The crimson roar of Riki’s Ignis Burst faded, leaving the riverbank buried in a suffocating cloud of white steam and scorched mud. The toxic black smoke that had choked the river was completely gone, vaporized by the sheer intensity of the flames.

Across the river, the two mercenaries who had lunged forward lay motionless in the smoldering banks, their dark magic shattered into useless, glittering shards.

Only the leader remained.

He fell to his knees, his tattered cloak half-burned away, gasping for breath as steam rose from his charred armor. His eyes, completely wide with a mixture of terror and humiliation, stared at Riki, who stood calmly in the mud with his sword still lightly smoking.

"How... how can an F-rank trash have this kind of heat...?" the leader wheezed, his voice cracking.

Riki didn't answer. He took a single, heavy step forward, his eyes cold. "I asked you a question. Who gave you that weapon?"

"Tch... you think I'll talk?!" The leader's face twisted into an expression of pure, unadulterated malice. The hatred in his heart burned hotter than the physical wounds on his body. He clutched the hilt of the rusted iron blade with both hands, his knuckles turning black. "I'll never tell you anything, Fire Rat fodder! If I'm going down, I'm taking this entire forest with me!"

The second his evil heart fully surrendered to that hatred, the weapon reacted.

THUMP.

A sickening, deep pulse echoed from the monster-core embedded in the hilt. Aria gasped, stepping backward as the tiny water spirits around her wrists shrieked in terror.

The rusted metal of the blade suddenly liquefied, turning into a thick, pulsing mass of dark purple veins that shot straight up the leader's arms. He screamed—a horrific, bubbling sound that didn't sound human. The toxic corruption seeped directly into his flesh, bloating his muscles and warping his bones.

CRACK.

His spine elongated, tearing through his cloak as jagged, rock-like armor plates erupted from his skin—the unmistakable, grotesque hide of a corrupted Mana Eater. His human face dissolved, hardening into a monstrous, faceless skull split by a jaw full of jagged stone teeth. The weapon had completely devoured his sanity, transforming his hatred into a mindless, hulking giant beast of rot.

"Grooooaaahhh!" the mutated monstrosity roared, the sound rattling the trees as its massive stone fists slammed into the mud, sending a shockwave across the river.

"Master Riki!" Aria cried out, her hands sparking with dark mana as she prepared her Mirage Wall.

"Stay back, Aria," Riki commanded smoothly, his voice dropping to that dangerous, icy whisper. He didn't look at the giant beast in front of him. Instead, his sharp eyes flicked upward, glancing toward the dense, purple-tinged canopy of the trees far across the bank.

Deep in those shadows, hidden from the naked eye, a pair of glowing, crimson demonic eyes was watching the entire spectacle. It was the Shadow Demon of the East, an operative sent by the Tyrant Eastern Lord. A cruel, quiet smile spread across the demon's face as he watched the human mutate. Fascinating, the shadow demon thought, recording every detail of Riki’s stance. Let’s see how the boy handles a true monster core.

Riki’s jaw tightened. He could feel a strange, cold gaze coming from the trees, but his immediate priority was the roaring abomination charging across the shallows.

The giant mutated abomination tore its legs forward, the heavy stone armor plates on its thighs grinding together like tectonic plates. The beast swung a massive, horizontal fist designed to cave Riki's chest in. The wind pressure from the attack alone sliced a clean line through the nearby cattails.

Riki didn't panic. He didn't even draw his sword. He didn't know why his feet knew the exact stance to take—they just moved.

Dropping his center of gravity, Riki ducked clean underneath the swinging fist, his movement so smooth it looked like water flowing down a stream. In the blink of an eye, he stepped inside the monster’s guard, his palms formatting into a flawless close-quarters martial arts strike.

"Vacuum Palm."

He thrust both hands directly into the beast's rocky sternum. A concentrated blast of localized kinetic pressure detonated from his fingertips. The impact didn't just push the monster back; it sent a visible shockwave rippling through the creature's thick stone hide, cracking the outer layers of armor like an eggshell.

The abomination stumbled back into the shallow water, roaring in frustration. It opened its grotesque stone jaw, a sickening purple glow gathering deep inside its throat as it prepared to spew a localized wave of the decay plague.

He’s going to poison the whole river, Riki’s instincts screamed. He didn't stop to think about what spell to use. The words simply rolled off his tongue naturally, as if he had learned them long ago.

"Gale Force: Air Lock!"

Riki snapped his fingers. Instantly, the wind currents around the monster’s head twisted violently, compressing into a tight, visible sphere of spinning vacuum energy directly over its mouth. The dense air pressure physically sealed the beast’s jaw shut, forcing the toxic purple decay breath to detonate harmlessly inside its own throat.

BOOM.

The muffled explosion backfired within the monster’s chest, causing it to collapse heavily to its knees in the mud, black smoke pouring from its rock-like ears.

Up in the purple shadows of the dense canopy, the Shadow Demon of the East narrowed his crimson eyes, his casual smile completely vanishing. The demon gripped the bark of the branch tightly, his knuckles twitching. What is this child? the spy thought, sweat finally trickling down his temple. Void magic, high-density flame arts, precise wind compression, and flawless hand-to-hand combat forms... He isn't chanting. He isn't using a magic circle. His body is just... reacting.

The demon reached into his cloak, pulling out a dark communication mirror to alert the Eastern Lord. This boy was far more than an F-Rank noble stray. He was a threat to the entire southern expansion plan.

Down below, Riki exhaled a steady breath of white steam, his white hair settling back down as he looked at his own hands in brief confusion. He genuinely didn't understand how he knew how to lock air currents or split rock armor with his bare palms. He just knew he had to finish the job.

"Aria," Riki called out casually, his serious battle aura vanishing back into his usual unbothered tone. "Get the satchel ready. I think this big guy is about to drop some cool loot."