Part III Burning T-rex SLayer

As darkness fell over Gatewood, the young men passed the time in the tent, resting. Inside, Lazuro had taken a bed next to Tristan. They chatted happily until a stone landed on Lazuro's forehead and made it bleed."What are you doing, Aaron?"Tristan stood up and stared at Aaron, who was laughing happily with his two friends."What am I doing? I was just talking to them, 'Really?" Said Aaron."Exactly... exactly..." his two friends replied in unison."Look at Lazuro. Someone threw a rock that made his forehead bleed and there are only five of us here." Tristan pulled back his blanket and stood up."If it was me, what's will you do?""You!"Lazuro stood up and tried to calm Tristan down."Come on, Tristan, I'm fine. There's no need to worry, let's get some rest.""You're absolutely right, Lazu, worrying about them is pointless. That musclehead is so arrogant just because he has the Mythbreaker."“Say that again! After all, I proved that I have my father’s blood by possessing the Mythbreaker. As for you, you are probably the illegitimate child of your mother's affair. No wonder the gods took your mother. She was nothing more than a Bitch —”Tristan immediately clashed with Aaron. But Aaron easily pushed Tristan to the ground due to his larger size.“You bastard!” Tristan roared.“Come here, I'll show you the difference in our strength. You were just lucky to be born in a royal womb.”“T-Rex, there's a T-Rex!”Hearing that, Lazuro quickly exited the tent, followed by Tristan and the others. The scene outside was chaotic. Two tents had been destroyed, and James was seen trying to fend off the Burning T-rex alone.
"This isn't training anymore. Those who feel capable can help us, and the rest can find a safe place. Don't forget to stay together!" Paul instructed.
"Then I'll go first, losers."
Aaron and his two friends headed towards the Burning T-rex. Meanwhile, Lazuro, carrying his cursed staff, decided to leave. However, Lazuro stopped as soon as Tristan walked towards the rampaging Burning T-rex.
"Tristan, what the... Argh... what a jerk!"
Lazuro reluctantly ran after Tristan. Less than a few steps later, a grown man was thrown right in front of Lazuro. The man appeared to be vomiting blood, his body shaking violently before he lost his sight with his eyes open. Lazuro swallowed hard. His soul yearned to escape and flee far from that place. However, Lazuro's legs felt stiff and immobile. Lazuro, lost in fear and thought, was startled once again by someone being thrown.
"What are you doing? You should leave!" James tried to get up with his shield in hand.
"That..."
Several people stepped back, including Aicelia, Aaron, and James, who was carrying Tristan.
"Let go of me, I can fight too!" Tristan shouted.
In the chaos, the Burning T-rex appeared. Its face looked terrifying, with bared fangs and red flames spreading down its back. James glared at everyone and gripped his shield tightly.
"Taunt!"
James ran to the side, letting the Burning T-rex chase him.
"I'll leave this kid to you," Paul set Tristan down. "Everyone stay in formation. Ranged attackers keep their distance, and those who can attack at close range, continue dealing damage and weakening the Burning T-rex!"
"Ready!" the seven people present replied.
Once ready, everyone returned to the Burning T-rex. Tristan casually followed, but Lazuro quickly blocked his way by wrapping his arms around Tristan from behind.
“Are you stupid? They already told you not to go.”
“Yes, I’m stupid. But I’m going anyway.”“Why did you go to this extent?”
Tristan stopped walking, causing Lazuro to stop hugging him as well.
"I'm the Clan Chief's son, but the Mythbreakers never chose me. I'm tired of being a loser. If I die, let it be by a beast—not some pointless end."
“Tristan…”
"You don't know what it's like to be a loser. You just don't get it."
Tristan left Lazuro, frozen in place.
"Biggest loser in the world, huh? That's me."
Lazuro’s thoughts drifted back to a year ago when he had intervened in an unnecessary situation. He had saved a fat student from being robbed by three men. Lazuro ended up getting beaten up and hospitalized for a week. Because of this, he had no friends, and the three thugs who had robbed the fat student turned out to be his classmates. Since then, the three young men have been bullying Lazuro.
"I've had to give them my pocket money all year. I've had to earn money to support them all year. Yeah, I don't need to interfere in this. Nothing good comes of me interfering."
Lazuro took a step, but immediately stopped. His mind was unsettled by Tristan's words. Tristan, who had unhesitatingly run into danger just because he didn't want his life to be restrained by fear, moved Lazuro. The sight of Tristan's brave back as he turned toward the burning T-rex made Lazuro grip the cursed staff he was carrying even tighter.
"He's truly amazing. Damn, I think I'm going to regret this. But fuck it, I'm just a stupid boy after all." Lazuro ran.
It wasn't difficult for Lazuro to find the location of the burning T-rex, as even from a distance, the flames were visible. Lazuro ran, and suddenly a fireball struck a nearby tree, setting it ablaze.
"That creature can shoot fireballs. Have I been transported to the Didimon world?"
Lazuro fought back his fear and headed toward the burning area. There, he saw Lazuro hiding behind a tree while seven others were fighting the burning T-rex. Lazuro crept up, hiding behind the tree with Tristan.
"Are their numbers dwindling?" Lazuro asked, causing Tristan to tiptoe."You surprised me, you bastard! Looks like there are already two casualties. It's true that Burning T-rex should only be fought by skilled fighters, forming a party of at least four."
In front of Lazuro, James was trying to get the Burning T-rex's attention. James bravely raised his shield and clashed horns with the Burning T-rex's head. Unfortunately, the Burning T-rex's greater strength managed to throw James high into a burning tree.
"Aicelia, let's do it now!" Paul ordered.
"Yes, father," Aicelia replied.
Aicelia raised her wand, and a magic circle appeared, conjuring six ice prisms. Meanwhile, Paul was seen drawing an arrow from ice, five times the size of a normal arrow.
"Ice Prism!"
"Arrow Rain, Blizzard!"
The six prisms Aicelia had created shot into the Burning T-rex's back, causing the creature to roar. The attack caused the Burning T-rex to turn to Aicelia and Paul. The creature began to walk toward the father and daughter.
“Don't you dare hurt Miss Aicelia!”
Aaron raised his greatsword and charged at the Burning T-rex. Aaron's kabuto-patterned sword grazed the Burning T-rex's leg, giving Paul time to fire his arrow skyward. Paul's large arrow shot out, glowing and emitting a magic circle. From the magic circle, a swirling blizzard emerged, freezing the Burning T-rex.
“It's great they succeeded.” Tristan shook his arms as if he were lifting a barbell.
Lazuro breathed a sigh of relief as the crisis was finally over. However, Lazuro suddenly felt something strange. He stared at the frozen Burning T-rex and found the ice covering the creature starting to crack.
“This isn't over yet.”
The ice encasing the Burning T-rex broke free, and the first thing it did was shoot a fireball at Aicelia and James. Lazuro reflexively ran, hugging Aicelia to avoid the flames. Lazuro groaned in agony as his backside was engulfed in flames.
"Oh Shit!”

Tristan, seeing the Burning T-rex approaching Lazuro and Aicelia, immediately grabbed Lazuro's staff and ran.
"Taste this, you son of a bitch!"
Tristan slammed Lazuro's staff into the air, but it was deflected by the vibrations caused by the Burning T-rex's footsteps. Lazuro's staff flew and struck right next to Lazuro.
"Aicelia, I'll be the bait. You and Uncle Paul should use this time to make your best attack." Lazuro stood up and pulled out the staff beside him.
"But your back," Aicelia felt the heat on her hand from Lazuro's burning back.
"It doesn't matter; besides, if I die, no one will come looking for me." Lazuro groaned.
After a small smile, Lazuro let out a loud scream and charged at the burning T-rex. The Burning T-rex ran, opening its mouth. That's when Lazuro turned around to avoid being swallowed by the burning T-rex. Lazuro continued running in the opposite direction from where Paul and Aicelia were. Unfortunately for Lazuro, the impatient Burning T-rex slammed into him, sending him flying into a tree and falling. Lazuro's ears were ringing, and his body felt incredibly dizzy. He could faintly hear Aicelia's screams.
"Even now, I'm useless."
Lazuro tried to stand and found his chest impaled by a branch. He then leaned against the tree, staring at the cursed stick he was carrying.
"It's all because of this damn stick. No, it's the fault of those bastards who always bother me. No, none of that is true. Deep down, I already know it's my fault. All of these events happened because I was weak, because I lacked courage, because I didn't want to change. That's why everything was taken from me. I wish I had been given a chance. I wanted to say something to them."
Tears streamed down Lazuro's cheeks, his chest tightening, and his head filled with memories of his time in Japan. Lazuro screamed hysterically, pounding the ground with his hands. It was then that two female figures appeared in his mind. One woman always finds Lazuro in a weak state, and the other always makes Lazuro feel weak.
"No, I can't die here. I... I must go back and tell them everything. I have to go back and tell them I love them."
Lazuro gripped his cane and forced himself to stand. However, his legs trembled, and he fell again.“

If only I had it. If only I had the mythbreaker and become stronger.”

Lazuro stared at everyone that trying to stop the Burning T-Rex. Even the fallen Tristan got back up and threw rocks at the Burning T-Rex. Seeing all this, tears streamed down Lazuro's cheeks. He felt like a loser who couldn't save anyone. That's when a female voice whispered in Lazuro's ear.
“Son of Adam, do you desire power?”
“I think I'm going to die. I'm starting to hallucinate a girl's voice.” Lazuro smiled wryly.
“If you desire power, use the forbidden tree. Give it your blood and make a pact. Then… guide humanity on the path you desire.”
Lazuro stared at the staff he held. For some reason, the staff seemed to be calling him to do a blood contract. Lazuro smiled; trying wasn't a bad idea. Lazuro smeared the blood on his hand on the cursed staff that had been guiding him. A powerful energy filled Lazuro's body and make him stand again. The Burning T-rex, which had been chasing Tristan, stopped. It turned toward Lazuro and let out a ferocious roar.
“I feel amazing.” Lazuro grinned.
The Burning T-rex stepped toward Lazuro, and with it, the staff Lazuro held transformed. From the wrapped white cloth, branches emerged to act as a cross quad, and at the top of the staff, two green leaves appeared, and some long vine fore-and-aft piercing Lazuro's tailbone. Lazuro groaned in pain, but felt immense strength coursing through his body. He smiled once and pulled out the branch lodged in his right chest.
“I always see him practicing, so let's try that move.” Lazuro held the hard, sharp blade of the leaf sword.
Lazuro's mind drifted back to his school days when he took a look at the kendo club practice. Lazuro put his right foot forward, raised the wooden leaf sword high with both hands, and took a deep breath, striking the kendo pose he often saw. Meanwhile, the Burning T-rex was already in front of Lazuro, ready to pounce.
“Heyaaaaaa!”
Lazuro swung his sword down hard. Simultaneously, a slash of energy appeared, splitting the Burning T-rex's head and body in two. Not only that, but the slashing energy continued like a snake, slicing everything in its path. Lazuro leaped high to avoid the falling Burning T-rex. Upon landing, Lazuro gasped for breath. He was filled with euphoria, but his body felt unsteady, and Lazuro finally fainted. Meanwhile, the bystanders could only shake their heads, click their tongues, or stare in amazement at the Burning T-rex and several trees were split. Everyone was shocked except Tristan. He clenched his fists tightly, struck by Lazuro's strength.“Damn, why not me? Why ... why not me. Why not me who has such power?” Tristan punched the ground repeatedly.
Paul and James checked Lazuro's condition and then looked at the Burning T-rex's corpse.
"The kid seems fine. Somehow, his body regenerated, and there are no injuries," Paul said after examining Lazuro's wounds.
"Not only did he kill the Burning T-rex all by himself. This kid also possesses a strange Mythbreaker that seems to be derived from plants. Furthermore, his Mythbreaker grants him rare healing abilities. What a terrifying kid." James shook his head repeatedly.
"Whatever it is, we seem to have caught a big catch. Also... this kid deserves the title of T-rex Slayer." Paul laughed out loud.
"You've got to be kidding me, right?" James asked with a serious expression.