Chapter 19
-1 month later-
A month has passed since the incident with Captain America in Berlin. During this time, Ash has accomplished a lot. The most obvious change is his height, now standing at 6 feet 3 inches tall. His muscles have become even more pronounced, and his shell has grown so dense that even Madame Gao could not scratch it. More importantly, his control over his extension has increased; he can now coat mana over a nail, making it sharp and durable without heating it, although it still requires concentration.
Currently, Ash is in the Himalayas—Mount Everest, to be exact, which had dense mana as if a mana monster had die here. He stands tall with minimal clothing, his eyes glowing white from his active mana state that enhances his physical attributes. He holds a bone sword, more aptly described as a bone club due to its lack of sharpness. He is staring into a crack in reality caused by the phenomenon, as a creature begins to crawl out of it,
"looks like i was right, the phenomenon is caused by dense mana in a single location" he muttered to himself.
The howling winds screamed across the frozen slopes of Mount Everest, throwing fine powdery snow into the air with each violent gust. Jagged peaks loomed like spears around the plateau where Ash stood, bare-chested, steam rising from his body as the bitter cold clung to him in vain.
His glowing white eyes locked on the tear in reality just ahead, where space itself had begun to crack and shimmer like broken glass. From that fissure, then a creature crawled out—massive, regal, and wrathful. Its frosted mane shook as it roared, shattering icicles overhead and sending a flock of startled crows scattering into the gray sky.
Ash's grip tightened around the dragonfang blade, its thick bone form crudely shaped but now sharper and more durable thanks to the mana coating it.
He exhaled, the mist from his breath mixing with the thin air. The monster lunged, its weight slamming into the snow, causing it to collapse into a shallow trench as the mountain trembled beneath its bulk. Ash sidestepped to the right—not a leap, but a grounded pivot, knees low, foot sliding slightly as he used the loose snow to reduce friction, avoiding the sweeping tusks by inches. As the Barioth's claws came next, he ducked low, letting his reinforced shell take a glancing blow across the shoulder, the impact crackling the snow behind him but leaving his skin unbroken.
The wyvern snarled and followed with its frost breath, a chilling stream of sub-zero air that swept in an arc. Ash kicked off the ground into a low roll, snow bursting into the air as he evaded the cone of cold by a breath. The frost followed him, freezing over rocks and turning the air sluggish. He rose, his body steaming as mana surged in his limbs. He closed the distance in a blink,
swinging his club-sword in a wide arc, catching the beast's flank, sending a shudder through its thick fur, but leaving only a shallow gouge. The creature twisted, its powerful tail sweeping through the snow. Ash leapt over it, twisting mid-air, feet skimming a snow-laden rock that exploded from the impact as the tail struck it instead.
With a sharp inhale, Ash focused. His shell flexed, mana weaving to his fingertips as he extended it through the blade again. He pressed the flat side of the club against the snow for half a second—grounding himself. The creature reared back, breath gathering at its fanged maw. Ash sprinted toward a narrow outcrop as the beast fired an explosive shard of ice,
the projectile smashing into the earth where Ash had been, rupturing stone and throwing snow sky-high. Ash burst from the whiteout, launching forward low to the ground, his footfall creating craters as he struck the monster's foreleg. Bone met muscle, and the creature buckled slightly, forced to shift back.
The creature roared again and lunged, this time with controlled power, each motion calculated. Its claw came down like a guillotine. Ash pivoted, his back foot sliding across a patch of frost left by the previous breath—he leaned into it, letting the loss of traction lower his stance, narrowly evading the blow.
He thrust upward with his blade, aiming for the throat, but the beast jerked back. It exhaled again, a wide cone of icy air directly onto Ash. The frost hit him, and for a second his limbs slowed, his breath hitching. His shell hardened further, a sharp exhale blasting heat around him as he burned more mana to counter the sluggishness.
Snow avalanched off a nearby slope from the roaring wind, crashing between them and momentarily breaking line of sight. Ash charged through the falling snow, appearing like a white blur himself. He spun, bone club glowing, and slammed it into the creature's ribs. It screeched, finally staggering, the dense fur there slightly matted with blood. The creature retaliated instantly, lunging with its jaw wide.
Ash couldn't dodge in time, so he braced—his arms crossed as the tusks slammed into him, sending him skidding backward, feet carving deep ruts through the snowy ground until he slammed into a protruding rock wall.
He coughed once, steam rising from his lips as he shook off the impact. The rock cracked, but he didn't bleed. He pushed off, sprinting again. The creature roared in frustration, ice forming rapidly under its paws as it unleashed a barrage of frost projectiles. Ash weaved between them, breathing in rhythm, every step deliberate. He ducked under one, spun around another, using a rising gust to flip over the last one, snow spiraling around him like a whirlwind.
As he landed, he struck again, blade crackling with mana. It clashed with the creature's tusk, splitting the sharpened tip clean off, sending shards spinning through the air. The creature howled and tried to leap back, but Ash followed, slamming a punch reinforced by mana into its chest, denting its fur and making its breath hitch.
The snow whipped into a frenzy as the mountain echoed with the sounds of beast and man clashing—snow cracked, rocks split, frost covered entire segments of the battlefield, and Ash's heat scorched foot-shaped circles into the ice where he landed. Neither had won. Both stood, breathing heavily, frost and steam swirling around them. And above, the crack in the sky pulsed again.
The mountain groaned beneath their feet as another tremor rippled out from the rift above, knocking loose a slab of ice from a nearby ridge. It crashed beside them, shattering into jagged shards that scattered like glass. Neither Ash nor the beast flinched—locked in a brutal stalemate, frost and fury clinging to the air around them.
Ash adjusted his stance, muscles flexing beneath frost-covered skin as mana surged through his body again, repairing what minor bruises he'd taken. He could feel the burn in his lungs, the thin Himalayan air refusing to cooperate with his rapid breathing, but he pushed through, teeth gritted, eyes burning white-hot.
The creature crouched, chest heaving as mist hissed from its nostrils. Ice had begun creeping back along the ground beneath its paws, freezing over the gouges Ash's strikes had left in the terrain.
It growled low, dragging its claws across the frozen ground in wide arcs, carving long trenches into the snow that glowed faintly blue with residual frost. In an instant, it lunged—this time faking a frontal charge.
Ash reacted, stepping left, but the creature twisted in mid-motion, coiling like a serpent and slamming its tail forward with devastating precision. Ash saw it at the last second and dropped to the ground, his knees burying into snow as the tail whistled past his head, throwing a wave of snow across his back.
He pushed off immediately, shell flaring to reinforce his shoulders, and charged beneath the creature's torso. The blade in his hand swung upward in a vicious rising arc, slamming into the beast's underbelly where the fur was thinner.
A sickening crack echoed, and the creature shrieked, its body rearing back as it instinctively tried to leap away—but Ash was already moving. He didn't give it the chance. He leapt up and grabbed the creature's dense mane with one hand, using it to swing around onto its back. The sword reversed in his grip, now pointed down, glowing with sharpened mana as he thrust toward the creature's spine.
The monster bucked like a wild beast, spinning violently. Ash's grip held, his shell digging into the frozen fur, resisting the whipping wind. Suddenly, the creature slammed itself against the cliffside, trying to crush him against the rocks. Ice shattered as the mountainside broke from the impact. Ash let go a second before contact, twisting mid-air and flipping backward. He landed in a wide crouch, his knees sinking into the snow as the impact caused a nearby overhang to collapse behind him.
The beast turned to face him, blood dripping from its belly, its breath labored but its posture still fierce. It inhaled, and Ash immediately dove forward, knowing what was coming. A torrent of frost exploded from the creature's maw, washing over the mountain like a wave. Ash slid under the blast, the tips of his hair freezing in the rush of cold, and launched upward. He soared past the breath stream and brought his blade down onto the creature's shoulder. The impact sent frost flying in every direction, a burst of warmth following in its wake from the force of his blow.
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A/N guess the monster