Razeal moved like a phantom in the snow, his shadow blade dancing through the air with casual grace. His left arm alone carried the fight, each motion so fluid it looked almost lazy yet the impact behind every strike told a different story. Every swing was precise, every block effortless, every counter perfectly angled to turn his opponent's strength against him.

Across from him, Ranguard roared as his body shifted further, dragon blood surging hot in his veins. Crimson scales spread across his arms and chest, claws elongating into weapons of their own. The ground trembled with each of his steps as he poured raw draconic strength into his swings. His crimson blade blurred through the air in wide arcs, each strike capable of splitting boulders, shockwaves cracking the snow and stone beneath their feet.

Yet no matter how violently he swung, no matter how much force he poured into the blade, Razeal caught him. Every slash was turned aside with a sharp clang, the shockwave rippling through the crater. Dust and snow burst outward in rings, the impact sending gusts of icy wind howling into the forest beyond.

And through it all, Razeal's breathing never changed. His expression never shifted. His one hand continued to move like flowing water calm, steady, untouchable.

Ranguard's teeth ground together as frustration boiled in his chest. What is this swordsmanship? he thought, eyes narrowing as sparks flew between their clashing blades. These angles… these motions… I can't even predict them. They're unrecognizable! It's like his strikes don't follow any system at all!

The draconic warrior tried to force his way through. He leaned harder into his strength, claws gouging the earth as he swung with both arms, his full weight behind every blow. His scales shimmered like armor, sharp and unyielding, his monstrous physique radiating power that should have overwhelmed anyone of Razeal's size.

But no matter how much he pushed, it wasn't enough.

Scales cracked and split where Razeal's blade landed. Deep gashes marred his chest, his shoulders, his arms. Each time the shadow sword found its mark, it wasn't a mere cut it ripped scales clean from their roots, leaving exposed skin bleeding beneath. The legendary resilience of dragon-blood meant nothing under the weight of Razeal's strikes.

And Razeal wasn't even using his right hand. Well, he didn't have one. But imagining if he did.. if he had two hands that would be a nightmare. Good thing he doesn't..

Ranguard's chest heaved as he staggered back a step, his crimson blade barely keeping up with the relentless rhythm. Every time he thought he found a pattern, Razeal broke it. Every time he expected a parry, the boy redirected his blade in some impossible way, bending the fight into his own tempo.

Across the battlefield, Togi unleashed a storm of wooden shards. His bark-hardened arms stretched wide, palms glowing faintly as they sprayed razor-sharp splinters through the air like a thousand bullets. They hissed through the snowstorm, fast enough to puncture stone.

But Razeal's body bent between them with impossible grace. He twisted, ducked, and slid out of the line of fire, never once letting his attention leave Ranguard. His sword continued to press forward, his footwork so precise that not a single shard managed to graze his cloak.

"How the fuck…?" Togi hissed under his breath, his jaw clenching as sweat rolled down his bark-covered temple. "How can he attack and dodge at the same time? And at that kind of speed?!" His voice cracked in frustration, disbelief gnawing at him as his barrages failed to even slow the boy down.

Razeal smirked as he saw an opening. In a single, smooth motion, he slipped past Ranguard's guard. His shadow blade slid along the crimson sword, twisting aside, and then slammed hard into the dragon warrior's ribs.

A sickening crack split the air.

Ranguard's eyes widened as pain seared his side. Blood sprayed from his lips as his body lifted off the ground, hurled backward like a ragdoll. The impact left a long gash across his torso, crimson scales torn away in a jagged line from his chest to his ribs. His breath hitched, a strangled grunt escaping his throat as he flew.

"Ranguard!" Togi shouted, lunging forward with unnatural speed. He caught the bleeding man against his bark-armored chest, the force of the impact driving both of them sliding backward through the snow.

Ranguard coughed violently, more blood spattering onto the ground. His hand clutched his side where the ribs had cracked, his chest burning with every breath. A thin trail of blood trickled down his neck where another gash ran dangerously close to his throat. His body was littered with cuts and bruises, his scales fractured across his torso like shattered glass.

"I… I almost died…" he rasped, his voice raw with pain.

He could feel it.. the unnatural looseness in his torso, the cracks in his very bones. Even dragon bones, renowned for their indestructible resilience, had not withstood the strike.

And even his ribs.. dragon bones had cracked.

Togi's jaw tightened. He let him down as hooked his arm under Ranguard's shoulder, supporting him upright, though his own body was trembling from the memory of that last blow. He could still feel it.. the weight of the shadow blade crashing against his hardened marble body, the way it had nearly shattered him despite his transformation.

"Let me handle it," Togi said firmly, his voice lower than usual, carrying a rare seriousness. "Your body can't take another hit like that. You'll be finished. Honestly, if it weren't for your draconic physiology, you'd already be in pieces. Half-dead doesn't even begin to cover it."

Ranguard didn't argue. His pride screamed at him to resist, to refuse this retreat. But even pride had limits. Pain roared louder. He staggered backward a few steps, one hand still pressed to his bleeding side, his other clutching the hilt of his battered sword. His gaze never left the boy across the crater.

Razeal stood there calmly, shadow blade resting lightly in his left hand. His breathing was steady No blood on him. No sweat. Not even the faintest tremor in his body.

It was as though he hadn't been in a battle at all.

Ranguard clenched his teeth, eyes narrowing in disbelief. This is insane. That was everything I had, and he swatted me aside like a child. A sixteen year old boy, with no aura, no mana… he doesn't even radiate presence like a warrior. Yet his body… and strength… it surpasses mine. Mine! A dragon-blooded warrior, crushed in brute strength…?

He hated it. But there was no denying it. He had been thrown around like a ragdoll, his scales torn from their roots, his bones cracked, his body beaten down. He couldn't match Razeal in strength. Not even close.

"…He's not human," Ranguard muttered under his breath, spitting out blood as he stumbled further back, conceding his place on the battlefield.

Togi, however, was not thinking of conceding anything.

His steps crunched against the snow as he stepped forward, placing himself between Ranguard and the calm figure of Razeal.

Then, slowly, he reached into his pocket.

Razeal tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Togi pull out a pebble the size of a fingernail. The pebble shimmered with an unnatural green glow, faint light bleeding out of its surface.

Without hesitation, Togi placed the pebble in his mouth and swallowed.

The effect was immediate.

A violent surge of energy rippled through his body, visible to the naked eye. His skin.. already hardened wood from his earlier transformation.. began to thrum with life. The wooden fibers stretched and swelled, cracking outward as though his entire body were pulsing. Muscles thickened unnaturally beneath the bark-like surface. Veins of radiant green light pulsed across his frame, tracing glowing patterns from his chest to his limbs. His eyes, once ordinary, now blazed with green fire as faint radiation shimmered around him like heatwaves.

The air itself seemed to warp faintly, an oppressive pressure radiating from him.

"System," Razeal muttered softly, his eyes narrowing as he studied the transformation. "What did he just eat?"

He already had an idea. In the novel's plot, Togi's ability had been briefly shown.. absorbing materials, taking on their properties. He had once fought Areon Dragonwevr, even managing to endure the dragon's monstrous strength by consuming some strange stone. But in the end, Areon had melted him alive with his sun magic.

The story had been vague, the details glossed over. But Razeal remembered that much. And what he was seeing now… confirmed it.

[That, Host…] the System's voice answered, sharper than usual. [Well it…is uranium. Pure uranium. He just swallowed raw nuclear material.]

Razeal's eyes narrowed at system words...

"Uranium…?" he muttered under his breath. Of course he knew what uranium was.. its very name carried the weight of devastation in his past life. Nuclear energy. Radiation. The silent poison that could level nations.

Yet here it was, pulsing like a second heart inside the body of this man. Togi's form was no longer remotely human. His once-wooden frame, shaped from Sylva's enchanted material, had fused into something grotesque yet frighteningly resilient. It pulsed with a green glow, light seeping from cracks in his skin like molten veins, his eyes burning like twin radioactive suns.

That wood… Razeal thought sharply. It's resistant to radiation. That's why he's not crumbling apart already. It's acting like a containment shell while letting him harness the raw energy.

The realization left him momentarily silent. If Togi could really channel uranium's power, then his body wasn't just durable.. it was a living nuclear reactor.

"System," Razeal said coldly. "Does this mean he can actually use all that energy without killing himself?"

[Well.. you can say that..,] the System replied after a brief hum. [His absorption ability allows him to metabolize matter in unique ways. The enchanted wood he took earlier acts as a buffer, limiting radiation damage. There are still harmful effects creeping into his system, but they're minor compared to the sheer amount of energy he's gained. To put it simply: the uranium has turned him into a self-sustaining reactor. He could survive a million years without eating or drinking, feeding only on this energy. And ofcourse energy can be used other way..]

Razeal's lips twitched, not in amusement but in grudging admiration. "That's… cheating."

[Cheating is one word for it,] the System said dryly. [But you're not wrong. Imagine a weakling suddenly swallowing a pill that boosts them straight to S or SS rank energy ball. That's what he's done.. except he can repeat the process anytime. He's a walking cheat code.]

Razeal's expression darkened, recalling the novel's version of events. Togi had been discarded like a side character, killed by Areon in a single chapter without even an explanation of his true potential. So he wasn't trash after all… the author just didn't give him justice.

The System's voice grew sharper, cutting through his thoughts.

[Host, listen carefully: whatever you do, don't let him touch your bones. If he absorbs even a fragment of your skeletal structure, the world might as well end. His ability isn't bound by morality it will adapt to whatever material he claims... So protect yourself.]

Razeal pouted. "Did you think I was an idiot? Of course I know. Though the real question is.. could he even absorb something like Obsidian Agony?"

[Why would you even...] The System started to question, but before it could finish, the battlefield shifted.

A pulse of green energy erupted beneath Togi's feet. The snow surrounding him vaporized instantly, blasted outward in a rippling shockwave. And in less than a blink, Togi was gone.

No.. he wasn't gone. He was in front of Razeal.

A massive fist, glowing with an unearthly green light, hurtled toward Razeal's face. The sheer pressure warped the air, distorting space itself. The ground cracked beneath the force of his movement. Radiation poured off him in waves, heavy and suffocating, as if the world itself recoiled from his existence.

Togi's mouth twisted into a grin of madness. His teeth glowed faintly with the same radioactive light spilling from his eyes and pores, making his face look like a nightmarish lantern. His body was a weapon, a nuclear warhead in humanoid form, and he was about to crash it into Razeal's skull.

But Razeal didn't flinch.

His head tilted slightly to the side.. just enough for the punch to whistle past his ear, grazing nothing but air.

And before Togi's body could even register the miss, Razeal's left hand shot forward like a viper. His fingers clamped around the back of Togi's head with merciless precision.

There was no hesitation. No pause.

"Die."

BOOOOM!

The world shook as Razeal slammed Togi's skull into the ground. The earth caved in instantly, snow and soil flying outward in a violent spray. A crater bloomed beneath them, radiating cracks like a shattered mirror.

Razeal didn't stop.

BAAAM!

He lifted Togi's head and smashed it down again. The ground screamed, splintering under the repeated blows.

BAAAAM!

Another impact. Snow vaporized, stone split, and the surrounding forest groaned as shockwaves rippled through the earth.

The world blurred into chaos. Each strike was like a meteor crashing from the heavens, the sound echoing like thunder. The very air trembled with each impact, heavy with the rhythm of destruction.

Ranguard, standing far back, shielded his face from flying debris. His crimson hair whipped in the storm of snow and dirt, his body rattled by the force of the impacts. His eyes were wide, disbelief and terror mixing in equal measure.

Even like this… even in that monstrous form… he's still being beaten down like a child.

Each slam left a new crater, overlapping the last until the battlefield became a scarred wasteland. Cracks spiderwebbed outward, tearing through the frozen ground. Snow that had lain untouched for centuries was obliterated in seconds.

Togi's once unbreakable wood body enhanced with radiation was cracking under the pressure. Pieces flew off with each impact.. splinters of glowing wood, shards of marble, fragments of his skull-like plating. The green glow inside him leaked through the fractures, bursting out in violent rays of light that scorched the air.

Razeal's grip never faltered. His fingers dug deeper into Togi's head, crushing into the material as if trying to crack open the shell itself. The radioactive light burned his hand, but he didn't flinch.

"Damm…" Razeal growled under his breath, his voice low and deadly. His eyes glowed coldly. "Why is this shell so damn tough?"

He squeezed harder. The cracks spread, and the green glow inside Togi's body pulsed brighter, spilling from his broken skull like leaking lava. Light seared through the fractures, cutting through the snowy fog.

"Just die, you motherfucker…" Razeal hissed, slamming Togi's head down again with all the weight of his wrath.

The impact echoed for miles, shaking the very bones of the earth.

Togi's body was limp, his mind spinning in disarray. The world had become nothing but a blur of white snow and crushing earth. Each time Razeal slammed his head into the ground, there was only darkness, then blinding green light, then another deafening boom. His entire existence had been reduced to the sensation of being broken.

But Razeal's eyes narrowed mid-slam.

The cracks running across Togi's body were not widening.. they were healing. Slowly but surely, the fractures closed as the radioactive glow bled from within, sealing wounds that should have ended him.

"Tch…" Razeal's lips curled. "Even now?"

The radiation pouring through those cracks began to bite into his own skin. His flesh bubbled and hissed, peeling away in strips under the invisible poison. Steam rose from his body as black skeletal fingers were revealed beneath, gripping tighter around Togi's skull.

His voice dropped low, patient but sharp. "Alright. Enough."

Razeal lifted Togi's half-conscious, limp form high above the ground, ignoring the way his own flesh continued to burn away. His blackened skeletal hand clenched harder, carving deeper cracks into the enemy's head until they threatened to burst open with radioactive light.

"[Tectonic Ultimate skill... Forehead Slam of DOOM]," he murmured.

And then he brought it down.

The world broke.

BOOOOOOM.

The impact resounded like a meteor colliding with the earth. The ground didn't just crack; it caved in, pressed downward under the sheer force. A shockwave burst outward in every direction, ripping up trees like blades of grass, flinging snow into the heavens, and sending a rolling quake through the forest.

Even Ranguard, who had been meters away, was lifted from his feet and tossed into the air like a ragdoll. His ears rang, his chest rattled, and fear gripped his bones as if the world itself screamed at the violence.

At the crater's center, Razeal stood motionless. His skeletal hand twitched once, then unclenched. His flesh had already begun to regenerate, black bone rewrapping in fresh muscle and skin, veins knitting themselves back together as if he had never been burned.

Beneath him lay Togi's body.. headless.

The uranium warrior's skull had been obliterated upon impact, disintegrated so thoroughly there weren't even fragments scattered about. His once.. marble and wooden body twitched limply, riddled with fractures that leaked radioactive green light like cracks in a failing reactor.

Razeal's cold eyes scanned the corpse. He remained still for several long seconds.

"Easier than I thought," he said flatly, though his tone carried no pride, no satisfaction. Only calculation.

Yet doubt remained in his expression. Something about the way the body twitched unsettled him.

His left hand rose lazily, and with a snap of thought, a massive weapon materialized above him.

Eight feet of black shadow shadow condensed into the shape of a colossal hammer, its head thick and heavy enough to crush mountains, its surface etched with moving shadows that pulsed faintly with darkness.

Without a word, Razeal brought it down.

CRAAAAASH.

The hammer flattened Togi's lifeless body against the crater floor, forcing cracks to spiderweb outward.

Then he lifted it again.

BOOOOM.

Another strike. The body splintered further, pieces of enchanted wood snapping away, scattering like brittle bones.

Again.

Again.

Each swing of the hammer echoed like judgment. The ground buckled, the crater widened, and the once-humanoid body of Togi was reduced piece by piece. Splinters flew. Fragments of marble cracked apart. His form dissolved into nothing but broken wood and shattered shards, no longer resembling a man but debris left behind by a storm.

Still, Razeal did not stop. His calm face betrayed no anger, no urgency.. just methodical, relentless destruction. His single arm swung the enormous hammer as though it weighed nothing, each impact leaving the world trembling.

Far away, Ranguard staggered back to his feet. He wiped blood from his mouth, his crimson hair disheveled, his chest heaving.

"What… the hell…" he whispered hoarsely.

He had seen explosions before. He had witnessed duels between nobles and clashes between high-ranked warriors. But this was not battle.. this was butchery.

His eyes widened as he finally caught sight of Razeal in the crater's center. The boy's face was as calm as still water. No triumph. No rage. No humanity. Just calm indifference, as though what he was doing was neither horrifying nor extraordinary.

Ranguard's heart squeezed painfully in his chest. His dragon blood should have made him fearless, should have filled him with arrogance and pride even before monsters. But now.. now he felt something he had never experienced before.

Terror.

"This… this kid… he's a psychopath…" Ranguard's voice cracked, barely audible over the continued booms of the hammer. His whole body trembled. He had thought himself a predator all his life, but here, watching this, he realized the truth. He was prey.

And then, just as he reached that realization, panic seized him.

Without hesitation, Ranguard pulled a strange object from within his coat.. a smooth red orb, covered in engraved letters that shimmered faintly. His hands shook violently as he held it.

His instincts screamed louder than his pride. If he didn't act now, he wouldn't leave this crater alive.

With a sharp cry, he crushed the orb in his palm.

The letters blazed to life, glowing scarlet. A strange hum filled the air, vibrating through the snowy forest. Energy pulsed outward, different from the brutal chaos of Razeal's blowsmm this was controlled, ancient, deliberate.

Even Razeal paused mid-swing,. His cold eyes flicked toward the flash of red.

Ranguard's voice trembled, but he forced his words out between clenched teeth. "I… won't die here."

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Written by me, guys just edited by ChatGPT. Sorry, I couldn't bring much improvement on my own in a single day, but I still tried my best. Just need a few more days, guys.

Now I'll have to work on improving my writing skills for fight scenes, since this was about the last part of the fight for now.

Hope we get there! And yeah, I've been reading Shadow Slave for improvement. So, was this better than yesterday?

Thanks for reading!! ☺️

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