Chương 291: Chapter 287 - Jurassic Valley (XLIV)

Ayu rested her head on Alonso's shoulder as they stared at the setting sun on the horizon, the sky a wash of orange and pink, cascading over the vast green plains.

"I'm glad you've been enjoying your time here with the beastmen," Alonso said, his back against a lone tree on a small hill, his arm resting lightly around Ayu's back.

"Yeah… Makoh and the others have been really nice to me. I've been even a bit spoiled, I'd say." She chuckled softly, but then her face dimmed for a moment.

"Well… it feels kind of bad, talking about good times after all you've been through." Alonso smiled as he glanced at her.

"Hey, it'll make for one hell of a story, right? And if it all led me here… to this moment… then it's worth it." Ayu's eyes flickered, her voice quieter.

"What are your plans now?"

"Plans? Well… eventually I've got to head back to the Ajnal. Let the others know that… I'm not dead." He gave a short laugh.

"Okay. When are we setting out?"

"We?" Ayu turned her head slightly, giving him a sidelong glance.

"Yeah."

"Well… I thought you'd want to stay with Makoh, keep training and—""I'll let that one slide… for your sake, after everything you've been through," Ayu said, her gaze returning to the horizon.

"But don't say something stupid like that again, okay?" Alonso opened his mouth—then smiled softly. He pulled her just a little closer.

"So again, when are we setting out?"

"I… I'm not sure. I can wait a while, really. Well—more like, Imani and the rest can wait. My main worry was you hearing from them that I'd died." Ayu tensed for a moment, then exhaled sharply.

"You… you made me a promise. I would have told them you were fine. Somewhere out there. And I would've searched for you." What if I truly had died? Alonso didn't voice the thought. He just stayed silent. He didn't want to think about it. Not now. So he changed the topic.

"I was wondering… that technique the beastmen use to hide from senses—what's it all about?" Ayu grinned.

"Oh, that. They call it something that would translate as The Way of the World. I mean—wait, you don't know their language, do you?" Alonso shook his head. Just as he did, he felt a pulse hit him—carrying a series of words, each paired with an English equivalent, and a visual image of the element or concept. He noted the language was quite simple—had even fewer words than the Ajnal one. He also noticed Ayu had included the sign language they used as well.

"Thanks."

"It's okay. Next time, speak with them like this. I think only Master and some odd elders know the Ajnal language."

"Oh, about that—yeah, let me share that with you too," Alonso sent a similar pulse back to Ayu.

"Weird one, huh." The Ajnal language is the weird one? Alonso nearly laughed. Half the beastmen's words sounded like barking or clipped growls—but he kept that to himself.

"If you're not in a hurry to go, then let's stay here for a couple of weeks? I mean, you are intrigued by that technique, right?" She grinned.

"Why not learn it with me?" Alonso looked at her. She knew him well—and honestly, he was interested. More than just a bit. Especially with a legendary figure like Grandmaster Makoh around. But more than all that… he just wanted to spend time with Ayu. Real, quality time. Here, in the plains. Far from the outposts, far from the war. He needed a break.

"Ok." Ayu smiled and then stood with a kip-up.

"Great! What do you say we go hunt some of those three-tailed bastards that gave you a hard time?" Alonso blinked.

"Hunt… elite Xok'al?"

"Yeah. You told me you can kill them easily now, right?"

"Well… sure. But, where would we find them?" Alonso said as he also stood up.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I know a place," Ayu winked and started running. Alonso laughed and followed. For some reason, it felt like old times. This stage… had been awfully plain without you, Ayu. Together they ran through the plains. Alonso noticed how Ayu adjusted her pace—barely noticeable—but he recognised it was done to match his own exactly. Yet the flow around her… that aura when she moved… it was faint, but there was something, just slightly, that resembled that of Makoh. Which made him wonder…

how strong was Ayu now? They ran for an hour before they reached the mountainous region to the far west of the beastmen village. But Ayu didn't stop—she kept going, Alonso close behind. Half an hour deeper into the mountains, Ayu finally halted. Alonso looked around but noticed nothing out of place, then glanced at her. She turned, eyes sparkling, and sent him an image—a cartoonish version of himself with a big question mark above the head. Alonso chuckled, warmth spreading through his chest. He really missed this.

Ayu did not wait for a reply, and leapt up a ridge, unsheathed her daggers, and started moving ahead. Alonso frowned, sweeping his waves across the surroundings— nothing odd… no—wait. His gaze shifted to the side. A bush flickered. He dashed toward it, but before he could reach it, the air shifted—an almost imperceptible sound—then a sudden crack. Ayu appeared behind the two-tailed Xok'al, its head already detached from the body, a faint blur trailing from her dagger. This book's true home is on another platform.

Check it out there for the real experience. Alonso's eyes widened. That… was fast. But how? It wasn't just speed. It was… perception? Was Ayu—and this beastman technique—fooling the senses of those around them? Was it like his Intent Realm with the blade? He wasn't sure, but that would explain how Ayu blurred without him being able to trace her movement.

"Hey! Don't think too much—just move. Have fun!" Ayu shouted as she killed another. Her head twisted casually dodging a projectile as she drove her dagger into the next Xok'al's skull without even looking at it. Blood splattered the air as she retracted the blade.

"Come on! I won't laugh if you're too flimsy, don't worry!" Flimsy? What the— Alonso shook his head and rushed forward. He had a couple of tricks too. First fight since reaching Second Pillar State… Ayu's right. Let's have some fun. Full Overdrive His waves pulsed outward—fine threads weaving in every direction. Sound caught in his ears. Shapes flickered in his vision. Then—he felt them. All of them. His waves fed into the blade, steps accelerating as his body cut through the air.

A twist—two projectiles spun past his shoulders. He rolled mid-air, blade slicing in a perfect arc—two Xok'al fell. Momentum carried him through a sliding turn across the dirt. Low kick—one downed. Blade flipped in his grip, spun, sliced—another throat opened clean. A breath, a pulse—then Ayu. She pivoted out of a fresh kill, flashed him a grin.

"Your shoulders are too tense. Waves are cool—yeah—but feel your body. Let it be free." Then she vanished. A blurred flicker—sound cracked behind him. BOOM! Ayu reappeared left, leg driving straight through a Xok'als belly. Its body bent like a bow, launched backward—slammed against the boulder behind them with a thunderous crack. Alonso stared—jaw half open—just as another volley bent past his head. Damn. He kept watching her body—appearing, vanishing—slipping through his senses like smoke.

The way her muscles coiled, then snapped loose in bursts of perfect power. Each movement was fluid, precise—no waste, no hesitation. A flick of pride stirred in him. Ayu… had grown tremendously. Her footwork. Her command of space. Her timing was so flawless it felt almost unfair to the Xok'al. Each shift of weight, each pivot, each launch—executed in exact rhythm. Release. Recoil. Release again. Every muscle obeying as if they were strings to a single will. To reach this level…

the sheer amount of ingrained muscle memory, training, talent and pain it would have taken— insane. A flicker of movement behind him. Alonso sensed it but barely registered the threat. A Xok'al closed in from the rear. He didn't turn. His eyes narrowed, breath steady—and sent one targeted, all-out pulse. It hit the Xok'al square in the mind. Its movement froze for a moment… then snapped out of it. So it's still not strong enough to make them pass out, huh?

He gave it little thought, turned and took a quick step back, entering its range. He slashed his blade at its throat, while the Xok'al's arms moved to block elsewhere, fooled by his Sword Intent. After a spurt of blood, the creature collapsed—lifeless. Alonso flicked his blade to clear the blood and stepped toward Ayu's direction. She had already finished the last one present. Her strange, bone blades hung at her sides, steady. She turned, gaze finding his across the bloodied ground strewn with Xok'al corpses.

Not a drop of blood stained her skin. Not a speck of dust marked her weapons. Barefoot, her steps whispered over the stone. Only hide armour covered her chest and waist. Yet somehow, she felt more imposing than if she'd worn a full suit. But that wasn't what caught him. It was the shimmering heat rising from her skin. The air itself seemed to warp around her, a visual ripple betraying the intensity of her Overdrive. And beneath that—her body. Every curve sharpened by the fight.

Every line drawn taut with raw, primal power. Alonso felt his pulse spike. Heat flooded his veins. Something about her aura had shifted—there was more to it now. An allure beneath the strength. A magnetic, raw force that seemed to pull him in. Their eyes locked. Nothing spoken. Nothing needed. It was all there, but then— Movement. Both narrowed their eyes as they caught the approach of an elite Xok'al. Was this a nest? Did Ayu just… come here regularly to hunt them? Interesting. But this was good.

He could use some Stage Progress. He calmly stepped forward until he was beside Ayu. There were two three-tailed Xok'al ahead, but Alonso could already sense more approaching. He and Ayu exchanged a brief glance, smiled—then leapt forward. Alonso gripped his blade tight as he landed. The three-tailed Xok'al unleashed a flurry of projectiles from its tails, but he dodged one and deflected the rest with ease. The creature pressed down on him with its EM domain— But Alonso didn't flinch.

His own pulses countered the creature's pressure without struggle. He kept moving forward, and the Xok'al charged, limbs shaped like spearheads. Pivoting on his right foot, he entered range, steadied his breathing... and struck. Only one sword moved. A single accelerated thrust, released from a solid stance, anchored deep into the ground. And... that was it. Alonso rose from the stance and kept walking, footsteps calm, unhurried, as he passed the frozen Xok'al beside him.

Its eyes blinked in confusion—wondering what had happened to the phantom slash it had seen... and how, or why, a gaping hole now marked the place where its heart should have been. Its body wavered—then crumpled to the ground. Darkness took it, without ever knowing how it had died. On the other side, Ayu was already fighting the other. Her body glided across the stone, twisting out of the Xok'al's reach before the creature could even start the strike. Its flow collapsed in an instant.

Ayu's dagger flashed toward its throat. The Xok'al jerked back, but Ayu shifted on her toes, matching its movement perfectly—making the strike unavoidable. Her blade pierced its throat. And just like that, the elite Xok'al was dead. She stopped and looked at Alonso. But this time, her expression had slightly changed—amused, with a hint of something else.

"What you did just now… was cool."

"Oh… that? Well, you've become a lot cooler yourself, my Ayu."

"I know, right?" She grinned, eyes already locked on the next wave of Xok'al.

"So, do you like the spot?"

"Like it," Alonso smiled, blades spinning around his wrists.

"It's fantastic." They both smiled and dashed forward. Meanwhile, on a distant mountaintop near the ongoing battle, a lone beastman stood, dressed in white hides. His hair and furred ears swayed softly in the breeze as he watched the two figures cutting through the Xok'al below. His face remained expressionless as the clash continued in the distance. Seconds merged into minutes, until the fight was finally over. Then, as a gust of wind swept over his perch— he was gone.

And there, left behind, only a corpse remained. Dark red carapace. A single, faint cut in the skull. And extending from its waist... four long tails.