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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"What is that?" "Are you seeing what I'm seeing Al or do my eyes deceive me?"
Shin exclaimed, his voice strained with shock and disbelief. His eyes were wide, his breath shallow, and he couldn’t make sense of what was unfolding before him. He had seen his fair share of strange creatures in their travels, but nothing had prepared him for this.
Before them, two monstrous beings stood locked in battle. The first was an ape-like creature, towering at about six feet. Its skin was a deep, angry red, and it had a smooth, bald head, the rest of its body covered in thick fur, particularly along its back. Its tail, curved and muscular, whipped through the air to help it balance as it moved. The beast's eyes glowed with a predatory intensity, and its sharp claws flexed as it prepared to strike.
The second was a massive cat, white as snow, with bold orange stripes cutting across its powerful form. Its mouth was bloody, its fangs exposed, and its claws gleamed with deadly intent. Despite being only four feet tall, its compact size and thick body spoke of immense power. Its tail flicked through the air like a lasso, restless and full of menace.
Shin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The two creatures were locked in an intense, violent confrontation, each vying for dominance. Every movement, every strike was brutal, and it sent a chill down his spine.
"What is that, I’ve never seen them before!" Shin asked again as he turned to Al, wide-eyed.
Before Al could answer, Alexandri’s voice cut through the tension, low and urgent. “Be quiet! They haven’t noticed us yet.” He stood stock-still, his sharp eyes never leaving the fighting monsters.
"The humanoid monster is called a Ganyr Ape, and the cat is a Pynter. Both are level 2 monsters." Alexandri’s voice was a mere whisper, but it carried the weight of someone who knew the terrain all too well. "Stay calm."
Shin's confusion only deepened. "What do we do?" His voice was barely more than a breath.
Al gave him a subtle nudge, signaling him to remain silent, and then turned his eyes back to the fight. He was tense, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger, but it was clear he didn’t know how to proceed either. Al was a skilled magician, but the magic needed to evade or fight these beasts was beyond him. Advanced cloaking spells were still out of his reach. The only one who stood a chance against these creatures, Shin realized, was Alexandri. His only hope was that Alexandri, with his impressive combat skills, could handle this situation.
Alexandri didn't need to say much. His eyes locked onto Al’s, and without speaking, Al knew what was expected of him: they would watch and learn. This battle could teach them something valuable. Alexandri raised his hand slightly, signaling for them to observe closely.
The fight continued. The Pynter, agile and swift, darted toward the Ganyr Ape with a terrifying speed, leaping through the air with its claws extended, aiming for the ape’s throat. But the Ganyr Ape was ready. It twisted its body, evading the attack, then used its powerful legs to send the cat hurtling backward. In an instant, the ape grabbed the Pynter’s tail, swinging it through the air like a ragdoll, launching it far into the sky and jumping after it, and kicking it further into the air.
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But the Pynter was no ordinary cat. As it soared upward, it regained its balance mid-air, its paws finding invisible footings as if gravity had no hold over it. The cat twisted and landed in a crouch, just in time to slash the ape across the chest with its deadly claws. The force of the impact sent them both crashing to the ground in a violent collision.
They didn’t stay down for long. In a shocking display of strength and speed, both monsters were back on their feet in the blink of an eye. The air around them thickened, charged with an ominous, almost palpable sense of bloodlust. It was a moment of pure animal rage, and neither creature seemed willing to back down.
Shin’s eyes widened in disbelief. He saw something strange happening to the Ganyr Ape. It stood tall, and suddenly, there was a burst of energy in the air. The very atmosphere around the beast seemed to change as if the air itself was bending in response to the ape’s movements.
The Ganyr Ape was using aura.
Without warning, the ape grabbed a nearby branch from the ground. The air shimmered as the creature’s aura flowed into the branch, wrapping it in a deadly, glowing energy that transformed it into a blade-like weapon. The boys watched in awe as the ape swung the branch with precise ferocity, cutting through the air.
Shin turned to Alexandri, his mouth agape. "What... What is that?" he stammered, eyes wide in astonishment.
The aura-infused branch met the Pynter’s claws in a deafening clash. The force of the impact sent the cat skidding back, but it didn’t back down.
The Pynter’s tail lashed out, wrapping around the ape’s body, yanking it off its feet, and dragging it toward the cat. With a swift motion, the ape jammed the glowing branch into the ground, halting its forward movement.
With a fierce roar, the Ganyr Ape wrenched the Pynter forward, lifting it off the ground with a brutal, one-handed swing. It slammed its fist into the Pynter’s face, sending it sprawling backward, but the cat refused to let go of its tail.
The battle intensified, and the two monsters were locked in a deadly dance. The Ganyr Ape pummeled the Pynter with a barrage of punches, each one leaving deep, bloody welts across the cat’s body. But the Pynter was not done yet. With terrifying resolve, it unleashed another series of savage slashes, tearing into the ape's flesh.
Then, just as it seemed the Ganyr Ape would land the killing blow, something strange happened. The ape froze, its movements sluggish, its breath labored. They could feel the tension in the air as the realization hit the Ganyr Ape—the Pynter’s claws were laced with poison.
The Pynter saw its opening. It lunged forward, its teeth sinking into the Ganyr Ape’s neck. The bite was clean and precise, and with one final,
ferocious yank, the cat ripped the ape’s head from its body. The roar that followed shook the very earth beneath them, a cry of victory and primal fury.
As the headless corpse of the Ganyr Ape crumpled to the ground, the Pynter stood victorious, blood dripping from its fangs. But its triumph was short-lived. It sensed something. Someone.
With a furious hiss, the Pynter spun around, its eyes locking onto Alexandri and the boys. Its tail flicked, its stance shifting, ready to strike. But Alexandri didn’t flinch. He stood tall, his mane-like hair wild and untamed, an aura of deadly calm surrounding him.
The air turned cold as Alexandri released his own bloodlust, a terrifying force that made the marsh itself seem to quiver. His voice cut through the tension like a blade.
“You’ve won. But you are wounded. You stand no chance against me. Leave now, and you may survive.”
The Pynter, its pride wounded but its survival instincts sharp, let out one last, bitter roar. With a disdainful hiss, it turned, disappearing into the shadows of the marsh.
Alexandri exhaled slowly, his bloodlust fading as the air grew still once more. He turned to the boys, his expression unreadable.
“I hope you watched carefully,” he said quietly. “This place can be both paradise and hell. Now, go to sleep.”
With that, he walked over to his sleeping bag and, without a second thought, collapsed onto it.
Shin stood frozen, his mind still reeling from what he had witnessed. "How do we sleep after seeing something like that?" he whispered, his voice tinged with disbelief.
But before Al could respond, a loud snore erupted from Alexandri’s sleeping form, even louder than the roar of the Pynter. The sound was so powerful that it seemed to shake the very ground beneath them.
Shin looked at Al, wide-eyed. "He truly is a monster."
Al nodded, his gaze distant. “You are telling me,” he said.
And as the night settled in around them, the marsh seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the next force of nature to appear.