Fantasy System

Chapter 226: Transformation

'What is that? A three-headed dragon?' Eric looked at the figure fighting against Ellie alongside Gazef. It was only natural that he didn't recognize the Hydra, as it wasn't a creature that existed normally in this world. Eric bottled down his curiosity and switched his focus on helping Ellie. From his position, he could see how she was pressured by the combined attacks of her two enemies.

'That doesn't seem like an actual monsterIt feels ephemeral, or rather like a ghost. Could it actually be an Avatar?' Eric thought to himself while advancing through the rubble. He was rather tired from his fight, but he could only push himself.

Moving like an assassin, Eric erased his presence with Zetsu and closed in on the Hydra. However, he couldn't hide his physical appearance, and thanks to the three heads' field of view, he was spotted rather quickly. It was all according to his plan, so he wasn't stopped by this and continued to move forward. The Hydra switched its attention to Eric and its attacks were not missed by Ellie. Gazef noticed this and looked towards Eric and finally noticed the disappearance of the Wind Cage.

"YouWhere are my guards?!" Gazef was more than surprised, but he didn't act on impulse. He switched his focus back to Ellie and continued fighting her.

Eric responded, "Dead. Like you will be." He clashed against the Hydra's middle head while the other two targeted his sides. Eric jumped backward, avoiding its teeth.

"EllieAre you okay?" Eric asked out of worry. He could see that she was able to fight, but he was worried about something. On her left arm, a purplish-black wound disfigured it.

"It's fine, I managed to stop the poison by using my QI. I can't feel any pain for now anyway." Ellie responded as she exchanged blows with Gazef. None of her blows managed to draw out his blood, and none of his blows managed to hit her. The only reason she was injured, was because she was caught off guard when Gazef summoned his Avatar, the Hydra.

The Hydra's teeth were laced with a gooey green poison, which was the one that caused Ellie her injury. Thanks to her quick thinking, however, she managed to put a stop to it for now. But, the longer she drags the fight, the stronger the effect of the poison will be.

"Then you should focus on your opponent. I'll handle this thing." Eric chose the best course of action that he could think about. He knew that he wasn't able to kill the Hydra right now, and so he chose to allow Ellie to focus on Gazef. Killing Gazef meant killing the Hydra. It was a gamble that he was willing to bet on.

"No longer feel any pain? Well, I'll be glad to tell you that your parents felt plenty of it. They begged me to stop as I poisoned them again and again as I gave them the antidote. They even developed an immunity to it, which made me use even stronger poison. By the time I was done, they couldn't even be recognized as they had lost most of their internal organs. I had their heads displayed on sticks, and paraded them through the four cities!"

Gazef mixed lies with truth and spoke to Ellie. His goal was to get her mad enough to lose her rational thinking, as he thought it would allow him to gain an edge over her. However, much to his disappointment, Ellie didn't react to him. It was his miscalculation to think that Ellie was the type to go berserk when angered. But, in fact, she was the type to become as calm as still water.

"My parents would never beg for their lives, so you can stop with your lies. As for parading their heads, I wouldn't put it past you. However, as I told you before, I'm not going to forgive you. I will make you know what true hell feels like." Ellie squeezed her hands, so hard, that it felt like her Gauntlets were about to break. She channeled her QI towards them, making them transform into flaming weapons.

On the side, Eric heard what Gazef said. He bit on his lips as he thought about the emotions that Ellie was going through right now.

"I'd like to see you try! Unlike my useless guards, I will murder every last one of you! I DON'T NEED ANYONE!! ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS KINGDOM ARE USELESS!" Gazef's eyes turned red as veins popped up in his head. His scales glistened as his fist clashed with Ellie's. The two of them went blow for blow, but Gazef seemed to be overpowering her a little. Gazef punched Ellie, targeting her face, but she blocked with both of her fists. This caused Gazef's hands to get burned as they weren't as protected as the rest of his body.

But, ignoring the pain, Gazef used a roundhouse kick, sending Ellie flying towards the back. Ellie's back hit the ground as she rolled around for a couple of times. She jumped up before he could approach her and took her a fighting pose. Ellie bit hard on her teeth, showcasing her set of fangs.

'If he's able to transform, so should I! We're all part beast, so we should go even closer to a beast form!' Ellie convinced herself as she tried to make something happen within her body. Her best guess was to pump her QI reserves even harder into her muscles and bones.

Strangely enough, something did indeed happen. Ellie's body started to produce steam as if she boiling. Her muscles bloated up, turning her into a beefy form, while an orange patch of fur appeared from her elbow down. Her pupils dilated, and whisker marks appeared on her cheeks. Gazef stood motionless as he looked at Ellie with a look that screamed 'This can't be happening'.

"I told you, didn't?! I can do it without anyone's help!" Ellie shouted as her Gauntlets produced cracking sounds. Her hands and legs became a mix of human and tiger limbs, growing in size. However, thanks to Ed's mastery over Blacksmithing, they didn't break. Instead, they adapted to Ellie's new form, transforming into think, yet long claws.

Ellie crouched a little before her legs produced an explosion-like noise. The next instant, she had already punched a hole through Gazef's chest.