Without wasting another second, Edison began channeling mana into the weapon.
Primordial Flames surged from the petricite core, threading together with the mana flowing through his body. The energy moved down his arm, into the hammer and fire coiled up the metal head.
The red rune-patterns etched across the hammer glowing brighter as the flames settled.
"Alright…" Edison thought. "All I need is one solid hit."
Across the clearing, the giant Druvask lowered its head.
A threatening growl rolled from its chest as it sensed the rising heat.
Then the beast roared and lifted its massive front hooves and slammed them down onto the ground.
The glowing patterns along its tusks flared brighter and Edison felt the similar tingle.
And he felt the mana gathering around the earth beneath his feet.
Edison kicked off the snow and charged.
The second his foot pushed off the ground, ice exploded upward.
Jagged spikes shot from the frozen earth like giant spears, bursting out one after another along his path.
But not a single one was able to struck him.
He could feel the mana forming a split second before it appeared.
Edison twisted, jumped, and stepped through constantly rising ice.
One spike burst upward behind him.
Another shot up beside him, missing his leg by inches.
A third erupted where his foot had been half a second earlier.
Within seconds, he was already closing the distance.
Only a few feet away now.
The Druvask's massive head lifted and it let out another furious roar, frost spraying from its jaws.
Edison felt the mana shift again.
Before the Druvask can blast him away again, he jumped and raise his hammer high above his head, runes blazing bright crimson.
With a roar of his own, Edison brought the hammer down.
But something was wrong.
His eyes widened as he saw the hammer slammed into something invisible.
A solid wall of force, a burst of freezing air blasted outward shortly after the impact.
The red glow of the hammer flickered as the flames coiling around it faltered, weakened by the sudden surge of cold.
The Druvask roared again.
The invisible barrier exploded outward with violent force.
"Guh!"
Edison was hurled backward like a rag doll.
He skidded across the snow before slamming down onto one knee, his hammer digging into the ground to stop his slide.
Cold bit into his face and neck, numbing the skin instantly.
"Whew…"
He exhaled a shaky breath.
Slowly, the Primordial Flames inside him pushed back again, warmth spreading through his body as the freezing sensation began to fade.
But Edison's eyes remained locked on the glowing monster ahead.
"…Okay," he muttered under his breath.
"It can also cast barriers."
"That barrier isn't unbreakable," Guide suddenly said. "I'm sure you noticed that from the impact earlier."
"Yup," Edison replied, rolling his shoulders. "During that hit, I could feel my hammer starting to break through. But the cold air weakened the flames... and then the backlash flung me away."
He lifted the hammer again.
This time, he poured even more Primordial Flames into the weapon together with an even greater stream of mana. The hammer burst into roaring fire as the runes blazed brilliantly across its surface.
Heat waves rippled outward, distorting the cold night air.
Across the clearing, the Druvask reacted immediately.
It roared as cold air gathered around its massive frame, frost crawling rapidly across its hide as a layer of ice condensed around it. The freezing aura thickened, pushing back against the growing heat radiating from Edison.
Soon, gusts of icy wind began swirling around the beast like a veil.
The Druvask pawed the ground heavily, hooves tearing into the frozen earth as it prepared to charge.
Edison chuckled.
"Looks like this thing is going to come at me first."
He took a few slow steps backward, lifting the flaming hammer over his shoulder.
The Druvask let out a deafening roar and charged.
The icy veil coiled tightly around its body as it surged forward, waves of biting frost blasting outward from its path. Even Edison could feel the raw cold slamming into him from a distance.
And he could feel the mana. That dense mass, churning around the beast like a storm.
But Edison grinned.
"Like hell I'm gonna take you head on!"
With a sudden burst of strength, he hurled the hammer forward.
The weapon spun through the air like a blazing wheel, trailing flames behind it as it tore across the clearing.
It slammed directly into the Druvask's icy veil.
"BOOM!"
A violent shockwave erupted from the collision.
The blazing hammer smashed against the freezing barrier, searing heat meeting crushing cold. Flames devoured the frost while the icy aura fought back, rapidly cooling the burning weapon.
Steam exploded outward in a thick cloud.
For a moment, the clearing disappeared behind a wall of white vapor.
Then the Druvask stumbled backward out of the haze, momentarily stunned by the impact.
And from within that cloud, a shadow burst forward.
Edison had already closed the distance.
The Druvask's glowing eyes widened slightly in surprise. It didn't even have time to gather its magic again before it lashed out, swinging one massive tusk sideways in a wild counterattack.
Edison dropped low and slid across the snow, the deadly tusk sweeping just above his head as he passed beneath it.
In the next instant, he was at the beast's flank.
His hand shot out and grabbed the spear still embedded in the Druvask's side.
He seized the shaft tightly.
Flames coiled around his hand, tightening until they formed a thin, shimmering sheet hugging his skin. The heat intensified rapidly.
He was about to plunge his hand through it's guts and burn it from the inside—
But the Druvask exploded into motion as the pain drove it into a frenzy.
The beast began thrashing violently, its massive body twisting and bucking as it tried to shake him off. The force was tremendous. Edison's feet left the ground almost instantly, his body whipping through the air as he clung to the spear as hard as he could.
Edison gritted his teeth.
"Hold still... you stupid pig!"
With a sharp motion, he slashed his flame-covered hand forward.
The condensed fire cut through the Druvask's thick hide like a hot knife through butter. The burning edge sliced deep into flesh, opening a brutal wound across the beast's side.
The Druvask roared.
The sound shook the trees.
Driven by pain and rage, the beast bolted forward recklessly.
It plowed straight through the forest.
Trees splintered under its bulk as it charged wildly, smashing through trunks one after another. Some trees bent and groaned before springing back, while others cracked outright and collapsed into the snow with thunderous crashes.
Edison hung on for dear life, gripping the spear as the world whipped past him in blurs.
He drew his arm back, preparing to strike again—
"CRACK."
The spear snapped.
The shaft split in two under the immense strain of the struggle.
The broken end flew from Edison's grip while the spearhead remained buried deep in the Druvask's flesh.
The sudden loss of support sent Edison tumbling.
He slammed hard into the torn ground behind the charging beast, rolling across churned snow and shattered branches.
Stars burst across his vision as he tried to push himself up.
The suddenly, immense pain exploded through his shoulder.
"Arghh!!"
Edison cried out.
One of the Druvask's tusks had caught him.
The Druvask had twisted its massive head the moment he was thrown free. The strike was terrifyingly precise despite the frenzy.
The jagged tusk punched clean through his shoulder and drove him hard into the ground.
"Fuck!"
Instinctively, Edison grabbed the tusk that had pierced him.
But before he could do anything—
The Druvask jerked its head upward.
Edison was lifted off the ground and slammed down again like a rag doll.
Before he could even cry out, the beast swung its head sideways.
His body smashed into a tree trunk with brutal force.
The tusk pinned him there, suspending him above the ground.
"Ugh…"
Edison groaned.
A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
If this had been him six months ago, he would already be dead.
The tusk he gripped with both hands felt like a bar of frozen iron. Cold seeped into his flesh, spreading through his shoulder like venom. The freezing pain crawled deeper with every second, gnawing into muscle and bone.
He gritted his teeth and drew power from the source.
Primordial Flames surged through his body, pushing the cold back.
The pain eased but he could feel the source is running out of fuel.
If he kept burning the flames faster than the core could replenish them, the Source would die out.
Edison's thoughts raced as he weighed his options.
Then he felt that dreadful tingle again.
His eyes widened.
The glowing patterns along the Druvask's tusk began to brighten as mana was gathering.
"Oh… fuck me."
He had no idea what the beast was going to do.
But something tell him that if he don't break free from this situation right now, he was going to die.
Edison stopped using the Primordial Flames to resist the freezing pain.
Instead, he channeled everything into his hands.
The cold spread instantly from his shoulder to his chest, his neck, biting deeper into his body like thousands of needles.
"ARGHH!!!!"
The scream tore from his throat as agony flooded his nerves.
Ignoring it, Edison raised his flaming hand and slammed it down on the tusk.
"CRACK."
A fracture spidered across the tusk's surface.
Then ice rapidly formed over the tusk, holding and reinforcing it.
As of now, only a single thought remain in his head.
I'm going to die.
His vision blurred. The freezing pain was eating away at his consciousness.
Everything was starting to feel distant.
Then suddenly, a figure burst from the darkness.
It was the hunter.
Frost clung to his leather armor, the ice from the earlier blast still crusted along his sleeves and his left arm hung limp at his side.
But his right hand was steady and clutched in it was a single arrow.
Before the Druvask could react, the man leapt and drove the arrow straight into the beast's eye.
The sharpened shaft plunged deep.
The Druvask roared.
The mana gathering in the tusk shattered instantly, dispersing into the air.
Edison's vision refocused.
"Now!"
With a final surge of strength, he raised both hands and brought them down on the tusk again.
"CRACK."
This time, the tusk shattered.
The broken tusk split apart and Edison dropped to the ground as the Druvask staggered backward in pain.
Before the beast could recover, Edison ripped the hunting knife from the pouch at his back and lunged forward, driving the blade deep into the Druvask's other eye.
The beast shrieked in agony.
Edison rolled beneath its massive body, coming up beside the broken spearhead still embedded in its flank.
With every ounce of strength he had left, he slammed his fist into the shaft.
The broken spear punched deep into the wound.
All the way in.
The Druvask roared.
Blood and thick, dark fluid erupted from the wound like a ruptured spring.
The giant beast staggered forward, legs trembling.
After a few shaky steps, its enormous body collapsed into the snow with a thunderous crash.