Bahamut's vision, such as it was, flickered with an internal glow, his system's interface blooming unbidden in the darkness behind his blindfold. It was like a heads-up display etched into his mind, crisp and insistent, pulling data from the ether of this wild world.
[System Alert!]
[Hostile Entities Detected!]
[Entity 1: Metal Tailedsaurus
- Tier: 1 Circle of Spirit
- Core Traits: Armored Hide (Impervious to minor strikes), Metallic Tail (High-impact swat and bash capability)
- Weaknesses: Joints vulnerable to precision attacks; Slow recovery from overextension
- Threat Level: High - Brute force specialist
Entity 2: Radiant King
- Tier: 1 Circle of Spirit
- Core Traits: Light Feet (Enhanced agility and silent movement), Light Reflection (Blinding flashes at will)
- Weaknesses: Overreliance on speed; Fur susceptible to deep lacerations
Threat Level: High - Precision predator]
The words faded as quickly as they'd appeared, leaving Bahamut with that familiar rush of adrenaline. Tier 1: Circle of Spirit? They were a step above him in raw power, their essences attuned deeper. But tiers were just numbers. He'd bridged worse gaps with sheer, bloody-minded grit.
"Alright," he murmured, voice gravelly from the blood still coating his throat. "Let's even the odds."
He flexed his will, channeling the stolen essences he'd claimed...
[Beast Trait Manifestation: Activated!]
A surge rippled through him, hot and primal. His bare feet twisted, bones cracking and reforming in a symphony of agony that he swallowed down like bitter medicine. Dark fur sprouted, thick and wiry, wrapping around elongated wolf paws that ended in razor-sharp claws, digging into the earth for traction. His hands followed suit, fingers lengthening into crimson fox claws, sleek and deadly, their tips gleaming like fresh-spilled blood.
The transformation complete, Bahamut crouched low, the wolf legs coiling with explosive power. His blind eyes, hidden behind the soaked blindfold, began to shift, the sockets warming as his Brutality concept stirred awake. A crimson aura bled out from his skin, hazy and violent, like heat waves off a forge. His irises, if anyone could see them, turned a deep, glowing red, pulsing with the promise of carnage.
The beasts had noticed him yet ignored him, too locked in their primal duel under the harsh midday sun. The Metal Tailedsaurus swung its tail in a wide arc, the metallic hiss cutting through the air like a scythe. The Radiant King dodged with effortless grace, its light feet barely disturbing the dust as it reflected a burst of sunlight straight into the dinosaur's eyes... blinding it momentarily.
That was Bahamut's cue.
He exploded forward on those wolf legs, a blur of motion that ate up the distance in heartbeats. The crimson aura trailed him like a comet's tail, amplifying his presence into something monstrous. He targeted the dinosaur first, the bigger brute, leaping high and slamming his fox claws into its armored flank. The scales screeched under the assault, but his Brutality-fueled strength dug in deep, carving through the metal-hard hide like a hot knife through flesh. Blood; thick, oily, and metallic, spurted from the gashes, splattering across Bahamut's chest.
The Tailedsaurus roared in fury, twisting its massive body to swat at him with that deadly tail. But Bahamut was already moving, wolf legs propelling him under the swing. He raked his claws across the beast's underbelly as he passed, tearing open a ragged wound that exposed glistening organs. Guts looped out in a wet slap against the ground, steaming in the daylight.
"Not so tough now, huh?" Bahamut growled, his voice laced with that savage grin.
The Radiant King, sensing the new threat, pivoted with predatory speed. It unleashed a flash of reflected light, a blinding beam aimed straight at Bahamut's face. But the blindfold, and his lack of sigh, turned the attack harmless, the glare bouncing off uselessly. Bahamut laughed, a hoarse, feral sound, and countered by lunging at the lion. His fox claws hooked into its silky mane, yanking hard as he pulled himself onto its back.
The lion bucked wildly, light feet dancing in a frantic evasion, but Bahamut held on, crimson aura flaring brighter. He sank his teeth, human but sharpened by his Brutality, into the beast's shoulder, tearing out a chunk of fur and muscle in a spray of hot blood. The taste was coppery and wild, fueling him further. The Radiant King snarled, rolling to crush him, but Bahamut flipped away, wolf legs absorbing the impact as he landed.
Now both beasts turned on him, the duel forgotten in the face of this interloper. The Tailedsaurus charged, earth shaking under its pillar-like legs, tail whipping forward in a bone-crushing bash. Bahamut sidestepped, but the edge clipped his side, cracking ribs with a sickening pop. Pain lanced through him, but his regeneration hummed louder, knitting bone even as blood welled up.
He retaliated by grabbing a loose scale from the dinosaur's earlier wound, ripping it free with a wet tear, and hurling it like a discus at the Radiant King. The jagged metal embedded in the lion's eye, popping the orb in a gush of vitreous fluid and blood. The beast howled, half-blinded, its light reflection flickering erratically.
The Tailedsaurus pressed the attack, tail slamming down like a hammer. Bahamut caught it mid-swing, fox claws digging into the metallic scales, muscles straining against the impossible weight. His crimson aura surged, Brutality manifesting as raw, overwhelming force. With a guttural yell, he twisted, using the beast's momentum against it, and flipped the tail back into its own body. The impact caved in a section of armored spine, scales buckling inward with a crunch of bone and metal. Blood poured from the self-inflicted wound, pooling in the dirt.
The Radiant King, undeterred, pounced from the side, jaws clamping onto Bahamut's wolf leg. Teeth sank deep, grinding against bone, blood flooding the fur. Bahamut roared in pain, but he didn't pull away; instead, he drove his free claws into the lion's throat, ripping sideways. Arteries severed in a fountain of crimson, soaking them both. The lion gagged, releasing its grip, but Bahamut wasn't done. He tore out a strip of its mane, silky and blood-matted, and wrapped it around the dinosaur's eyes as it lumbered closer, blinding the brute temporarily.
The beasts were faltering now, their Circle of Spirit advantages crumbling under his relentless assault. The Tailedsaurus swung wildly, tail bashing into the ground and sending rocks flying. One clipped Bahamut's temple, reopening his gash, but he pressed on, wolf legs carrying him in for the kill. He vaulted onto the dinosaur's back, claws punching through the weakened armor, and drove his hand deep into the spine wound. Fingers closed around something vital, a nerve cluster or organ, and he yanked, pulling out a bloody mess of tissue that left the beast convulsing.
The Radiant King, choking on its own blood, made one last desperate lunge. Bahamut met it head-on, crimson aura exploding in a haze of violence. He grabbed its jaws, forcing them apart with brute strength, and snapped the lower one clean off in a spray of bone shards and gore. The lion collapsed, twitching, its light feet finally still.
The Tailedsaurus followed suit, toppling with an earth-shaking thud, its metallic tail twitching once before going limp.
Bahamut stood amid the carnage, panting, body a roadmap of bruises, bites, and blood, his own and theirs. Regeneration worked overtime, closing wounds, but the ache lingered like a badge of honor. His red eyes faded back to normal, aura dissipating, as he wiped blood from his lips.
"Interesting enough," he muttered, that grin returning. The sun beat down on the battlefield, turning the bloodstains glossy. Whatever had drawn these beasts here, he'd claimed their turf, and maybe their essences next.