Isaac didn’t gloat. He didn’t have time.
Vax and Renji stared, stunned.
They had underestimated Isaac.
If he could follow Zeke’s accelerated skill with his normal speed, then they might not have a chance at victory.
’No, we still have a trump card!’ Vax thought.
Isaac didn’t move forward.
He just stood there, thinking.
His eyes studied them again. His mind recalled their fight.
Every twitch of muscle. Every breath. Their footwork. Their weight distribution.
He analyzed everything.
’Vax shifts more weight onto his right leg before a shield bash. He’s hesitant when surprised, late on counters. Vulnerable from behind.’
’Renji is trained more for monsters than people. His swings start high, which means he’s used to aiming upward. Must’ve fought larger opponents often. Probably adjusts mid-strike when dealing with humans.’
Isaac completed his thoughts in less than a split second.
He didn’t realize he was doing it until the details settled in his brain like puzzle pieces snapping into place.
’So this is the effect of Mind Echo title.’
He could mentally replay his memories. It allowed him to observe what others did in combat, and reconstruct their technique and mistakes frame-by-frame.
Vax glanced sideways. “Plan D.”
Renji nodded.
Plan D was to fight as if their opponent was a monster.
Isaac might be a natural-born combat genius, but he had no experience in fighting those who fought monsters.
People who fought people, and people who fought monsters were completely different.
Their style changed.
No more tight, dueling stances. No more positioning like they were fighting another human.
They would defeat Isaac before he could adapt to their new style.
Vax’s shield came low, sweeping the ground.
Renji moved like a predator. Broad arcs. Wild footwork. Every strike aimed like they were cutting through hide, not flesh.
Their attacks were aimed at vital points.
But Isaac moved first. He knew the habits even they were not aware of.
New combat style or not, they were now nothing more than headless chickens.
He dashed in low, struck Vax in the ribs before he could raise his shield.
Renji tried to intercept, but Isaac caught his wrist mid-swing, twisted it, and sent the katana flying.
Renji stumbled back, breathing hard. Vax stepped in again.
Isaac caught him with a short punch to the stomach.
It was a clean hit.
Vax grunted, and fell to one knee.
Renji attacked Isaac from behind.
Isaac dodged without looking back, and swiftly turned, his fist about to hit Renji’s nose with enough force to break more than a few bones
Renji instincts screamed at him to avoid the attack at all costs.
But Isaac was too fast for him to dodge.
“I yield!”
Renji raised his hands in surrender.
Isaac stopped mid-strike.
“Good choice.”
Silence returned to the ruined battlefield.
Then Isaac felt it.
The air trembled.
Mana gathered in the sky. Dark clouds coiled above, and lightning swirled around them like a hungry beast.
Isaac looked toward the Molten Hornbull.
It was still alive like a cockroach.
Isaac was too far.
He might be able to block the lightning with Formlock, and his high Constitution, but he wouldn’t make it in time.
Vax chuckled from where he sat.
“We got you. That lightning’ll finish the Molten Hornbull. It’s Freya’s strongest skill. You can’t stop it.”
“You really think I didn’t know you’d try something like this?” Isaac smiled faintly.
Vax’s grin wavered.
He looked around. It took him him a moment to realize what they had been missing, and the realization made his smile disappear.
The treant—Tyr—was gone.
…
Tyr POV
Few minutes earlier.
Tyr crouched low behind a mound of broken concrete.
From the rooftop, hidden behind scattered rubble and broken stone, he watched the battlefield unfold below.
Isaac was fighting. The Molten Hornbull was half buried in the ground, being pulled by the roots, and barely alive.
Three enemies had come charging in and Isaac was already handling them.
Tyr didn’t move. He simply observed.
He remembered Isaac’s words before the battle. “Make sure to cover me during the fight.”
Tyr hadn’t understood all of it. But the meaning was clear enough.
Protect Isaac.
So at first, when he was thrown away from the battlefield, he almost jumped back in.
He wanted to fight beside Isaac.
But then he saw something.
Isaac wasn’t struggling. He was winning by a large margin.
He was stronger, faster, and more durable.
Tyr had seen the Molten Hornbull. Seen how powerful it was.
Even now, its mana trembled beneath the roots Isaac commanded.
The beast was stronger than these people. And yet Isaac had fought it and defeated it.
There was no way these people would trouble Isaac.
So Tyr shifted his attention.
If Isaac didn’t need help with the fighters, then what about the mage?
He scanned the edges of the battlefield.
He shrunk his body to a small size to avoid detection and moved.
There. He spotted the mage near the top of a crumbled building.
Her robes shifted in the wind, and she stood near the edge, overlooking the fight from above.
They had ambushed Isaac earlier, and now it was their turn to get ambushed.
She raised one hand, casting quick pulses of mana toward the sky.
Tyr stayed hidden.
The ice platforms formed first.
They hovered mid-air, and created a path in the sky that the ninja leapt across moments later.
Only after that did the sky begin to darken.
The clouds gathered above the battlefield, shaped and controlled by the mage’s skill.
She didn’t seem to notice Tyr as he moved towards her.
Tyr was much weaker than her, but he had a plan.
In his hand, he carried the flowers. Miragepetal, Dreadbloom, and Viperthorn. Three flowers each.
He picked them from the battlefield when he moved away from Isaac.
He’d kept them hidden, tucked beneath his vines. They had begun to wilt, but they had enough toxin for a few breaths.
The ice platforms had served their purpose. The ninja had attacked and fallen. Tyr had seen the punch from a distance.
As expected, Isaac didn’t miss!
He was the best!
Tyr felt giddy watching Isaac’s spectacular performance.
Go!
Show them who is the strongest!
Excited, Tyr cheered for Isaac loudly.
Isaac was too far to hear him, but the mage was near.
She flinched, and her head snapped towards Tyr.
“Y-you! A monster? H-how? They said there was only one monster.”
She staggered. Her hands trembled and the skill was interrupted. The clouds dispersed from the sky.
Her head snapped around, eyes wild, and panicked.
She was already affected.
The Miragepetal’s hallucinogens had taken hold. Shadows twisted in her vision. The rooftop shifted under her feet.
She gasped and took a step back, searching for something that wasn’t there.
The Dreadbloom hit next.
Her knees buckled. A sob slipped from her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Tyr stood fully upright now, growing to his natural size.
She looked at him, and screamed.
Under the toxins, she didn’t see a treant.
She saw something else. Something monstrous.
A horror.
She turned to flee but her footing slipped. One boot landed on the edge of the broken railing.
It cracked beneath her weight.
She fell.
Tyr didn’t flinch. He heard the scream, then the crash. Dust rose up from the street three stories below.
He stepped toward the edge and looked down.
No blood.
A crater had formed in the fractured pavement.
The mage lay inside, twitching, barely conscious. Still breathing, but clearly unable to fight.
Yay…?
Tyr couldn’t decide if he should be happy he won, or be worried about the mage.
