Viers’ soul Arte didn’t actually deal much damage to the Rank 4 slug. He was too weak to deal real damage to it. One couldn’t torch a forest to the ground in minutes with a single match. Viers suspected the slug felt the ire of someone who got woken up by a long needle prick on their foot. Not fatal but certainly painful and unpleasant.

Gregory was in the closest village below the mountain, evacuating the villagers when he heard a roar and the mountain quake.

He truly attacked? So daring and decisive. Reckless for sure but he truly knows how to struggle… Dangerous traits for an adversary, Gregory thought.

“What is happening?”

“By the gods, the Acid Slug has awoken!”

“Run! Run for your lives!”

The villagers broke into a panic.

“Humph!”

True to his Level 5 capabilities, he evacuated around 50 people of this village in a flash. The old man then flew to another one of the villages scattered in the area.

If only I had a little more time… Gregory sourly thought.

On top of the mountain, the gigantic yellow slug monster emerged from its lair, causing landslides in all directions. No longer prone, its full height reached 30 meters.

“FAAAFAHAAAHHH!”

Like a grumpy bear whose hibernation was interrupted, the slug was in an aggressive state. It felt the threatening presence of Gregory and put all the blame on him.

Khhh! I have to protect the people!

The old retired general went around saving people in peril from falling rocks as the slug entered its battle mode.

Meanwhile, Viers slowly crawled out from the rubble.

“Cough, cough,” Viers cleared his lungs. Holy fuck! I almost got crushed to death. Even with all the defensive Artes I prepared beforehand.

Viers was currently standing very close to the Acid Slug. As it broke the ceiling of its lair, Viers remained close by to take advantage of its size and movement. Since Freya was farther to it than Viers, she wasn’t so lucky.

Viers concealed his aura and presence as much as he could so the monster wouldn’t take notice of him. The tribal bracelet magic item showed its usefulness once again. Viers felt happy when the slug seemed to turn its two antennae-like eyes in another direction.

Freya’s definitely still alive beneath all this rubble. I must get out of here while I can. This place shall be a battleground soon. Eh? I lost my knife! Did it fall somewhere beneath this rubble? Shit! I have no time, Viers made a split-second decision.

When the Acid Slug started to secrete yellow miasma, melting the rocks around it, Viers was already tens of meters away from the giant yellow slug.

Crack, crack, crack.

Earthquakes came from the other mountain, trees fell and hills changed shapes. The other Rank 4 monster had ceased its sleep.

***

“Ah!!”

A mother yelled as she saw a boulder of solid rock falling towards her. Instinctively, she held her baby close to her chest and turned around. It wouldn’t save them but let whatever may happen, happen to me first, the mother thought.

“Split!”

A brilliant line of fire cleaved the rock in two, ultimately falling on each side of the mother. She looked up and saw an old man wreathed in flaming armor.

“Hurry!” The old man urged.

“Y-yes. Goddess bless you,” the mother said her thanks.

The retired general with full white hair looked at the moving monster on top of the mountain. It spit an acidic discharge from its mouth.

“Curtain of Flames,” Gregory evaporated 1000 liters of acid in an instant.

Gregory was stronger than the slug but he couldn’t defeat it in a short time and he was more concerned about saving the villagers scattered around the region. After bringing all the people in one village to safety, he immediately flew to the next. Furthermore, he must destroy a big rock falling down, prevent the acidic miasma’s progression, or halt a landslide swallowing a village. Gregory had his hand full containing the disaster.

And the other monster is now active. There are people living under that mountain too! I must hurry.

Booom!

An appendage emerged from the other mountain. It was long and had flexible movement. One, two, three, more and more orange colored tentacles emerged from the mountain’s core. Slowly, the Earth Starfish started to unbury itself.

Unlike common starfish, this monster had 18 arms. Each was tens of meters long and covered with hundreds if not thousands of sinister-looking spikes. The main body was like a giant pumpkin, also covered with spikes. Unlike the slug, this monster didn’t roar or growl. While destroying the terrain, it only moved towards the slug, to its old enemy.

To fight, to mate.

The Acid Slug also noticed the appearance of its rival. From its neck area, it grew a lump of bulbous meat. Before long, that meat became a second head.

“HHAAAFFAAAA!”

The stage was set and the cast had assembled. As the monsters resumed their age-old battle, Viers’ scenario was complete.

***

“Huff, huuuff,” Viers was starting to feel that his physical and magical stamina would hit their limits soon.

From the killing of Sigma, the Rambo warning, the system’s usurpation, the DOTA match, the boss battle with Jarret, and the current clash with Freya. Those chain of events really drained his Victa. Viers didn’t have much Victa left.

In the distance, Viers saw a scene from a kaiju movie. A monster starfish was wrestling with an aberrant slug. Their battle created a lot of disturbance to the area.

In the future, will I see Godzilla vs. Kong in the flesh? Viers thought while running away.

Since Viers came from the upper area of the mountain, he now made his way downhill. His wound from Jarret hadn’t fully healed and Freya also damaged him. His healing factor couldn’t keep up. However, even with his body in this state, Viers managed to create a hole in the fisherman’s net. Now he must go through it.

Like a thunderbolt in clear weather, Freya dropped from above, doing a superhero landing.

Her grand entrance created dust and smoke, obscuring Viers’ vision for a brief moment. They were in steep and rocky terrain on the side of the mountain. There was not much footing here and Viers’ path forward was cut short.

On the front, Freya. On the left, high rock wall. On the right, cliff’s edge. On the back, kaiju showdown.

Sword broken, inventory lost, low in HP and MP, tougher boss battle than Jarret’s… Viers was in a desperate situation.

As the dust cleared, Viers could now lay eyes on Freya’s form.

Despite getting buried by tons of earth and rocks earlier, she didn’t look injured. Her clothes didn’t even have a speck of dust.

Freya appeared different. Her short black hair was now shining gold and became longer, reaching her waist. A circle of light floated behind her like a halo. She was clad in mighty power and looked like an avenging angel.

“Arte — Shining Star Impulse,” her voice was clear and determined. “No more games, I will use my full strength.”

“So you chose to pursue me instead of saving the innocents? I hope you choke on their blood,” Viers was still defiant even when he was literally trapped on the edge of a cliff.

“Shut up!” Freya swung her sword.

“Water Slash!” Viers invoked his Arte. His hand was coated with water as he met Freya’s rapier.

His left hand was severed like tofu.

“Hkkkh!” Viers endured the pain. Now!

“Water Blast Fivefold!!”

A torrent of water jetted towards Freya from inches away, hitting her with a massive volume of water. This Arte might not inflict any injury to Freya but water had weight! It would make her unsteady and hard to move. Viers used the split-second opening to run towards the cliff, his only route of survival.

Freya’s rapier cut through his sword. Flesh and blood, even with Arte wouldn’t stand up to that. So Viers ruthlessly decided to sacrifice an arm, just for a chance to hit her from close proximity.

This is the final stretch! The cliff is very high but there’s a river below! It’s my only hop-

A laser hit his back and bore a hole through his stomach.

“Ahakh!?” Viers coughed blood and fell to the ground.

“Arte — Luminous Sunbeam,” Freya walked towards the fallen Viers, the water blast didn’t faze her in the slightest.

With her golden eyes she looked down on Viers.

“It’s over. Surrender with dignity.”

Dignity? DIGNITY!? Viers felt his emotion boiling. To hell with dignity!

Rather than a clean and honorable defeat, Viers would have picked a mud and dirt covered victory.

Every. Single. Time.

With difficulty, Viers crawled. Like a maggot, he crawled. With no regard of how unseemly the sight of it was, Viers kept struggling.

Blood flowing from his hand and stomach, mouth full with the taste of iron, blurred vision. But still he crawled to the cliff’s edge inches by inches.

Freya raised him up by holding him on the neck using only one hand. She was smaller than Viers but she showed no difficulties doing so.

“You’ve lost, just as Fate decrees,” she said with a deep, freezing voice. Her shining form not marred with imperfection in the slightest.

“…If, cough… If I were to die,” Viers gurgled because of his own blood. “I would die by my own terms,” he smiled.

From his mouth, severed left hand, and hole on his stomach, sharp barbed wires made of blood shoot towards Freya’s eyes with snake-like movements.

At the end, convinced of her victory, the young Silver Legion let down her guard. After her grip on Viers’ neck loosened, Viers squeezed out every last remaining strength in his whole being and jumped off the cliff.

With his half-closed eyes, Viers saw the astounded look on Freya's face.

I win.

Viers fell to the river below, relishing in his complete and utter victory.