A monster dashed through the mountains. Behind it followed multiple shadows.

Something finally caught up. Two closed in from different directions. The monster turned and accidentally blocked one of those strikes with the rock it was holding.

"Gah, that's tough!" Spence stumbled back, stopping his attack completely. As he did, Storm crashed into the Kulu-Ya-Ku from the side.

It dropped its rock as it was sent flying. More emerged as they followed it. Isa and Irontusk jumped forward to deliver the final strike, crushing it simultaneously. There was no time to fight back.

Mary caught up last.

"Looks like you're already done."

"This one wasn't that tough. Well, I guess that's not a surprise."

Spence didn't respond. Instead, he looked towards the trees, Storm joining him.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Over there."

"Something's approaching, isn't it? Is it dangerous?"

"No clue. But it's getting closer."

"This is way too sudden." Mary prepared herself to fight.

The others finally heard the footsteps approaching. Something was bounding in their direction. Claws tore through the dirt.

A howl. Lightning struck down nearby.

A green scaled Zinogre jumped toward the six of them. Scars covered its body, the most noticeable covering its left eye.

"We need to run. Now." Was all that Mary responded with. The others didn't understand what they were facing, but understood its terror. "It's a Thunderlord!"

She tried to run, but within a moment it had already closed the distance between them. A strike barely missed her, but she was struck by its electricity a moment later. Kasa tried to counterattack, but was effortlessly slammed into the ground by a tail swipe. The beast moved to finish them off, but was struck by Spence's glaive.

It turned to him. The two locked eyes, staring each other down. Time seemed to freeze completely. He barely had time to dodge as lightning struck where was standing.

Storm raced up behind him and tried to sink his fangs into the beast's neck. It caught him with its horns, driving him back into the ground. Spence tried to charge in to free him, but before he could land an attack with any depth the Zinogre flipped around and delivered a devastating kick.

The beast didn't allow for a single opening in its attacks. The onslaught was ruthless, unrelenting. If limited to only a single word, that monster could be called perfect.

Even so, what choice did the rest have but to struggle? With everything they could manage, the ones being attacked fought back. Even so, it proved to be far short of enough.

It shook its mane, releasing fulgurbugs. They seemed to explode into electricity, shocking Spence and knocking him back. He barely caught himself before he could fall off the side of the cliff.

"Hey, be careful!" Isa yelled. The Thunderlord was a moment quicker to notice his situation. It bounded forwards, cutting off any route of escape for him, before slamming down onto the ground.

The impact shook the ground briefly, before it started to crack. The part of the cliff that he stood on broke off completely, leaving him to fall through the air, eyes wide open.

Mary was unable to do anything but watch. Isa tried sprinting toward him to catch him, but had no chance of reaching him in time. Storm also dashed forward, but had nowhere near enough time to catch him. Instead, he jumped off the cliff as well, trying just to pursue him.

Spence found himself only surrounded by open air. He was unable to position his glaive properly to escape this situation. With no means of being saved, all he could do was fall.

Isa was powerless, the only thing she could do was watch her brother plummet into the abyss below.

Spence woke up on the floor of a room he didn't recognise. He tried to get up, but found his entire body to be in too much pain to do that. He started thrashing around to fight back and get himself up regardless.

The door opened.

"The first thing you do after waking up is make a racket?"

An old looking woman with a cane looked down on him.

"Who are you?"

"That's what I want to ask. What were you doing being dragged around by some monster?"

"I dunno, I passed out. Now where am I?"

"My house. My turn again. What happened before you passed out?"

"Uh, we were fighting a Kulu-Ya-Ku, but then when we beat it this monster showed up and started trying to fight us. Yeah, it was a Zinogre."

"...Were its scales green?"

"Wait, I didn't get to ask a question. Who-"

"Answer."

"Yeah, they were green."

"Got it. Well, I suppose I made the wrong choice."

"Huh?"

"If you've angered the Thunderbearer, then you must've been up to something evil. Guess it's not much of a surprise coming from you hunters. I should've just left you to die. Well, I'm not one to leave mistakes lying around."

She pulled away part of her cane, revealing a blade. Spence's eyes widened. As she stabbed it down, Spence scrambled out of the way. He crashed into the wall, knocking things over as he tried to gain distance.

The woman looked up at him with empty eyes.

"I thought you were in too much pain to move?"

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"

"Quiet down."

"NO."

She pulled her blade out of the floor.

"What did I even do?"

"You know that, not me."

"No I don't!"

"The Thunderbearer only attacks when something's a threat to the mountain. Since he targeted you, that means you were up to something."

"But I wasn't?"

"That's what they all say." She charged forward again. Spence ran to the side of her thrust and slammed himself into the door, which wasn't locked.

He dashed out of the house, tripping over himself. As he tried to get back up, he saw another figure looming over him.

"Oh, hey Storm."

The Tobi-Kadachi licked his face.

"Stop that, it feels so weird."

The fanged wyvern seemed relieved to see him up.

"I'm kind of amazed at how fast you managed to forget you're in danger."

"Oh, right!" Spence sat up, facing her.

He seemed prepared to fight.

"Relax a little."

"Huh?"

"I'm not gonna fight you when you've got him with you, there's no way I'd win. Besides, it was just a practical joke."

"Huh?"

"Do you not know what those are?"

"No, I do, but I've never heard of one like that!"

"It's a regional thing. But whatever. Just get out of here already."

Spence turned to leave.

"Ah, wait. One thing. Can I get my weapon back? Armour too. Cause I dunno where they are."

The woman didn't respond for a while.

"It's kind of amazing that you can just ask that despite everything."

A while later, Spence and Storm were making their way up the mountain.

"Really though, what a weird lady. First she helps me recover, then she tries to kill me, then she just hands my stuff back like it's no problem. Can't really complain though."

Storm looked at him in silence.

"Fine, I'll talk about something else. So what do you think the Thunderlord's after? I mean, she said it was cause we're doing something bad, but I can't remember anything like that."

Storm barked lightly in response.

"Yeah, exactly."

Another bark, this time sounding slightly unsure.

"No, there's no way that's it. Maybe he's just confusing us for someone else? Let's just ask the guy if we see him again. Though, it'd be great if we didn't have t-"

Thundering footsteps approached.

Storm barked.

"I know, you don't have to rub it in!"

He got ready to fight. The Zinogre was before them once more.

"H-hey there. We don't have to fight! I mean, we already know that you're probably gonna win, so it's not like we'd be testing anything. And I'm pretty much sure we're not doing anything bad, so can we just-"

A howl cut his words down.

"Fine then. Not like I know how to do anything else!"

He drew his glaive.

The Zinogre made the first move, charging forward. Spence barely stepped around it and countered. Storm clawed at its side.

It flipped around, escaping from being surrounded. It then closed the distance once more, swinging its front right leg forward.

The other two were unable to get an attack in before it slammed into the ground, a burst of electricity forcing them back.

Spence stabbed at it, but was knocked away by the second slam.

Storm managed to tear at it, but the Zinogre flipped over and hit the ground. Fulgurbugs were launched in his direction; he dodged the first wave but failed to escape the second.

Spence charged in, frustrated. He sliced at it wildly, vaulting into the air to avoid a sliding claw swipe. It flipped around, barely missing him once more.

Spence continued dodging attacks and striking back. The Zinogre spun around, forcing him to jump away to dodge.

He tried to launch himself through the air to close the distance, but failed to move in time to dodge the lightning strike on his position.

The hunter fell to the ground, stunned. He frantically tried to catch his breath. It wasn't because the attack had been especially devastating, but because he was fatigued from having to dodge so many before it.

The Zinogre closed in on him. Spence managed to recover enough to face it, but found himself without energy for much else. All he could do was stare and wait.

The woman heard a knocking at her door. Confusion, followed by apprehension. She slowly moved to the window and glanced out.

"...Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"I let you go cause I thought the Thunderbearer was going to kill you anyway, you know?"

"Really? Damn. It didn't do that though."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"So you know what that means."

"No I don't."

"It means I'm innocent."

"...How?"

"Cause he's supposed to only kill the bad guys, right? But he didn't kill us. I'm injured, not dead. So that means I'm only half a bad guy, at worst."

"I don't think that's exactly right, but I don't really know how to argue against that. Wait. I should've started with the more important question. Why did you come back here?"

"Well we're not really in the best condition after being attacked by him, so y'know."

"No."

She walked away from the door.

"Well, I guess that failed." Spence turned to Storm "Camping it is."

The fanged wyvern nodded in agreement.

They set up a short distance away from that point. Despite their injuries, they both still felt full of energy. "Ok. Let's get started."

The woman heard strange sounds coming from outside. After walking for a few minutes, she found the two of them locked in battle. She silently watched.

The two attacked with what seemed to be an intent to kill, but always stopped short of actually dealing damage. They circled around each other at high speed, trying to work out the best way to fight.

They charged again, quickly exchanging near hits.

Both suddenly froze.

"No, that isn't it. He was more like… boom."

Storm nodded in agreement.

Spence finally spotted the woman standing there. He seemed surprised.

"What now?"

"I was just wondering what all the noise was. I can hear you two from my house."

"Oh. Sorry?"

"Yeah, you should be. So, what are you doing? You were acting like you were badly injured back there, but now it seems like you don't even care."

"Eh, I'm not the type to let that kinda stuff get me down."

"Injuries?"

"Yeah, those. The more we put off training the longer it's gonna take us to get out of here, right? So we're starting now."

"Can't you just run away from him?"

"Nah. It wouldn't be right."

"What are you even talking about?"

"Something feels off about him. That… thunderbirth guy."

"Thunderbearer."

"Yeah. He's just supposed to protect this place, right? But it didn't really feel that way when I was fighting him."

"What did it feel like, then?"

"That is a very good question. I don't know the answer."

She didn't have a response to this.

"I can't work it out, okay? If I could I'd just say what it was."

"Then why say anything?"

"Because it feels like it. Ok, I think I got something. If he wanted to protect it, he'd be cool with just scaring us off, right? But he seems insistent on fighting. If I was a giant wolf that wanted to make people go away I'd just roar or act intimidating, but he's immediately going for force."

"I guess you are right that he's acting differently to how he normally does, but I'm not entirely convinced. Maybe he just dislikes you at this point?"

"Huh. Maybe."

"Ah, that reminds me. I never asked for your names."

"Oh. I'm Spencer. This guy here's Storm."

"No last name?"

"Oh, that's Page."

"Got it."

"Why are you asking now, though?"

"In case I have to make a grave."

Spence stared at her with a blank expression.

"Okay. What's yours, then?"

"Why would you need to know that?"

"...Same reason as you."

"That's morbid."

"Isn't it the same for you? Whatever, fine, it's not that. I'm just curious."

"Alma."

"Huh?"

"That's it. What are you confused by? You're the one that asked."

"I know, but I wasn't expecting it to be so easy."

"It's just a name, it's not going to kill me."

"Or will it?"

"No."

Storm lightly bit him, having gotten impatient while this conversation dragged on.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that."

The pair spent a few more hours training, before eventually collapsing from exhaustion. Alma watched the entire time, wordlessly.

Spence stared up at the stars, while Storm went to sleep pretty much instantly.

Alma got ready to leave, but was interrupted.

"So? What was that thunder guy like before now?"

"I thought you were falling asleep."

"Can't. Body hurts too much. Might as well pass time while I wait."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Well, where do I begin?" She wondered, sitting down. "He's been around here since before I was born."

"Damn, so he's over-" Spence paused, trying to work out what to say next.

"Don't finish that sentence."

"Okay."

He seemed to take the hint from her killing intent.

"He's sort of like a guardian. He's the strongest around here, so anything that comes along that might I remember one time, years ago. A World Eater showed up. We thought we'd all have to flee, but before we could he went off on his own and defeated it."

"What's a World Eater?"

"Never encountered one? Those green things that eat everything."

"Oh, a Deviljho. Wait, we already lost to one of those before. This isn't reassuring at all."

"You should've given up hope of beating him a while ago. He's undefeated for a reason."

She continued to tell the legends of the mountain's ruler into the night. Tales of blood, fury and harmony. Through all of these, only one thing remained common. The Thunderbearer had never once been bested. No matter what opponent he faced, he always rose to the challenge.

The next day, the pair set out once more.

"So, where do you think he's gonna appear from this time?"

Storm nodded to the left.

"No, he's cool and intimidating. A guy like that has to approach head on."

Storm barked in response.

"I'm serious."

Thunderous footsteps rung out once more from ahead of them. Spence briefly smirked towards Storm, before refocusing himself.

"I think all of us know what's about to happen, right? So let's just get into it."

The Thunderbearer seemed to approve of his response, taking the first strike.

Both of them dodged around a stomp, countering in unison. In response the wolf turned to target Storm. He smashed into the ground, barely catching the smaller wyvern. Both discharged electricity at the same time, trying to overpower the other, to no effect. At the moment the thunderous creature's guard lowered, Spence stepped in to attack from behind.

He was successful in taking away the Thunderbearer's attention from his partner, allowing Storm to escape and counterattack.

The two of them struck frantically, trying to find any possible means of combating the overwhelming presence. The Thunderbearer cared not for such rushed attacks.

He howled, surrounding himself with lightning to force the two of them away. Storm tried to strike first, but the target flung himself into the air, leaving the attacker with only a precious moment to dodge its descent.

Spence threw himself into an attack, aiming for the Thunderbearer's arm. He successfully sliced through part of it, causing him to flinch for the first time.

The Thunderbearer stopped moving, locking eyes with Spence for a moment that felt like an eternity. Then the attack resumed, trying to crush him. Spence was a moment too slow, failing to properly get out of the way. The damage further slowed him down, enabling the Thunderbearer to slam into him with its shoulder.

He barely kept his footing and tried to strike back. This quickly proved to be a mistake, the attack only providing further opportunity for his opponent. The Thunderbearer swung his tail around, crushing him beneath.

Storm lunged for its throat, taking the Thunderbearer off guard. As if expecting this, Spence went on the attack the moment its attention turned away from him. The simultaneous attack made the Thunderbearer flinch for the second time. He backed off, now studying them from a distance.

The pair reunited.

"Nice one, Storm."

Storm seemed to feel the same way.

He desperately tried to catch his breath.

"If we just… keep it up, I'm sure we'll get him."

Finished studying them, the Zinogre charged forward.

Storm got ready to evade and counterattack. Spence just remained in place.

"But my strength's already-"

He felt himself get knocked away from the side. Before he could fully process it, Storm took the full brunt of the Zinogre's attack. The wyvern was sent sprawling across the ground. Spence froze, before snapping back into action.

"You idiot! You should've just left me!"

With a renewed burst of strength, he threw himself forwards. His speed was unprecedented. But the anger that fueled him made him far too predictable. The Thunderbearer swung his front right leg upwards, perfectly stopping the attacker and knocking him into the air. He was already unconscious even before he hit the ground.

He paused once more, studying the two on the ground. After a few more moments, he silently departed.

"So, looks like you lost again." Alma commented from the side, watching the two train with restless determination.

"Yeah. But we got closer. Just a little further and we'll be able to take him on."

"Are you sure you don't want to give up?"

"No, I can't."

"Huh? You totally can."

"I felt something back when we were fighting. I've finally worked out why he was so intent on keeping us here. He probably wants us to kill him."

Silence followed. The atmosphere shifted.

"Did you finally go crazy?"

Alma waited for a response, but got nothing.

"How the hell would you even reach a conclusion like that? I thought you'd give up eventually, but now you're just being ridiculous."

"No, I'm sure of it."

"But why?"

"Simple. How long has he been around for?"

She paused.

"I… don't know exactly."

"A while, to be sure. For all that time he's been fighting. So I figure that now his time's almost up, he'd rather go down fighting than let old age take him."

"That doesn't mean you have to be the ones-"

"Yeah, we don't. He probably just picked us by chance. But he's already picked us. I can't stand the idea of just abandoning him. This guy feels the same way, I'm sure."

Alma still seemed to be in a state of disbelief.

"That's it? You're going to go kill him just because you have a theory?"

"It's not just cause of that. It's because we fought each other. There's some things you can only understand through exchanging hits. I don't think you'd get it."

"Yeah. I wouldn't. Of course I wouldn't. You hunters are all the same, huh?"

"What's your problem? He has to go eventually, right?"

"I know that! I know that. But if he goes away too, then what will this place have left?"

There was a pause.

"Y'know, I really should've asked a while ago. What happened here? You talk like he was protecting a lot of people, but I haven't seen anyone around here but you."

"...You don't know?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking."

She sighed.

"You really don't know how to lie. Oh well. Though I doubt it'll be that great of a revelation. How long ago did the guild start to get involved here? About twenty years, now?"

"Huh? You mean they weren't always here?"

"You didn't know."

"I wasn't alive twenty years ago. Wait. Okay I might've been, but I think I was still a baby."

Alma took a while to process this, before resuming.

"Before that, they just ignored this place completely. I've got no idea what caused them to change their minds so suddenly, but calling the way they threw themselves into this place aggressive would be an understatement."

She sighed, then continued her story.

"They disrupted things too much. The monsters started behaving differently, more aggressively, in response to that. Living here became difficult. Even though they barely acknowledged us, they still managed to make our lives worse. In the end, everyone except me decided to abandon this place. But I couldn't. This is our home. Isn't it stranger to just leave it because some outsiders decided they wanted to be here? But I guess none of them felt the same way. The only ones who stayed were the Thunderbearer and I."

She turned back to the ones listening, now seeing that Spence was on the verge of crying.

"Huh? What's your problem?"

"It- it's not a problem. I'm fine. Really!"

She made a hard to read facial expression. Spence went to hold Storm, but he jumped away, repulsed by the thought of getting his fur wet.

"Seriously, how is that guy so cool!?"

"That's really your take away from this?"

"No matter how this place changed, he was always there to protect it. It can't get cooler than that kind of determination."

Alma seemed slightly annoyed now.

"You're not going to comment on what the guild did?"

"Kinda slipped my mind. I really don't know. I don't think you're lying, but that doesn't sound like what the guild would do at all. They're always going on about coexisting with nature and stuff. That just doesn't sound like it goes with it. So I can't explain it."

"That makes sense. But there's no need to interfere here any more, is there? The guild already ruined everything once."

"If anything, I think hearing about him remaining here made me more resolved. With a life like his, dying normally just wouldn't be a fitting end. I'm sure that's what he was trying to tell us."

Alma paused, listening to the wind before she responded.

"It's strange. I think I should hate you a lot more than I do now. You suddenly show up after making him your enemy, then keep coming back here, saying more outlandish things each time."

"Thanks?"

"I don't know if that was a compliment. Oh well. I don't believe that you're a bad person. Just an idiot. But I still can't ever forgive the guild. I highly doubt anything will ever change that. What you're saying might be right. I wouldn't know. But if you go through with it, I'll despise you regardless."

"I don't think that's unreasonable. But it's what I have to do. He's waiting on someone, anyone, to put an end to his story. I just know it."

"It's the villain's role to be hated. So if you're going to take it on, don't be surprised if I treat you like one. It'd probably be for the best if we don't exchange words anymore, so I'll leave here. Well, I guess I can take some solace in that my initial judgement of you turned out to be true after all."

She walked away, leaving the two of them there to continue training. They remained single-minded. The only thing that interested them was surpassing the wall that lay before them. Eventually, they lost the ability to move once more, which led them to decide to rest.

Spence and Storm gazed up at the stars above them.

"Hey, Storm. For some reason, I got reminded of when we first met. That was a while ago, wasn't it?"

Spence and Isa were travelling through a jungle.

"Watch out. This place just doesn't seem safe."

"It'll be fine." Spence replied, before hearing the rustling getting closer. A wounded monster jumped out into view, snarling at them.

Isa readied her weapon, but Spence already seemed ready to handle it. The Tobi-Kadachi lunged at him, attacking whatever was in front of it. They fiercely exchanged hits, before breaking away.

"Leave this one to me!"

"Huh?"

"Just trust me."

They continued to trade blows with one another for a few minutes, until the monster lacked the strength to continue standing. It struggled to stay up, before finally collapsing.

The next time it woke up, it found itself around a fire. It glanced around in confusion, seeing the one it had just fought there.

"Ah, it's finally up." The girl who'd just stood around until now readied herself to fight once more.

"Relax. I've got this." The boy turned to face the monster "You're probably confused, right? You were about to die. But we saved you."

"Yeah, but why?" Isa asked.

"I'm getting there. It's because you just seemed like too cool a guy to let die like that. You were fighting something dangerous, right? The kind of thing way stronger than you. But you still survived, and even had enough energy left over to try challenging us. It's a bit crazy. But that's what's so cool about it. I've got nothing but respect here."

The Kadachi was clearly still on guard.

"Yeah, that figures. I wonder if you can even understand me? Maybe you're just hungry. Then here, try this."

He left some meat before the Tobi-Kadachi. It seemed apprehensive at first, but eventually tasted it.

The change was instant. The meat disappeared less than a second later.

Spence's eyes widened in shock.

"You really were hungry! Ok, I get it now."

He kept feeding the monster, who demolished everything he was given faster than Spence's eyes could process. He had to be quick about handing it over, slightly fearing for the safety of his hands.

"You really like it that much? I just kinda threw whatever together."

"You know," Spence reminisced in the present "I could've sworn that you were crying back there."

Storm bit him.

"Ok, ok! I know you're a tough guy, so you would never. I'm sorry. I'll never imply it again."

His arm was released. Spence sighed.

"I'm remembering something else, too. Two thoughts in one day. Isn't that rare?"

Storm agreed.

"Seriously?" He looked upwards. "When I was a kid, back at the village, I was always scared of thunder. I mean, why wouldn't I have been? It's unpredictable, fast and loud. A force that no human can control was just beyond my understanding back then."

Storm listened silently.

"Maybe that's why I called you Storm. Well, it was still mostly just cause I like how it sounds. But that determination you showed, it really was inspiring. Challenging anything that crosses your path, never relenting in the face of power. Sure, it might be dangerous. But when I saw you I realised that's exactly how I want to live."

Storm seemed proud of himself.

"Yup, you're the greatest, bud. But we're still nowhere near the strongest." He paused again, trying to work out to say what to say next. "I don't know what's best for this place. Maybe fighting the Thunderbearer really will make me evil. But I'm not worried about it. More than anything else, I just want to overcome that thunderstorm. You feel the same way, don't you? Otherwise, we'd never get along this well."

Storm started to lie down.

"Yeah, good idea. I'm talking too much anyway. Let's win this tomorrow, okay?"

What is it that forges a legend?

It isn't destiny. Such a thing is granted to nothing in this world. What it requires is a will of iron, a heart that will keep paving forwards no matter the adversary.

The Thunderbearer had no interest in titles or accomplishment. He was a beast to his core. The only thing that could be compared to a human emotion was pride.

He was too prideful to abandon his territory, no matter what disaster threatened it. If it was stronger than him, he simply had to grow stronger in response. That was how he lived for countless decades, becoming all the more powerful.

Strength is far from eternal. As those years passed, he felt himself slipping away. His strength dwindled. What remained was a mere shadow of his past self.

He had no interest in image, but he knew that he couldn't let things end in such a way. Frantically, he searched for the final obstacle in his path.

At the end of that blood, lay two challengers. They were still far too weak, incapable of holding a candle to what he had faced before. But, they had something else. A sense of hope that they could win. In turn, he too began to feel hope. For a fitting end.

Near the top of the mountain, two sides faced off.

Spence and Storm stared up at the Zinogre. No further words were needed.

Storm made the first move, trying to scratch the Thunderbearer's throat. He just barely missed and then had to throw himself out of the way to dodge the counterattack. Spence took the opening to attack once more.

The fight continued as it had many times before. The challengers got closer to understanding how to fight it. But the gulf between the two sides was still far too wide.

The two struck out wildly, making fatal mistakes. They were inexperienced. Even with the target weakened, they had no hope of matching decades of experience as they were.

Once more, Spence misread something and got attacked. He was pinned to the ground. It felt more painful than normal. His previous injuries which hadn't had the time to properly heal caught up to him.

"I'm gonna die! I'm seriously-"

His words were cut off. Pain flared across his entire body. It felt as though he was burning up. Yet, his mind didn't match his body.

His eyes went distant.

Storm finally freed him, but Spence took a few seconds to respond. He then threw himself to his feet.

"I get it now. I understood right there, when I thought I was done for. Until now, I haven't been risking anything. Even if I went down, I'd be fine. Sure, it'd hurt, but that'd be all. Compared to you, it was too light. Far too light!"

He hit the ground with the blunt end of his glaive.

"For you, losing means death. That's why you were able to rise above everything. The reason I kept losing so easily is because I didn't have the resolve to keep holding on. That's why I couldn't catch up with you, no matter what. But I'm done with that! From now on, I won't lose! This is a death match. If I don't fight with my life on the line, we can't surpass you!"

He readied his weapon.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting all this time. I'm finally ready to begin our fight. You don't have to keep holding back on us anymore."

The mind is a vital component of any being. Strength without the understanding required to use it has no worth. By the same principle, an understanding without the strength to apply it is identical.

Even with this revelation, he hadn't grown any stronger. To an outsider, it would seem that the balance between the two sides hadn't shifted in the slightest.

But to those present, it was entirely different. The spark that now shone in his eyes was all the proof of his determination the Thunderbearer needed.

He had finally reached the start line.

The Thunderbearer met this determination and began to charge himself up. He howled, his voice resounding across the entire area. Electricity surrounded him, preventing the other two from approaching. He let out one final howl, reaching a state of power they had yet to witness.

The ground shook, as he crackled. His empty eye socket was filled by the electricity. The two of them felt themselves tremble. It took until that moment for the both of them to truly understand what they were facing. The overwhelming pressure felt like it was about to turn them into a stain. They were witness to the full glory of the king!

Rain began to pour down from above, as lightning attacked the earth in the distance.

But even as fear closed his heart, the only thing Spence could do was smile and stare straight ahead. Storm stood beside him, unflinching.

They broke away from their positions. The Thunderlord struck first with a fierce stomp, much to their surprise.

"He's so much faster than before!"

Spence and Storm rapidly adjusted their plans to accommodate, but not before taking a few more hits. They struck out, pushing him back for just a moment.

The lord of thunder continued to roar, asserting his presence. He slammed his front paws into the ground repeatedly, trying to catch his opponents out but failing.

The hunter leapt into the air and tried boosting forwards to land an assault from above. This proved to be a mistake. The Thunderbearer swung upwards, striking him with electricity and knocking him out of the air. He lunged, refusing to allow the one descending to escape. But Storm interfered, jumping through the air so Spence could grab onto him and avoid even more damage. The hunter gratefully kicked off his partner, using the improved angle to deal further damage.

Storm bounced off another tree, now targeting the tail. In response the Thunderbearer flipped around, trying to use that same tail to crush Storm. He narrowly dodged around the attack. The cliff seemed to shake from the sheer impact.

Spence went back on the attack again, cornering the Thunderlord at the edge.

"Combine."

With the speed of this battle, Spence only had time to communicate his plan with a single word. Fortunately, his comrade had fought alongside him for long enough to understand with that alone. Spence threw himself onto his back, getting ready to attack. The two monsters crossed each other, Spence assisting Storm's attack.

The glaive connected with the opponent's chest, but failed to cut deep enough. Storm failed to reach completely, as claws cut into him. The one consolation was that they failed to crush him, instead hitting the mountain.

The ground made a strange noise. The impact once more shook the ground, but this time it failed to hold up.

They only fell a short distance. But the downpour had affected the earth beneath. It gave way, causing the trio to get caught up in a landslide headed to the base of the mountain.

They found their movements impossible to control, but their minds still refused to stray from their one purpose: combat.

The first to strike this time was the hunter. The previous attack had almost launched him from Storm's back, but he just barely regained his balance. While the ones with their feet on the ground struggled to stay upright, he had free reign to attack.

This was the first problem that the Thunderbearer decided to eliminate. He angled his shoulder in the direction of his opponent, sending a fulgurbug towards Storm. Unable to move properly enough to dodge, Storm was forced to stand there. In desperation, Spence hatched a plan.

He angled his weapon down, using a burst of air to knock himself skyward and Storm out of the path of the attack. While the danger had been avoided, he'd completely lost his advantage.

The fact that he'd created a situation where he'd win no matter how they responded went completely over the pair's head, but regardless Spence attacked from the air, recognising that there was no chance of him being countered this time. He landed a good strike to the horns, before tumbling into the ground ahead

He finally caught up with Storm. The two were now ahead of the Thunderbearer. Once more, he readied himself to send fulgurbugs their way. The wind was against them. Instantly, Storm had an idea.

He stood on his hind legs and opened his patagium. The wind wasn't strong enough to carry him away, but it slowed his descent. Spence instantly caught on and tried to get between them so he'd be carried back as well.

"Thanks." He turned his attention to the Thunderbearer "Storm's going through all this effort just so you don't fall behind us. Don't be so distant!"

With no space between them, an attack missing was a near impossibility. They repeatedly cut into each other, spraying the side of the mountain with blood.

Eventually, they reached the base.

Spence and Storm were knocked off their feet, managing to land a short distance away. The Thunderbearer did not fall.

Trees surrounded them. Shaking off their injuries, the challengers got ready to continue their fight.

The sparks had yet to fade away.

In response, the Thunderbearer began charging once more. Fulgurbugs approached from the trees nearby, flying towards his mane. He let out another howl, even more booming than before, as he reached a state that the majority of Zinogre could not ever achieve.

The Thunderbearer was now ultracharged.

They quickly escaped into the trees before his attack finished. As he slammed into the ground, lightning struck the ground around him, tearing through the area.

Storm rapidly lept between them, charging up as he moved. A relentless pursuer followed him, destroying anything in his path to catch up. Unseen, Spence lunged from the side and disappeared again into the trees.

Their intent was not to escape. Against such strength, running was another means to victory.

The two alternated between attacking and disappearing, refusing to get near the ground. Unable to keep up, the Thunderbearer instead let out another roar. Lightning struck at everything in the area, reducing it to nothing.

Spence and Storm were struck out of the air by this attack, crashing into the earth.

One thing had been made clear. Trying to stay away wouldn't work. They had to fight him directly.

They went back to exchanging hits. Every move of his had gotten that much faster. Even the fulgurbugs were now impossible to dodge, moving like bullets.

Even as their bodies screamed at them in pain, even when it felt like they were about to collapse, they did not hate their circumstances. For all of them, there was joy to be found in such brutality.

With every passing moment, the challengers grew stronger. And for every moment that passed, the champion was able to relive those glorious battles of his past for just a moment longer.

Both sides furiously struggled against each other, even when nearing death. They were long past the point of being able to do anything fancy. It was simply a contest of who would be destroyed first.

The final struggle was far shorter than any of them expected. The Thunderbearer let out a final burst of electricity, hitting the surrounding area with one last burst of electricity.

Spence almost failed to dodge, but was pulled just out of the way by Storm's jaws grabbing his armour. They prepared themselves for a follow up, but found the Thunderbearer looked far weaker than before.

He was no longer at full power. While he was still more than worth fearing, his wounds were clearly affecting his stance. Even so, the ruler stood resolute.

The challengers took a stance, ready to strike. Likewise, the Thunderbearer readied himself to advance.

A final clash ensued as the lightning crashed down near them. As the thunder roared out, three attacks were made.

Spence hurriedly tried to catch his breath as he turned around. The claws had cut through his armour, leaving him bleeding from wounds on his chest. Storm hadn't gotten off lightly either.

Their opponent turned to face them as well, barely moving. They continued to stare off for a few more moments, before his legs gave way. It had ended.

"You were seriously amazing. You're definitely the strongest guy I've ever met. If you'd been in your prime, I've got no doubt you would've won. I can't thank you enough for all that you taught us."

The Thunderbearer didn't respond.

"If we just went around the way we did before after beating you, that'd be lame. So we won't lose to anyone anymore. We'll take on that legend for you. We'll inherit your thunder. So don't worry. Just rest easy."

The Thunderbearer seemed satisfied. For the last time, his eyes closed. The storm around them subsided, disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.

The hunter and monster remaining looked at one another. No longer having the energy for words, he just grinned. Storm seemed to feel the same way.

Simultaneously, they hit the ground. The last thing he did before losing consciousness was raise his arm towards that distant sky above him.

"Today we're going to find him for sure." Isa assured herself.

"How do you still have the energy for this after all this time?" Zara asked, barely able to keep up.

"Because there's no other option. I know that idiot won't die from just a fall."

"Look, not even I'm heartless enough to want him to be dead. But after five days, it's-"

"No. I'm listening. I know he's alive and that's it. If you just wanna head back, then get going. But I'm not stop-"

"Shut up."

"The hell? Don't just tell me to-"

"No, look."

Isa finally stopped complaining. She saw a man and a monster approaching, supporting each other just to make it there.

"Yo." Spence said with a relaxed smile. "I made it back."

Isa sighed, almost sounding relieved.

"You giant idiot."

She ran towards him and Storm, dragging Zara behind her in order to properly treat the pair's wounds.

TO BE CONTINUED