailed ape gripped the staff without flinching, his palms scorching as he seized the weapon with a strength that seemed almost unnatural.
Six-Tails struggled, muscles straining as he tried to pull his staff free, but it was no use. Seven-Tails was far stronger, his grip like iron. With a low growl, the massive monkey wrenched the weapon from Six-Tails' grasp and, with a swift motion, launched a brutal counter-strike with his free hand.
Six-Tails had no choice but to release his weapon and leap back, narrowly avoiding the savage blow. He was disarmed and vulnerable now. This was the opening I’d been waiting for.
As Seven-Tails gathered his mana, preparing another devastating attack, I made my move.
I pulled every ounce of aether from around my body, using the energy to accelerate the spear of ice I’d been guiding. I could feel the aether surging, the strain of holding such a large amount of power building within me. But there was no time for hesitation.
Withdrawing the aether that was surrounding me caused me to abruptly fall from the air, but my movements didn’t falter as I dove towards the ground.
I watched as Seven-Tails noticed my descent, his gaze locking onto me with a bloodthirsty grin. It was a fatal mistake. His focus was entirely on me as I plummeted toward him. He didn’t see the spear of ice closing in from behind.
By the time the seven-tailed monkey sensed the oncoming attack, it was already too late. His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the ice come hurtling towards him.
In a frantic attempt to dodge, Seven-Tails twisted his massive torso, but the motion was not enough to avoid the incoming attack.
The spear of ice slammed into him with bone-shattering force. It tore through his thick black fur, biting deep into his abdomen. The impact was brutal—blood erupted from the wound, staining the charred earth beneath him. The thick fur that had once seemed so impenetrable only slowed the spear’s progress, but it couldn’t stop it.
Seven-Tails howled in agony, his roar reverberating through the battlefield.