The large hulking Wendigo drooled profusely from its teeth-ridden mouth. It picked up the bodies of the Wendigos it murdered and chomped down on them. It chewed, crunching the bones, spilling out the dark blood, and gobbling the flesh.

Every chomp produced unpleasant sounds that made Oscar and Emily tremble. Oscar watched as the two Wendigos were easily reduced to scraps on the hulk's needle teeth. His expression darkened from the potential fate that awaited them.

"Emily, how is your condition?" Oscar asked. There was no chance of running away in this place. The only option was to fight.

"I'm about 90%. What on earth is this creature?" Emily got up with her staff. Her orange eyes shone with a blueish sheen directed at the creature.

"A mutation." Oscar said grimly. "The only possible explanation is a mutation. There is no other way for such a creature to be so different from its species. However, this is completely off the rails."

The other mutated Exalt Beast he fought was the Rainbow Didus, who took his left ear. The mutation applied to its extended wings and strengthened legs, but it still had the appearance of its species. This creature mutated to this drastic change.

It wasn't just the different appearance that worried Oscar. The earlier fight against the Wendigo gave Oscar a sense of how they fought and their abilities, but this mutated creature's abilities were shrouded in obscurity.

Oscar placed his hand on his missing ear and the inhibitor Elder Saul had given him, recalling the pain he suffered from the Rainbow Didus's shocking display of its special abilities. He feared they might not get through this fight unscathed.

"Give it everything we have." Oscar gave a warning and unleashed all the Ein he had. A large mass of blue Ein shrouded him, pushing away the moss and mushrooms around him.

"No need to tell me that." Emily said as her orange Ein matched Oscar's intensity.

Their animas manifested with a fiery intensity.

The mutated Wendigo, the Wendigo Alpha, let out a bellowing roar. The muscles of its body squirmed and twisted as if worms were crawling under its skin.

Several spikes protruded out of its spine and shoulders. The emanations from it were close to a peak Greater Apprentice Exalt. Black blood leaked down from the spiky protrusions, dripping all over its body, becoming something close to lined tattoos.

It unfurled its hands and popped its claws out of the fingertips. The claws were shorter, only an inch long, but were thick as swords. This terrifying display of a hulking monster with spikes protruding through its body made Oscar shout, "Emily!"

'Rock Barrier'

Emily put up a triple layer of 'Rock Barrier' to see the power of this monster. Oscar needed to prioritize gaining as much information about this foe as possible. He threw out his original plan to end this early because the creature wasn't playing around, unlike the Rainbow Didus that tried to finish Oscar off normally initially.

It didn't have the high lofty attitude the Rainbow Didus had. It may be a mutated beast, a king amongst its kind, but its pride didn't blind it. The wily and cautious intelligence of its species was still ingrained in it.

The Wendigo Alpha didn't swipe down like its lesser cousins. It stabbed its claws forward like a spear, piercing through the triple 'Rock Barrier' straight to the other side. Cracks spread out all over the 'Rock Barriers', reducing it to mere rubble.

"OOOOOOOO."

Oscar rushed in with his deer anima. He used 'Adamasreis' to boost his physical power and swung his buckler together with the antlers straight to the Wendigo Alpha's chest.

'Dual Awaken'

Oscar drew up more Reis from the ground to unleash with his deer's ein-empowered antlers. The combination of Reis, Adamasreis, and 'Ein Awaken' created a devastating power that made Emily feel fear.

The Wendigo Alpha also felt a tinge of fear from this devastating attack, but it did not shirk back and stabbed both of its claws forward to crush Oscar's attack and rend his body into shreds.

The air trembled in shockwaves from the epicenter of their clash; the ground quaked under them as a mini typhoon burst out. Oscar's Ein burned furiously, trying to break through with the buckler, but the Wendigo Alpha's claws were unmoving.

Not wanting to continue further, Oscar used the momentum from the claws to retreat. But the Wendigo Alpha dashed in, kicking off large amounts of the ground in a bulldozing sprint. It tried to slam its claw into Oscar but was met by Emily's counter.

'Grade One Mud Boulder'

Emily's new spell sent a large muddy boulder rolling to the Wendigo Alpha's side. She rushed in behind her boulder to follow up on her spell. With 'Rock Barrier' as a launch pad, she did her signature leap into 'Heavy Impact' with both of her staves.

The Wendigo Alpha switched targets and stabbed its claw into the boulder, but unlike the 'Rock Barrier', this spell was softer. The mud enveloped Wendigo Alpha as it let out a muffled roar. This mud was thick and dense like a swamp, slowing Wendigo Alpha's movements.

Then came down Emily like a meteor about to slam down. "Oscar, now!"

Oscar was at the limits of his Adamasreis; he felt his fingers trembling, about to explode from the strain of the Reis contained within. He burned Ein onto his buckler into a blue coat and rotated the Reis from the ground to his finger. Then he released the Reis from his finger to add to the attack.

While it was a great physical booster far stronger than any strengthening spell, Adamasresi came with various techniques. His master, Draven, described the techniques of Adamasreis; one of them was called the 'Shattering Wave'.

'Shattering Wave' consisted of the wielder of Adamasreis unleashing the Reis that had been held and combining it with the Reis gathered from outside. The resulting strike went out like a wave that spread destruction in its wake.

With Emily from above and Oscar from below, the Wendigo Alpha stared expressionlessly with its dull eyes. It drew in a deep breath, and its body began squirming in the mud—a highly unusual behavior.

"Emily! Dodge!" Oscar foresaw something ominous with the Prinstyct; he saw the Ein of the creature expanding in all directions. With only a split second to say something before the incoming attack, he spouted two words.

Emily hastily turned her body to change her freefall destination. Her staff anima hovered and spun in the air as a makeshift shield while she twirled her staff behind it.

Her face twisted in anxiousness when her mud exploded with needles flying through the air in all directions. These tiny long projectiles flung toward Emily and Oscar.

Emily's staff defense broke apart many of the incoming needles, but some were so sharp and fast they stabbed into her staff anima or slipped through and impaled parts of her body. Coughing out blood, Emily fell to the floor, battered and bloody.

Oscar did not fare better as he was too close. His 'Shattering Wave' reduced many of the needles to pieces, but his deer anima was struck. But the worst was yet to come as a thin claw stabbed ahead.

The claw was sunken in but was clad in a kind of bone armor. Although this claw was thinner, Oscar felt a grave danger from it and pushed onward with his 'Shattering Wave' and deer anima to meet it head-on. The highest chance of survival was to ride the wave of his power instead of backing off.

A loud shockwave erupted from their exchange.

Oscar was blown back from the impact of their collision. The bone armor surrounding the claw was cracked but not damaged; Oscar's buckler suffered the same damage. This creature damaged the same buckler that the Rainbow Didus's beak had upgraded.

He coughed out a mouthful of blood. The shockwaves of the clash had shaken his internal organs.

When the mud fully dripped down, Oscar saw the figure of the Wendigo Alpha. It was skinny now, comparable to its lesser cousins. But it was clad in bone armor everywhere but the head, which now had a toothless mouth. The needles earlier were its teeth that it shot out.

The sheer presence of its appearance was ominous, but Oscar noticed its breathing was labored. This was definitely the creature's last trump card.

"Emily, are you still able to fight?" Oscar turned to Emily, who was pulling out several needles around her body. He wasn't in tip-top shape either.

"Ready as I'll ever be. What do you think? What's the plan?" Emily did not despair from seeing the creature's new form. Elizabeth had molded her to be unmoved even in the face of death.

The creature did not pause as it dashed in faster than before and swiped away at them. Oscar and Emily decided to move together, with Oscar's Prinstyct leading their movements. During this, Oscar focused on the creature, particularly the cracks on the bone armor near the claw.

"Emily, I have a plan, but it depends on you. Sorry in advance." Oscar passed Emily a Heal Elixir. They drank it together to heal their wounds while dodging, earning the creature's irritation.

"Say it."

"Hold him off for about five seconds."

"Five seconds? What requires five seconds from you." Emily snapped at Oscar, but she understood that it was probably their best chance. "Fine, but try to be faster."

Emily's Ein exploded as she went into melee range against the Wendigo Alpha. She dual-wielded with her staff anima and clashed against the claws. She was keeping up well against this creature. "I prefer this to the rest of your irritating kind. Melee combat is my favorite!"

Oscar retreated to the mushroom tree and focused his Ein. He trusted that Emily would hold on.

These five seconds would decide the battle!