I activated:
(Mirror)
as an almost perfect copy of Null's armor wrapped itself around me, settling into place.
My sclera turned completely black.
Something felt different.
I felt… threatened.
But was I—
Was I going to back down without a fight?
No.
My irises burned crimson—like a forest set ablaze.
Energy surged from my magic reserves, expanding within me as my senses sharpened.
Pain.
Anger.
Something else.
Like shackles… breaking.
For the first time—
I felt more beast than human.
It was new.
Raw.
Unfamiliar.
I stared at the two crocodiles and activated—
[Beastialification]
My limbs stretched.
Scales—dark and uneven—overtook my skin.
I dropped to all fours.
Claws formed along my front limbs, sharp and curved.
My hind legs shifted—hooved, powerful.
And my head—
Something wrong.
Something unnatural.
A lion's shape… fused with something reptilian. Armored. Twisted.
I was a horror.
A fragment of—
Totality
A low snarl escaped me, my elongated canines bared as I faced the crocodiles.
They hesitated.
Just slightly.
I moved.
Dashing side to side, weaving between trees, breaking line of sight—
Waiting.
Watching.
Timing.
Then—
I struck.
My claws tore into the first crocodile before it could react. It tried to raise an earthen wall to separate us—
Too slow.
I bit down hard.
Its scales resisted.
I pushed harder.
Harder—
Until my fangs sank in.
And then—
Ripp…
I tore a chunk of its flesh free.
Something warm flowed on my face…
Blood dripped down my jaw.
I…..relished the sensation.
It was… satisfying.
And for some reason—
I wanted more.
Much more.
Like an undying hunger clawing at something deep inside me.
The second crocodile had had enough.
The ground shifted.
Thick, dense earth surged upward, wrapping around my limbs and restraining my movement. The pressure tightened as it opened its maw wide, preparing to strike.
I gave a straight command:
Perfect!
Do it, Null.
Null emerged from the darkness.
A burst of gunfire followed—rapid, precise.
The shots tore into the beast's open maw. It choked violently, its roar breaking into a raspy, hoarse cowering.
I broke free.
Crack—
There was nowhere for it to run.
Prey was now…..Predator!
I leapt forward, slamming its skull into the ground with crushing force.
Before it could recover, my claws moved—forcefully, violently.
I dug into its eyes.
Ripped its eyeballs out.
Tossed them aside.
I twisted sharply.
The first crocodile recovered….
Still alive…!
Blood streamed down its side as it rushed toward me, its forehead reinforced with jagged earth spikes.
I didn't flinch.
The moment it came close—
Whoom—
I leaped…
Upward.
Then I flung myself downward.
I landed with impact.
My claws sinking into its tail as I latched on, holding it in place as it tried to flee.
A low chuckle escaped me.
"Helpless thing."
I dragged it away.
In front, its companion thrashed blindly, eyeless and raging.
I bit down.
Hard.
Tore through the tail—
And swallowed.
I began devouring it alive.
The flesh was tough, almost like jerky—
But fresh.
Warm.
Saturated with energy.
Then—
[Devour]
Its essence flooded into me.
My claws sharpened further.
The ground beneath me felt… different.
Softer.
Lighter.
I moved.
In an instant, I was on the second crocodile.
My claws tore through its neck—
And I ripped its head clean off.
Crimson blood splattered across the dark, earthen ground.
And again—
[Devour]
The energy surged.
My Tier rose to 2.3.
My scales hardened further.
Stronger.
Denser.
Better.
Even my field of perception expanded.
I could feel it now—
Every movement on the ground.
Everything within a ten-meter radius.
And that also meant—
The boss was somewhere.
Just as that though had settled,…
Boom—
I moved instantly.
No hesitation.
A massive beam of fire tore through the space I had just occupied.
I looked up.
And saw it.
A much larger crocodile.
Two heads.
Its skin was like cracked stone, molten lines of lava glowing through the fissures. Each step it took scorched the earth beneath it, leaving burning marks as heat rolled off its body in waves.
And despite its size—
It was fast.
It lunged.
I dodged.
Barely.
A mistake.
The air around me spiked in temperature.
Too late, I realized—
I had stepped into the range of the second head.
I leapt.
No thought.
Only instinct.
Where I had stood—
The ground turned black.
Then erupted.
A miniature volcano burst upward, fire and smoke exploding into the air. The heat grazed me, searing—
I sucked in sharply.
This thing…
This abomination—
Tier 2.7.
It continued relentlessly.
Beams.
Eruptions.
No pause.
No opening.
I had had enough.
Null slipped into position beneath the beast.
Shhk—
A dagger, coated in weakening poison, carved into its underbelly.
The creature roared—
And I saw it.
Its blood wasn't red.
It was molten.
Magmatic essence spilling from the wound.
My chance.
I leapt.
Midair—
Something shifted.
Instinct.
My claws moved.
Again.
And again.
And again—
Slashes carved through the air, manifesting across the beast's hardened hide. The damage was shallow—
But it weakened it.
The creature roared in fury.
Then—
Its entire body ignited.
Both heads opened wide.
And released—
Twin beams.
Destructive streams of flaming magma tore through the forest, scorching everything within a ten-meter radius. Trees blackened. Air warped.
It looked like a sea of fire—
Dancing.
Growing hotter with every second.
I didn't stop.
I charged straight through.
Using everything I had, I slammed into it—forcing its massive body off balance.
It crashed.
I drove my claws deeper into its underbelly, tearing the wound wider.
More essence spilled.
More heat.
The creature thrashed—
Weakening.
Now.
I stepped in close.
And this time—
I didn't tear.
I didn't strike.
I consumed.
[Devour]
Its essence flooded into me.
Burning.
Violent.
Overwhelming.
My eyes flashed.
Power surged through every part of me—
Every muscle.
Every vein.
Every cell.
It felt like I was on fire.
My limbs felt stronger.
Heavier.
More complete.
Then—
My System panel appeared.
Ding—
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New abilities unlocked through Totality:
[Infernal Discharge][Beastialification II (evolved)]
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