Ssss...
Firewing tapped her forehead. "Dealing with souls? That's underworld business, not nature's, right?"
She really was starting to get freaked out by Brandon's powers.
Come to think of it, the underworld has nothing to do with nature... right?
"I get it," Brandon replied, nodding. Yue Frost, despite her icy powers and her cool, distant air, was actually pretty gentle and shy beneath the surface. She only really opened up around people she knew well; the rest of the time, she was quiet as a mouse.
If she was going to actually contribute in the battles to come, she'd have to grow up—fast.
Flowers that grow up in a greenhouse are pretty, sure, but they don't survive the first storm. If Yue wanted to be strong, she'd have to face blood and violence head-on.
As for Brandon himself?
He'd never really experienced true violence or war either, but with [Nature's Authority], did it even matter? Either way, everything was a one-shot kill for him.
The only hurdle was getting over the instinctive fear of blood and killing—which, honestly, wasn't all that hard. See it a few times, you'd get used to it.
Like Firewing said: he really was a monster.
From the moment he awakened, he'd stood above every other creature on Earth. And that gap between him and everyone else would only keep growing, until he was out of sight.
Three days passed in a flash. Now, Brandon and Yue were on their way to the nature reserve.
"Since you joined the Bureau, apart from those couple of meetings, you've basically just been training in the villa, haven't you?"
Yue, dressed in athletic gear with a custom bulletproof vest underneath, stared at Brandon in disbelief.
"Yeah, isn't that normal?" Brandon tilted his head, honestly confused by her question.
"Normal people would just slack off, though! And don't you get tired? I get exhausted after just one hour of training."
Her face twisted into a bitter, tired expression.
"I'm... special," Brandon said, grinning, but not explaining further.
Sure, his power would continue to grow on its own, but why not train and get stronger even faster? Besides, that lazy path was just too boring.
Plus, even if his [Nature's Authority] was absurdly powerful and his fate on Earth was basically unbeatable, who knew if there might be someone else out there with a different Authority?
Maybe theirs wouldn't be as strong as his, but if someone with another Authority worked harder than he did, there was always a chance they'd catch up. He remembered what the chat group had said: "Earth's consciousness split its Authorities and gave pieces to all living beings."
That meant [Nature's Authority] wasn't the only power out there.
What Brandon didn't know was that all other Authorities were split into countless fragments among the world's creatures—no one but him held a complete Authority.
He was Earth's exception, its favorite child.
They soon arrived at the Vantora City Nature Reserve.
Before the world had changed, it was already one of the city's top scenic spots. Now, with spiritual energy surging, it looked even more fresh and beautiful.
"There's way more spiritual energy here than in the city. Is it because there are more plants?"
Brandon looked at the lush forest, genuinely interested.
"Maybe. That's how it is in novels, right? The mountains always have more spiritual energy than the city," Yue replied, glancing curiously at the towering trees around them.
"Let's move," Brandon said, striding ahead without hesitation. Yue scrambled to catch up—there was no way she was letting herself get left behind in this place.
They moved deeper into the reserve as time slipped by.
"Found it."
Brandon suddenly broke into a smile, heading off in a new direction. Yue stared, lost—what had he found? How? She hadn't seen or heard anything!
But just a few moments later—
ROAR!
A deafening roar shattered the peace ahead. From a distance, they saw a massive tiger—
But instead of the familiar orange-and-black, this tiger was crimson, like living fire.
Its usual forehead markings were gone, replaced by a blazing red lotus.
"A t-tiger?"
Yue instinctively shrank back, wide-eyed with fear.
Why is there a tiger here?!
Wait, this was a nature reserve, of course there were tigers.
But still—this was a tiger. Even with awakened powers, there was no way she could fight it!
And judging by that color, it had definitely awakened some kind of ability! Combine that with a beast's raw strength... there was no way they could take it down.
So why were just the two of them sent for this job?!
Yue was on the verge of tears—this wasn't what she'd signed up for!
"Want to try fighting it?" Brandon asked, clearly amused by her panic. "Relax. As long as you're not dead, I can heal you."
"Stop joking," she whispered, voice trembling. "Shouldn't we run? It's a tiger! And an awakened tiger at that."
"We're not running." Brandon shook his head. "It's definitely too soon for you to fight something like this, though.
Let me handle it."
He turned to face the crimson tiger, who had already noticed his gaze. The beast's fur bristled, pupils narrowing as though it sensed it had just attracted something truly terrifying.
Then, the tiger turned, locking its blood-red eyes on them—there was a flash of murderous intent.
"Hm?" Brandon caught the hint of killing intent in the beast's eyes and frowned.
That was odd. Tigers didn't usually act that way—even when hunting, they wouldn't go straight for the kill unless provoked.
Well, if you're acting like a man-eating monster, I'll treat you like one.
"Let's hope your meat lives up to my expectations."
He raised his hand, and several golden spears materialized, forged from the metallic element and crackling with electricity.
BOOM!
In an instant, the spears tore through the air, aimed straight at the crimson giant tiger.
ROAAAARRR!
The red lotus on the tiger's forehead burst into radiant light, and its body erupted in blazing fire.
But that wasn't all—
The fire coalesced around it, forming a thick, armored carapace, and the beast's eyes blazed with a wild, arrogant pride as it faced Brandon's attack head-on.
(End of Chapter)
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