In the south of the forest, a small hillside had a cave in the center. Hydras used to live here. They had encounters with Stone Boars all the time. The animals tried to claim the territory for themselves, but now a new king had appeared.

He came from the east, far away from the hunting grounds he was used to. A young lion had decided to make this part of the forest into his kingdom. He had driven away other animals with his might.

The stone boars were easily cut under his sharp claws. Hydras couldn't even bite into his skin since they were so slow. Even if they could manage to bite him, the venom was a slight inconvenience. This beast could take 5 times the lethal dose of a grown-up man. If that power and resistance weren't enough, it could summon the power of the elements. Like other members of the same species, this young lion could only use one type of elemental magic at the moment.

Still, with all these abilities, what was more frightening about this creature was his intelligence. A true predator must be smart in the way he uses his cards. Identifying weaknesses and strengths, this lion was smart in the way he dealt with his prey. He was truly a king in this part of the forest; no one could compare to his might.

While in the middle of his sleep, a noise woke him up. He started to sniff around. A new smell was outside of his cave. A man screaming made a very loud noise. The lion stood up and prepared himself to deal with this intruder. He could only smell one person, so it seems that he wouldn't have any problem dealing with this annoyance and going back to sleep.

"Finally, you decided to show up. I was getting bored of just standing here and having to scream." Thanatos was waiting for the beast to come out with only a bottle in his hand. He took out the cork and drank the insides.

Thanatos' muscles began to swell and grow. A potion of strength. He wasn't sure how strong it was exactly, but the effect was evident. Dealing with this beast would need all the strength he could get. "Come on, little kitty. Today is the day you die." He smiled while proclaiming his victory.

"GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" The lion roared with all his might. The small animals around fled for their lives. The beast began to drool in anticipation of tasting the meat of this intruder. In the blink of an eye, the lion jumped at him with his claws.

The enormous claws could split a man in half. Thanatos knew this already. But the speed of the lion was too much even for him. Combining the size and speed of his opponent, Thanatos couldn't see a way to dodge, so he had to take the attack with his body.

"[Strengthening]" This time, he used the spell on his whole body. This way consumed a lot of mana, but he couldn’t be stingy against this beast. The claws impacted against his arms. Thanks to the extra strength, he wasn't sent flying into the stone. Thanatos stood his ground and the claws barely managed to scratch him. It was the confirmation he needed. I can fight; he can't kill me with just one strike.

The lion didn't wait. The second strike came from his other leg. Thanatos wasn't worried about his defense, so he decided to strike at the same time. The lion hit Thanatos's head, but he still withstood the impact. Meanwhile, Thanatos's hands barely managed to pierce the tough skin of the beast; a bit of blood dropped from the light wound.

They were in a stalemate, but the lion knew he would win if they continued this way. The man was barely capable of causing him damage. The lion knew he was faster and stronger, so he raised both of his front legs and tried to pin down the small man on the floor. He was going to bite his head off to end the fight.

SLASH... A cut ran through the back of the lion. It wasn't too painful, but where did it come from? The lion looked back; there was nothing there. The man in front was busy dealing with his claws, he didn't sense anyone else either. How had he been attacked? A stupid beast would ignore these circumstances and focus on killing the man quickly, but not this one.

The lion jumped backwards to try to get some distance. Thanatos wasn't going to give him any freedom and chase him immediately. Another clash between the claws of both. This time, the lion left his back uncovered on purpose. He wanted to bait the same attack. He tried again to bite Thanatos in the neck. Relying on his instincts, even if he could not smell or see anything, he reacted just in time.

Neo barely managed to dodge at the last second when the claws of the beast almost hit her. The cloths that served as camouflage were torn a bit. The lion could see it was a second person. She didn't smell like a living person. She had the smell of death around her.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

The reason for that was Thanatos's plan. He decided to have Lia make cloths that would serve as camouflage. This wouldn't have worked. The lion had an extremely good sense of smell. Even if he couldn't see them, he could smell them and know their positions. That's why Thanatos rubbed the cloths with the bodies of his undead servants. He could temporarily bring back the smell of decomposition, and thanks to Lia's expertise, the cloths looked completely natural, blending with the rest of the forest.

Sadly, the strategy was discovered. It took only a few moments for the lion to unveil the truth. "Well it was worth trying" Neo said while taking a potion out of her pockets. It was another strength potion. She drank till the last drop and her muscles got stronger. "Come on beast, show me the strength that killed my people" She threated the Lion.

Thanatos and Neo went on the offensive. Thanatos was taking the most attacks while Neo focused on dodging and hitting him on the side or the back. Since they were both fighting, the lion had to conserve his energy.

He wanted to kill the woman. She was faster but weaker than the man. She was cutting him with small slashes. He couldn't focus on her because the man would try to injure him more. These two were proving to be tricky opponents.

In a moment, Thanatos tackled the beast. He pushed it with all his might and managed to back him into a wall. The Lion tried to get free from the grab; he smacked Thanatos with his legs to get him off. It was useless. Thanatos took the cuts and bruises, keeping the lion against the stone. "NOW!" He screamed, and a figure emerged from the forest.

In a quick movement, the undead Stone Boar rushed to the side of his master. Thanatos jumped to the side and the tremendous boar crushed his body against the lion. The sound of meat being crushed, the blood and vomit pouring out of the beast's mouth, this time he finally received some heavy damage.

A hunter is not so easily beaten. After taking the impact, the lion cut the face of the boar with his claws. A strike that took half of the face of the boar, leaving him bleeding. The second attack was deflected, and Neo kicked the leg of the lion before he could crush the boar. With no other option, he bit the boar with his fangs. In one bite, he ripped off the head and was finally free. Thanatos appeared right behind the remains of the boar and punched the stomach of the beast. Not even this hunter could brush away a punch like that.

Slash... A cut right on his face almost took the lion's eyes. Neo had missed by only a few centimeters.

"GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" He roared again, with much more anger. He was furious that this prey had caused him so much damage. With one kick, he sent Thanatos far away. He wasn't going to waste any more time. A small ball of electricity began to form in his mouth.

Thanatos recognized instantly what the lion was doing. In the few moments before he was attacked, he prepared his own spell. "[Fireball]" He formed his own sphere of flames.

They launched their attacks at the same time, impacting one another. An explosion of flames and electricity illuminated the area. Without giving them a moment to rest, the lion began to conjure a new spell. Dark clouds began to appear all over the area. A powerful spell was about to strike them.

"Lia, go back!" Thanatos only managed to scream that order before he cast his own spell. "[Ice dome]" A structure of ice began to surround Neo.

Neo was confused as to why he was using that spell on her. But she realized the reason after seeing his expression. Are you stupid? Are you going to take this spell with no protection? She was correct. Thanatos' mana was only enough for one use of [Ice dome] and he decided to use it on Neo. He thought that maybe his body could withstand whatever was going to happen next, at least better than Neo.

The clouds collapsed and [Rain of lightning] poured down all over the area. One after another, the lightning dropped without rest. Of course, only the Elemental Lion was okay, since he was immune to electric attacks.

Just barely making it outside the zone of destruction, Lia was regaining her breath after running. It was thanks to the speed potion she drank that she managed to make it in time. Lia had been on the battlefield the whole time. She was using the cloth impregnated with the smell of undead, so the lion didn't notice her.

She was doing her part of the plan. Hanging in the back, hidden, and gave them potions when they needed them. It turned out to be a good idea because the bottles would have shattered if they had been subjected to an electric attack like this one. It took her a moment to notice, but she had dropped the other potion of speed. "Oh no, please let the healing potions be fine." She touched her pockets and saw they were fine. Last, she checked the final potion, their secret weapon. OK, everything else is fine. After that, she looked over at the aftermath of the onslaught of lightning.

Neo was fine. The [Ice dome] had taken the brunt of the force and protected her. She was leaving the refuge when she saw in the middle of the smoke. Thanatos was standing, his clothes were shredded, he had several burns on his skin, and his muscles were twitching. But his eyes were still alive. He had survived the terrifying attack. He didn't have any time for happiness or relief; a leg pinned him on the ground.

The lion was standing on top of Thanatos, trying to crush him with his claws. He felt the strength leave his body. His muscles became smaller. The effect of the potion was wearing off. He tried to lift the foot from his abdomen, but he didn't have the strength. Sensing the resistance of his prey getting weaker, the lion pushed with more force, and finally he pierced the skin.

The claws reached the warm insides of Thanatos. As the blood extended from his stomach into the ground, he felt the last of his strength leaving him.