Roy marched forward, knowing there was danger ahead.
He, however, didn't let it show on his face.
There was only one expression on his face. It was greed- a sin all too primal to mankind.
The desire to obtain what was hidden by the rock formations of the cavern was painted on his handsome face, decreasing his natural charm by 3 points.
His action didn't give it away either, as he passed the stalagmites with a sense of urgency but without any vigilance.
He seemed like a naive fool who truly believed in fortuitous encounters.
Delilah's eyes followed his fading back anxiously. She knew that he was like a patient fisherman, waiting for the fish to bite the bait before capturing it. However, she couldn't help but worry. He was, after all, putting himself in harm's way.
He had exhibited his newfound strength before her a few times. She knew he was stronger than she knew, but in a battle for survival, injuries were common, and anything could happen.
Roy was dressed in all black. His figure stepped past the areas brightened by the shine of the magic fruit and mended with the darkness of the cave.
As soon as that happened, his sixth sense tingled. The silky black hair on his head stood up, and a throbbing sensation emerged in his skull. It was not particularly intense and could be easily mistaken for a fading dream. It was not strong enough to distract, but it said a lot.
An attack was approaching him from above, and it was strong enough to fracture his skull!
He raised his head and caught sight of a figure wrapped in shadows plunging straight toward him. The natural lighting of the cave was so bad that it should be impossible for a person to see it, but Roy saw it clearly as if it was under the sun because his mutated eyes allowed him to see in the dark like a vampire.
An ape, slightly more than three times Roy's height, was closing in rapidly. It was black in color, 6 ft tall, and sporting a funny beard that jutted from under its chin. There was a streak of red on its exposed belly. Similar kinds of markings ran along its eyes and upper arms.
'I am sure it didn't know I was aware of its presence, yet it attacked me when I stepped too far inside, and it became impossible for Delilah to see me.'
'Is it being meticulous? Or is it simply just a coward?' Roy thought as his lips curled up.
His eyes met with deep, feral ones as the thick staff in its hands emitted a fiery red glow hot enough to increase the temperature by a few times.
Shua!
A mighty fire burst out of it as the black ape swung it down with all its might. The fire took the shape of an all-devouring serpent. It reached the young man before the staff could.
'He must be scared stiff.' The black ape thought as it saw him standing still in the face of the towering figure made of fire.
To the eyes of the ignorant one, it looked like his entire body had stiffened out of fear. It already seemed to see the fire roasting him to utter perfection. However, its expectations were betrayed as things didn't go according to plan, and the fire serpent was dispelled with a casual wave of his hand.
'What evil sorcery did he use?'
It was not an understatement to say that the black ape's eyes widened beyond the size of saucers, almost popping out of the sockets at the sight of the condensation of level-4 magic fire being slapped to death like a tiny, weeny fly.
Level-4 magic fire was hot enough to melt stones and bones!
Yet, the opponent crushed it off like it was nothing!
Surely, something was immensely wrong.
'Maybe he is immune to fire?'
'Yes! That must be it!'
'I must not falter.'
Roy's simple act of dispelling the magic fire nearly made the ape reconsider continuing its attack.
Its expression changed multiple times in a split second before it went against its initial decision and brought the staff down on Roy.
'Surely he isn't immune to physical damage. Once the staff lands, his head will turn to mush, and I will have a great dinner tonight. There's also that female outside the cave. I will keep her as livestock.' The black ape thought as a vile glint flashed in its eyes.
Humans were just pieces of meat to the black ape. It has tasted a lot of them in its long life, and its taste has developed as a result. It preferred female humans over males because they tasted better, had a softer texture, and in general, their body was clean, less smelly, and hairy than their male counterpart. They were rare to come by, so it liked to cage them up for a special day.
Roy would have laughed if he could see through the black ape as it was counting chicken that would never hatch!
"I have you now!" The black ape exclaimed in delight as the powerful blow was a hair's breadth away from Roy.
The head of the staff was two times wider than his waist, and the wind pressure generated by it pressed on him so hard that his feet sunk into the ground, but he didn't make an effort to dodge it.
It seemed like he was planning to take it head-on.
A smile popped up on the black ape's face as it saw that. The young man looked so small compared to the staff that the idea of him surviving a strike to the head seemed delusional at best.
'W-What?! But how?!!!"
Once again, what the black ape expected didn't happen. Just as the beast's vile thought was about to be realized, the young man vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving only a black mist in his wake.
Bang!
The staff smashed the ground, and a small but deep pit was created, cracks spreading out of it.
It was shocked out of its wits as the tactics it had employed in the past to deal with countless magical and several aura beasts that were enticed by the glow of the magic fruit failed to deal with a mere boy who was at the first stage of power. There had been plenty who had overcome the fire serpent, but not a single soul survived the staff. Now, however, its sure-kill tactics were thwarted by Roy!
It had examined him first, and after confirming that the boy was only at the first stage, did it dare attack. But now, it seemed like that wasn't the case.
'I have been fooled! He is not a mere trainee. But my inspection can't be wrong. Among aura beasts, my scanning abilities are top-notch. Maybe... he is dual, a peculiar one at that.'
"Dual" was the word aura beast used to define humans who had an inner world or a magic sea as well as a soul-herding ability.
'But that doesn't mean it can get away with insulting me!'
"Where did he go?!" the black ape was pissed off as its prey had escaped from right under its eyes, and its thunderous voice boomed in the silent cave as the black mist swirled around it.
"Looking for me?"
A hot breath blew into the black ape's ears, and a shiver crept up its spine. It could see a handsome face from the corner of its eyes. It was floating close to it. It wasn't attached to a body. It was attached to tendrils of darkness, making it look all the more ghastly.
For a split second, its pupil dilated. It hadn't been scared for so long that it had forgotten what it felt like. But now it was being reminded, and it didn't like the feel of it, not one bit!
"What are you, a human or a ghost?!"
Before the sentence could be fully made out, the black ape twisted around and thrust the staff towards the handsome face with as much force as it could muster.
It passed through the face without any resistance, as if it was just an illusion, a mere figment of the black ape's imagination.
The staff hit empty air, generating shockwaves that oscillated and vanished over time.
