27 A new journey (2)

Enzo's instincts kicked in, and he swiftly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow of the tiger's paw. He scrambled to his feet, heart pounding in his chest, and refocused his attention on the formidable foe before him. The tiger's eyes glowed with a fierce intensity, and its growls reverberated through the air, sending shivers down Enzo's spine.

'Shit, I almost died, didn't I?' He thought for a second before his butterflies went into action.

While the tiger was once again distracted by Rose's avatars, the poisonous butterflies released a fog of deadly poison right under the monster's nose.

The tiger's movements slowed, and its roars turned into choked gasps as the poison took effect. Enzo saw the opportunity and sent his carnivorous butterflies ahead. At the same time, the illusion butterflies made several copies of the carnivorous one, confusing the not-so-focused tiger.

To add insult to injury, the sand butterflies changed the ground below their enemy into a quicksand, incapacitating their enemy.

However, at this moment, the tiger did something neither Enzo nor Rose expected. With a furious roar, strong and sharp gusts of wind lashed out at everyone around the tiger, damaging greatly everyone.

"The hell?" Enzo cursed under his breath as his blood was dripping to the ground.

If not for the protective butterflies' swiftness, they would have sustained a lot more damage. And it was especially the case for Enzo as almost all of his carnivorous and poisonous butterflies died.

Thankfully they did not, allowing the healing butterflies to heal them quickly.

With their combined efforts, it didn't take long for all the butterflies to go back to their feet. However, it wasn't as if the tiger stood idle during this time.

Indeed Rose was fast enough to call back her avatars so that they wouldn't sustain any damage from the winds.

Thanks to her quick thinking, she managed to hold the tiger for a while, but at the expanse of losing almost all of her remaining avatars. Moreover, even though Rose was quite far away from the wind, she was still hurt and needed to be treated quickly.

'This won't do!' Enzo thought as he immediately unfolded his wings. With more than a hundred points in his strength stat, Enzo easily jump into the air before balancing himself with his wings.

"Since when does he have wings?" Rose was surprised when she took a quick glance at Enzo but didn't have the time to study him more as the tiger's tail threatened to wipe her out.

She managed to dodge it with ample time, but not the wind that followed right after the tail.

She was pushed back so much that she was almost out of sight.

Looking at this through the air, Enzo ordered his illusion butterflies to make copies of himself.

While it wasn't really of any uses as the copies wouldn't be able to injure the tiger in any way, its only purpose was to distract it.

After all, Rose's avatar all dissapeard during the last tail swing, meaning that it was only him and his butterflies.

However, it was easier said than done.

He had tried in the past few weeks to make copies of himself, but it was harder than it looked. In fact, even with so many illusion butterflies at his disposal, he only managed to make two copies of himself.

Enzo's illusions flanked the tiger, attempting to draw its attention away from Rose and himself. The tiger growled ferociously, swiping at the illusory Enzos with its massive paws. Despite knowing they were just illusions, the tiger's instincts kicked in, and it couldn't help but react to their presence.

Meanwhile, the real Enzo focused on a different plan. With his wings spread wide, he soared through the air, looking for an advantageous position to strike. He knew that brute force alone wouldn't be enough to take down the powerful beast. They needed a more strategic approach.

As Enzo circled above, he noticed a large metal structure nearby that looked like it had once been a sculpture or statue. If Enzo remembered it right, it was the first headmaster of the Louvre university. His sacrifice would be of great help today.

A plan began to form in his mind. He dived down, narrowly avoiding another gust of wind from the tiger, and landed on the metal structure.

With a surge of strength, Enzo used his enhanced abilities to tear the structure from its foundation. His muslces started to contract and draw all the strength they could. The structure easily weighed several tons, but with all the force he could muster, Enzo managed to lift the massive metal piece, which was now a makeshift weapon.

Enzo could feed his whole body scream in pain, his muscles almost ripping. However, with his determination at the maximum, he brought the structure crashing down onto the tiger's back.

The tiger howled in pain and surprise, momentarily stunned by the unexpected attack. This was the moment Rose needed. With the last of her magic energy, she summoned the last of her avatars and charged forward, striking at the tiger with all her remaining strength.

Enzo, seeing that his plan had created an opening, joined the attack. He targeted the tiger's legs, aiming to cripple its mobility. However, the tiger roared in fury, its eyes fixed on its relentless enemies.

Despite the odds stacked against them, Enzo and Rose fought with a determination born of necessity. They knew they couldn't afford to hold anything back. It was a fight for their lives, and they were ready to give it their all.

The tiger's strength was waning, but it wasn't going down without a fight. With one last burst of energy, it managed to break free from Rose's avatars and landed a heavy blow on Enzo's side, sending him crashing into a nearby wall.

His ribs were broken.

His breathing became heavier.

With every inhaling, he could feel his rib piercing his organs.

It hurt him like hell.

But Enzo was more ressourceful than it seems.

His healing butterflies started trating their masters immediately as if they became crazy. While they were busy, the protective butterflies protected Enzo from the gust of winds.

Enzo groaned in pain, but he refused to give up. He staggered to his feet, clutching his side.

Thankfully the illusions of himself were still alive, but not for long. His illusion butterflies started to lose their strength, meaning that it was only a matter of time before the tide of the battle will shift entirely.

However, even before Enzo could move, something unexpected happened.

The tiger... was reaching its limit. It stumbled and fell to the ground, its roars reduced to weak gasps. The poison Enzo's butterflies inflicted upon the tiger finally kicked in and paralyzed the monster completely.

The carnivorous butterflies, without a second, flapped their wings and rushed toward the monster. And with fury, they started tearing apart its fleshes. The tiger had damaged their master heavily, almost killing him several times.

It was only normal to pay back what it had done tenfold. No, a hundredfold, even.

With a final, defeated growl, the tiger collapsed, its life force extinguished.

Enzo and Rose stood panting, covered in dirt, bruises, and scratches. But they had won. They had overcome the powerful foe that had threatened their lives, and they had done it together.

[Congratulations! You have defeated the 'Undefeated Tiger.' You gain 43 Undefeated Tiger's Eden, +20 stamina, and 25 health.]