The culture of the Kingdom of Red Mine was based on one law.
The strong rules.
Since they were vessels of war, constantly seeking bloodshed and carnage, they tend to respect and obey power.
Just like how Northern proved himself battle after battle to be the champion, any other monster could and they would accept it as the champion with no questions asked.
Northern of course already assumed this was what would happen.
He just never expected that it would be… Mr Fluffy.
How long had they been gone for the little cute monster to have changed so much. It was now large, standing almost as tall as Raith.
Its eyes were hollow, and gleamed with a madness, in it no other intent existed but to wreak havoc and tear flesh apart.
Northern could see that no matter what he did Mr Fluffy was not going to recognize him.
So, he stepped forward, giving Night Terror a glance before saying:
“Don’t even think about fighting him. Mr Fluffy is mine to deal with. I’ll knock some sense into him myself”
Allowing Night Terror to take care of the beast would be a huge mistake, this vicious monster knew no respite.
Night Terror with his face and dark hide smeared with blood, shrugged and turned away. Chasing after other prey.
Soon, he disappeared from the front yard and hardly made his way to the backyard.
Northern and his pet monster stood opposite each other, the atmosphere wafting with silent tension as both prepared each other for the inevitable.
Mr Fluffy crawled forward, its snarling jaws dripping with saliva as it fixed its blue eyes on Northern.
It paused after closing the distance by some steps and with a low growl, crouched low to the ground, ready to pounce.
Northern tensed, his grip tightening on the hilt of his obsidian sword. He could feel the primal energy radiating from the beast, a fierce determination burning in its gaze.
A smile curled on his face.
“You have grown Fluffy, I don’t even know if I can call you Fluffy again. Fluffy you have been a bad boy and daddy’s gonna teach you some manners”
Northern’s eyes glinted menacingly.
Sensing the bloodthirstiness that emanated from its opponent, the monstrous wolf lunged forward, its massive form hurtling towards Northern with swift velocity. freёwebnoѵel.com
With a swift sidestep, Northern evaded the attack, narrowly avoiding the sharp claws that slashed through the air.
As the wolf skidded to a halt, it spun around, its jaws snapping hungrily as it sought to sink its teeth into Northern’s flesh.
“That’s good, keep that look in your face. I’ll smack it right out” Northern commented, his eyes radiating with glee.
With a deft motion, he parried the wolf’s attack, the clash of metal against fang ringing out through the night.
Both of them exchanged several ringing clash that sent Northern’s hand reeling backward from the recoil.
‘Fuck, it definitely had gotten stronger!’
In such a short time, Mr Fluffy had grown exponentially also. Perhaps this was from eating several monster core and growing accustomed to the atmosphere of war.
‘It must have been so lonely after I left.’
Northern felt pity for the beast. Perhaps, it too was suffering, trapped in some darkness and this was his fault.
Not that he forgot about Mr Fluffy when they were about to leave. He just couldn’t spare the time to care.
“I’m sorry, I will relieve you from your sufferings”
He said… with a grin on his face then shot forward clashing powerfully with the beast.
Northern’s plan was simple, to inflict so much pain in Mr Fluffy that he’d come right out of that darkness that clogged his mind.
The thought of it made him grin so evilly. Perhaps because he doubted not the fact that he could handle Mr Fluffy with ease despite the monster growing so powerful.
It was not a bluff. It was an accurate and precise calculation brought about by his eyes.
Northern even now was not giving his all in the fight. He was playing with the beast to see what it was capable of.
That however, did not mean he didn’t get to feel the tearing pain inflicted on him as he made mistakes and let some of Mr Fluffy’s attacks swing past his defenses, leaving shallow cuts over him.
He continued to run around the monster, making it swing its quickest attack, gnarl and shoot at him at its fastest pace.
But surprisingly, everything was within Northern’s prediction.
‘Is it because it’s a monster… it’s so simple’
As the two continued to clash with each other, Northern became more frightening. His growth in barely five minutes that they started was awestrucking.
No attacks slipped, he was now parrying Mr Fluffy’s attacks with one hand behind his back. His legs showed no hasty step and on his face was etched a cold villainous smile.
With a deafening block, Northern and Mr Fluffy flew away from each other while Northern rolled through the air and landed magnificently on his feet.
The beast tumbled and managed to use the momentum to stand, albeit magnificently… too.
Northern looked at the obsidian steel and shifted his gaze to Mr Fluffy. With a cold smile, he said:
“Time to end this”
Suddenly a mask of grim darkness contorted his face such that the beast instinctively jumped backward.
Mr Fluffy let out a ferocious war, as if it was trying to rid itself of the fear emanated from this human.
Then it lunged again. its movements fluid and unpredictable, Northern just stood motionlessly as the monster approached him.
With a swift counter strike, he aimed for the beast’s flank, his blade slicing through fur and flesh with deadly precision.
The wolf howled in pain, its blood staining the ground as it staggered back, wounded but not defeated.
With a fierce snarl, the monster launched another assault, its fury undiminished by the pain of its wound.
Northern braced himself, his blade at the ready as the beast closed the distance in a blur of motion.
The wolf’s jaws snapped open, jagged fangs glistening with saliva as it aimed for Northern’s throat.
And in a split second, Northern pivoted, his obsidian blade deflecting the attack with a resounding clang.
The force of the impact sent tremors through his arms, but he remained steadfast, his feet firmly planted on the ground.
Without missing a beat, Northern countered, his blade slicing through the air in a graceful arc.
The wolf twisted its body, narrowly evading the strike, but not before Northern’s blade carved a deep gash along its flank, drawing forth a fresh gout of crimson.
The beast howled in pain and rage, its eyes burning with an unholy fury. It regrouped, circling Northern warily, its muscles coiled like taut springs, ready to strike at the slightest opportunity.
Northern sighed helplessly.
‘Seriously, that much is not enough to bring you back to your senses…?’
He didn’t know how much more he’d be able to control himself from not killing the monster.
It was not like he had mastered the art of battle somewhere—if there’s anything this battle has been teaching him…
It’s the fact that for someone like him who had learnt to fight through a kill or be killed situation, killing was almost as easy as breathing.
He knew where to aim to permanently end the fight and that was cultivated both from his clones and all those times he spent succumbing to the madness of war.
If he wanted to not kill, he just had to not strike those places he usually aims for. But it was like trying to stop a reflex action.
It was possible but only after several failed trials.
And he didn’t want Mr Fluffy to be one of those failed trials. If he’s not careful… he really might kill this beast.