Another of the events which Jove had signed up for, and this one would prove to be much more demanding than the previous. A Handsome Contest was rather straight forward. It was simple by nature, and the only real risk was to ones own ego. This sort of hunting of dangerous game, however, was threatening to ones wellbeing. It would put his life and limb on the line, and potentially more. Jove had read stories of creatures who gained a taste for human flesh after consuming man in self defense. If this turned into one of those situations in which he died on the pursuit, he'd be endangering countless others as well.

Dressed for business, he made his way into the Stella jungle. His shoes looked like Oxfords, but held the flexibility and grip of any sort of adventurers boot. His slacks were tan, made of stretchy fabric to allow for ease of movement and for his skin beneath to breathe. His blue dress top had already been prepared, his sleeves being rolled up to just below his elbow and buttoning themselves to the free fabric, ensuring they would not move around and hinder his arms. The fabric on the shoulders pulled easily, offering no negative effects to his range of motion.

He was as ready as he'd ever be to begin this hunt.

WC: 226/2000

As he made his way beyond the tree line and through the thicket, he quickly began to complain mentally about the amount of insects that swarmed the humid air. It felt like he was pushing through misted sweat, and he immediately felt his body begin to precipitate due to the muggy conditions. Activating his mana and pushing it outwards, it quickly took on the attributes of the fire element he controlled. Such a simple yet beneficial use of his mana, yet it was only due to the fusion with Lucifer that he had been able to do so.

As the bugs began to singe and he felt himself now a degree of separation away from the humidity, he found himself wondering about the demon within him. He was no fool. He understood that he had accepted a demon, arguably the most powerful of demons, into his body to fuse with his soul. Yet he was surprised to find that he had yet to feel any sort of annoyance or resistance from the foreign entity. He imagined that he'd at least hear the voice of Lucifer, or be pulled by the demons desire, but still nothing. It was strange indeed.

WC: 426/2000

His thoughts were pulled away as he went to step and felt himself fall further than expected. Bending his knee instinctively, he landed on the balls of his feet. Upon impact, his foot fell flat and his knee buckled, bending forward at the ankle and bringing his other foot ahead of himself. Planting his second step and stopping his fall, he immediately looked into the hole he had stepped in. The ground was soft, and had easily been giving to his own weight and foot. However, his steps left indents no more than a centimeter or two deep into the jungle floor. This drop had been nearly ten centimeters, perhaps slightly more.

Looking to the left, he noticed that the thicket offered room for something large to travel through. Bushes were trampled, and smaller trees had easily been pushed aside, by whatever made its way through this area. Looking back the way it must have came, he was able to deduce by the amount of prints and their distance that whatever this creature was, it was bipedal. Furthermore, judging by the way the feet broke off into toes and looked to contain claws at the end of them, he could assume that this was a massive carnivore. Perhaps a T-Rex? That dinosaur was one of the apex predators, with very few creatures able to overcome it in battles of power and ferocity.

WC: 659/2000

Jove was stuck now, wondering whether or not this was the hunt he wanted to pursue. His initial hesitations reentered his mind, and he contemplated the innate power this beast must have. It was likely powerful and fast, with a level of intelligence that came from achieving adulthood and thriving in its environment. It likely had faced plenty of battles with creatures its own size, but something like a human would be an unknown variable. Perhaps that could work in his favor, since he was certainly more powerful than the average creature that shared his stature.

The real concern was his new magic. It was brand new, with the fusion to Lucifer only happening approximately a month prior. He had yet to acclimate with the change in his mana to the point of being able to utilize it with any effectiveness. He hadn't trained any spells, nor had he claimed the power innate with Lucifer. He was a half finished home, still unfit for any major moves to take place.

Yet there was something else inside of him. It was alien, to a degree. The man of rationality and contemplation was not usually one to take on dangers in which the likelihood of injury outweighed the potential reward. Yet he felt almost insulted, for just a moment, at the fact that he considered this creature a genuine threat.

He quickly regained his composure, shaking off the feeling. That wasn't him. He wondered for a moment if the demon had acclimated more than he had assumed, but also understood that this wasn't the time for that. Instead he turned and began to follow the tracks in the direction they had been going. He was going to find this creature and bring it down.

WC: 954/2000

The footsteps carried on into the jungle with no indication that he would run into this beast any time soon. Judging by the distance between each step, this creature was massive. He didn't know enough about the physiology of dinosaurs, but he was confident in saying that this beast was over two meters tall. How much more, however, would be discovered whenever he made visual confirmation.

While following, his mind began to drift off. He was focusing on the immediate future, specifically how he would deal with the monster once he came across it. He knew nothing about this thing. Whether or not it used magic. If it had physical capabilities that exceeded its monstrous size, a truly terrifying idea. There were too many questions, and due to a desire to be prepared, he made the mistake of an amateur.

When on the hunt, it was essential that one remained focused on the present. In the wild, especially in a versatile ecosystem such as the jungle, anything could happen. There were more than just a single predator, and even the apex had direct threats to its power. This meant that the creatures here were more intelligent than one would find in other locations. The hunters could, in some instances, identify when they had become the hunted. If Jove had been paying more attention, perhaps he would have noticed that was precisely what had happened. He would have known to question the sudden changes in direction that the dinosaur had been making. He'd have noticed it was circling back on itself.

And he would notice he was in danger before he heard the sound of a massive creature charging in from the side. Turning his face in the direction of the booming steps, he scanned the jungle desperately to try to identify exactly where it was coming from.

The hunter had become the prey.

WC: 1269/2000

Jove stood stationary as the monstrous creature slammed through tree and debris, closing the gap with incredible speed. In fact, it was far quicker than its size would indicate. It may have been a fallacy, but people had a tendency to believe that larger meant slower. Leaping backwards, Jove was immediately punished for that misconception. He had moved far enough avoid being bit, but the apex predator was not one to be thrown off. Tucking its head forward and shoving its body forward, a rock-hard skull collided with the entirety of Jove's upper body. The dinosaur swerved its head to the side, throwing its head back up and adding momentum to the impact.

Jove shot backwards, his shoulder slamming against a tree. His body spun on impact, a blessing disguised as a curse. While his shoulder and ribs were severely bruised by the blow, perhaps even fractured, it was better than if he had hit a solid surface with his entire body. The spin that came from the impact allowed for his body to take mitigated damage from the high impact blow, and as he hit the ground rolling he stood and back pedaled, slowing his momentum and skidding to a stop a good ten meters away.

Slowly tilting his head up, blood dripping from his back where skin was shaved away by tree bark, he saw the deadly ancient creature before him. The Giganotosaurus, a creature even larger than the world famous tyrannosaurus rex. Grimacing, Jove knew that he was now in a life or death situation in which he actually was at disadvantage.

WC: 1536/2000

Jove wasn't stupid, but he wasn't a predator. Humans may stand on top of the food chain, but that was in large part to a mix of their magic capabilities and their ability to adapt. While individuals could grow to unfathomable degrees, it wasn't the norm.

This dinosaur, on the other hand, was only alive today due to the fact that it could hunt. It killed day after day, and refined its craft. For all he knew, it had even hunted humans before. It certainly felt like the approach it had taken to attack him was one that had been driven by experience, but he had no way to know for sure. What he could be confident about, however, was the fact that his life would be at risk if he didn't take this threat seriously. He had already made a rookie mistake, something that was very much unlike him. He wasn't usually one to let down their guard, especially not when he understood the dangers of his surroundings. It was a lesson to him, one that he'd never forget, that even a momentary lapse in judgment was enough to put you in the jaws of defeat.

Having already decided that he would not hold back nor risk further injury due to his own inability to properly assess the situation, he decided it was time to utilize his new power.

"Superbia."

Immediately mana erupted from his body, as if the dam which had held it at bay finally burst. Dark red and black in color, it seeped from him like flames and radiated into his surroundings. His fingers turned black, the pitch spreading up his arm and stopping just beyond his elbows. His hair grew ever so slightly, though remained slick back. Any other changes that may have happened were hidden by his clothes, but it was without a doubt that the air in the surrounding area had suddenly stagnated. It felt as though an immense pressure had been placed into the area, and all of this happened in the matter of a few seconds.

Feeling his strength swell to ridiculous proportions, he was ready to act. The dinosaur began to move forward, and Jove matched in a mad dash. The predator was not use to such small pray choosing to act so boldly, and so through that lucky break Jove was allowed to land a free punch to its abdomen. The dinosaur roared out in pain, the extremely small impact point causing even more excruciating pain for the massive beast.

Unwilling to let it rest, Jove stepped forward and stomped down with all his weight, bringing his heel onto the top of its own talon like foot. A snapping sound resonated like an echo among the trees, and the dinosaur stumbled and fell to the side. It lashed out with its body, writhing in pain and malice, but it was far too late. The fight should have been much more even, and would have been under any other circumstances, but it had let its guard down just as Jove had only moments prior. Unlike the beast, he knew not to let it recover. With his hand, he brought his full force into the creatures neck and ripped through the skin and sinew. Causing tremendous damage, the creature quickly died through a combination of suffocation and blood loss.

WC: 2103/2000
[EXIT]