"Silly bird," Alex said. He smiled and shook his head.
Bernie lowered its head again and flapped its wings, using them to beat its own head twice. Then it trudged across the ground with its head down, looking defeated.
"You mean, you won the fight, and then a tougher opponent arrived and chased you away?" Alex asked.
Bernie raised its head in surprise, and then it nodded vigorously.
"All right," Alex said. "Take me to see what is so powerful that it can make you retreat."
He climbed onto the bird's back. It let out a chirp, and then it carried him through the sky.
Along the way, the bird kept changing its direction, avoiding some of the unstable parts of the spell within the Tomb. Obviously, it was very familiar with the magic in this place.
After flying for a while, they arrived at a desert oasis. It wasn't large, but it was densely covered with green trees.
Alex's eyes landed on a particularly large tree, recognizing it as a lightning tree. He couldn't believe that such a tree had managed to exist in this barren land.
It was truly beautiful. Two monkeys sat in its branches, and when they saw the bird with Alex on its back, they stood up, screeching at them in fury, clearly demonstrating their strength.
"Fire monkeys!" Alex exclaimed when he saw them.
One monkey was much bigger than the other, but they were both equally hostile.
Fire monkeys were powerful creatures, comparable to divine-level warriors, and they could not be underestimated. They came in a variety of sizes, but even the smallest could be a serious threat.
Fire monkeys fed on lightning berries, and as a result, they were born powerful. They did not hone their skills like human martial artists, but they were far stronger than most warriors.
They tended to be extremely intelligent, and they were the smartest of all non-human creatures. If it hadn't been for the immortal warriors, the fire monkeys would have taken over this world long ago.
As he looked at the monkeys, Alex realized what must have happened. Bernie had obviously stolen the lightning berries from here and had then been chased away by the small monkey. Then, once Alex had given the bird a revival pill, its strength had increased tremendously, and it had come back to bully the monkey and steal more berries. Unfortunately for Bernie, it had attracted the attention of the larger fire monkey. Even with the bird's boosted strength, it would have been no match for the second monkey, and Bernie had been beaten until it had been forced to flee.
"You're just a bully who only picks on those weaker than you, aren't you?" Alex asked the bird, his lips twitching with amusement.
Bernie chirped at him in dissatisfaction. Clearly, it still wanted to grab the lightning berries for him.
"All right," Alex said with a sigh. "I would like some more of the berries, so I'll help you take care of these two monkeys."
He hadn't expected to run into fire monkeys, and he was quite surprised, but he wasn't afraid of them. He had grown much stronger since this adventure had begun, and he was certain he could prevail. He got to his feet, balancing on the back of the bird, and then he leaped through the air, directly at the two monkeys.
When the larger monkey saw Alex, it raised its head and screeched furiously at him. Then it took a breath and roared, sending flames shooting from its mouth, right at Alex's face.
The flames spread everywhere, making part of the oasis an inferno. Several lightning trees were reduced to ash, and even the sand and stones below them were turning black as embers dropped down from the trees.
Any normal person would have been scared out of their wits by such a scene.
"Is that all you've got?" Alex taunted the monkey. With a flick of his hand, a gust of power flew through the oasis, extinguishing the monkey's flames.
Bernie hovered in the air, staring blankly at where the fire had been. It couldn't believe that Alex had put out the flames so easily. It looked at its wing, which still had patches where the feathers had been burned off, and it hung its head with shame.
When the fire monkey saw that its flames had gone, it was extremely frightened. It scampered further up the tree and opened its mouth. This time, it shot out a bolt of lightning, which headed right at Alex.
Wherever the lightning passed, the air would grow charged with electricity. The bolts slashed through the air, striking the ground and pulverizing stones. Yet more lightning trees burst into flames and burned away to nothing.
"Thank you," Alex called. "Your lightning will be very helpful."
He laughed and held out his hand, which crackled with energy. He tugged at the monkey's lightning bolts, pulling them together in his hands. Then he molded the lightning, turning it into a ball that he absorbed into his body.
When the fire monkey saw this, it was dumbfounded, and it couldn't understand how the lightning now belonged to its opponent. This had never happened before, and it didn't know what to do.
It screeched as it stomped on the branch, shaking the whole tree. Then it leaped to the ground, picked up an enormous, heavy rock, and hurled it at Alex. It missed, but it simply picked up another rock to try again.
"You think your strength compares to mine?" Alex asked, chuckling at the monkey's antics.
He casually raised his hand and sent a burst of power laced with lightning at the monkey's chest.
The fire monkey staggered back a little, clearly affected by the blow. It raised the huge rock with both of its arms, but it no longer had the strength to throw it. Its eyes were burning, and its legs trembled as if it was going to fall at any moment.
It was normally exceptionally strong, but after Alex's attack, it was struggling to hold this one stone. Its arms shook, and then the rock fell from its grip, landing on top of the monkey.
The monkey tried to lift the rock off itself, but Alex exerted more pressure, preventing it from escaping.
He pressed a little harder, and the rock slowly sunk into the ground, taking the large fire monkey with it.
The smaller monkey rushed over and grabbed the huge rock with both hands. Its face contorted with a grimace as it tried to move the rock. It succeeded in raising it a little, and then, with extra effort, it pushed the stone aside. Underneath was a large monkey-shaped hole, and some distance down was the larger fire monkey.
The small monkey trembled as it looked at Alex, clearly begging for mercy.
"Do you admit defeat?" Alex asked. "If you concede, then I'll spare you."
He beckoned the bird over to him. "In the future, you all must live in peace," he warned them, making sure to look at Bernie as well as the monkey. "No more fighting."
Although the monkey was unwilling to give in, it knew it had no choice, so it lowered its head and remained quiet.
Bernie chirped loudly, making it clear it considered itself the boss.
**
In the northeast corner of the Tomb, a huge tremor occurred in an area covered by a white light.
A vortex appeared within the light, and then it split open, revealing a mystic portal. Streams of energy flashed within the portal as if it were going to break apart at any moment.