"This is Aoi Hino," Chitose introduced. "My best friend—the one I told you about."
Aoi Hino's hair was a striking midnight blue, framing a face partially obscured by large, round-rimmed glasses that caught the afternoon light. Despite the glasses, it was obvious she was a beauty.
Alistair's eyes inadvertently drifted lower. Aoi's figure was... substantial. Her chest was easily two cup sizes larger than Chitose's (a feat in itself), straining against the fabric of her blue-grey school blazer. Alistair noticed a small dark patch on her skirt—probably a water splash from washing her hands.
"Hello," Alistair said, nodding politely. "I hope I didn't disturb you two."
"It's fine," Chitose smiled. "We were just chatting in my room and got curious about the banging sounds."
"I was looking for something, but it's not here. I'm going to head out for a walk before it gets dark," Alistair said, patting the dust off his sleeves. It was 4:00 PM. If he moved fast, he could scout the summit before sunset.
On the Mountain:
"Strange. Why is it so quiet this time?" Alistair muttered, pushing through the brush. The insects that usually swarmed the area were gone. Even more bizarre: the bodies of the Blaze Simians he'd killed earlier were missing.
He reached the clearing where he'd fought. The ground was spotless. The pale blue blood that had sprayed everywhere was gone, as if it had never existed. Only the scarred bark of a tree he'd hit remained as proof.
Caution. Alistair summoned [The World], using the Stand's heightened senses to scan the area.
Nothing. It's like they were erased.
"[Hunted]."
Alistair activated his tracking ability. The world turned monochrome, and trail highlights flared to life.
"The mana traces are here... but they don't lead away. They just... spread out into the trees?"
He looked closer. The surrounding grass and trees were glowing with high-intensity mana networks.
"They were eaten? By the plants?"
Alistair tried to step back, but his leg wouldn't move. He looked down. A thick, pulsating vine had coiled around his ankle, its thorns beginning to prick his skin. He felt his mana being siphoned away at an alarming rate.
Carnivorous plants.
Alistair didn't panic. He channeled the Fire Demon Chi from his core. Red-hot energy erupted from his pores, forming a shimmering cloak of flame.
Hiss!
The vine recoiled, but [The World] reached out and grabbed it with a crushing grip.
"You like eating mana? Eat this!" Alistair growled.
[The World] yanked the vine with monstrous strength. The earth buckled and cracked as a massive root system was torn from the soil, dragging the "Aggressor Tree" with it.
"Recognize me now?" Alistair sneered at the tree. He didn't care if it was sentient or not. "Try a Blazing Impact!"
He infused the Fire Chi into [The World]'s fist and slammed it into the trunk.
BOOM!
The tree didn't just catch fire; it detonated. The Demon Chi, being an alien energy system, acted like a virus to the local mana-based flora. The tree shriveled and turned to ash in seconds.
"I see five or six more 'hungry' trees," Alistair noted, his eyes glowing red.
He moved through the grove like a god of destruction, punching every mana-linked tree. The mountain echoed with the sound of explosions and the roar of unnatural flames. Because the Fire Chi propagated through mana networks, the fire didn't spread like a forest fire—it followed the roots, incinerating only the mutated plants.
A path toward the summit opened up, paved with the ash of the carnivorous forest.
Alistair reached the peak in record time. The sunset cast long, bloody shadows across a stone altar surrounded by a dozen flaming animals.
"A diverse crowd," Alistair smirked, looking at the tigers, eagles, and serpents wreathed in blue flame. "But numbers don't mean much against an army. SHADOW KHAN!"
From the shadows of the surrounding rocks, scores of black-clad Ninjas rose silently.
The beasts snarled and retreated toward the altar.
"Tigers, rabbits, hawks... quite the zoo. Kill them all."
The Ninjas lunged. The mountain air was filled with the sounds of battle—the roar of tigers, the shriek of hawks, and the silent, lethal strikes of ninja blades.
Alistair watched as a mutated tiger swiped through three Ninjas, dissipating them into smoke.
Tsk. The Shadow Khan are great for distractions, but they lack the raw power to take down high-level elites.
THUD!
Just as the tiger prepared to pounce again, a golden fist smashed into its skull.
"I guess I'll have to do the heavy lifting," Alistair muttered. [The World] delivered a flurry of blows, caving the beast's head in.
An eagle dived from above, but Alistair's Stand reached out—its range now a staggering fifty feet. It snatched the bird out of the air and crushed its ribcage before slamming it into the dirt.
Within minutes, the altar was cleared. The Shadowfolk stood guard, merging back into the darkness.
"Now, let's see what this 'Dragonflame' really is."
Alistair approached the central altar. Oddly, there was no flame. No light. Just a cold stone structure with eight pillars and a central dais.
Wait. In my dream, this place was an inferno. Why is it dark?
He ran his hand over the stone carvings on the dais. He felt a faint, pulsing warmth.
There.
His fingers stopped on a specific engraving in the center. It was a dragon—not a winged Western dragon, but a serpentine Chinese dragon.
This stone is a separate piece... it's embedded.
He summoned [The World] and delivered a precise, vibrating strike to the dais.
CRACK!
The stone shattered. Alistair reached into the rubble and caught a small, hexagonal stone slab before it could fall.
The stone glowed with an internal, pulsating red heat.
Of course. It's the Dragon Talisman!