“When Hunger Become A Power”

Suddenly, the python's body glowed with earth magic. Spikes of jagged stone erupted from the ground.

Raizo, Shekiah, and Silvia dodged—but Fenra wasn't fast enough. A spike pierced her stomach, knocking her near a cliff edge.

"Fenra!" Raizo's voice tore through the chaos.

The python's golden eyes flashed. Glare.

Fenra froze, her body locked in place, terror seizing her limbs. The serpent's tail swept toward her, ready to send her plummeting.

"Not on my watch!" Raizo roared, chanting:

"Fulmen's speed, electric tide, strike and flash, dash with pride! Lightning Magic: Lightning Dash!"

In a blinding flash, he pushed Fenra to safety—but the python's tail struck him full force.

"Raizo!!!" the three girls screamed as his body disappeared over the cliff.

Silence fell. Then something inside Fenra, Silvia, and Shekiah snapped.

Their leader. Their protector. The man they loved.

"Raizo…" Fenra whispered, her eyes glowing with white-hot rage. Memories of his smile, his warmth, and the moments he'd risked his life for them flooded her mind.

A purple magic circle formed in front of her.

"Beast Transformation…" she growled.

Her fur turned black with glowing purple streaks. Her eyes became pale white, filled with fury.

Shekiah's pink eyes shifted to deep violet. Her sword burned with raw mana.

Silvia's hair turned golden as wind magic surged through her veins.

"You're going to pay for this," Fenra snarled.

The three launched a coordinated attack.

Fenra leapt first, biting into the python's flesh.

The serpent tried to retaliate, but Shekiah teleported and smashed her sword into its jaw, blood spraying.

Silvia fired an arrow into the ground. It sprouted thorned vines that wrapped around the python's body, constricting it.

The python prepared another poison blast, but Fenra forced its mouth shut. The venom exploded inside its maw, shredding its throat.

The beast tried to retreat, but Shekiah slammed her sword down, creating an earth wall that blocked its path.

"Now!" Fenra cried.

She slashed first, ripping through its scales. Shekiah followed with a devastating uppercut slash that nearly split its head.

"Finish it!" Silvia fired five enchanted arrows at once. They struck, and thorned vines erupted, piercing deep into the monster's body.

The Giant Python let out one final screech before collapsing.

Fenra's transformation faded. Exhausted, she fell unconscious. Shekiah knelt, panting, while Silvia collapsed beside her, her bow clattering to the ground.

Hours passed.

The three slowly woke under the orange glow of sunset.

"What… happened?" Fenra whispered, then the memory hit her. "Raizo!" She scrambled to the cliff's edge, tears streaming. "Raizo… where are you?"

Silvia groaned, holding her head. "Ugh… my head…"

Shekiah placed a comforting hand on Fenra's shoulder. "Fenra… we… we avenged him. It's over."

Fenra cried harder. "It's my fault! I froze because of that glare. If I hadn't—"

Silvia, her voice soft, said, "It's not your fault. He saved you because that's who he is."

Shekiah sighed. "We need to return to Asteria…"

Fenra nodded reluctantly. "Yeah… let's go…"

They began their somber journey back, unaware of the truth.

Earlier

Below the cliff, Raizo lay on the forest floor, blood dripping from his lip. His body ached, but his crimson eyes still burned.

"Healing come, cure the soul, cleanse the affliction, restore my health whole—Super Heal!"

A warm light wrapped around him, closing his wounds.

He stared up at the cliff, clenching Voidbringer tightly. "I can't let them think I'm dead. I need to survive… and find them."

The dark forest stretched endlessly before him.

"Fenra… Silvia… Shekiah… wait for me," please be safe.