[Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle!!!]

The pile of leaves continued to tremble, while the boar had nearly drawn most of the strength in its body toward its legs, empowering them and causing the muscles inside of them to swell, though, not to as great a degree as before.

[Snarlll!]
[Burble...Burble...Burble…]

Meanwhile, at the edge of the river, the calm waters continued to flow, only somewhat disturbed by a set of twigs and sticks that floated across its gentle surface, with the thickest of them somehow standing completely upright, even as the group continued to drift…

[Woosh…!]

The wind suddenly gusted, causing a swarm of leaves to fall from the trees, drifting through the air and onto the river and forest floor.

[Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle!!!]

And, as the last of the dying leaves finally kissed the ground...

[Roar!!!]

The boar let its monstrous roar ring out amongst the trees, as it shot toward the twitching heap of leaves,with its powerful legs pounding against the ground!

Although it definitely wasn’t as fast or as powerful as it had been before, it was still much faster than any normal forest animal, and left small cracks in the ground below it, as it charged forward!

Even as it grunted and heaved in breaths while charging, it continued to fantasize about how it would feel once it collided with its victim, as horrifying images of a warm, soft layer of unmoving, bloody flesh, forming a cushion between it and the tree filled its mind...

[Rustle, Rustle, Rustl…!!!]

The boar was almost in front of its target, but it felt a chill run up its spine, as the rapidly shifting pile of leaves suddenly began to sink and disassemble!

[G-grunt…!]
[Splash!!!]
[Splat, Splat, Splat, Splat!!!]

Suddenly, the sound of a loud splash disrupted the otherwise calmly burbling flow of the river, and the sound of water splattering on the ground could be heard approaching the boar’s direction!

[G-Grunt…!!!]

The boar didn’t understand what was happening, but its instincts roared at it to stop and face the source of this intruding noise, and it quickly ground its hooves into the ground, trying to slow itself down before regaining its footing! However, right at the moment when its hooves had dug into the earth, the stinging pain and sense of extreme weakness returned!

[Splat, Splat, Splat, Splat!!!!!]

[Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle!!!]

Unable to resist the sudden attack on its senses and strength, the power in its body slackened, allowing the dug-in hooves to begin tearing from the ground, as its momentum began to carry it against its will!

[Squeaaa…!!!]

[Splat, Splat, Splat, Splat, Splat!!!!!]

[Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle, Rustle!!!!]

And, just as it began to rise into the air, the ever increasing volume of the mysterious splattering noise and that of the shifting and scattering of leaves grew even closer!

???: “And...!!!”

A boy’s determined shout now blended together with the incoming sounds of water and crumpling leaves, as a reddish light began to spark into existence behind the boar, who had now left the ground by a few inches!

[Squeea…!!!]

As the boar spun around in mid flight, and as it began its fall toward the embrace of the leaves below, it was able to see a childish figure, whose right side was being illuminated by a small light that was held in his hand!

The boar could feel its spine chilling, as the child pulled back his hand, drawing the crimson light backward as it began to form into strands of flame, which flowed around his arm!

[Slam!!!]

The monstrous beast slammed onto the ground, crashing down in the spot where the leaf pile had once been, and soon…!

[SQUEEEAAAALLL!!!!!]

The boar shrieked and squealed in pain, as it felt a sharp, stinging pain radiating throughout its head, as the scent of blood began to waft into its nostrils! Below the boar’s head, there rested a large, now bloody stone!

The boar struggled to regain its footing, as, no matter how it struggled, strength refused to return to its body, much to its shock and terror, and, while it was desperately struggling on the ground, the child’s figure began to charge towards it, with the color of both his eyes being consumed in the light of the red flame around his arm!

[S...S-QUEAA…!!!]

It continued to cry out, as the child’s figure slowly approached, leaving, strangely, both burnt and soaked leaves in his wake, as the flames that coiled around his arm began to gather in his palm!

[Crackle…]

The boar, with its battle-craving instincts retreating from its mind and afraid for its life, scrambled to figure a way out of this situation, but at that moment...

Fate: “HAAAAA!!!”

The boy’s furious cry sounded, and a flame coated fist entered the trembling vision of the boar, leaving it no time to cry out as it impacted with the boar’s snout, loudly singing it!

[SQUEEEAAAAL!!!!]

The boar’s powerless body squealed as it was pushed back, as the flesh on its face continued to burn under the heat of the crimson flames. The boy then wrapped himself around the creature’s snout, violently continuing to slam his flame-clad fist into its head, even as the flesh on his hand was being burnt!

From his position on top of the boar’s head, he repeatedly beat down on it, hitting it with a flurry of furious, flaming fists! The boar remained helpless, the strength barely returning to body, even with danger it was in, as the child continued to attack it...
However, even as it appeared that the crimson-eyed child held the advantage over the beast beneath him and would soon triumph, there was a fact that he couldn’t change...

Fate: “This...is for my f***ing arm!!!”

Fate continued to pound the boar’s flesh, but despite how much it was currently suffering, the damage it was taking was quite from the child’s attacks was quite minor, compared to the injury it received from the rock beneath its head.

The flames were, indeed, having an effect on the boar’s physical state, as its face was now covered in a number of scorch marks, but these were mostly surface level.

Seeing this caused Fates’s furious expression to grow darker, and he quickly paused his repetitive strikes, before raising his burning hand in the air and plunging it into the boar’s trembling, left eye!

The grimace on his face quickly twisted into a psychotic smile, as he felt the pulsing, squishy flesh of the boar’s eye begin to boil with his touch, searing the inside of its eyelid and burning the skin around it!

This time, though, unlike what the child was expecting, the boar did not scream, and its entire body had gone limp, ceasing its weakened attempts to rise and rebuff him...

Fate slowly pulled his hand out of the burnt eye socket, ignoring his own burnt flesh, the visceral substances that coated it, his exhaustion, and the flames that had been extinguished, he stared down from his spot on the boar’s wide head and snout, looking at the boar’s remaining eye, which was now shut, with a frown.

Had he won? Had Fate’s battle with this beast finally come to an end?

Fate shook his head.

Fate: “You’ve already f***ed me up, when I thought you were helpless, before...And, considering the state of my right arm and hand…”
He shifted his right hand slightly, wincing and gritting his teeth as he lightly shook off some of his burnt skin and the mix of blood and melted cornea, before turning his attention back to the boar…

Fate: “Which, of course, is my own damn fault, but I’m not exactly good with magic. Hell, I can’t even make a regular fireball, instead, I gotta make a big explosion...which is still kickass, but a lot less easy to use...I imagine.

But, getting back to what I was saying, though I’m not even sure if you can understand me...f*** you, and f*** your...‘playing possum’ routine that you’re seeing fit to dazzle me with, right now!”

The boar continued to be still, even as Fate removed himself from its head, sliding his feet into the grass beside the boar before standing up, beside it.

He looked at its hairless, leathery hide, which was covered in burnt patches, and then to downward, to see the sizable amount of blood that had leaked from its head, onto the leaves below…

Fate walked a few feet away from the boar, constantly looking back over his shoulder to see if it was moving, only to be met with the same, unmoving sight of the monstrous boar, in front of a large, oak tree.

Fate: “Ok...I guess that it’s really come to this…”

He now raised his bloody and burnt right hand in front of him, as two small sparks of red and blue began to slowly manifest themselves around his palm…

Suddenly, as if answering to the provocation of the gathering mana, the boar’s remaining eye shot open to meet Fate’s gaze. Instead of the pure, blood-red color that had fully encompassed its eyes had now shrunken to a crimson slit that stood alone amidst a sea of black, surrounded by similarly colored, bloodshot cracks!

[Snarrrllll…]

It slowly rose to its feet, firmly placing its hooves on the ground before beginning to respond in kind, revealing its own weapon!

The miasma, which had been overused and had become weak, had now recovered, but, instead of enveloping the boar’s body like a cloak, it had begun to wrap around its tusks, creating a pair of twin storms made of out black particles…

The twin storms shifted and twisted around the almost metallic tusks, forming a shell around each of them, which seemed sharper than ordinary blades! The boar’s red flesh suddenly began to swell, bulking up as thick veins began to appear all over its body, which now began to darken significantly!

[SNAAARRRLLLL!!!!]

Now, it appeared as though the boar had changed forms again, to a more dangerous, muscular form…

-Sh*t...he leveled up...Whatever!

A psychotic smile formed on Fate’s face, as he continued to gather his remaining mana, dividing it between the two differently-colored flickers! Both creatures faced each other, one determined to crush the other where they stood, and another whose sanity had crumbled as his situation had degraded…

A single, demonic eye, met a pair of shaking, psychotically-grinning blue eyes, under the light of the stars and the moonless night…

-I already burnt the stamina that I had saved up...on running to make sure that the trap worked...

The two energies in Fate’s palm continued to grow stronger and clash with one another, as they began to come together in front of him. Meanwhile, the boar stomped on the ground continuously, carving it up as it prepared to burst forth from its position…

[SNAAARRRLLL…]

It loudly growled at him…

-And...much as I hate to admit it...for someone with magic as his greatest weapon...I maybe somewhat lacking in the mana reserves department…

The two energies now slowly formed into a single orb, and the boar continued to loudly growl as it released crimson fumes from its flaring nostrils…

-With my agility, strength, intelligence, vitality, and mana all being incredibly below average...I think...and an opponent that mutates like its a super saiyan transformation, but with less explosions and blonde wigs...with incredible power and speed at its disposal…

A ball of blue flames had fully coalesced in front of Fate’s outstretched palm, which prompted the boar to begin moving. It moved slowly at first, trudging and dragging its hooves across the ground, but soon began to increase its pace!

-I’ve already set the stage...so…

Fate’s psychotic smile grew even wider as the boar broke into a sprint, quickly closing the gap between them as it suddenly opened its jaws, extending them towards Fate’s palm and the flame of mana that sat comfortably in front of it!

-...One shot…

The scent of the bloody mist and the saliva of the boar had almost reached Fate’s nose, but in a split second, right as its sharp, bloody fangs were about to clamp down on Fate’s burnt arm…

-...I just need to get one shot…!!!

Fate: “Explode!!!~”

[BOOM!!!]

The small, blue flame exploded, sending the boar flying into the large oak tree behind it, and Fate into the air as he flew over the ground!

However, once he was a few feet away from hitting a somewhat distant tree, his body suddenly shifted in midair, spinning until it was barely upright, though it was still being forced through the wind! Fate’s feet made contact with the dirt, gripping onto it as the momentum dragged him across the ground!

Fate: “Uggggghhh….!!!!”

『Passive Skill,『Balance』has increased to level 6!』

Suddenly, as the alert sounded in his mind, his body suddenly became stiffer, and his posture straightened, as his body began to slow down, thanks to friction, while the grass and dirt, clutched by his feet, continued to be torn apart!

He grunted as he felt his body being pushed by the force of the explosion, and the pain of his feet dragging across the dry ground!

[Smack!!!]

Fate: “Argh…!!!]

His back made contact with the tree, causing him to stop and the tree to shake, releasing its leaves for the ground to enjoy! However, he had managed to severely decrease the speed of this impact, and, even as he stinging pain shooting through his body, Fate still managed to remain standing…

Fate: “Haaaaa...Haaaa...Haaa…!!!”

He was covered in sweat, and he was heaving deep breaths, but he still remained standing, even as his knees trembled and his feet cried for a respite. Fate looked out toward the tree he had sailed from, his grinning eyes locked to the figure that was slowly coming towards him…

The boar, with its left eye still leaking blood and other substances, furiously quaking right eye, blackmiasma rolling off of it in waves, and with blood now dripping from its jaws, was staggering towards Fate, its legs constantly shaking as it continued to move forward!

Fate: “Ugghhhh…”

However, Fate couldn’t move, instead, his legs, which had just been supporting him a moment ago, gave out, allowing him to fall to his knees, as the boar continued to approach. He hung his head low, hiding his expression…

The boar continued to shakily move forward, arriving in front of him within a minute. It now stood, looking down on its defeated foe with a malicious sneer on its face, as the miasma continued to swarm around its tusks..

It waited, hoping to hear the child’s cries, as it licked its lips...but nothing happened…

The silence continued for what seemed like an eternity, much to the boar’s displeasure. It had finally thwarted its prey’s plans, and now stood victorious over him...and yet its prey would attempt to deny it one final time, with an action so childish as the ‘silent treatment?’

This was unacceptable for the beast, and it quickly unwrapped the dark miasma around one of its tusks, shifting the bulk of it to its partner, as it slowly lifted Fate’s face up with its exposed, metallic tusk, eagerly expecting a dismayed and hopeless expression…

Fate: “Ha...ha ha...aha…”

However, contrary to its expectations, what it saw when its metallic tusk raised the child’s head, drawing some blood from his chin as it did so, wasn’t a look of terror, but, rather, a look that terrified it, causing it to stagger backwards!

Fate: “Hahaha...hahahahahahaha!!!!!”

Chilling laughter rocked the night, and the expression of the maniacally laughing child was exposed…

A chilling, psychotic, sadistic grin that stretched ear to ear, encompassed his face, while his eyes were wide open and bloodshot...he truly looked mad…

Fate: “Wanna know why I fought you?!!~”

[G-Grunt…!]

He raised his left arm toward the sky, raising his index finger upwards…

Fate: “Because…of a single reason...~”

His arm fell to his side, and he slowly crawled towards the boar, still with a depraved expression, and, once he got close to it, he whispered in its ear…

Fate: “I-didn’t-have-to!!!~ Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!~”

He laughed madly into its ear, causing it to stagger back again, and, as its remaining eye trembled in fear, blood suddenly began to leak from it…

[G-gru...n-nt…?!]

Suddenly, blood began to slowly leak out of the boar’s ears, nose, and mouth, dripping the blackened, life-bearing liquid onto the ground!

Fate: “O-one...shot...was all I f***ing needed...for you to finally start feeling it!!!~ Can you feel it, well, can't you?!!!~ ahahahahaha...ahahahahahahaha!!!!~”

The psychotic laughter continued to ring in the boar’s bleeding ears, as the child shakily pulled itself to its feet, the pain and laughter both preventing him from rising quickly. Under the moonless sky, both of the child's cold, sadistic, bloodshot eyes were exposed, looking down on the hunter who had become the hunted…

The eyes that looked at the boar were not those of a child, rather, they were those of a vicious monster leering at its prey...

More and more blood continued to leak from the boar’s orifices, as it now fully collapsed onto the ground, with a set of barely visible, purple veins being visible at its throat! Its limbs scrambled, but soon began to lose strength…

[G-g-g...ru...n-nt…-t…]

Its right eye now began to shed tears of blood, as a stream black blood flowed across its snout…

Fate: “Now…”

Fate stared into the trembling, demonic eyes, which were rapidly losing their malicious luster, with contempt and spoke in the most spine chilling voice he could muster…

Fate: “Die…!”

[G-g-g...ru…!]

And, with that the boar’s limbs stopped moving, and, finally, in a river of its own, black blood that flowed from the giant oak tree to its resting place...the beast’s life faded from the forest, and as Fate began to collapse with the same, sick grin on his face...

『Your level has increased to...!』
...