BANG!

With the impact of the massive muscular arm, Nochtar's body lost contact with the ground as if struck by a sledgehammer.

He lifted and sailed out of the dust cloud, a dark shape against the paler haze, and he too flew until he crashed into another nearby mound of earth, the slope collapsing under his weight and sending a small slide of grit down around him.

"The attack was successful, but..." Malrik murmured, breathing deeply and almost out of breath.

His giant arm quickly began to return to its original state, muscle receding and hair smoothing away as the sleeve hung in torn strips.

It was a Rank 3 skill that allowed him to transform one of his body parts into that of a Spark known as Jacked Gorilla, a grafted strength that traded finesse for raw force and reach.

It was also the Spark Liora used for her 3rd evolution, one of the components for her final Giant Ape form, a stepping stone that hinted at the towering frame she would one day fully embody.

But there was a side effect to using this Spark; besides the high energy consumption, it made the body too tired, burning stamina as fuel.

Using it for only 3 seconds at a time was Malrik's limit, and even after using it for 1 second, it left him out of breath, lungs working like bellows, and muscles ringing with lactic fire.

The worst part was that, through the dust cloud, he could see Nochtar wasn't dead. He was injured, but he was quickly recovering and getting back on his feet, one knee braced as he pushed upright and reset his stance with a killer's calm.

Malrik knew there was no time. Without waiting for his breath to steady, he dashed out of the rapidly dispersing dust cloud toward Vesha and the others, forcing his legs to move despite the muddy ground still sucking at and hurting his feet.

But as he forced his steps forward, a voice was heard at his back, like a breath at his nape, close enough to prickle the skin.

"Turning your back to your enemy in the middle of a fight." The Umbraen clicked his tongue behind him, as if disappointed, the sound small and sharp in the thinning dust.

Then he punched the exposed back with a pitch-black fist, its knuckles caked in black mud, knocking Malrik off his feet and hurling him away in a ragged arc.

After tumbling a few meters, Malrik's body dropped to the ground with a thud, skidding several more meters over the dry earth while grit scraped his palms and breath escaped from his lungs.

"Cough... Cough..." After his body finally lost its movement and came to a stop, he opened his mouth and began to cough. A strange black mud poured from his mouth onto the ground in a thick ribbon, smoking slightly where it met the dust.

"How is the feeling? Hurts so bad, right?" The Umbraen came out of the dust in slow steps, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the coughing body.

A wide swath of Malrik's back had turned completely black and bubbling, as if it were boiling mud-just like the ground a while ago that had hindered his steps.

It did not stop at the surface. The corruption was infusing into his insides, and his organs had begun to turn to mud as well. The only reason he could endure the destructive effect at all was his high [Physique].

"H-Hurt?" Malrik tried to smother the pain with sheer willpower. He started to push his body upright, only to collapse again, coughing up another mouthful of mud that spilled to the ground.

"Look at him trying to look tough." This time, another dark figure called out from a distance, approaching slowly with a long spear in his hand.

Then the third figure came into view and joined them, a twisted smile sitting on his sickly pale face.

The first of the 3-the one Malrik had struck with the heat punch-was also perfectly fine and looked completely undamaged.

"I hate the Nether Path Practitioners." Disgust rose in Malrik as he coughed again, another splash of mud striking the ground.

"Hahahaha, this is so fun." Nochtar laughed heartily and twirled the spear in his hand as if toying with it. "Let me end him. This is an old score between us, you understand?"

Seeing how eager he was to take the kill, the other two kept silent and decided to watch, ready to enjoy the show.

Malrik, seeing his death approach, rose onto his knees. He wiped the black mud from his mouth with the back of his hand, lifted his head, and spoke with a calm smile. "Even for a loser like you, there's a moment in a century-long life when you get to feel superior, right?"

He knew he was going to die, but he did not want to leave before dealing

damage to his enemy, even if only emotionally.

The damage seemed to land. Nochtar's face twitched with anger. He raised his spear for the final thrust. "You spoke too much. Now die."

He drove the spear forward, aiming straight for Malrik's head.

But before the sharp iron tip could pierce his skull, something big and heavy dropped from the sky onto Nochtar.

BOOOM!

With the impact, Malrik first felt wet, bloody body parts strike his face and chest. Then his body was hurled backward, rolling through sand and soil. The force dragged him for meters, his already broken body skidding until he barely managed to stop. When he finally came to a complete halt and braced his weight, he snapped his head up and looked toward the impact site.

"What?" He triggered his Spark to pierce the rising dust and saw a broad crater where Nochtar had been moments earlier. Around the rim lay blood and mangled, crushed body parts.

Not long after, he saw a giant figure slowly climbing out of the crater he had created with his massive body.

"Who?" Malrik murmured, shocked and absentminded, staring at the figure.

The newcomer was so large that he stood nearly 3 meters tall, which for a Velari could be considered a giant.

His body was bulky like a bear, thick with muscle across his entire frame, the mass obvious even beneath the dark, matte-black full-body suit he wore.

His skin was bronze with a metallic sheen, and on his large head, he wore a great pitch-black mane like a lion's.

The fall apparently didn't spare him either, as bloody patches could be seen on his suit beneath the torn fabric, but, interestingly, his wounds were healing quickly, and even the suit he was wearing looked as if it were regenerating.

He was a Practitioner for sure, but one Malrik had never seen before, and he could not tell which race the man belonged to.

Then the man set his deep black eyes on him and spoke, giving a hint as to who

or what he was.

"I'm looking for 2 girls who should be around here. Do you happen to have seen

them?"

For some reason, the giant spoke with a tone that clashed with his appearance, oddly polite and respectful, which put Malrik at odds with himself.

***

A/N: Yo me again. The bonus chapter will be published in a few minutes. (We are almost at the top 10 golden ranking.