The claws of Alban's fierce opponent raked across his chest, leaving brutal wounds that were by no means shallow. Following that, Alban crashed into the ground, his back slamming down hard enough to cave in the earth around it. Gritting through the pain, he bit into his tongue to keep himself from spitting out blood. As he scoured his surroundings in a search for his enemy, he noticed that the roof of the restaurant was wobbling. The unstable support beams could hold the ceiling no longer.
As he watched the roofing plunge towards the confines of the building that was now in shambles, his mind looking for a way to escape his current predicament. He extended his hands up to the descending roof, calling on the earthen chunks in his soul. The earth responded in kind by enveloping Alban in a stony dome, ensuring his safety for the time being.
Inside the hastily formed mound, Alban first cauterized the wounds on his chest. He took the brief reprieve from the fight to inspect his current state, feeling only slightly fatigued. The reason why was the adrenaline that was pumping through his body, his will to survive keeping him from falling asleep due to the sudden blood loss he had suffered. Alban knew he had to end the battle as quick as he could, searching his inventory to see if he had anything that could lessen his pain.
To his surprise, he still had Eimharr Cloud Beads. He never used them to supplement his mana, saving them for a situation where they would be invaluable. Shoving a handful of the beads into his mouth, his blood pressure increased as his body filled with a renewed vigor. Before he could immerse himself in the feeling, his dome cracked open, his upturned face now greeting the moonlight.
Shooting up from the remnants of his now shattered dome, he locked his gaze on the gecko who had almost succeeded at taking his life. The gecko's eyes responded in kind, clearly maddened by the pain Alban had inflicted on it. The two stared at each other, both of their countenances reflecting a deep hunger to all who were watching them.
Alban charged first, rapidly approaching the gecko's horned head. He pushed against the ground he had raised on his way to the beast, leaping up into the air. The mutant gheckla attempted to swat him back down, taking the advantage in it's sheer size to get in Alban's way. The rapidly approaching claw blotted out Alban's comparatively small figure.
The remaining gheckla despaired at that point, awaiting the demise that they thought would soon arrive. Their freedom was going to be quickly crushed in its infancy...it was a feeling worse than the years of suffering they had sustained. To be granted hope and yet quickly having it snatched away was a pain that dug deep into their already weary souls. Lat bit down on his lips hard enough to draw blood, but kept his eyes locked on where Alban's body had seemingly disappeared.
And the savage had indeed lived up to Lat's expectations, showing up once again. Alban was on the top of the gecko's claw, a javelin aimed at the eye between the beast's eyebrows. Alban was going to pierce as many holes as he could into his adversary, his eyes taking note of the depressions in the monsters flesh. It hadn't escaped the roof's descent, the shards lodged deep into the gecko's skin giving Alban an idea.
The javelin left his hands, rapidly shooting towards the gecko's third eye and finding itself lodged firmly inside it. Green blood spurted out of the punctured eye, a geyser painting the light brown terrain into a forest that was swarming with life. The shrieks the gecko's mouth emitted slashed against the very air itself.
Although his footing was unsteady, Alban didn't halt his movement at all. While the beast he was on top of was preoccupied in venting it's pain, he ran straight towards the head. He was adapting to the situation on the fly, trying to kill the mutated monstrosity as quickly as possible. Leaping from the gecko's shoulder onto it's horn-crowned top. He tied the vines against the center horn before getting ready to carry out his next set of actions.
As he found purchase on the gecko's slippery skin, he hunched down while pointing his hand at the pierced eye that was no longer spitting out fountains of blood. Saying goodbye to the javelin that he regrettably hadn't used very often, he condensed a blazing ball of fire before lobbing it directly into the eye. He braced against the thin horn he was affixed on in anticipation of the mutant's fierce reaction.
And react the beast did. It stood up on it's hind legs and wildly shook its head, no longer willing to just sit there on the receiving end of Alban's attacks. Alban clenched onto the horns that adorned the gecko's head, the vines barely hanging on for dear life. The efforts to stay joined to the horn were futile, though, and the vines soon snapped. Alban fell towards the gecko's mouth, a smile on his face. There was still one more thing he could try...
His body sank through the air before flipping over. His gaze peered down the mutant gecko's maw, his sight firm and unwavering. He came closer and closer to the black expanse that threatened to swallow him whole, he could count the pointed teeth that were waiting to dig into his flesh. His body disappeared once again, replaced by a perfect sphere of the hardest stone he could form.
The perfect sphere was aflame. It perfectly encapsulated all of the lessons Alban was taught by his one and only mana teacher. It was a multicasted meteor that brought out his everything, all of the flames and all of his earth elements gracing the air with its presence. He pushed out almost every single thing he had into the attack, kicking off of the meteor while twirling his heels, his body now lined up in the direction of the gecko's arm. He ran towards the direction of the beast's stomach, tracing the meteor that his opponent had swallowed.
It was now the moment of truth. No matter what happened next, Alban knew he would have no regrets about it. It was a great fight, and it was the best he had ever experienced in his life. If he could experience such a thrill now...then he anticipated what happen in the future. Sending a message to the shape casted mana as he pinned himself as close to the it as he could, he sent the message for it to melt and explode.
It succeeded, and the mutant was no more. The threat on the gheckla's freedom was no more, they were now fully and truly liberated. The mutant detonated, the green entrails in the monster's abdomen flying through the air. The top half of the mutant flew away from the site of the explosion, while Alban was flung down to the ground. He was only slightly harmed, as the back of the monster was already very close to the ground. As he became caked even further in the blood of his now deceased opponent, a young voice entered his ears.
"...thank...you." That was all it had to say, and it was all Alban really had to hear. He felt thankful towards the voice as well, appreciative of the chance to truly extend himself and push his limits. If the monster could think and wasn't in a frenzy, he knew he wouldn't be able to beat it. But he did, and that was all that mattered.
As he stared at the crimson sky, the remaining gheckla broke out of their stupor. The cheers resounded in the air, their voices carried even to the mountains. Lat laughed heartily while crying. It was finally over.
"We are now fr-"
A flashing white light blinded all of the people remaining in Gehara.