Jericho County Sheriff's Office
"Sheriff Galpin, we're still getting calls reporting the explosion near the back road. Should we send another officer?"
"No need, Ritchie. Garcia is already there. I'm more concerned about the car that was attacked." - Galpin -
"Attacked, sir? It wasn't just a traffic accident. The road was covered in fog. It's not unusual for them to have crashed and veered off the road." - Ritchie -
"The boy, the only one unharmed in the accident, said that a large black beast attacked them." - Galpin -
"Surviving an accident where almost your entire family died can be tough. I don't think you should fully trust the words of a child." - Ritchie -
Sheriff Galpin listened calmly to Richie's opinion, but he had already made his decision. He took the key from his pocket and opened the cabinet in his office.
If he wanted to deal with something capable of easily overturning a four-seater car, the revolver at his waist would not be enough. He would need a hunting rifle or a large-calibre shotgun.
"Wait, do you think it's our black bear?" - Ritchie -
"It could be. I'll go take a look around the area." - Galpin -
"I'll go with you, Sheriff. You won't be able to handle it on your own." - Ritchie -
"....All right."
Galpin hesitated, but Ritchie was right. It was at least a bigger beast than a common bear and would be difficult to deal with alone, so he gave in to Ritchie's request and threw him a hunting rifle. He would use the shotgun.
Lake of the Fireflies.
"Arggg!!!"
"Rraawr!!!"
The cries of courage from the beast and the man echoed throughout the area, uttered with excitement and hot blood due to their thrilling combat. Now, both of them were only thinking about destroying their opponent.
(I should end this and help Yukio. The boy is too strong in hand-to-hand combat for her to deal with him alone.)
It was only for a moment, but Cayous was distracted by concern for his companion. The clash of strength between the two remained at a stalemate, both pushing their bodies against each other.
Legs against hands, the difference in size was clearly visible. Although Cayous was very large for a human, he was small compared to the Black Demon.
Cayous' military boots left large gashes in the earth and ash. The Bear was stronger than Cayous, forcing him to retreat little by little.
(What is this bitter taste? Blood!)
In the midst of the heated combat, Cayous felt a deep bitter taste filling his mouth. At first, he thought it was his imagination, but then the second symptom that something was wrong with his body appeared.
"Poison!!!"
The dizziness, blurred vision, and weakness in his limbs—this shouldn't have happened. The bear's claws weren't sharp enough to leave a scratch on Cayous's natural armour.
Through the wound in his eardrums from the bear's bite and the cut in his ribs made by William, the poison in the Black Demon's saliva had entered his system.
And it wasn't a small dose like David's, it was an extremely strong dose. David's wounds were made by the bear's claws, but Cayous's were made by its fangs.
"Rraawr!!!"
Cayous' right leg gave way, losing all strength, but before she fell to the ground, the great black Bear grabbed her right arm with its jaws, sparks flying as it rubbed against the bronze.
"I'm sorry, Yukio... you'll have to deal with the rest on your own."
Those were Cayous' last words, as a golden flash emerged from his left hand, three golden spikes of an unknown metal cutting through the skin of his knuckles to come out.
"Poison!!!"
The dizziness, blurred vision, and weakness in his limbs—this shouldn't have happened. The bear's claws weren't sharp enough to leave a scratch on Cayous's natural armour.
Through the wound in his eardrums from the bear's bite and the cut in his ribs made by William, the poison in the Black Demon's saliva had entered his system.
And it wasn't a small dose like David's, it was an extremely strong dose. David's wounds were made by the bear's claws, but Cayous's were made by its fangs.
"Rraawr!!!"
Cayous' right leg gave way, he lost all strength in it, but before he fell to the ground, the great black Bear grabbed his right arm with its jaws, sparks flying as its fangs rubbed against the bronze.
"I'm sorry, Yukio... you'll have to deal with the rest on your own."
Those were Cayous' last words, as a golden flash emerged from his left hand, three golden spikes of an unknown metal cutting through the skin of his knuckles to come out.
Cayous knew he was already dead; the powerful poison had already affected his internal organs, and it was only a matter of time before he could no longer maintain his bronze armour.
His designated object, the Spikes of Sacrifice of the Order of the Rose, a single-use item surgically embedded under the skin of Cayous's hand, three projectiles with great penetrating and destructive power that demanded payment for their use.
The Black Demon sensed that something was wrong, quickly released Cayous' arm and backed away, but it was too late; activating the device did not take long.
*Buzz!*
The first of Cayous' three shots, a golden spike the size of a pencil, flew through the air in less than a hundredth of a second, almost impossible to dodge, leaving a trail of golden light in its wake and embedding itself in the flesh of the Great Bear's right front leg.
(No big deal).
*BOOM!!*
The Bear's leg exploded into a mess of flesh and blood everywhere, his entire right arm disappeared from its place, and blood smelling like a beast splattered onto Cayous' face.
*Bam!!!"
A second small explosion, this time in Cayous' body, his left eye exploded from within. Most objects with a certain degree of destructive power had an owner and a manufacturer, as well as a user seal. If you did not receive permission from either of them and decided to use them, an adverse effect would be unleashed.
Taking a part of the user's body was the price for using the Spikes of Sacrifice.
(Damn, you chose the worst part to take, it's much harder to aim now!!!)
Cayous' vision turned completely red, and the intense pain from his wounds only made it more difficult to aim at his target two metres away from him. The smoke and red glow of the fire around him did not help his situation at all.
*Buzz!!!*
The second Sacrifice Spike. Cayous did his best and aimed with his hand right between the Bear's eyes.
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. Dodging the golden spike was a miracle, but not impossible. When the golden light cut through the air, the enormous figure of the bear had completely shrunk in size. Where before there had been a small mountain the size of a single-storey house, now there was only a man.
The golden spike continued on its path until it disappeared into the forest.
"Almost..."
*Snort!!!*
"Strong human... but I am... STRONG!!!"
He was a man of average height, neither tall nor too short, completely naked except for a bearskin cloak he held in one hand. The bear's head was intact, as were its four legs. It looked as if it had been removed from the animal in one piece with excellent technique.
His large, defined muscles were covered with scars and open wounds, and his long, messy hair almost completely covered his intense blue eyes.
*Buzz!!!*
Cayous fired the last of his projectiles directly at the sound. His second sacrifice was his other eye. Now that he was completely blind, he could only guide himself by sound.
The only problem was that Cayous' eardrums were also damaged, and the last of the Spikes flew towards William, who stepped on a branch.
(Oops, that looks dangerous.)
William quickly changed form into a Grimm and activated his secondary ability. The golden Spike passed through his body as if it were an illusion.
"Fuck!!!"
Noah, who was hiding several metres away from William, took the hit. His protective energy cloak was near its limit. The Light of the Fallen was a perfect barrier against physical damage, but its resistance to elemental damage was limited.
The explosion generated by William's arrow inscribed with the 18 characters of a Major Rune had formed a small crack in its surface, and faint golden light was visible escaping from between the cracks.
*BOOM!!!*
There was a huge shockwave, and the last of Cayous' Sacrificial Spikes completely shattered Noah's protective barrier.
"I just had to wait for the crack to heal completely... *spitting blood*... just ten minutes was enough!!!"
Noah got up from the ground, trembling, as he changed form for the third time, Nelson Bolt, a high-performance athlete in athletics. Noah needed to get out of there as quickly as possible, his muscular legs and low-fat body would make him faster.
"Rraawr!!!"
The Black Demon could no longer sense the danger from Cayous. The poison had affected his body to such an extent that his bronze armour had reverted to being just a hard layer of skin.
"Aaaaahhh!!!"
The naked man held Cayous's body, who had fallen to his knees. He could barely feel the upper part of his body and could not utter a word; his tongue had burst inside his mouth when he fired his last spike.
"I... Eat... Man... Strong... Strength be mine!!!"
The naked man placed the bear's skin on his back, his human form merged with the skin and his size increased. That enormous black bear that had devoured five people while they were still alive now stood before a defenceless Cayous.
"Blaaaarghhh!!!"
The only thing that came out of Cayous' blood-covered mouth was something like an incomprehensible cry of bravery, expressing that he was not afraid of death.
*CRACK!!!!*
The Black Demon enjoyed the act, tearing off Cayous's head with his teeth while pressing down on his body with his only front leg. Cayous's spine came out of his back attached to his skull.
*Crack*
He crushed the skull in his mouth, seemingly unconcerned by the cuts and scratches caused by the sharp, pointed parts of the bone against his gums, palate, and tongue.
This human was the strongest he had ever faced and consumed in his entire life, his body covered in cuts, bullet wounds, bruises, and fractures were his medal of honour.