Standing before Ansu was Ruin,but he looked completely different. At least his color anyway.
His previous red exoskeleton armor was now completely black with red glowing lines running across it.
His horns and tail seemed a lot bigger and so was his height.
Ruin had a satisfied grin on his face as he looked at Ansu as if he was a treasure trove or golden goose.
"You really are the only ant I’ve faced worthy of being called a human," he praised, "now, surprise me more human."
Ansu looked at the transformed Ruin without a hint of surprise. Although he was hopeful that the previous attack had completely dealt with him.
At this point, there was nothing else he could do. His soul power has completely run out so he can’t summon Mfalme wa Nuru again.
He was completely exhausted, so much so that raising his spear became a chore not to mention swinging it.
"....my...prince.." a low voice called out.
Turning to the side, Ansu saw Bolu crawling towards him leaving behind a trail of blood. He was on death’s door but the three headed dog refused to finish him off just yet.
"Leka....Mwene wánga...Ofu...tunáma she’ndele...." Bolu struggled to let out, but as soon as he did, a frown appeared on Ansu’s face. [Run away my Prince, get to safety.]
"No!" Ansu replied, "we were thought to fight till death and I shall face this monster till my final breath."
"Ofu.....tala...mwene-oba!" Bolu urged again [please....you...have...to...warn..the...king ]
While the conversation went on, Ruin calmly watched the two before snapping his fingers.
With the snap, the three headed dog pounced on the half dead Bolu, ripping him to complete shreds right in front of Ansu.
"Now now," Ruin said with a chuckle, "don’t start gossiping while I’m standing here."
Ansu stood there frozen, his pupils shrunk and the three headed dog continued ripping Bolu’s body to shreds.
"Now where was I?" Ruin continue as he put his clawed hand on his chin, as if thinking "that’s right, you were about to surprise me."
Ansu didn’t say anything as he continued looking in the position Bolu was previously in.
Losing his warriors in a battle was nothing new to him but Ruin seemed to only be doing that to spite him.
"Come on now," Ruin taunted, "don’t tell me the deaths of your warriors will being vain."
Ansu clenched his fists tighter around his spear. His tribal tattoos started glowing again, albeit slowly.
"Don’t you want revenge?" Ruin continued his taunts, "show me how far you can go, human.. SHOW ME!"
Without saying a word, Ansu hurled his spear at Ruin.
The spear launched forward with a golden glow, tearing through space while leaving a trail behind it.
But the attack was for naught as the spear disintegrated to dust before it could even reach Ruin.
"Ah right," Ruin hit is palm with his fist before saying, "I forgot to mention, anything you do at this point will be meaningless."
Ansu looked at him with a frown on his face, that spear was not something that should’ve been easily destroyed like that, but Ruin explained exactly why it was.
"Thanks to you, I was able to die enough times to become strong enough to use some of my abilities in shard." He took a short pause.
"You see, when my shard first arrived in this world, it wasn’t strong enough to wield my abilities so I could only rely on barbarian methods of battle" Ruin continued, "but now, I’m strong enough to use [Entropy], an ability which decays anything I specifying."
Ansu’s pupils trembled even more as he understood Ruin’s words. They meant that all this time, with all the losses he had suffered fighting this monster, Ruin had been fighting at a disadvantage?
"It doesn’t matter," he resolved, "I shall but you with my bare hands if I have to."
"Oh please go ahead and try," Ruin said with an amused laugh, "I’ll appreciate it you could kill me a couple more times so I can make use of my other abilities."
Ansu took a shaky breath, then forced himself to move.
His muscles screamed in protest, bones cracked under the strain, but he didn’t stop.
He charged.
There was no weapon in his hand, his soul power was completely drained and he seemed to have nothing to fight with, just the sheer determination to take this monster down and avenge his warriors.
Ruin grinned and beckoned him forward, opening his arms wide in mock invitation. "Yes, that’s it. Entertain me more, human"
Ansu’s fists struck out with surprising speed for someone in his state, but Ruin casually tilted his head to avoid them.
A clawed hand met Ansu’s abdomen, sending him skidding across the ground like a broken doll. He coughed violently, blood staining his lips as he tried to get back up.
"You’re not disappointing me," Ruin said, his tone almost... delighted. "No, not yet. Keep going. Break your limits. Show me something new."
Ansu stumbled upright, but still stood back up and charged. The glows of his tribal markings got even more intense as they rapidly flashed, following the rhythm of a beating heart.
"Even if it destroys me—I’ll drag you down with me." Ansu growled as he continued charging.
Ruin laughed, a loud, booming cackle. "Yes! YES! That’s the spirit I wanted to see!"
He suddenly dashed forward, his massive frame blurring in motion, and slammed a knee into Ansu’s chest.
With shattered ribs and knocked out breath, Ansu was sent flying through the forest trees..
Still, he stood back up.
Barely though.
The glow around him intensified and the only visible thing was his golden silhouette. The air around him rippled as Ansu seemed at the brink of unlocking something new.
Something so terrifying that even Ruin felt a pressure fall on his shoulders, almost forcing him to his knees.
But instead of his previous excitement shown at Ansu’s progress, a primal fear arouse within him.
A feeling he hadn’t felt in millinea, a feeling he didn’t like one bit.
Ansu’s scream was cut off midway as Ruin’s tail cleanly passed through his chest. His eyes widened in shock as he looked down at the black, tail protruding from his chest.
Blood dripped down in slow, crimson streams, sizzling where it touched the forest floor.
Ruin leaned in close, whispering beside his ear.
"You were right on the edge," he said, voice low and almost regretful. "But whatever that was, I can’t let you unlock it."
With a brutal twist, Ruin ripped his tail free, and Ansu collapsed to the ground, his glowing tattoos dimming as life slipped from his body.
With that, the forest fell eerily silent.