The growl came out of nowhere. Just seconds ago I was walking through the forest, trying to find any sign of Terror while also ignoring the voices that were carried by the wind. By the time I had found Terror, it was already too late, Terror had found me first.

A tree was knocked down and fell down before me, whirling up a lot of dust. A pebble hit me just slightly beneath the eye, making me stagger. And that one moment was the exact moment Terror jumped out of the dust cloud. His bright blue eyes pierced me, sending a shiver down my spine. He was more aggressive, I could feel it. I felt his paw hit me. I was barely able to get my guard up and that was with increased speed and reflexes. The roar followed shortly after. And as usual, it was eardrum-shattering. I hit the nearest tree, bringing it down with me. The pain was bearable but I still coughed up some blood.

Every time... this fucking cat.

I wiped the blood from my lips and got up, Terror was staring me down. The pressure his gaze created was enough to nearly force me to the ground. I git my teeth and launched myself forwards, whirling up a small cloud of dirt and dust beneath my feet as well as ripping apart what was left of the tree stump behind me. I drove my fist between Terrors eyes and he flinched backwards, but only slightly. Just like last time, me hitting him only made him angrier.

This time I managed to put up my guard before his paw hit me and hurled me towards the next obstacle, this time it was a boulder. It cracked. And it felt like my spine and ribs were about to do the same. I panted.

Won't get far like this.

I grit my teeth again and channelled more mana into my magic mark.

"Alright, Terror! Let's dance!" I yelled as the beast approached me.

My magic mark tingled, it almost hurt since it felt like thousands of tiny needles was stabbing me all over. But I ignored it and looked at Terror. My left cheek twitched and I tilted my head to the right as my eyes widened a little from the sensation all over my skin.

Both of us burst forth at the same time. Terror got me with his right paw and hit my left. But I got him with my right fist and hit his left side. We flew in opposite directions. He into multiple trees, which all broke, and I into a large bush that managed to stop me. I got a few cuts from the thin and sharp twigs. Terror seemed to be completely fine, although he let out another roar that sounded neither like one of anger or one of pain. Whether or not that was a good or bad thing was to be seen.

I spit on the ground.

"This won't be easy," I said out loud.

I had no idea why I talked with the beast that had been hunting me for months, maybe because it made me forget about the voices telling me to just accept my fate and die, or that one in the back of my head that wasn't Ira's telling me to run away. Or maybe it just made this whole thing seem a little less like a life or death situation and more like children play fighting.

If only I could still believe my own lies.

I sprinted towards Terror, my surroundings almost blurring, all that was clear was Terror. Once I got close enough I jumped up. Terror responded by getting on his hind legs, bringing down his front legs. He tried to crush me beneath his paws again.

"[Needle Strike]!" I called out.

Mana gathered around my fingers like a blade and I stabbed Terror right in the chest where I hoped his heart would be. Blood gushed out of the wound and covered me while Terror let out a roar, but this time it sounded more like a genuine scream of pain.

"I did it!"

Terror fell to the ground. I managed to roll out of the way and get up in a short time. A sense of pride and satisfaction overcame me as I looked at Terrors body on the ground. It looked so... so... so not dead. Terror was still breathing and got up from the ground less than three seconds after he fell down.

"I... I thought-" I had no time to finish the sentence because Terror charged at me.

I tried to jump out of the way but terror still managed to get one of my feet with his forehead. It hurt almost as bad as being hit by his paw and I began spinning mid-air. Shortly after I crashed into a nearby tree and coughed up blood.

Terror wasted no time and pounced on me, or tried. Luckily for me, the tree was in the way, more or less, and stopped terror from hitting me. But he still had me pinned to the ground and a thick drop of saliva fell down onto my face. It was warm, wet and sticky. The smell alone almost made me puke.

"[Needle Strike]!" I called out again.

This time I directed my strike towards Terror's throat. Just as I was about to pierce his fur he jumped out of the way and growled at me. The beast was definitely cautious but it still felt like he was not serious.

That bad feeling was confirmed seconds later. I felt incredible pressure forcing me to the ground. Blue energy swirled violently around Terror, reminding me of the times I used the Power of Wrath. But there was something else that was happening. It was almost like Terror was growing. He also seemed to become more muscular, the two sabre-like teeth grew longer, his entire head grew larger and small horns began protruding from above his also growing eyes. His bright blue eyes suddenly split, turning two to four, with a pair of small, dark green almost black horns protruding from above them. Terror overall frame became much bulkier and spikes grew along his spine all the way to the end of his long reptile-like tail. His fur also grew longer and from his shoulders and the back of his head grew long furry extensions or something like that, almost seemed like strips of hair. They were long and hovered in the air as if they had their own gravitational rules.

Terror now let out a roar. A roar that was truly terrifying. It almost made me piss my dirty pants. And it was accompanied by the pressure that already had me pressed against the ground increasing. The ground around me split and again my spine and rib cage threatened to do the same. I coughed up even more blood.

You need to use it!

Not like I have any other options.

As a new kind of beast stood before me, mana violently swirling around it along with the three long pieces of fur growing from above his shoulders and behind his head, I let in the voices that were cheering for Terror, mocking me. And those voices made me angry.

My eyes began twitching and my muscles tensed up, my toes curled up and the ground around me split even more as mana now began violently surging around me as well. I felt the pressure becoming weaker and weaker and eventually becoming non-existent as I got up from the ground and used a spell I had never used.

"[Predator's Roar]" I whispered.

Mana crawled up to my throat through my magic mark and I let out a roar almost as terrifying as Terror's roar. This wasn't meant to scare him, more to announce that I was now completely serious as well.

We stared at each other. I into his four bright blue eyes and he into my two crimson eyes. Both of us were ready to kill the other.

I let out a battle cry and charged at Terror.