Garoth's claws scraped against the ground, sending rocks flying as he struggled to drag his broken body forward.

While his right side remained relatively unscathed, his left side was now a mass of torn flesh and broken bones, with his remaining limbs jerking and twitching, trying to coordinate with one another.

Despite his injuries, Garoth pressed on, fueled by his survival instincts and fierce determination. Jaws clenched tight around the lifeless remnants of his once-intact body he carried to the cave.

Thick veins pulsed in his neck with each clawing motion, sending sharp jolts of pain through his entire body. His tail flicked back and forth, attempting to provide some balance. As he moved, the massive wound on the left side of his body left a gruesome trail of blood on its path, painting the rocks red and dark blue.

His eyes blazed red with fierce determination as he dragged himself forward, moving closer to his sanctuary, burning brighter every passing moment, igniting in pain, fury and anger as he relived and reflected on the events that had led to his current state.

He had been close to defeating his mortal enemy, so close. But in the end, in the heat of the battle, his overconfidence had made him careless.

Weak, after the fight with Vargul, he had cautiously left his cave, hoping to find it empty on his return, but when he returned, he found it overrun with invaders.

Six, no less, and all led by his mortal enemy. Garoth could feel his blood boil at their audacity.

He snarled as he thought about how easily he had taken down the first two and scared or maimed the accompanying pair.

Only the last two, no, only he had posed a genuine threat, standing out as his personal challenge.

From his earliest days, he had grasped the unforgiving law of nature: the strong ruled over the weak.

Driven by this truth, he had set his sights on becoming the ruler of the area, with overwhelming power over other creatures.

When a terrifying red and green beast left him for dead after laying waste to his entire pack with chilling ease, forced since to avoid humans and beasts, he had bid his time and steadily increased his strength.

Over innumerable moons, he had nurtured his strength, ultimately rising to be the dominant force in the area, save for the human and mysterious beast.

It had been only after defeating and consuming the mighty Vargul that he had felt his power could match him.

His instincts had kicked in when, upon his return, he noticed him leading the group. But when he saw he was trapped in the crag and void of water, he decided to confront him, sure of his victory.

Unlike Garoth, He drew his power from the sea, after all.

Only now did Garoth realize that he had been overconfident in his superiority.

Despite not having the water on his side, the human had proven skillful and brave, baiting him and risking his own life to inflict a mortal wound that would've surely ended Garoth's had he not dodged the blast at the very last second.

He had taken his revenge, of that he was sure. Landing a mortal blow no human could recover from he had secured his future in the crag. But it had cost him. Maimed and heavily wounded, the other human had trapped him in a rocky cage and fled.

With immense effort, he had managed to break the rock cage that had imprisoned him, but the treacherous human had taken his body with him, and Garoth hadn't been able to consume him.

No power-up after defeating him. "A real shame."

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Adding his power to Garoth's, he might have been able to match the red and green beast. Without him, he'd have to wait long before he was truly the area's sovereign.

But that didn't matter now. Without his mortal enemy around, the sooner he recovered, the sooner he would grow unobstructed.

The cave had healed him before, and this time would be no different than the others.

Garoth's eyes wavered yellow due to the blood loss but still blazed brightly with determination. He had finally arrived at the base of the pillar.

Gathering all his might, he threw the chopped-off part of his body up the slight climb that led into the cave and jumped to the entrance unburdened by his limp body. A familiar wave of mana and magic exiting the cave welcomed him.

Despite his injuries' severity, his faith in his regenerative powers and the cave's magic was unwavering. He had reached the cave in a similar state when he was much weaker and survived. This time wouldn't be any different.

With a powerful bite, he picked up the remains of his body a few more meters into his den and triumphantly, with a tired purr, landed on the floor to rest and heal.

Garoth chuckled at the tingling sensation of thick and dense mana brushing against his body, merging the mana particles into its muscles and repairing the wounds. In just a few moments, the blood loss no longer made him dizzy and was replaced with a comforting sensation.

As his gaze returned to normal, he noticed that something was different in the cave. The cave had always had this thick feeling of mana, but today it was especially intense, a dim glow illuminated its interior.

That was strange.

Also, the burning sensation in his veins, a kind parting gift of Vargul's poison, was slowly fading away. Also weird, he had estimated the cleansing of the poison would take at least a few days.

Garoth raised his gaze, scanning the cave in suspicion, checking his surroundings. The energy of the cave was strong today. Indeed, it was much stronger than before, working on his wounds much faster than usual.

He followed the dim light and noticed cracks. His eyes opened wide, and he stopped purring immediately.

The wall that sealed the cave's depths had cracks on its surface, some as big as his claws, energy powerfully flowing through them.

"Dangerous yet convenient", he thought.

This would be helpful to recover faster, but now the cave will be riskier to approach. He had discovered this cave as a cub, and it had been only thanks to his heightened senses that he had noticed dense mana within.

He had made it his, and other beasts passed by without noticing. But now, the cracks would make it more obvious to other creatures.

What was worse, the dormant beast inside could now clearly hear sounds outside and wake.

He pondered briefly, his eyes locked onto the largest crack. Was the risk worth it?

After considering it for a brief moment, he decided that the best approach would be to assess the situation first.

Standing up, he approached the cave to peek in at his benefactor for the first time, the mighty beast lying inside.

Silently and carefully he approached the crack, making sure not to make any sounds that could disturb the sleeping being within.

Suddenly, a mere meter from the crack he caught a familiar scent.

Yet another human had entered the crag.

The hatred within Garoth surged. With his eyes burning red, he quickly approached the cave entrance. His eyes scanned the cliff and quickly located the figure approaching—another cub.

"Have humans lost all will to live?"

The new cub descended the mountain, its smell familiar. Where had he sensed this smell before? His brain brought back the feeling of... "Dread? At this smell? How can this cub be Dangerous?" He had feared few beings during his life, he was weakened today, maybe it was that. Yeah, that's it, "I'm surely confusing it with something else," he concluded.

The cub continued to advance without fear. He snarled, had humans not learned yet that this was his territory? Did they think he was defenseless to protect it after today's fight?

His eyes lit up. Anger. Revenge.

Attacking and shredding it to shreds was Garoth's first instinct, but he immediately realized it was not a wise answer.

Although he was no longer worried about any humans in the village, he needed to heal fast before another beast could come around, longing for his cave. Recovering some of his body and strength was the priority now. He couldn't risk losing the opportunity to heal.

Garoth's eyes wavered from red to orange. Patience.

He would focus on healing and ignore the cub. Only if he was within striking distance would he attack.

With a decision reached, his gaze rested on the boy and bounced back to the wall and its newly formed cracks.

He couldn't risk waking the sleeping being.

The cracks in the cave meant he had to be silent. Consuming his body still took priority to reabsorb magical particles, but it would have to be done outside the cave.

He would observe the cub and attack only if necessary. If he did approach though, he would have to kill it quietly before it entered the cave, lest risk him waking the sleeping beast.

He'd prepare, pounce if needed, and consume. Once he had reabsorbed his own magic, he would move inside the cave and begin absorbing the magical energy emanating from the cave to heal as much as possible before more invaders arrived.

He stealthily moved inside and, with a silent bite, carried his body outside. With a strong jump, he climbed the sea pillar with it, surveying the crag.

Garoth's eyes narrowed. "Come closer, cub, come and meet your end."