The Ancient Genes

"Bang!"

A thunderous noise shook the forest as pieces of vine were sent flying away in all directions.

"Damn it! There is no end to this!" Blinken shouted in frustration.

"Hold on for a few more minutes, we're almost there!" The Chief shouted as he pushed ahead with even more vigour. The flames were literally shooting all around from his body incinerating everything to ashes.

He was the person in lead, and was only a little away from the centre. A bit more, and he might actually be able to make it past the point.

"Scree!!!"

Suddenly, a screech resonated across the sky, and next instant, a bright flame shone through the sky as a flaming figure of a bird swooped down straight ahead of the Chief crashing right towards the centre which had the most concentrations of undying vines.

"Boom!"

A huge explosion erupted shooting out a cloud of flame while kicking up a strong gust of wind.

The impact was so powerful that it left people stunned for a second.

"What are you waiting for? GO!!"

When Max's voice came from above, everyone raised their heads above to see the guy fighting almost the same amount of vines that they were fighting below, that too all alone.

'He is strong..' The Chief thought inwardly with a serious face.

'This guy is good in this kind of situation..' Blinken on the other side was more aware of Max's abilities. In terms of overall ability, there wasn't much difference between the two, but when it came to senses, Max was definitely above.

And, this gave Max an overwhelming advantage when dealing with opponents in numbers, especially when they were weaker.

"Boss, they are strong.." The other group from the village too were handling the vines in the back. The pressure there was not that mounting, but these guys still had dark expressions on their faces.

It was all because of the display the trio of Max and others had put in front of them.

The tattooed man too had a nasty look on his face. He knew they were strong, but this really went beyond expectation.

"Don't let this discourage you. We were always in this kind of situation, if they are monsters then we hunt monsters. Remember it.." The tattooed man spoke as he gave his subordinate a look.

One had to say that the leader's temperament was worthy of some praise.

"Let me move ahead. You guys be careful. We might find a chance so be ready to act.." The tattooed man further said as he slowly began to move ahead while keeping his eye on Max, Bilnken and the Chief.

The Chief was very close to the centre, and was dealing with a continuous barrage of attacks while Blinken supported him from one side. It was definitely a good chance to make a move. But, there was one problem.

'I have the opportunity, but can I really get the other two..' He frowned thinking about it. If he assumed that he killed the Chief in one blow, there was no guarantee he could get Blinken and Max at the same time. Even if he got lucky and caught Blinken too, Max was definitely out of his reach by being in the sky.

'How is he even flying? What kind of sorcery is this..'

At this moment, the Chief let out a roar, and with a flaming fist, he broke through the last barrier of vine which was covering the way towards the centre.

As soon as that happens, all the vines around seem to slow down for a bit.

"Enter!!" The Chief shouted as he rushed ahead while taking the lead, Blinken was right behind him. The next to follow was the tattooed man, and then one by one everyone made their way into it with Max being the last one.

'These guys really held themselves back..' Max thought as he slowly followed behind the last guy wondering if he should just kill him quickly before moving in. After all, there was no one watching. But then, he made a promise to the Chief. Hence, he gave up on it. After all, he had already made the preparations for the situation when these guys would turn their backs on them.

'Well, it shouldn't be a problem to have them entertain us a little more..'

With that thought in mind, Max finally entered the Centre as well through the broken entrance which was slowly recovering and being submerged in vine again.

"Whoosh!"

As soon as Max entered through it, a bright light seemed to assault his eyes, and before he knew it, he found himself standing in a void.

And, the next thing that appeared in front of him sent chills running down his spine.

There stood a colossal beast made entirely out of bones in front of him. It was huge, gigantic, if Max had to describe it in one word.

It looked like a dragon made of bones.

Merely staring at it made Max's shoulder tremble under pressure.

"Damn!" Max cursed as he felt a strange pressure crashing down on him. 'Why is this thing here?!! Wasn't it supposed to be at the last level?!'

He really couldn't understand what was going on.

"Roarrr!!!!"

The humongous things let out a roar as it as it raised its head. The roar really seemed to be capable of destroying the sky as it sent tremors through the space itself making Max cough out blood.

'Damn! Am I going to die because of a mere scream?' Max really felt that difference between himself and that presence which stood like a giant in front of it.

Suddenly, the huge beast-like creature turned its head towards Max, and closed in on him a little.

'Not getting eaten please..anything but that..' Max tried to move, but the pressure didn't allow any of it. He was frozen at a place.

When the huge skull of that creature came inches away from Max, it suddenly stopped as its giant hollow eyes stared at Max.

There was an odd silence which lingered in that moment.

Max, who was indeed a little nervous suddenly felt a strange sense of calmness wash over him, and that little anxiety in him disappeared completely as he stared at that creature.

"Clank!" Suddenly a huge iron chain appeared out of thin air and wrapped itself around the undead creature's neck trying to drag it away into the void.

"Roarr!!!!"

The Beast obviously let out thunderous roars as it struggled to stay, but its figure suddenly turned blurry and started to dissipate.

It was only then that Max realised that it wasn't even the actual thing, but only some kind of mirage that the actual thing had manifested. It was just like that old god of this trial who claimed his real body was at the last trial blocking the beast.

With the beast gone, the Void too disappeared and Max found himself lying by a lake.

"What was that.." He muttered with a strange expression on his face as beads of sweat dropped down his face.