Chapter 37: True Power

  Ravine clutched her clawed stomach, fairly damaged. She breathed hard, thinking, I underestimated that bear. He's so much bigger than the others, and yet he's still leagues faster than they were.

  The bear launched itself at her, trying to smash her underneath its massive weight. She managed to dodge just in time before impact, which left deep cracks spreading across the ice field like a spiderweb.

  As she got back up, she muttered while looking at the fractured ground, "This idiot. At this rate, we'll both go underwater, and it knows that."

  She watched the bear slowly approaching, thinking, That's what it wants. That way, it will have the advantage over me underwater.

  She looked at her hands before whispering, "Let's just hope Mother Phoenix's skill removal doesn't take into account the skills that have been passed down to us by the ones before us. I'm not ready to die just yet—not before we bring back Aria and destroy Razak."

  She slid under the bear as it tried to grab and smash her. It struck the ground with tremendous force, sending a shockwave through the ice. Water began pulling through the cracks violently, making Ravine stumble.

  As the waves calmed, she thought, I have no choice but to bring it down there first. If it does, it won't let go of me, and I will be at its mercy.

  She balled her fists tight. "Not on my watch!"

  She sprinted toward the bear, jumped on its head, then leaped high into the air before coming back down with devastating force, smashing the bear's face through the ice and into the water below.

  The bear growled through the water and shook violently, making Ravine fall off. Gritting her teeth with a loud groan, she pushed herself to the limit and lifted the massive bear, then smashed it through the ice, sending it deeper into the water.

  She quickly dove into the icy water while the bear was still stunned. All right, let's see if this will work.

  She focused, and webbing appeared between her fingers. "Great, that still seems to work. Now, how do I get this big thing to the iceberg?"

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  As the bear regained its senses, it slowly turned toward Ravine, its eyes red with fury. With unspeakable speed, it reached for her. Its claw grazed her side, making her gasp.

  "So quick!"

  She began swimming with the speed of a dolphin, but the bear slowly gained on her. She looked back. He's faster than me. I have to end this quickly.

  The bear managed to grab her and smashed her head multiple times against the underside of the ice from below the surface. He's even stronger than just moments ago.

  It pulled her deeper. As they descended, the surroundings became more and more obscure, the darkness pressing in from all sides.

  She used this opportunity to fight back, breaking free of the bear's hold with a powerful kick to its face. She activated her thermal vision to keep sight of the bear as they were surrounded by pure darkness.

  Ravine squinted as she noticed something. The air in its body—it's slowly compressing. She could see bubbles slowly escaping from its mouth.

  She smirked. "Well, you're just a bear after all."

  She grabbed the giant red bear as hard as she could. "Now it's your turn to be helpless!"

  With amazing speed, she swam downward, the crushing pressure compressing the bear's organs. Blood streamed from its mouth. Its struggles became more and more desperate before it lost strength and went still.

  "You fought well." With an even bigger burst of speed, she swam upward. You're probably one of the toughest beings I've ever encountered.

  She broke through the ice from below as the sun shone bright overhead, then slammed the bear onto the iceberg. It exploded in a spray of blood across the ice.

  She sat down cross-legged, thinking, So don't hate me. This was merely natural selection. I was just the better being.

  A loud ring appeared in her ear, and soon Mother Phoenix materialized, appearing from a single ember that burned into her full silhouette.

  She clapped her hands. "Well done! For a bit, I actually didn't think you would make it, but color me surprised. You did! Bravo!"

  "Save it. What's next?" Ravine said flatly.

  Mother Phoenix pointed at Ravine. "Think you can handle it? You're pretty roughed up. Remember, if you die here, you also die out there."

  Ravine paused and looked at herself, then back at Mother Phoenix, full of resolve. "These are merely physical injuries. Zhon can fix them when we're done. I want to continue."

  Mother Phoenix looked Ravine up and down, then shrugged. "Fine, as you wish. This time, I will be your opponent."

  Ravine gulped. "Finally, I get to beat your ass."

  Mother Phoenix snapped her fingers, making Roan appear next to Ravine.

  She smirked. "You will both face me, but don't think I won't go hard on you because we are on the same team. If you can't even handle me, Razak will make short work of you."

  She took her cross-legged fighting stance and joined her hands together. "Now feast on true power."

  As she spoke the words, fire erupted from the ground violently, transforming the Antarctic landscape into an inferno.

  Roan helped Ravine to her feet. "Are you ready?"

  Ravine nodded, determination blazing in her eyes. "I've been waiting a long time for this. Let's do this, brother!"