"Sir!" a guard yelled from the city gatehouse, his voice echoing behind Oliver.

"Sir! Look out!" another guard shouted.

     Oliver's ears hear distant voices echoing from his back. He strains to listen, furrowing his brows, but the yells remain muffled and faint. Neglecting the shouts, Oliver continues focusing his attention on the grasslands.

     The swaying blades of grass and the soft breeze hold Oliver's gaze. Oliver's gaze falls to his feet, and he sees pebbles bouncing and feels vibrations rippling through his shoes from the ground. His eyes widen in surprise, and his eyebrows raise. Swiftly, he spins his body around and spreads his legs.

     When Oliver turns around, his eyelids shoot up in surprise, and his heart races. The sudden moment causes his jaw to drop. He feels confused and frightened, wondering why he is bending his knees down instead of running away. Dread causes every hair in his body to rise. Despite feeling incredibly cold inside, he senses sweat trickling down his neck.

     Oliver's eyes widen in disbelief as he gazes upon an otherworldly creature, unlike anything humanity has ever seen. The monster is massive, towering over him like a manor. In the centre of its head sits a single, luminous eye, glowing with a reddish-violet hue that illuminates the creature's humanoid face. Its sclera, darker than the moonless night sky, contrasts with its pupils' radiance.

     The creature's skin appears entirely black, like obsidian. Red, magma-like stripes run in an intricate pattern, encircling its thick arms and legs. Sharp canine teeth protrude from its lower lip, almost as large as an adult's head. And the creature's rough, brawny hands throb—ready to crush anything.

Oliver's body trembled as he shivered. "What the...?" he muttered, peering at the creature in its eye once more. Oliver knew what he was looking at, causing his breath to catch in his throat. "A Pyrovoidian!?" he gasped loudly.

     The day arrives when Oliver comes face to face with the Pyrovoidian for the first time. Oliver let out a deep, blood-curdling scream, shouting the monster's name. The creature responded with a blaring roar that sounded eerily similar to the one he had heard the night before at the lake. Its screech was demonic and gorilla-like, echoing across the plains.

     Oliver watches as the Pyrovoidian lifts its muscular hand towards the sky. Its massive arm slashes through the air, heading towards him, and Oliver instantly realizes the creature intends to crush him. Gasping, Oliver quickly jumps back, narrowly avoiding the deadly blow.

"Woa!"

     The Pyrovoidian roars as its other hand flies towards Oliver. Swiftly, Oliver runs backwards, bracing himself for the creature's attack. He can feel the creature's arm starting to swing, breaking the sound barrier as it hurtles towards him.

     Acting quickly, Oliver leaps as high as he can, evading the creature's attack. As he falls back to the ground, he covers his head and rolls across the grass. Then, a shadow casts over him.

     Oliver glances over his shoulder and sees the Pyrovoidian's massive foot heading towards him, ready to crush its victim. The creature's broad body blocks the sunlight, casting a dark shadow over Oliver. Shocked, Oliver quickly rolls his entire body to the right, narrowly avoiding certain death.

     Oliver's heartbeat hastens as he scrambles to his feet. Raising his left hand towards the monster, a fierce determination burns in his eyes. Then, a powerful charge of fire erupts from his palm and blasts towards his opponent.

     The Pyrovoidian tries to shield itself from the flames, desperately covering its body with massive arms. But Oliver's attack proves that his elemental powers produce no damage. As the flames fade, the monster lets out a breathless, deafening screech that echoes across the land, more ferocious than any sound Oliver has ever heard.

"Shoot..."

     The monster charges towards Oliver as its massive frame bears down on him. It raises its right hand, ready to deliver a crushing blow. Its gaping jaws loom over Oliver, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that glint.

     Oliver stomps his foot on the ground, causing a crack to appear in the earth that races towards the oncoming monster. As the fissure on the soil widens, it transforms into a gaping chasm that swallows the creature. Oliver takes a deep breath, watching the Pyrovoidian fall.

     A loud bang echoes from the fault-like crack that Oliver summoned as the Pyrovoidian lands on the bottom. Oliver's confidence surges, and he quickly rushes to the edge. As he looks down, he sees the monster stirring, struggling to get back on its feet.

Oliver confronted the monster as his voice rang out strong and deep. "Who are you!?" he shouted.

     The Pyrovoidian responds with a fierce snarl. Then, it lets out a mighty bellow that echoes across the countryside, reminiscent of a lion's roar but more thunderous. Suddenly, the creature holds onto a nearby stone and begins to climb up the wall, puncturing its fingers and toes into the surface as it ascends.

Oliver's eyes expanded. He then yelled at the monster, "Answer me! Who are you!? What are you!?"

     The creature continues climbing up the wall with lightning-fast speed as it hisses like a wailing crocodilian. Its jaws gape open, revealing a terrifying array of lethal teeth. In a matter of seconds, the Pyrovoidian reaches a point just a few meters away from the surface.

     Oliver's eyebrows furrowed as his lips tightened. He raises both palms and unleashes a barrage of random elements in the creature's direction, hoping to knock it back down. He tries everything from fire to water, earth to stones, snow to ice, but his magic never damages the monster. As the creature continues to climb higher, Oliver's frustration grows, his brow furrowing even deeper into his nose.