The fog thickened, curling around jagged rocks and twisted trees like ghostly fingers clawing at the hunters. The sound of the battlefield was deafening—Mistwing Drake's piercing screeches tore through the mist, its wings beating violently as it dove in erratic arcs, while Obsidian Fang's guttural roars reverberated like thunder, each stomp fracturing the cliffside beneath them. The ridge shook with every impact, and the hunters felt for the first time the overwhelming presence of not one, but two apex predators fighting in unison.
Hunnt's gauntlets, reforged with Ravagerak's hardened scales, gleamed faintly in the shifting light. Every punch he threw landed with bone-jarring power, reinforced with Armament Haki, each strike ringing out like a hammer on steel. Yet even so, Mistwing Drake's slippery agility denied him clean hits—claws deflected, wings twisted mid-air, and the beast slipped through gaps like smoke.
Corwin was locked in a test of endurance with Obsidian Fang. His hammer, heavy and strengthened with Ravagerak's core fragments, struck again and again against the brute's obsidian hide. Cracks spiderwebbed across its knee and shoulder joints, but each strike sent shockwaves up his arms despite his Armament reinforcement. Sweat poured down his face as he gritted his teeth, his breath controlled but heavy. "This thing's armor… it's like striking a mountain that fights back."
Pyro zipped between them all, his SnS flashing in bursts of silver light. His small frame became a blur, Observation Haki sharpening every twist and leap. He anticipated Fang's tail swings before they landed, ducking and rolling under sweeps that could have flattened him. He read Mistwing's aerial dives before they began, dodging in impossible bursts of Kami-e before slashing at tendons or wing joints. "Nyaahaha! Too slow! Catch me if you can, nyaah!" he taunted, even as his chest heaved from the exertion.
Elara held her higher ground, bow in hand, eyes calm despite the chaos. Observation Haki pulsed within her senses, allowing her to track Mistwing's erratic arcs through the fog. She loosed volley after volley of arrows, some tipped with monster materials to pierce deeper. Each shot clipped feathers and joints, shaving away the drake's speed. Her legs ached under the weight of training gear, yet her form never wavered—every shot deliberate, calculated. Soru repositioned her between boulders and ridges, keeping her just beyond the monsters' reach.
The battlefield was chaos incarnate. Where Ravagerak had been a singular, brutal challenge, this was something far deadlier. Two apex predators, one swift as lightning, the other unyielding as stone. Together, they created a storm of speed and power.
Hunnt ducked under Fang's sweeping tail, sparks flying as the gauntlet on his forearm scraped against the spiked scales. He pivoted, fists glowing faintly with haki, and slammed into the wyvern's flank. The blow shattered a boulder beside it, leaving a shallow dent in the beast's armor. "Corwin! Target the joints! Elara, pin their movements!"
Corwin roared in answer, Armament Haki coursing down his hammer. He swung with every ounce of force, slamming into Fang's left knee. The strike echoed like thunder, scales cracking under the impact. Fang staggered, bellowing with rage, its glowing eyes flaring hotter. The brute's roar shook stones loose from the cliff, the delayed tail sweep following immediately after.
Mistwing reacted to its companion's pain, screeching and folding its wings inward as it dove like a spear straight at Hunnt. Its claws raked downward, cutting through the mist with terrifying speed. Hunnt blinked out of sight with Soru, the drake's talons carving a trench where he had stood a heartbeat earlier. The shockwave clipped his shoulder, scraping skin through his armor. He hissed through his teeth, blood running down his arm.
"Master, stay sharp!" Pyro yowled, darting past Hunnt to intercept. He slashed at Mistwing's wing base, a shallow strike but enough to make it jerk away from Hunnt and turn its fury toward the Felyne. "Nyaah, too slow, feather-face!"
The predators were learning. Mistwing began diving in unpredictable arcs, swerving at the last second, its tail lashing mid-dive to throw off timing. Obsidian Fang adjusted its stance, using the terrain to protect its weakened joints, positioning itself so its tail sweeps cut off escape routes. Every move demanded instant adaptation.
Hunnt forced himself to slow his breathing, his Observation Haki sharpening. He closed his eyes for half a second, feeling the battlefield rather than just seeing it. Mistwing's next dive—he felt it before the wings even shifted. He moved, Soru carrying him upward onto a jutting boulder. His gauntlet smashed down mid-air, meeting Mistwing's wing joint with a direct counter. The drake shrieked, wings faltering as pain lanced through its frame.
"Elara—now!"
Her arrow whistled through the mist, glowing faintly from the friction of her draw. It struck Mistwing's chest, embedding deep between scales. The drake screeched, flapping higher into the fog, its speed waning.
Below, Corwin seized the opening against Fang. "Move!" he barked, hammer glowing with Armament as he slammed into the already cracked joint. The brute wyvern roared in agony, one leg buckling, its weight nearly sending it tumbling over the cliff's edge.
Despite their fury, the monsters were finally beginning to show strain. Mistwing's wings faltered in speed; Obsidian Fang's movements slowed, its tail sweeps wider and less precise.
Hunnt wiped blood from his lip, chest heaving. His fists trembled not from fear but from exertion. The black sheen of Armament flickered faintly over his knuckles as he clenched them tighter. "We're pushing them back… just a little further!"
Pyro bounded beside him, panting but grinning. "Nyahaha… see, Master! Even apex monsters can't outlast us!"
Elara loosed another arrow, her voice sharp with determination. "Keep pressing—we're turning the tide!"
Corwin raised his hammer, face stern but eyes blazing. "Together. We hold the line."
Above the foggy cliffs, wings beat frantically and claws scraped stone. The battlefield was still chaos, but now, for the first time, the hunters weren't merely surviving—they were matching the predators' strength and strategy step for step. Their Haki, their new gear, and their unyielding will forged a rhythm the monsters had no choice but to respond to.
The fight was far from finished, but the hunters had proven one thing beyond doubt. They could stand against two apex predators at once—and endure.
The fog swirled thicker, the ridge trembling under the weight of battle. Victory wasn't certain, but neither was defeat. The hunters pressed forward, fists, arrows, hammers, and blades glinting through the mist, ready to carve their path forward.