In another area of Vultures Byte, Drazil was currently engaged in combat with a small vulture, so small that her peers called her Short Stuff. Though her figure was petite and supple she had a banged belly which was the accumulated backlash of using her unique technique. However, this didn’t impede her one bit from slapping the crimson colours out of Drazil’s feathers. Drazil easily got knocked down several times by her until he became veritably upset.

Short Stuff hovered lowly over him while saying mockingly, “This is so humiliating. You can’t even lay a single feather on me and I’m not even using my full strength. The crows nowadays seem to be birthing quite powerful weaklings.”

Seething with anger, Drazil found his footing once again and exclaimed, “Shut the pluck up, you thin midget vulture! I’m just getting warmed up!”

“Oh, well let me know when you’re finished warming up. So we can begin the real fight.” She turned around to walk away. “Bye-bye.”

“Don’t turn your back on me!” Drazil rushed the vulture head-on. As he entered her range, she skilfully elbowed him in the gut which allowed her to easily grip his extended neck.

“Or what, little crow? Are you going to defeat me with your dirty mouth…? Huh, now that I got a good look at you; you’re kinda cute just like a little chicken.” After this compliment, Short Stuff shook her head in disappointment. “It’s a shame that you’re so weak. We could have had fun together.” She dropped him onto the ground.

“Tsk, this is so plucking humiliating! First I’ve been called weak by that whore with the dancing feathers and that shit for brains with no Krowqui and now I’m being looked down on by this vulture midget bitch.” Drazil became frustrated with himself. “Why the pluck is this happening?” Is there some sort of invisible force out there that is trying to make my life a miserable hell? Then I shall burn it all to smithereens!”

“Boom!” Drazil’s flaming Krowqui began to spiral out of control. Short Stuff had to retreat several paces.

“Feathers Red, Angry Hawk Fist!” Drazil’s punch blazed forth a flaming animated hawk image.

The vulture reacted just in time to dodge the Angry Hawk Fist by a few inches. However, the flaming plumes turned back and hit her directly followed by a loud explosion.

Drazil became elated to see the fierce explosion. “Ha-ha-ha! Burn out to trash you, midget shrimp!”

“Oh, do you think you have what it takes?”

“What?” Drazil was shocked when he heard her voice coming from within the infernal blaze. He observed the vulture chewing on his flames as if she was munching on biscuits. Afterwards, she exuded a resounding burp that scared away the fluttering leaves in the vicinity.

Short Stuff was disgusted with Drazil’s repugnant attack. She almost puked her heart out. “Yuk. That tasted insipid.” She said to him, “Why don’t you put your back into it next time?”

“You ate my Angry Hawk Fist?” Drazil was completely bewildered. All his years of existing as a crow fledgling he had never come across another species that could eat his flaming attacks.

“How?” Drazil asked her.

Hearing his inquiry, Short Stuff stated, “If I were to explain something so complex to a dolt such as yourself, I fear your brain might explode. I wouldn’t want to kill you off prematurely.”

“You bitch! I’ll show you an explosion!” Drazil flew above as he began the swift execution of his technique.

“Feathers Red, Twin Angry Hawk Fists!” Drazil unleashed 2 deadly punches this time around. The twin angry fiery hawks were approaching the vulture at rapid speed.

“Oh…” Exhaling softly, Short Stuff stood her ground as the infernal hawks approaches. “Krowqui Digestive Ingestion!” She began to eat it all down.

“That bitch! She’s still able to eat it?” Drazil couldn’t believe his eyes. “I put so much power into those punches yet she is still able to chow down on my flames as if they're nothing?”

After swallowing a mouthful, Short Stuff looked up at Drazil and said mockingly, “Still insipid. It seems I will have to make you taste it for yourself in order for you to understand. Krowqui Regurgitation!” She burped out an immense flame demon which transcended into the form of a blazing phoenix.

“So powerful!” Drazil tried to flee but the phoenix caught up with him very quickly. “I don’t think I can take this head-on.” In the midst of struggle, an idea came to him. “Maybe I can try that…” He alighted his talons on the ground then braced himself for impact.

“Here it comes!”

Just before Impact, Drazil directed all his Krowqui towards his open mouth, now he was chowing down on the fiery phoenix similarly to what Short Stuff did earlier.

“Huh, that dolt is mimicking my technique?” Short Stuff was amazed by Drazil’s perseverance. “I had no idea he was this skilled in Internal Krowqui Manipulation.”

Though he replicated his adversary’s technique, Drazil was struggling to ingest all of the fiery phoenix’s hellish flames. “Shit! I can’t eat anymore or I’ll explode.”

“Ku-hu-hu. We made the right decision following him.” Hidden nearby on a tree branch were 3 crows observing the ongoing spectacle of Drazil’s predicament. Their names were as follows, Holly, Zegle and Zef.

Holly was the compassionate female of the group. Her appearance was of a reserved introvert. A cloak of dark blue was draped around her amicable character. The lower corner of her face was concealed with a unique mask that prevented her Voice of Authority from being utilized whenever she speaks.

Unlike Holly, Zegle was the conniving one of the group and self-decided leader. It was quite evident by his duplicitous demeanour.

Zef was a follower of Zegle and a long-time friend. He had numerous arm braces strapped to his arms. Within their constructed slots were a variety of needles.

Noticing how badly Drazil was coping against the fiery phoenix, Holly suggested to her companions, “Ahm, shouldn’t we go help him?”

“What are you talking about, Holly? This is an ongoing competition. We look out only for ourselves.” Said Zegle looking upset.

“But that guy looks like he’s about to burst. Look at how swollen his tummy is.”

“Don’t concern yourself with him, Holly. Just continue to observe the battle. Once they’ve exhausted themselves then we’ll strike. Those ribbons will be easy pickings.”

“Zegle you’re as cunning as always; a viper hiding in snake’s skin.” Commented Zef.

“Indeed. Hiss!” Zegle’s tongue resembled a snake’s tongue. He also possessed the other attributes ascribed to the serpentine species.

Below, Drazil was still trying to hold out against the phoenix. “This is my limit… but it should have reduced the level of impact.” Drazil abandoned the ingesting of the fiery phoenix and immediately went into a defensive stance.

When the remainder of the phoenix crashed into him his feathers became splattered all over the ground.

Short Stuff snickered upon seeing this spectacle. “As I thought, it was just a fluke.” She walked closer to him. “Hey, kid you surprised me earlier. To think that you could mimic my technique in just the short while I showed it to you; though it wasn’t perfect, you failed in the end. But still, I’m impressed. Maybe you’re not that useless after all.” She knelt and touched his head which made Drazil angrier.

“Don’t plucking touch me, you midget shrimp! I don’t need your pity. What I want is to hear you screaming my name when I kill your tiny ass and take the ribbons from your roast corpse!”

“Oh…?” Short Stuff looked at him strangely. “It won’t be easy claiming these ribbons of mine.” Saying this, she fondled the silky ribbon wrapped around her neck.

Transitioning to another battleground in Vultures Byte where the 5 male students were fighting against Wallis, Marrigo gathered with the others, giving them a notable warning.

“Guys be careful. That vulture is no longer an Amazon-Warrior-Rank-3. He has evolved to level 4.”

Neji wasn’t afraid of a powerful opponent. “So what if he’s gotten stronger? The stronger my opponent becomes the faster I’ll be able to surpass my limits.” Sheathing his sword back into his wings, Neji began taking out 2 robust battle maces replete with many sharp spikes.

“Twin Morning Stars, Dual Wield!” Neji was the first from his team to rush the vulture with heated animosity. “Twin Morning Star Twister!” A tornado of slashes was unleashed upon his enemy.

Wallis didn’t shy away from his opponents; he viciously scraped his talons ahead of him that produced an invisible claw barrier which stopped Neji’s attack. Simultaneously, Retskeir lashed out with his handguns.

“Double Magnum Barrage!” A shower of bullets was tearing through the air like rockets.

Wallis easily evaded all of the piercing projectiles heading his way. Soon after, he felt something slithery wrapping around his legs.

“Six Fingers, Snake Tracer!” Marrigo’s extended limbs were chasing after Wallis throughout the air. “Damn he’s slippery.”

“Let me have a crack at him.” A dark portal suddenly appeared above Wallis’s location. Doolbs came out of it with his Shadow Doubles.

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice.” Saying this, Wallis began twirling frenetically in the air. “Raging Twister!” He transformed into a tornado that quickly wiped out all of Doolbs’s Shadow Doubles, moreover, blasted him away further into the dark forest.

Still twirling around in the air, Wallis produced a gigantic Krowqui Bomb at the tip of his spiral where his hand was visible. “I’ll obliterate all of you at once!” He started twisting downwards towards the alarmed youngsters.

“Raging Twister, Krowqui Bomb!”

“Six Fingers, Snake Barrier!” Marrigo tried to alter the trajectory of the incoming Krowqui Bomb, however, his defences were instantly shattered. “It’s no use! I can’t stop him.”

Neji was also flabbergasted. “This looks terrible. If that thing hits us we’re toast for sure.”

“Leave it to me, I’ll handle this.” Agumi came forwards with his resplendent Yin Yang Array still active behind him. “I’ll use my absorption skill to put a stop to that vulture’s tyranny.” Tossing his hands upwards, Agumi welcomed Wallis’s deadly Raging Twister Krowqui Bomb attack!

“Full Impact!” Green sparks appeared around Agumi’s arms that were channelling the absorbed energies through the specific tomoe present at his rear. The Yin partition was glowing resplendently as it redirected the absorbed energies through the Yang Krowqui network to form a perfect balance of equanimity.

“WOOOOAAAH!”

“Huh?” The others paid close attention to Agumi’s struggle as he continued to absorb the vicious Raging Twister Krowqui Bomb.

“Despite him being a descendant of the famed Yiang Family whose members are capable of deconstructing and reconstructing all types of energy, I don’t think he’s strong enough to absorb all that Krowqui.

“We should help him.” Marrigo was about to intervene but Neji stopped him.

“Wait, I have an idea.” Neji garnered his teammate’s attention.

“What do you propose…?” Marrigo listened to Neji’s plot.

During their scheming, Wallis was channelling more power into his Raging Twister Krowqui Bomb. “Struggle all you want crow! You can’t possibly absorb all this power of mine. You’ll be blown to tiny bits before you do.”

“AAAAH! He’s right.” Agumi was feeling immense pressure coursing through his popping veins. “The output of his power is very massive. My Yin Yang Array won’t be able to absorb all of it. But I will continue until I reach my limit.”

“Cra-ha-ha-ha! Die you foolish crow!” Wallis could already taste the innards of Agumi’s body splattering all over his long rusty beak. If he continued a few seconds more, then Agumi would definitely become his appetiser.

“Guys now!”

“Hm?” Wallis noticed something unusual taking place above him.

“Six Fingers, Snake Tornado!” Marrigo sent out myriads of Snake Tracers to wrap around Wallis’s spiral. “If I can reverse the flow of his twist in the opposite direction, it should reduce his cutting velocity. I hope this works.”

As the extended snake tendrils tried to wrap their restrictive presences around Wallis’s body, they were getting severed almost instantaneously by the cutting intensity of the air pressure.

Marrigo had to use more of his Krowqui to get a grip on him. “I think it’s working! Neji you’re up.”

“Hai!” Neji was situated several metres to Wallis’s left flank as he continued forcing his Krowqui Bomb against Agumi. Spinning his weapons a few times, Neji made his move by dashing forwards.

“Twin Morning Stars, Double Flash!” He pounded Wallis’s head so roughly that it sent his long neck followed by the rest of his body flying in the opposite direction. “Doolbs you’re up!”

“Shadow Doubles!” As Wallis approached Doolbs’s proximity, multiple dark portals appeared, pouring out many Shadow Doubles. They grabbed hold of Wallis’s lanky legs, moreover, began twirling him around in the air like a lasso. After making Wallis dizzy, Doolbs tossed him at Agumi’s location. “Agumi! He’s all yours!”

“I know what to do!” Agumi drew forth the absorbed power stored in his Yin Yang Array. He unleashed all of it back at Wallis.

“Yang Rebound!” A massive Krowqui Bomb crashed directly into Wallis’s battered complex. He was blasted into the air where Retskeir was waiting. “Finish him!”

“With great pleasure.” Retskeir summoned 4 unique guns from his weapon case; 2 attached to his arms and 2 attached to his wings. The handgun handles wrap around his arms like gauntlets. Many rotating nozzles were already spitting steam from their holes. As for the guns attached to his wings, they were of similar appearance but more robust and large in nature. The bullets they had loaded were more of mini rocket types.

Wallis now arrived in Retskeir’s range of fire which prompted him to take action.

“Gunslinger, Quadruple Magnum!” Both guns attached to his hands and wings began releasing countless bullets at their stunned target. They gave Wallis such a terrible beating that it eventually tore him apart.

Wallis's corpses fell flat onto the leafy surface. Moments later, the 5 crows descended and gathered around him.

“Did we get him?” Marrigo Inquired.

“He can’t possibly be alive after the beating we gave him, no matter if he’s an Amazon-Warrior-Rank-4.” Neji was certain of the vulture’s defeat.

“Then, I’ll get the ribbons.” Agumi reach out his hand towards the ribbons trying to take the red one that was wrapped around the vulture’s wrist. ‘Of course, I’ll be taking the Red Ribbon. It has the most points after all.’ As soon as his hand touch the Red Ribbon, he felt a tight grip restricting his hand from pulling back.

This startled Agumi to stare at Wallis with his eyes wide open. “Huh, you’re still alive?”

“Can’t he die?” Neji was stunned. “Are vultures built much stronger than crows?”

“I won’t die so easily, you disrespectful fledglings.” Wallis applied more force to Agumi’s arm.

“AHHH! My arm!”

Wallis ignored Agumi’s scream and squeezed even tighter as he rose to his feet. He lifted Agumi above him where he began slamming his body left and right onto the ground repeatedly like a wet towel.

“Die! Die! Die! Die!” Wallis kept slamming Agumi until he broke every bone in his portly body. He later blasted Agumi deep into the ground with a mini Krowqui Bomb that he formed in his mouth. Afterwards, he began stamping on his corpse like a wild maniac. The explosive sounds of Agumi’s body hitting against the ground were a shocker to his peer’s ears.

“He’s flattening him!”

“This vulture is insane!” Neji along with the others was incredulous by how Wallis made quick tidying of Agumi.

“Hm.” Looking at Neji specifically, Wallis said to him with 100% assurance, “You are next.” This sent a chill down his erected bird spine.