The dragon crumbles into bones again, but this time, strange crow-like creatures with four legs rise from the pile. I watch as the black dragon reappears on the other side of the battlefield, unleashing a blast of its dragon’s breath on the flame barrier I’ve set to protect the cat woman.

“What is your problem?” I mutter, annoyed.

I quickly dispel the flame barrier and reshape it, transforming it into a massive, serpentine-like dragon of fire.

“Summon: Dragon Festival!”

As the blazing dragon materializes, the cat woman vanishes into its fiery coils, safely nestled within its core. The elemental dragon slithers through the air and ground, wreaking havoc on the undead horde. The real dragon, furious, unleashes another blast of its noxious breath, aimed directly at my fire-born creature.

I can’t let it hit.

Mentally, I split my blazing dragon into two, using the nearby undead as kindling to fuel their power. The fiery serpents multiply, weaving through the battlefield, setting ablaze anything in their path.

Meanwhile, those four-legged crow-like chimeras are swarming me. I dodge their poisoned claws, moving with the grace of a natural predator. My swordsmanship and claws work in perfect harmony as I cut them down one by one. Their flesh tastes foul, but I don’t care—I feed on them, and whatever undead I can get my paws on. With each bite, I feel myself growing stronger.

Now, my blazing dragons have multiplied to three, their fiery bodies coiling and striking at the black dragon. It’s busily occupied, trying to fend off the serpentine beasts, each one attacking with the force of an inferno.

But I can tell—this fight is far from over. The black dragon won’t go down easily.

Good.

I want more power.

"Ninety-Nine Blazing Spears!" I shout, launching my pyrokinesis directly at the dragon, aiming to clip its wings and ground it. But before the spears can even reach, the dragon’s shadow surges, swallowing the flames whole.

In a split second, the black dragon teleports and reappears above me, unleashing its deadly breath. My body feels like it’s on fire—not in a good way. My breath comes out ragged, the heat oppressive. I zigzag across the ground, narrowly avoiding smaller bursts of dragon breath that scorch the earth where I once stood.

The dragon suddenly dispels its undead minions.

No. It’s sacrificed them.

I look up, and I can see the dark energy swirling around the creature, intensifying. It’s accumulating something, something big. It’s a kind of energy I’ve seen before, something similar to the aura that manifests when I use my swordsmanship. Thanks to that language packet the Tiger God shoved into my head, I’m quickly able to figure it out by referring to it like a magical dictionary.

Apparently, this world operates on three great powers: mana, aura, and prana.

And the black dragon is drawing on all three. The mana in the air is causing rapid decay all around us, turning everything into ash. The dragon's aura expands menacingly, filling the battlefield with suffocating pressure. And the prana coursing through its body is becoming more and more vivid, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Dragon Festival! Attack!"

My blazing serpentine dragons have multiplied to five now. I send one of them far away, carrying the cat woman who I saved. The other four serpents surge forward, flying straight at the black dragon with the intent to explode on impact.

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The air around us grows heavy with power.

This will either be my greatest victory or... well, let’s just hope it's my victory.

However, my elemental creatures never even make it close to the black dragon.

“Rejoice, mortal!" the dragon bellows, "For I have acknowledged your might! I am Xanxer! Master of Undead! Bringer of Ruin! Maker of Illusions! Evil incarnate! Source of Betrayal! AND I WILL BE YOUR DOOM!”

My blazing serpentine dragons suddenly turn a sickly purple, twisting around him like puppets under his control. Then, his body starts to rot, flesh decaying and dropping to the ground like withered leaves. As the rot peels away, what’s left is a handsome man, draped in menace: fair skin, draconic horns curling from his head, and eerie purple eyes. His voice is so smooth it could fool anyone into thinking he’s divine.

“I haven’t taken this form for 800 years," Xanxer continues, "In my youth, I made a Dragon’s Vow that allows me to increase my power when I take on a smaller form. For a time, I spread my infamy as a Demon King, but my true origin… has always been dragonkind. Betrayed by my own kin, I chose to betray them in return. And I will betray more. You can’t stop me. That cat-kin woman? I’ll have her. And after that, I’ll take my revenge on all dragons!”

I stare blankly at him. What’s with all the monologuing? Doesn’t he know people can die from too much talking?

“Perish.”

Xanxer lifts his hand and summons a crimson orb with sinister purple streaks, launching it toward me at a speed faster than I can track. Bang!

My form disintegrates into glowing cinders.

So, why am I so calm, you ask?

Because... that was just a doppelgänger.

Yep. The thing he obliterated was nothing but a decoy I created using my flames. I don’t fully understand why my flames have healing properties, but since they do, I figured out how to make a clone with them. They feel ‘alive’ after all. Plus, studying Xanxer’s illusions helped me improve it.

I spring from the purple serpentine dragon where I’d been hiding all along. He doesn’t even realize it until my teeth sink into his throat. I bite deep, infusing my aura into my fangs, then release a wave of fire that implodes within his flesh.

Xanxer swipes me away, his face and part of his head reduced to a mess of burning skull fragments. I land hard, skidding across the dirt, but I’m grinning. Why?

Because I know something now.

I can grow stronger by feeding.

To be specific, by feeding on the ‘strong’ or ‘could’ be considered strong.

Yes. I am a beast. No. I am the predator.

A surge of power ripples through me. For the first time, I can feel prana, the life energy flowing through everything. I can also sense mana in the air, more clearly than ever before. Amarys, the Tiger God’s boons—their blessings—are rooted in these principles. My super strength and agility stem from prana. My swordsmanship taps into aura. And my pyrokinesis is tied to mana.

A name… I need a name for this special mode!

I grow larger. Ten times bigger… no, a hundred times bigger. Flames engulf me, transforming my body into something colossal. I’m a giant... cat.

“Meow!”

Meow mode? Nah… sounds stupid.

Xanxer stares at me in disbelief.

“W-what is the meaning of this?”

I swat him, sending him flying into the ground with the force of a meteor.

“I’m going to fluff you to death now!” I declare with absolute seriousness.

With no claws, just the soft padding of my enormous paw, I gently—yet devastatingly—fluff him again. And again. Xanxer, the master of undead and evil incarnate, is no match for the power of fluffing.

Honestly, I don’t really want to eat him... but as Fatso used to say, "Waste not, want not." I grab Xanxer by the leg, holding him upside down. The thought crosses my mind—it feels kinda disgusting to eat something that talks, you know? I don’t want to end up as some demonic beast or whatever equivalent monstrosity exists in this world.

Hmmm... What should I do with him?

I fluff him more.

Big mistake.

“I shall remember you,” Xanxer hisses, his voice filled with rage and pride. His power hasn’t diminished. In terms of raw strength, we’re still on the same level. The only difference? I’ve recovered a good chunk of energy from munching on his throat, while Xanxer’s been caught off guard—shocked, not at full capacity, and probably a little rattled by my sheer… handsomeness.

But it doesn’t last long.

Xanxer incinerates my paw, blasts my face with pure energy, and unfurls his draconic wings, making a break for it into the sky.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away!” I growl.

Channeling my pyrokinesis, I unleash my version of a dragon’s breath—a compact orb of searing energy. I spit it with precision. It connects, and Xanxer is launched through the air like a ragdoll, spiraling away from the forest. He crashes into the distant desert, and for a split second, everything is quiet.

Then—BOOM! A massive explosion rocks the horizon, a mushroom cloud rising where I sent him flying.

I tilt my head, slightly concerned. "Huh... hope no one’s living out there."