"Brother Bull, we were both minding our own business. Is it necessary to cause trouble for each other?" Draven asked helplessly.
The bull demon snorted. "Four years ago, you killed all my soldiers. Do you think I would overlook that?"
"My village was wiped out by your soldiers. Don't you have anything to say about that?" Draven retorted.
The bull demon let out a harsh laugh. "You are right. Your villagers died because they were weaker than my soldiers, and my soldiers died because they were weaker than you. Now, you will die here because you are weaker than me."
With that, it swung its massive hammer in a two-handed, sweeping arc.
Boom!
Draven barely had time to summon his four shields to block the blow before he was sent flying through the thick forest like a broken kite.
"Mooo!" The bull demon roared and charged after him like lightning.
Before Draven could regain his footing, another hammer strike slammed into his shields, sending him flying again and smashing human-sized holes through the trees in his path.
"Damn it," Draven gritted his teeth, controlling his four shields to protect his front and back to absorb the impacts.
But then, the bull demon hurled its gigantic hammer with a powerful throw.
The hammer struck Draven mid-air, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying once more. The force of the impact blurred his vision, and he lost consciousness.
Boom.
Like a shooting star, Draven and the bull demon's hammer crashed into the large tree where the young lady was resting, shaking it violently.
The young lady jumped away in fright, clutching the little phoenix. The other three women hurriedly moved in front of her, vigilantly watching the hammer now embedded in the tree.
Slowly, the hammer slid down, revealing a bloodied figure. Unconscious, Draven could no longer control his shields, and they transformed back into a black ring on his right thumb. His body had borne the full force of the last blow, breaking most of his bones and cracking half his skull, leaving his head disfigured.
Boom.
Before the four women could process the gruesome scene, the thirteen-foot bull demon landed in front of them with a ground-shaking impact.
He smirked at Draven's motionless form. With a grasping motion, his huge hammer flew back into his hand.
"What a surprise. I thought we wiped out all the remaining humans back then. Where did you pop out from?" the bull demon asked with a curious grin.
The four women shivered under the pressure emanating from the bull demon. Their legs felt weak, as if a huge mountain were threatening to crush them.
"co... co..." The little phoenix in the young lady's hand chirped furiously. Without hesitation, it transformed into a streak of orange and cyan flame and merged into the young lady's body.
The young lady's eyes widened as she lost control of her own body. She became a spectator, watching as someone else took control.
Her eyes shifted to a deep purple, and her frightened expression was replaced by a frosty glare. A heavy killing intent rolled off her, pressing down on the bull demon and canceling out the pressure he exerted on the women.
The bull demon's expression changed as he sensed a familiar aura. Without hesitation, he raised his hammer and swung it down at the young lady.
"Hammer," the young lady commanded.
The black ring on Draven's finger transformed into a heavy hammer and appeared in her hand. Simultaneously, the first two heads of the Kalsimha Statue in Draven's mind opened their ruby-red eyes. The young lady's purple eyes turned blood-red, with red lightning flashing within them, and her smooth skin took on a steady, copper-like hue.
With a cold snort, she swung her own hammer, meeting the bull demon's strike mid-air.
A powerful boom echoed as both were pushed back more than ten steps. The three middle-aged women scrambled behind a tree to avoid the shock waves.
"Mooo!" The bull demon let out a deafening roar and charged again.
Clang... Clang...
Ear-splitting explosions of metal on metal filled the air as the two hammers collided with terrifying force. It was a miracle that the young lady's war hammer could withstand the bull demon's colossal weapon without shattering.
"Split," the young lady called out, evading a swing and jumping into the air.
Her huge hammer broke apart and reformed into two slightly smaller, but still massive, identical hammers.
Holding a hammer in each hand, she spun like a hurricane, landing blow after blow on the bull demon's body, making it cry out in pain.
Its horns were broken, and its sharp teeth fell like bloody pearls. It swung its hammer desperately, but the young lady expertly weaved around the attacks, relentlessly striking back.
Finally, with an enraged roar, the bull demon bulged its muscles as earth elemental essence rushed into its body. Its aura climbed to a terrifying height.
"Mooo!" It bellowed, swinging its hammer with overwhelming force. The young lady tried to block, but the impact was so powerful that one of her hammers was torn from her grasp and sent flying into the distance.
She shifted her body just in time to avoid the full force of the blow.
"Sword," she called.
The black ring on Draven's left thumb transformed into a ruby-red sword, appearing in her now-empty left hand. She smoothly avoided the bull demon's next strike, stepping onto the handle of his hammer to launch herself into the air.
Mid-air, she threw the sword at the bull demon's head. It struck with a cling, but failed to pierce the iron-like skull.
Boom.
Using both hands, the young lady gripped her remaining war hammer, arched her back like a bow, and struck the sword's hilt with all her might. The blade was driven straight through the bull demon's head and out the other side, embedding itself halfway into a distant tree.
The bull demon froze. Its hammer fell from its grasp and hit the ground. With a slight breeze, its enormous body toppled over, kicking up a cloud of dust.