Danmachi: Scavenger

Using mental compartmentalization, he began charging his external fire breath. The heat in front of his maw started swirling and gathering into a concentrated mass as a fireball began to form, growing brighter and hotter with each passing second. 

'Faster.' 

A wave of mind energy rushed outward, and every adventurer on the battlefield turned to see the pillar of heat visibly swirling, the distorted air condensing into a bright fireball that hovered above Rex like a second sun. 

The heat was so intense that the hair on Rex's face burned away, his lips blistering as second-degree burns spread across the skin on his skin. His nictitating membrane barely protected his eyes, so he had to close them against the searing light.

The heat continued to condense into the orb, the air around it whistling like a kettle boiling over. The sound pierced through the battlefield, a high-pitched screech that set everyone's teeth on edge.

"GET BACK!" Boris roared, his voice cutting through the chaos. "GET THE FUCK BACK!!!"

Adventurers scrambled to retreat, their instincts screaming at them to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the growing inferno. The Goliath, sensing the impending danger, turned its blood-red eyes toward Rex, its massive form tensing as it prepared to react.

But it was too late.

The fireball above Rex pulsed with raw power, the heat radiating from it warping the air and scorching the ground. The battlefield fell silent for a moment, the tension palpable as everyone waited for the inevitable explosion.

'Now!' Rex sighed internally as he faced the Goliath, the orb of condensed heat hovering in front of his open mouth. 

Instead of sending the orb flying, he 'popped' a hole in its front, and like helium rushing out of a balloon, a massive blast of fire erupted with a deafening boom that forced many to cover their ears. 

The fire shot forward like a flamethrower, thin at the base but rapidly widening as it traveled. The orange-red flames flew over the heads of running adventurers like a river of flames casting long, and flickering shadows across the battlefield. It crossed the 300-meter distance in almost an instant and it slammed into the Goliath.

"OOOOOOOOOOO—!"

The massive flames engulfed the entirety of the three-story-tall creature, its roar of defiance echoing within the inferno. The sound of the flames rushing from the orb in front of Rex's mouth created a high-pitched whistle, a constant, ear-splitting noise that added to the chaos, causing many to close their ears.

'Now, I'll add the...' Rex thought, the fire in his throat throbbing. '...internal flame—'

*BOOM.*

A second explosion erupted as his internal fire breath blasted out from his mouth, merging with the external flames. A wave of scorching hot air burst outward, burning Rex's face and radiating in all directions, incinerating everything in its path. 

As the two breathes merged at the base, the fire turned blue and quickly surged forward, spreading through the entire stream. The blue fire engulfed the orange flames, transforming the entire firebreath into a roaring blue inferno. The intensity of the heat increased exponentially, the air around it shimmering violently as the fire breath grew larger and more destructive.

The Goliath's roars turned to screams as the blue flames consumed it, the heat so intense that even the ground beneath the monster began to melt. And the other mages, not wanting to be outdone, launched their spells. 

Magic circles flared to life around the Goliath, and a barrage of elemental attacks rained down on the Goliath. Weaker spells were overpowered by the blue dragon breath, but others created devastating elemental reactions. 

The most effective was a tornado spell that merged with the fire breath, forming a massive, roaring blue tornado that spun rapidly around the Goliath, hiding it from the sight of others. The vortex drew in the flames that would have blasted past the creature, trapping the fire in a continuous spiral that burned the monster relentlessly.

Rex kept his fire breath focused on the tornado, the blue flames feeding into the vortex. But after about four more seconds, the flames began to die down, the fire breath thinning out and soon only blue embers were left in the air above the adventures.

Rex's bloodshot eyes blurred, his eyelids and nictitating membrane burned away, leaving his bloodshot eyes that rolled into his skull. His body, covered in severe burns, began to give out. His mind was drained, his body massively damaged, depleted from maintaining too many active skills at once. 

As he started to fall back, Indomitable Will activated. His left leg stepped back, steadying him, and he forced himself to look up at the Goliath whose roar was no more.

Even after the fire breath ceased, the blue fire tornado continued to spin, sending out waves of heat that scorched the surrounding area, arcs of blue lightning crackled within the vortex. Most watched in awe while some adventurers armed with magic swords and other mages bombarded the tornado with more magic. 

After another seven seconds, the tornado slowly began to die down, its rotating speed slowing and its flames flickering as the magic sustaining it started fading. As it died down, the Goliath within was finally revealed...or what was left of it.

Now, where the Goliath once stood was a grotesque, skeletal remains. Its exposed spine stood upright, embedded into the boiling red ground at the center of a wide, deep basin, acting as a pillar of support. Massive ribs extended outward, stabilizing what was left of its upper body and preventing it from collapsing entirely. 

The structure was partially covered in charred muscle, but large portions remained bare, revealing an almost hollow framework beneath the ribs. At the center of this skeletal cage, a massive purple magic stone pulsed faintly.

The skull, stripped of all flesh, leaned forward with empty sockets and a rigid jaw, resembling a grinning death mask. The bones of its left arms rested on the ground to its sides, while its right arm bone still remained attached to the shoulder by some strips of its muscles. 

The bonny remains of its legs lay scattered around the burning basin, some muscles still clinging to the charred bones. Steam rose from the skeletal remains, the heat distorting the air above it.

There was a long silence. Even the monsters seemed to hold their breath. Then, the entire floor erupted in a roar.

"OOOOOOOO!"

The voices of adventurers—men, women, elves, humans—rose in unison, a deafening cry of triumph that echoed through the Dungeon. The pressure of their collective roar was overwhelming, and the remaining monsters turned and fled in terror, their instincts screaming at them to escape.

'Oh, damn.' Rex forced a grin. 'I expected something but not blue fucking fire!' He has tested smaller versions but never did he expect it will turn blue. This was… INTENSE. 'Now I should be able to take the stone fort—ugh!!!

He stumbled back, his eyes blurring, so he quickly went to his bag to take out the Elixir he had brought with him and drank it all. It tasted disgusting but he quickly felt it working on his body. Like rapidly healing him, his burns heal at a speed visible to the naked eyes. 

Hermes, standing on a hill far away, tilted his hat and smiled, his gaze fixed on Rex across the battlefield. Ryuu stared at the remains of the Goliath, then shifted her gaze to the hill where Rex stood, his body marked with severe burns. 

Asfi, standing beside her, chuckled softly. "Who knew there was an unknown adventurer with such powerful magic?" she asked, reaching out to place a hand on Ryuu's shoulder. But the elf dodged the gesture, leaving Asfi momentarily stunned. 

"Right," Asfi mumbled, "you're an elf."

The battlefield was alive with celebration. Some adventurers cried, others laughed, their relief and joy palpable—

*Huum.*

A single, low sound pierced the silence. Everyone froze, their celebrations cut short as the noise continued, emanating from the Goliath's remains. Heads turned slowly, eyes widening in horror as they saw the magic stone glowing with an intense internal light.

Red specks of light began to emerge on the skeleton—on its bare ribs, its skull, the remnants of muscle clinging to its bones.

"No way…" Rex uttered, stepping back in disbelief.

"NO FUCKING WAY!!!" a female elf screamed, her face contorted in horror.

"Destroy it!" someone roared.

"Destroy its stone!" another voice screeched.

A wave of adventurers charged forward, but they quickly halted at the edge of the basin. The ground surrounding the Goliath was boiling red, like lava, the heat rising from it distorting the air. 

Those at the front, pushed by the crowd behind them, stumbled into the basin. Their screams were agonizing as the heat burned their bodies, the scorching air melting their lungs and innards. Everyone slowly stepped back, then looked up at the massive beast that was still regenerating. 

One of its eyes rapidly formed its socket, a single crimson orb that glared down at them with an intensity that froze all adventurer in place. Then, its gaze snapped upward, landing on Rex standing on the hill about three hundred meters away. 

He stared in horror with an empty elixir in his hand, as the Goliath's boney mouth opened. Rex turned to run as the muscles in the Goliath's throat rapidly regenerated, allowing it to unleash a deafening howl.

"OOOOWWWWAA!!!"

A compressed force of air erupted from its mouth, the shockwave appearing directly in behind the running Rex with incomprehensible speed. Time seemed to slow as he felt the attack behind him.

'Ah, damn it—'

The force slammed into him.

*CRACK*

His spin was instantly shattered, the force throwing him forward, his body spinning through the air like a ragdoll, the ceiling and the ground rapidly switching position. He slammed into the ground, hard, bouncing off the soil multiple times before rolling and crashing into a tree. Leaves fell down on him as he sat there, looking down at his legs in front of him that were twisted unnaturally, his left knee bone sticking out the flesh.

'I can't breathe…' He literally couldn't.

Broken ribs have pierced his lungs, a few going so close to his heart that any wrong movement will spell his absolute doom. He couldn't move. He couldn't feel his legs. His arm. All he could hear were high pitch ringing with almost no other sound. 

'Why didn't it die…?' He questioned. Scavenger had rated his thought, 'this ultimate has the capability to kill the Goliath,' as high quality. Why was it wrong? Other magic even got combined with the fire breath and yet... it didn't die?

'But it did…' Yes, the Black Goliath did die. He saw the aura rise from its magic stone earlier, and after a few thoughts being judged by Scavenger, he realized.'The aura had disappeared when I turned around to drink his Elixir…'

The Black Goliath had fucking revived. It had died for only a little time but without its stone being destroyed, it can literally regenerate its entire body? So the Goliath's magic stone acts like a phoenix feather—it allows resurrection unless destroyed. Even though the body died, the stone's survival triggered regeneration.

'What a cheat…' He had only a little gap for him to absorb its stone else it revived. 

Scavenger wasn't wrong, the attack did kill the Goliath. The problem wasn't the attack's power—it was the failure to destroy the magic stone afterward. Scavenger judged the kill potential, not the permanence of the kill.

Rex's oversight was assuming death = permanent. He didn't factor in the need to scavenge/destroy the stone immediately, which Scavenger couldn't intuit because Rex didn't ask about that step.

'Fuck…' He felt his thought slowing to a crawl. A minute in reality became a second for him. Scavenger wasn't being active anymore. Indomitable Will was trying its best to keep him alive, with his healing magic working with the little mind he had left. 

'Chat… Am I cooked?' He tried to get his thoughts away from everything and just stared down at his legs that were going increasingly blurry. 'Cause I think I am.'

They say the last sense that goes out when you die is your hearing, and the last thing he heard was:

*Gong... Gong... Gong…*

A sound similar to a church bell, a sound that belonged to Bell limit off fully charged Argonaut. In the end Bell was going to be the one to kill the Black Goliath and destroy the magic stone. 

What did he say earlier when he realized that him force spawning the goliath killed hundreds of adventures? Ah, right…

Fate.

[Author's Note: SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!

No, Rex isn't going to absorb the stone from the Goliath. I am sorry if I got your hope up and then I crushed it in the palms of my hand. Sorry to disappoint...

But there are multiple reasons for me to do this. One: I did not want everything to go the way the protagonist happen. I want to set it early that not everything will be handed to him. He will plan, plan, plan, and he might fail. Its to keep you guessing.

Two: I wanted to humble him.

Three: It would make things too easy. All the Goliath's ability are overpowered. Its Phoenix-esque regenerating would make things too boring. It will remove all tension, as he can now regenerate from any damage he takes. Sorry, but I am not skilled enough to write around that.

Monster manipulation VIA roar is way too much. It would make switch the focus from 'Solo Leveling' to, I don't know, 'Monster Hoarder?' Its roar isn't that overpowered, but eh. Then he would get more physical properties and hidden abilities that weren't obvious. Too much.

Then there is the excelia. Even if got 'unlucky' and got no ability, just absorbing the level 5 magic stone will grant him enough excelia to max out his level 2 stats, his level 3 stats from 0 to 1499, and give him some stats in level 4. That's too much. It would be too quick even for me. I didn't like it.

I hope this is a good enough explanation. Wasn't the plot twist marvelous? I know most of ya expected him to get nothing. Nah. Maybe in the future he will have Soma release his divinity on each floor to kill and absorb the abilities of all Black Monster Rex. You can imagine the abilities he will get from something like 'The Hydra' Amphisbaena or 'Leach King' Udaeus. But that's for the future, not now...

What do you think of the entire fight? I know he really didn't do anything in this fight except his firebreath, but I think anyone in his position will do that. You wouldn't rush in to start fighting with swords against Goliath or the monster it called like a barbarian. But do you think it had good pacing? Dragged on? Slow? Interesting to read? Give me your honest opinion. Even if it is bad, I want to know to grow. Thanks. 

Also, I wrote a lot spent time on these chapter and as to not burn out myself, I will take one or two days off. I will still post 'No Chapter' chapters to work that webnovel algorithm. Yeah, I am shameless( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed these last three chapters. Thanks for reading, and have a marvelous day.o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

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