the beginning after the end perfect duo

Bored on the Throne

We were nearing the ape group. This time, they were even more numerous. At the far end of the tunnel, their alpha stood—a towering beast, bigger than the rest, its mana surging at almost ten times theirs. This might get a little tricky.

I scanned the field again while Lilia and the others fell into formation. The dim light flickered across the jagged walls, casting our shadows in distorted shapes that seemed to move on their own.

"Did you see them?" Arthur asked, his sharp gaze darting from me to the front, then back again.

"More like they found us," I replied, sensing the apes' mana signatures closing in on us.

As soon as the apes realized we were there, they charged—dozens of them. Their growls echoed through the narrow tunnel, blending with the pounding of their massive hands against the ground. Among them, a few stood out, their auras sharper, more focused. Protectors, perhaps. They weren't just following their alpha; they were part of him, like extensions of his presence.

For a moment, my mind drifted to the strange pull I'd felt earlier—the way the air seemed to hum with an unseen rhythm. It was almost as if something was waiting, not for the apes, but for me. I shook off the thought as the alpha let out a deafening roar, shaking the tunnel walls.

"Focus," I muttered to myself. The fight was coming, and we couldn't afford to falter.

"I'll cover Lilia, and we'll both take the right flank. Arthur, go with Jasmine to the left. Mira and Sylvia, take the center. Let's get this one over with," I said, already moving into position.

Lilia pulled out her daggers, the ones Jasmine had gifted her during our last shopping trip. She enhanced them with her mana, making the blades shimmer faintly in the dim light. She lunged at one of the apes, slashing its neck clean through, its massive body crumpling to the ground. Another jumped at her, its teeth bared, searching for an opening. She ducked low, her movements fluid, and sent it flying with a mana-enhanced punch that cracked the tunnel's stone floor on impact.

I activated Thunderclap Impulse, feeling the surge of electricity coursing through my veins. The world slowed, each sound distant and muffled, as if I'd stepped into another realm entirely. The apes moved sluggishly in my heightened perception. I conjured my sword, its hilt warm in my hand, and augmented it with fire mana, the blade glowing faintly.

I slashed at the neck of the ape to my right, its sluggish movements unable to counter. With a flick of my fingers, I intensified the gravity around the others, forcing them to collapse to the ground in a futile struggle. Wind bullets spiraled from my hand, precise and unyielding, tearing through their exposed heads.

I jumped, narrowly avoiding the ape lunging at me from behind. Channeling ice mana, I conjured a spear in a swift motion and hurled it toward the beast. The spear tore through its exposed stomach, a spray of crimson following its arc as the ape crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud.

My gaze flicked to Lilia. She moved with precision, her mana-enhanced daggers flashing in the dim light. Thanks to the gem I'd given her, her mana reserves weren't faltering. Just how valuable a mana-storing gem has become these days, I thought, watching her take down another ape with a clean slash.

Five apes charged at me, their combined roars almost drowning out the sounds of the others fighting. I unleashed a wave of water mana, drenching them before freezing them solid in a blink. Their snarls turned to muffled cracks as their icy prison locked them in place. A sharp jolt of lightning shattered the frozen beasts, sending fragments of fur and ice scattering across the tunnel floor.

Three more came rushing in. I conjured a swirling tornado, its winds howling as it engulfed them in its chaos. Their shrieks of panic lasted only moments before I fed fire into the vortex, turning it into a fiery inferno. The heat washed over me as the apes were incinerated, leaving little but ash behind.