The desert battlefield roared. The wind howled, carrying swirling waves of golden sand that cut across the air like tiny blades. Bahamut's lungs burned with each breath of dry, hot air, but his focus didn't waver. The wyrm loomed before him, a mountain of muscle, scale, and wrath. Its maw opened wide, releasing a guttural bellow that rattled the ground beneath his feet.
Bahamut lowered himself into a sprinter's stance, shoulder still slick with blood from its earlier strike. His eyes narrowed, his senses sharpening into razor edges. "Let's see how far I can push without relying on it."
The wyrm struck first.
Its massive tail whipped through the air with a sonic BOOM, the sheer force parting the swirling sandstorm around it. Bahamut dove forward, the tail grazing his back as it passed, a glancing blow that still sent a brutal shock through his spine. He used the momentum to spin mid-air, landing in a crouch just beneath its belly.
"Take this!" he barked, driving his good fist upward into the softer underside between its plated scales.
THUD!
The impact was solid but not nearly enough. The wyrm grunted, its golden eyes narrowing, then twisted like a living sandstorm. One colossal foreclaw came down like a guillotine.
Bahamut rolled out, but the wind pressure alone tore open his side. Blood splattered the sand. He coughed out a ragged breath but grinned. His muscles burned from the constant strain, but he moved like lightning, dancing around the creature's massive limbs.
The wyrm lunged, maw wide enough to swallow him whole. Bahamut slid under it, feeling the sand rip across his back. As he slid, he drove a sharp elbow into its throat, then flipped upward onto its jaw, punching again and again. The vibrations cracked his knuckles but barely shook the beast.
It reared back suddenly.
"Shit—!" Bahamut gasped as its body twisted like a sandstorm caught in a cyclone. Its entire length slammed down. The shockwave lifted him off his feet and sent him flying through the air like a rag doll.
"Ren!" he yelled.
The little white bunny creature chirped in alarm. Before the wyrm could turn its molten gaze toward the small creature, Bahamut twisted mid-air and hurled Ren toward a distant dune with a flick of his wrist. Ren bounced off the crest of the dune and rolled down into a pocket of soft sand. Safe, for now.
Then the tail hit.
BAM!
It caught him mid-landing. Pain exploded through his ribs as he was hurled across the battlefield, skidding through sand, his back carving a trench. He coughed blood, crimson splattering across his arm as he forced himself to stand.
"Not bad…" he rasped. His cracked ribs screamed, but his grin widened. His skin was scorched, torn in places, and blood trickled down his arms, but his eyes burned brighter.
The wyrm bellowed, plunging forward like a living avalanche. Bahamut charged back, bare feet digging deep into the sand. They collided with a sound like thunder.
His fists pounded against the wyrm's head, its scales ringing like iron with each impact. The wyrm retaliated, slamming its claws down again and again. Each blow was a hammer. One strike tore open Bahamut's shoulder, another grazed his thigh, and another smashed into his ribs, making something crack.
But Bahamut didn't back down.
He twisted his body around one of its limbs, climbed its massive form like a beast himself, and smashed his forehead into the creature's skull.
BAM!
Stars burst in his blind vision. Blood trickled down his face. But the wyrm had reeled slightly, just slightly. That was enough.
Another tail swing came. Bahamut ducked late. The tail slammed into his back, flinging him forward like a missile. He spat blood mid-flight, teeth clattering together. The sand welcomed him like stone.
His breathing came rough, chest heaving, arms trembling. But his grin never left.
'Fine then… You wanna play tough? Let's see how you like this.'
"System…" he whispered hoarsely, standing again, blood staining his chest. "…activate Beast Trait Manifestation."
[Activating Beast Trait Manifestation… (Lvl 3)]
[Part Selected: Hands]
[Part Selected: Feet]
The air around Bahamut erupted.
His aura flared crimson, thick and sharp like molten glass. His hands snapped and reshaped, bones lengthening, tendons hardening, and skin tearing before reforming into long, scarlet fox claws. They gleamed under the desert sun, sharp as blades.
His feet followed, toes reshaping, hardening into talon-like claws. Sand cracked beneath him as power surged through his frame.
The wyrm felt it. Its massive frame shuddered slightly, its predatory instinct recognizing the shift.
"Too late for that now…" Bahamut growled.
He moved. No, he vanished.
The sand erupted behind him as he appeared beneath the wyrm's jaw, claws slashing upward in a clean arc. Blood sprayed as crimson streaks appeared along its underside.
The beast roared in agony, tail whipping around like a scythe. Bahamut ducked low and spun, claws at his feet, tearing trenches in the ground to anchor himself against the force. He lunged again, climbing its body like a wild animal.
His claws ripped into scale and flesh, carving long furrows down its neck. The wyrm slammed itself against the ground to crush him, but he leapt away mid-fall, flipping over its head and landing behind it.
It reared up, spewing out a gale of hot, choking air that blistered the sand into glass. Bahamut shielded his face with his arm, the heat peeling at his skin.
Then he dashed forward again.
He slashed its tail, its legs, its throat, moving with the speed of a predator born to kill. The wyrm fought back viciously, its claws raked across his chest, blood painting the air; its tail struck his side, nearly shattering his arm; its fangs grazed his shoulder, tearing into flesh.
Bahamut coughed blood and laughed. It wasn't madness. It was pure, feral exhilaration.
The ground cracked beneath their relentless assault. Roars and battle cries merged with the endless howl of the wind.
The wyrm lunged again, but Bahamut met it head-on, his claws colliding with its jaws, muscles screaming as he forced its mouth open. His legs dug into the sand like blades. Then with a roar, he drove both claws deep into its throat.
SPLURCH.
Blood gushed out, hot and thick, coating him head to toe.
The beast thrashed wildly, its massive tail flailing. One strike caught Bahamut square in the chest, flinging him like a doll through a dune. Bones cracked, breath left his lungs, but his claws were still buried in its throat.
He dragged himself up, coughed blood, and sprinted back into the fray like a demon unleashed.
This time, he didn't dodge. He crashed into the wyrm's face with claws raised and ripped through its eye.
A deafening scream shook the battlefield.
They became a blur of red and gold, claw and fang, sand and blood. Every strike from the wyrm was heavy enough to crush a boulder, every slash from Bahamut carved into scale and sinew.
His body was breaking, cuts crisscrossing his flesh, blood streaming down, bones creaking with every motion. But his spirit blazed like wildfire. He tore, slashed, bit, slammed, and clawed like a beast born of war.
Finally, with one last roar, Bahamut leapt onto the wyrm's neck, spun his body, and drove both claws deep into the back of its skull.
CRACK... SPURT!
The wyrm shuddered violently, then collapsed like a felled mountain. Its massive body slammed into the sand, sending a shockwave through the desert.
Bahamut stood atop its corpse, panting heavily, his body drenched in both his blood and the beast's. His crimson claws dripped, his feet still dug deep into the scorched sand. His chest rose and fell like a war drum, eyes glowing a deep, feral gold.
"…Next," he rasped, his voice almost animal.
Far away, Ren peeked over the dune, ears twitching nervously. He saw Bahamut standing over the wyrm's body like a young war god, battered, bloodied, and unbroken.
The trial wasn't over. But this battle had carved his name into the sand.