Just as the officers on the warship prepared to intervene, Loya stopped his attack. It wasn't because his magic power was exhausted, but because he sensed a sudden, overwhelming threat.
Whoosh!
Putting force into his feet, Loya slid across the ice, darting away from his original position.
BOOM!
Sure enough, the exact spot he had been standing in was pulverized by a blood-drenched fist, shattering the ice and leaving a web of cracks in the ground.
Having missed, the Silverback Great Ape roared from the smoke, its fist stripped of skin and revealing white bone. It lunged at Loya again, absolutely feral.
In that brief mont, Loya took stock of the damage. The ape's once-majestic silver fur was shredded; its skin, frozen and shattered like brittle glass, revealed raw, pink muscle beneath. Its chest was a jagged crater where chunks of flesh had been torn away. One of its eyes was gone, leaving a hollow, bleeding socket. Through the ice crusting its chest, Loya could even see the beast's internal organs twitching.
It had taken a fatal hit, yet it was still fighting with the fury of the damned.
Loya didn't want to engage this desperate beast head-on like he had with Aldo. He encased his body in ice armor, dove, and rolled, barely evading the ape's life-or-death strike. The fist slamd into the earth, the resulting shockwave leaving a fresh gash on Loya's cheek.
So fast! So strong!
Loya didn't have ti to think. The ape's speed and power exceeded his calculations; any hesitation would be fatal. In terms of brute strength, the ape outweighed Loya (even with his Dragon Body at 20%) by tenfold. Its movent speed, reminiscent of the Navy's Soru, was despair-inducing.
Loya landed, ready to fire a spell, but the sense of danger spiked again. His dragon instincts scread, and he abandoned the attack, spraying four pillars of ice from his hands and feet to launch himself upward.
Not even a second later, the pillars were shattered by a massive, hairy leg. The ape had anticipated his move and swept its leg through the air.
Loya aborted his stance mid-air, using the montum to drift higher. He puffed out his cheeks, a dark blue magic circle appearing before him. But the ape was already moving, crashing through trees in its pursuit. It leaped, a fist fueled by raw instinct and burning hatred aid straight at Loya.
Swift, brutal, and agile. This was why the Silverback Great Ape stood at the peak of the island's food chain. Its movents were so seamless and fast that Loya felt like he was facing Kuzan.
He knew his "Ice Dragon's Roar" could repel it, but the ape's fist would crush him long before the technique finished charging.
On the warship, Zephyr and Kuzan watched in silence. Loya was backed into a corner; he couldn't fire his heavy artillery in ti.
Zephyr's hands tightened into white-knuckled fists. He wanted to order a rescue, but his position as Chief Instructor forbade it. Kuzan, anwhile, remained calm. "Saa, my student, show the new trick you've been practicing this month!"
"Can't dodge it!" Loya concluded in a split second.
"But so what?!"
As the killing blow descended, a smirk played on Loya's lips. "I'm not the sa person I was a month ago—the guy who got knocked out in one punch!"
Dense, blue magic patterns appeared all over his body, thicker and more complex than ever before, wrapping him like a chrysalis.
POW!
The sound of at colliding with at echoed through the valley. The ape tore through the ice armor like paper, slamming into Loya's body. Loya felt like he'd been hit by a high-speed train, flying backward and leaving a trail of shattered ice suspended in the air.
RUMBLE!
A second later, the air exploded, a shockwave blasting outward and clearing the battlefield of ice shards.
The Silverback Great Ape landed, swaying, its bloodied hand pressed against its knee as it wheezed. It didn't dare pound its chest in victory; its chest wound was too severe. It only remained alive because of the ice freezing its organs. It assud the "little runt" was dead—he had to be.
"Loya!" Zephyr's eyes turned bloodshot. He whipped his head toward Kuzan, his lethal aura locking onto the Admiral. "This is what you ant by 'don't be nervous'?!"
"Ara ara, you're still so full of energy, Teacher." Kuzan shrugged, unbothered by Zephyr's killing intent. He knew Loya wasn't dead. "Don't worry, I tested it—this level of attack can't kill that kid."
And indeed, Loya wasn't dead. The ape had only broken Loya's second layer of armor.
As the heat of battle faded, the ape began to lose consciousness. It knew that once the ice lted, the bleeding would finish the job. But just as it prepared for the end, a roar descended from the sky:
"Ice Dragon's... Iron Fist!"
DONG!
The ape didn't even have ti to react. A blow to the head sent it flying, crushing trees and rocks like a giant eraser on a drawing.
It shook its dazed head and scrambled up, excited. It sensed the little runt's aura again. He was alive! It let out a defiant roar and charged.
Loya looked different now. His smooth human skin was replaced by perfectly arranged blue dragon scales. Pale bone spurs protruded from his elbows and knees. His fingernails were sharp, claw-like blades. A pair of leathery, bat-like wings sprouted from his back, fanning the air. His eyes were glowing, vertical golden slits.
"Co on! Let's see who drops first!"
BOOM!
Two fists—one massive, one small—collided with a sound like thunder. The ape retreated a step, shocked. The aura was different, but it was definitely the sa runt. What had happened in those few seconds to make him stronger than itself?
Before it could think, Loya vanished.
ROAR!
The ape lashed out with a backhand, catching Loya's claw.
"You can still sense my movents?" Loya grinned, his fighting spirit surging. "Then let's see who falls first!"
The battlefield turned into a blur of claws and fists. Loya tore a chunk of flesh from the ape's arm, only to take a punch that sent him spitting blood across the forest floor. He didn't even blink, springing back into the fray.
Impacts, tearing flesh, the sizzle of blood on ice. It was primal, brutal, unadulterated slaughter.
In the surveillance room, Zephyr stared blankly at the blue-scaled figure and the blood-stained silver beast.
"Is that... Loya?" he asked, stunned.
"Yes, Teacher. Did you forget? Loya is an Ice Dragon Fruit user. Once developed, his hand-to-hand combat skills are second to none."
"I'm not asking about that!" Zephyr growled. "I'm asking why he's fighting so... savagely instead of using his ice powers."
Kuzan shrugged. "I told you, his control isn't there yet. Once he enters this form, he loses his ability to use long-range attacks."
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