Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Alex didn't expect the flames to damage the beast at all, but they had done their job very well.

After all, their job wasn't to cause any damage, but to further suppress the beast's abilities.

The giant beast was engulfed in flames, brighter than the rest of the town. It's rough, scaly skin had long taken on a blacker hue thanks to the charring of the flames.

It was slowly becoming more desperate, as with enough time passed, the flames covering its body from head to toe would burn through its scales and reach the parts that would actually deal some real damage to it.

But Alex wouldn't give it the chance to do anything about that.

At least, he tried to, before something completely unexpected took place.

The beast's desperation seemed to have been some sort of a ruse, as it disappeared without a trace and was replaced with a despondent, neutral gaze.

And in a shocking turn, water started to ooze from every pore on its body, dousing the sizzling, hot flames, with steam rising from all over its body.

In no time, the flames covering its body were put out, and the beast turned its sights to the distance, where the whole town was still engulfed in a blazing glory.

It huffed inwards, and shot out a pressurised beam like a waterjet, which put out any flames it came into contact with.

Alex just stood there on the side-lines, still reeling in from the shock that this beast had access to two elements, two!!

He had never seen such a thing before, never had he heard of it happening.

Other than himself.

Even Mira only had access to one element, and that was the Space element that she had gained from the space fragment she absorbed.

Otherwise, she'd have had to struggle to learn to control one of them like every other awakened with average potential.

However, Alex snapped out of his daze and instantly sprung to action.

'I can't let it continue to extinguish these fires!'

He couldn't just sit there any longer and watch the beast destroy all of the hard work he put in to suppress one of its two elements.

Sure, he was essentially sent back to square one now that the thing still had another element to rely on, but that was way better than fighting it when it had two!

Spotting an opening, Alex targeted the beast's exposed flank. He charged, his fiery sword slashing in a wide arc. The beast recoiled, more out of surprise than pain, but it gave Alex the moment he needed.

He couldn't let it continue to extinguish the flames. The light from the fires was the only thing keeping the beast's darkness element at bay. Without it, the battle would become unwinnable.

The demon growled, its eyes narrowing as it prepared another water jet. Alex moved quickly, darting to the side and closing the distance between them. He swung his sword with all his might, aiming for the beast's legs to cripple its movement.

The blade connected, sending sparks flying. The beast roared in pain and anger, lashing out with a massive claw. Alex ducked under the swipe and retaliated with a fiery thrust, driving the blade deep into the beast's side. The flames licked at its scales, preventing the wound from closing.

However things wouldn't be so easy for Alex, as the beast changed the target of its water jets from the fires, to Alex himself.

It closed the opening in its mouth even tighter, increasing the pressure of the water to a point where it could cut through steel like butter.

If this thing hit Alex, he didn't even want to imagine the kind of damage it would do to him.

Since he was left with no other way to dodge in time, he was forced to teleport out of the way, depleting his energy to less than 20% remaining.

'I have to finish this now, or I'm dead.'

Taking advantage of the beast's confusion and surprise at Alex's disappearance, he appeared on the thing's back, and hacked with all his power in a vertical slash, right where its spinal cord was located.

The beast's movements became more frantic, its desperation showing. Alex pressed his advantage, slashing and stabbing with relentless precision. Each strike was aimed to maximise the suppression of its abilities. He had to keep the beast on the defensive, unable to focus on putting out the fires.

The beast snarled, summoning another burst of water. Alex anticipated the move, rolling to the side and launching a fiery projectile at its head. The beast flinched, the water stream going wide and missing its mark.

Alex saw his chance. He charged forward, leaping onto the beast's back again. His sword burned brighter, the flames intensifying as he drove the blade into the beast's spine. This time the blade went deep enough to reach its bone.

Instantly, the thing fell to its knees as it lost control of any feeling in its legs.

The flames spread from the wound, engulfing the beast once more. It tried to summon water to douse them, but Alex's relentless assault kept it from focusing. The light from the fires grew brighter, drowning out the shadows and further suppressing the darkness element.

With a final, desperate effort, Alex drove his sword deeper, the flames burning hotter than ever. The beast let out a guttural roar, its body convulsing as the light overtook it.

It tried to get away using whatever reserves of energy it had left to forcefully summon darkness into the surroundings, but the light from the flames was just too overwhelming.

Alex leapt back, breathing heavily. He watched as the beast's body crumbled, the fires finally extinguishing. The oppressive darkness lifted, and Alex felt a surge of relief.

But the victory was bittersweet. The town was in ruins, and the lives lost weighed heavily on his mind. He had survived, but at what cost?

He felt something enter his inventory, but he was in no mood to check.

Over ten thousand people had died for this abomination to be summoned, and he was the one to gain the rewards from it.

He dug into the beast's skull, finding a beast core sitting neatly inside, but he felt no positive emotions when he lifted it.

He emotionlessly put it inside his storage artifact, joining the rest of his beast core collection, and removed any further thoughts about it.

He turned away from the smouldering remains of the beast, his thoughts already on the next challenge. There was no time for rest, no time to mourn. Survival was all that mattered.

As he walked away, the memory of the fallen town stayed with him, a reminder of the price of power and the cost of survival.

He had won, but he didn't want to stay in this place any longer.

There was still a month and a half remaining before he had to return back to his own universe, but he didn't want to stay in this place where there was only pain and misery everywhere he looked any longer.

[Would you like to leave the Primordial Expanse?]

'Yes.'