CHAPTER 347: FREINDS!

Freinds!

Its bellow shook the air, pain and rage contorted into one.

Leon lowered his fist, lips curling into a sharper smile. "Not bad."

No hesitation at all. His golden gaze picked up the blur coming at him from the rear, and the Blue Fist Ape launched itself forward, its great arm coming down like a wave. For as large as it was, it moved with incredible fluidity—its body rolling like liquid muscle as it came down. That blue-furred fist, raw strength coiled within, swung down like it intended to crush the earth itself to pieces.

Leon twisted away at the last instant. The blow grazed past his skull and detonated into the ground. The impact swallowed the earth, tearing open a crater that bled dirt and broken roots into the air. His boots scraped trenches across the soil as he slid sideways, body snapping into motion, spellcraft already on his lips.

The ape’s bellow rent the air as it returned, its energy overflowing water in heavy, trickling surges. Its second fist swung, a whirl of bristling fur and compact force.

Tch— Leon spat, landing on his feet. His body crouched low, all of his muscles wound.

[Air Burst.]

Light burst along his leg. Wind magic howled, engulfing his body as he kicked. The explosion burst from his heel, whirling him in mid-air. A shock of compressed air hit the ape’s charging punch, pushing the gigantic strike wide. The monster let out a scream as the wind ravaged across its wet fur, steam hissing where elements fought.

The jungle shook to the battle of forces. Fire erupted from the Red Devil Elephant’s trunk, water crashed in the Blue Fist Ape’s fists, and amidst the turmoil Leon laughed—blood on his knuckles, golden eyes raging fiercer.

"You’re powerful," he gasped out, his smile broadening. "Just what I wanted."

The Elephant charged, tusks shrouded in flames, its molten trunk striking out in deadly force. Leon dived, rolling under the sweeping arc of a tusk, flame searing his skin. His heel slammed upward, striking the monster’s jaw with earth energy rushing down his leg. The blow struck like a mountain falling—shuddering the beast’s skull back, flames shooting skyward.

But before he could drive home his advantage, the ape let out a scream that tore the battlefield. Its hands accumulated torrents of water, enough to flood the clearing. With a rage-filled bellow, it swept the flood on—a wall of water that consumed the earth in its advance.

Leon didn’t back away. He stood firm. His fists were balled, flame and darkness twining together, his aura burning unrestrained.

[Water Fist—Twin Burst!]

His attack clashed with the oncoming tide.

The impact tore the world asunder. Flame crashed into water, the impact exploding into a curtain of steam that engulfed the forest. Fog rolled out in choking waves, shrouding the battlefield. For one moment, vision was extinguished. Only the sound of Leon’s laughter pierced the tempest—hollow, wild, alive.

CRACK!

Bone struck tusk. The Elephant stumbled, but Leon’s forehead split open, blood streaming down his face. His smile never wavered—it grew.

The Ape attacked once more, fists radiating water strained so close to its limit it shone like crystal. Leon stood with his arms folded, earthy element seeping into his flesh, stiffening bone and muscle both. The punches crashed home. His ribs howled, his form slipping back across scarred ground, but he failed to fall.

Hah...! That all you’ve got?! His shout cut through, strained with effort, but his laughter shook the mist itself.

The war raged on. Leon’s fists pounded the Elephant’s incandescent hide, his kicks crashed into the Ape’s giant frame. Each blow was followed by another, each spell burst between gritted teeth, ripping the battlefield asunder. Fire and water thundered, steam swamping the forest until even the trees ran with dew.

The earth broke with each blow. Giants battled, tusks against fists, fire against surf. Leon leapt into the fray like a wild beast, his fist-whispering bare hands entwining martial art and fury of the elements. His brow crashed into the Ape’s jaw, snapping it back. His knee punched into the Elephant’s neck, strangling its molten roar.

And all the while, he smiled. Sweat oiled his face, blood crisscrossed his skin, but his golden eyes burned hotter than flames. This wasn’t surviving. This was pleasure.

Finally, Leon stood within the devastated clearing—chest laboring, body drenched in sweat and blood. Before him, the two massive titans reeled broken and stumbled, their gigantic forms smashed beneath his determination.

Finally, after exchanging incalculable blows and shuddering impacts, both gigantic animals reeled under the burden of their battle. The Red Devil Elephant’s fire faltered, no longer burning but dying like embers. Its tusks cracked, and molten sparks seeped from its trunks with each gashed breath. Opposite it, the Blue Fist Ape stood wavering on shaky legs. Its formerly proud fur hung in sodden, tattered strips, matted and tattered with blood, the blue skin underneath battered black. One arm hung limply, quivering half-limp, while its aura burned out like the dying ember of a candle. What had started as Grandmaster might was now nothing but ruin and exhaustion.

Leon stood between them. His chest expanded and contracted in jagged rhythm, each breath wringing heat from his lungs. Blood ran down from the corner of his lip, but his grin remained—wild, unbroken, untamed. He was a man who had drunk deeply of the storm and still desired more.

["Ahh... I enjoyed that."] His tongue snapped against his teeth, a harsh sound with residual hunger, though his head moved back in the slightest regret. ["A fight like this... valuable. You two are worth retaining."]

The creatures responded with pitiful snarls, their melted and sea-blue eyes glimmering with bewilderment. They had battled with all—anger, fang, and fire—and yet the man who ought to have been their foe stood before them, smiling as if they were friends.

Then Leon raised a hand. Power surged up to his palm, not shadow, not flame, but something greater—golden light. A holy sigil flared up over him, its lines vibrating with divine fire, filling the air thick with sacred resonance. Script rolled out into swirling patterns, each stroke humming with the weight of something not mortal but eternal. The earth itself trembled beneath that light.

The Elephant’s heads came up together, their molten eyes agape. The Ape’s wounded chest labored deeper, its last hold of strength coiling as instinct told it to withdraw. But neither creature budged. Their huge forms shook, frozen not with terror of death, but with wonder at what they could not comprehend.

Leon’s tone gentled, with an odd warmth that was contrary to moments of violence. ["Don’t worry. I don’t kill friends. Take this instead."]

His smile curved, playful yet benevolent. ["Enjoy this gift from me. You earned it."]

The sigil shattered into brilliance. Golden light cascaded downward like a rain of light, pouring over both titans. The Elephant’s cracked tusks sealed, its bleeding trunks returned to their molten majesty. The Ape’s frayed muscles healed, its half-paralyzed arm finding strength as scarring fire etched away to nothing. The battlefield, once ripped asunder by fist and fire, healed with them—land torn by rage filled in to untarnished earth, rivers of flowing fire cooling to purity. The air was filled not with smoke or metal, but with rebirth.

The five heads of the Red Devil Elephant turned with shocked silence. Its molten eye, previously brimming with hatred, now sparkled with incredulity. The Blue Fist Ape clenched its gigantic fist, water droplets sliding off its newly restored fur. Its gaze met Leon’s; naked confusion creasing its savage face. Both monsters had been pulled to the edge of death by his own hand, only for that same hand to revive them.

Leon’s grin changed—narrower, cunning, a smile brimming with mischief. He extended two fingers in a wave of a casual farewell.

"Bye, friends. Next time, don’t keep it all inside."

Wind burst at his feet, a sudden gust that sent leaves swirling into the air. His form leaped upward, disappearing into the foliage. Branches creaked, then fell silent, leaving only floating leaves behind him.

The Ape and the Elephant did not stir. They stood firm, their massive chests heaving up and down, eyes locked on the spot where he had vanished. Healed, though shaken to their depths, they could neither fury nor pursuit. Something greater than scars or triumph had been seared into them.

They gazed into the infinite forest, hush weighing down hard and living, bearing with it the burden of what had occurred.

But Leon was already lost—engulfed by liquid sun and the infinite expanse of green.