The air was thick with tension, as if the forest itself held its breath.
Kaiser's wings beat once—slow, controlled, regal—before folding at his sides as he landed on the cracked battlefield of scorched earth and broken stone. Before him, the Black Caiman King or now the Silver Caiman King loomed like a forgotten ancient beast, its monstrous, scaled body glinting in the sun like a forged blade. Every movement of its massive limbs rippled with silent promise.
They circled one another, predator against predator, mana coiling like smoke beneath their skin.
Kaiser's blue eyes gleamed, glowing faintly in the shadows of his obsidian feathers. "Let's see if you bleed."
He first used his skill [Analyze]
[Spieces: Ancient Black Caiman King]
[Rank: E]
[Name: n/a]
[Age: 20]
[Description:- A mutated version of Black Caiman King that gained access to its ancient bloodline.]
[Skills: Fortification (E-), Earthwall (F+), Earthspikes (E-), Water spear (E), Mudball (E+), Self healing (E-)]
It was quite a powerful beast, it was more powerful than him in rank alone. It was more powerful by a minor realm.
It had close range, and mid range skills. it was quite versatile.
If he usually wanted to hunt it, he would just kite it from a long distance, but that is not want he wants.
He wanted to test his strength and how much he imporved, his steel body gave him the confidence to face creatures higher levelled than him.
So he would closer to test how much stronger he is. He could also retreat when he felt his life was in peril.
Then he moved.
A flick of his mental will—Telekinesis—and a boulder behind the Caiman launched forward with blistering speed, aiming straight for its skull.
With a grunt, the Caiman slammed one clawed foreleg into the dirt—Earthwall. A thick wall of jagged stone erupted upward, the boulder shattering into fragments against it.
Kaiser was already in motion, wings flaring, claws igniting with a silver sheen as he activated Metal Infusion—molten steel flowing down his talons, his beak hardening into glinting steel.
He closed the distance in a blink, claws slashing out. The Caiman met him head-on, its own body encased in earthen armor—Fortification. Stone and silver clashed with screeching violence as claws raked across armor, sparks flying.
They both hissed in pain—Kaiser's blow had chipped one of the Caiman's armored plates, while the counterstrike cracked a scale on his shoulder. Minor, but felt.
With a thunderous bellow, the Caiman King struck its tail against the ground—Earthspikes.
Dozens of jagged pillars burst upward beneath Kaiser.
He lifted himself just in time, wings exploding outward with a furious beat, but one spike caught the edge of his hind leg, slicing into flesh.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
He gritted his beak and rose higher—five meters, ten—circling overhead like a blade waiting to fall.
"I'll give you credit, lizard," he growled. "But I'll take your bones home."
He focused, and silver ore in the distant cliffside screamed to his call—Metal Shaping. Liquid metal writhed through the air like serpents, spiraling toward him. He gathered it, shaped it into whirling razors that floated around him like a deadly halo.
He dove.
The Caiman responded—Mudball.
A massive glob of wet, suffocating muck the size of a boulder shot through the air. Kaiser twisted mid-flight, wings snapping and folding, the mudball skimming his feathers.
Another.
Then three smaller ones.
He was forced to veer off, momentum stolen—but not before he released the metallic razors. They shrieked downward, embedding themselves into the Caiman's shoulders and flanks.
The beast roared, blood—thick and blackish-blue—pouring down its sides.
It countered with a guttural snarl and raised its claws—Water Spear.
Two long, needle-sharp lances of compressed water formed in the air. With a flick of its head, the Caiman hurled them upward.
Kaiser spiraled into a barrel roll, but one spear caught him mid-wing, slicing through the flesh with a burst of pain and wet feathers. He screeched, wings faltering, but didn't crash.
Instead, he turned the pain into rage.
Mana surged.
He activated Steel Body.
A dull, dark glow encased him. His wounds slowed their bleeding, his hide hardening like tempered metal. He dove once more, slower but heavier, a living meteor wreathed in silver.
He crashed into the Caiman with a sound like metal on stone, talons raking through its earthen armor, shredding chunks of stone and flesh alike.
The beast bucked and twisted, snapping at him with powerful jaws. Kaiser dodged narrowly—one fang grazed his steel-coated wing, but the armor held.
With a grunt, he used Telekinesis again, yanking one of his embedded metal razors still buried in the beast's side. It tore free with a squelch of ruptured muscle and a spurt of hot blood. The Caiman howled, faltering, its left foreleg trembling beneath it.
It was slowing.
It seems the injuries werent closing as fast as he thought they would, even though it had self heal.
The Silver Caiman King had to expend mana to heal its wounds, but where could it find such mana, when it was dealing with such a troublesome foe.
The King hated this creature.
This King thought he was invincible after his evolution, but he was wrong.
The Silver Caiman King did not know that Kaiser was the eagle that led the humans to him, if he did he would probably rage more.
The Silver Caiman King started hesitating, it did not know if it could win this fight especially when the enemy could fly and get away, was it even worth it ?.
It coudnt even get a mana core from the enemy if the griffin ran away.
Kaiser saw the hesitation.
The wall of invincibility cracking.
He flapped backward, putting distance between them, blood dripping from his wing and leg, chest heaving.
The Caiman limped, its silver scales dulled with dirt and gore, deep gashes oozing dark blood.
But it wasn't done yet.
And neither was he.
They stared at each other—two titans, battered but burning.
A storm of blood and metal between them.