Chapter 64 – Ivory Titan

The dust settles, and from within the haze, a colossal figure emerges—a fusion of man and beast, majestic and terrifying. Shawn and Selena stand frozen, their hearts pounding as they take in the transformed figure of Prince Enthril, now fully revealed.

His human features have been replaced by a strikingly powerful elephantine visage. Thick, ashen-grey skin stretches taut over his muscular frame, its texture smooth yet impenetrable, as though carved from living stone. His face, once noble and proud, now bears the unmistakable features of a towering elephant: a broad head adorned with massive, curving tusks that gleam like ivory in the dim light. His trunk extends with quiet grace, its movements purposeful yet restrained, a symbol of his newfound strength and control. Broad ears fan out from either side of his head, their edges tattered as if from countless battles, giving him a fierce and weathered aura.

His physique is breathtaking—seven feet of raw power, every inch of him rippling with muscle. His chest heaves as if containing the weight of a storm, the defined ridges of his eight-pack abs gleaming faintly in the light. At the centre of his chest lies a scar, the wound of a spear that had pierced him by Selena’s spear moments ago. Though it’s now healed, its presence remains vivid—a jagged line running across his chest. His arms are massive and corded with muscle, their strength undeniable, while his legs, like the sturdy pillars of a temple, seem capable of withstanding the weight of the heavens.

Despite his monstrous appearance, there is a sense of elegance in his stance—a regal bearing that speaks to the prince he once was. His golden eyes, glowing with an inner fire, pierce through the haze, not with ferocity but with a deep, unshakable resolve, as though he sees beyond the battlefield to the destiny that awaits him. The very air around him feels heavier, charged with a quiet, oppressive power. Enthril is no longer merely a man or a prince. He is a force of nature incarnate—an elephant warrior, unshakable and eternal, forged from pain, duty, and unyielding strength.

Selena gasped, her hand instinctively reaching for the spear lying before her. As she grasped it, she could feel the tremble in her fingers, a visible sign of her shock at Prince Enthril’s monstrous transformation. She steadied herself by gripping the spear tightly, trying to stop her hand from shaking. Even Shawn felt a shiver of shock run through him. He whispered, more to himself than anyone else, “Is this… his bloodline power?”

Prince Enthril let out a thunderous roar that reverberated across the arena, shaking the very foundation beneath them. It was a war cry, raw and primal, the sound of a beast awakened. With a sweeping motion, he extended his arm, and his lost weapons—broken and discarded in the blast moments ago—came hurtling back to him. They reshaped, expanding to match his new, monstrous form. He caught them effortlessly and with a powerful strike to the ground, sent a shockwave through the arena. The debris, fallen elephants, and scattered rocks were tossed aside as if swept by an invisible hand, clearing a path to the centre.

Now dual-wielding massive swords that were perfectly suited to his elephantine frame, Prince Enthril turned his fiery gaze on Shawn, rage magnified, strength doubled. Selena instinctively moved back, her eyes wide, but Shawn, sensing the coming danger, called for her to retreat even further. He wasn’t sure what would happen next, but he was certain it would be unlike anything they had faced before.

Shawn stood his ground, his dual swords raised, preparing for an onslaught of unimaginable power. Prince Enthril charged with terrifying speed, the ground shaking under his massive steps. His swords slashed through the air, bringing down strikes with the fury of a storm. Shawn dodged left, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow, but the shockwave from Prince Enthril’s attack split the earth beneath him, sending fragments of stone flying. Every swing from the prince seemed to carry the weight of a hurricane, as though the very air itself trembled in fear.

Prince Enthril’s trunk lashed out mid-swing, attempting to catch Shawn off guard. The blow forced Shawn to twist and duck, moving with desperate precision to avoid the unpredictable strikes. With a roar, Prince Enthril swung his sword down once more, but Shawn nimbly sidestepped, narrowly missing the impact. He quickly dropped the sword and swung his massive fist in the same direction, aiming to crush Shawn as he dodged the blade. But Shawn was fast—he managed to slip past the fist, just as Prince Enthril’s trunk reached down, snatching the sword from the ground.

Shawn barely dodged as the trunk swung the sword back toward him, the blade singing through the air with deadly intent. The prince’s movements were relentless, each attack more brutal and unpredictable than the last. Prince Enthril’s tusks swiped at Shawn, forcing him into a constant state of high alert. A single mistake could cost him everything.

From the sidelines, Selena watched in awe as the two clashed. The force of Prince Enthril’s blows sent shockwaves through the arena, each strike of his massive swords sending tremors into the earth, splintering rock beneath their feet. The castle, a symbol of grandeur, began to tremble, its walls and pillars cracking with every collision. The very foundation of the massive rock seemed to fracture under the sheer weight of the battle, with pieces of stone breaking away, tumbling into the abyss below.

The castle began to crash down to the ground as the ground beneath them split wide open. The rift in the ground deepened, consuming everything in its path, as the once-stable foundation of the palace began to crumble. The land, like the palace itself, was being torn apart by the unstoppable force of Prince Enthril’s fury.

Shawn, struggling to match Prince Enthril’s overwhelming ferocity, found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the prince’s relentless onslaught. Each blow from the twin swords pushed him back, his arms aching as he fought to parry the strikes. Prince Enthril was unrelenting—if Shawn moved too far, the prince unleashed powerful slash waves; if he stayed too close, Prince Enthril attempted to grab him with his trunk while attacking with his tusks, twin blades, and bone-crushing fist punches.

Shawn, breathing heavily, realised he needed to change tactics. With a swift pivot, he dodged around Prince Enthril’s lashing trunk, moving in close. He twisted his body, his muscles coiling, before leaping into the air. His blade came down with all his might, slicing clean through one of Prince Enthril’s massive tusks. The sound of metal striking bone echoed across the arena, and Prince Enthril staggered back, letting out a pained roar as the severed tusk fell to the ground.

Seizing the moment, Shawn used his legs to kick off the ground, performing a backflip and propelling himself several feet away from the prince. While doing that, Shawn’s power acted on its instinct and summoned itself as blue smoke swirled around the cut tusk mid-air, engulfing it before it dissipated into the air. Shawn graciously landed as he steadied himself, his heart pounding, as he glanced back at the enraged prince.

Prince Enthril, bloodied and enraged, swung his massive fist toward Shawn, but the prince missed as Shawn jumped away in a nick of time, his blow crashing into the ground instead. The resulting shockwave reverberated through the arena, sending deeper cracks through the massive rock. The ground beneath their feet began to shift and crumble, creating uneven footing that made it difficult for Shawn to maintain his balance. The castle, once a towering symbol of power, now groaned under the pressure, slowly descending as the stone platform it rested on cracked and splintered. Main pieces of the structure fell away, plunging toward the ocean below. The thunderous crashes of the collapsing palace echoed as the entire structure teetered on the brink of destruction.

But Prince Enthril, consumed by rage, paid no attention to the crumbling surroundings. His focus remained solely on Shawn. With a feral growl, he swung his trunk and weapons wildly, smashing the air and the ground around him. Shawn, nimble and focused, dodged the incoming strikes, narrowly avoiding the prince’s massive blows. The ground continued to give way beneath them, and the entire platform began to break apart. As they fought, the rock floor beneath their feet buckled, sending tremors through the arena.

In a split second, Shawn’s foot caught on a crack in the ground. He stumbled, unable to move quickly enough, and in that instant, Prince Enthril’s tusks wrapped around his torso, lifting Shawn off the ground and bringing him close to his face. The prince’s grip was unyielding, and Shawn felt the crushing pressure as Prince Enthril slowly squeezed with a bone-breaking force. The air was forced from his lungs, and he gasped for breath, struggling against the unrelenting strength of the prince’s hold.

Prince Enthril’s golden eyes glowed with fury as he spoke, his voice a low growl. “Now tell me… what did you do to my brother?” His grip tightened, squeezing the life out of Shawn with every word.

Shawn’s body was wracked with pain as he shouted, his voice strained and gasping. Despite the crushing force of Prince Enthril’s trunk, he knew the prince had the right to ask his question. Between pained breaths, Shawn managed to respond, his voice barely a whisper, “…I… killed… him… I… had… no… other… choice.”

For a moment, Prince Enthril froze. The words seemed to hang in the air as he processed the revelation. His golden eyes widened in shock, and then the reality of his brother’s death sank in. His grip tightened around Shawn’s torso, a raw fury overtaking him, but he didn’t speak immediately. His gaze locked on Shawn, focusing with a predatory intensity as he crushed him further, the pressure mounting unbearably.

“Now… It’s your turn,” Enthril rumbled.

Shawn gasped in agony, his vision fading as the life was squeezed out of him. He was on the brink of losing consciousness when, out of nowhere, a spear shot through the air, grazing Prince Enthril’s left eye and forcing the prince to stumble backwards. The sudden shock of the strike caused Prince Enthril to loosen his death grip on Shawn, if only for a moment.

It was Selena. Her face was pale with shock and fear as she stood at a distance, her spear raised in her trembling hands. With a desperate cry, she had thrown it, saving Shawn from the crushing end that had seemed inevitable.

This small reprieve was all Shawn needed. With his remaining strength, he summoned something with his power, and it was the cut-off tusk. With a defiant shout, he drove the sharpened tusk deep into Prince Enthril’s neck, piercing the thick, grey skin. The impact was brutal, and the prince’s eyes widened in shock as blood poured from the wound, his grip on Shawn loosening.

The prince staggered backwards, his monstrous form wavering as the life drained from him. A final, shuddering breath escaped him before his massive body collapsed to the ground, his fall causing a tremor that sent a final shockwave rippling through the unstable arena. The platform beneath them trembled in response, and the massive floating rock—the very foundation of the castle—began to crumble.

With the last remnants of the palace crashing down around them, Shawn, Selena, and Prince Enthril’s lifeless body were swept downward. The debris from the battle—the broken bits of the stone platform that was holding everything, the crumbling walls, and the shattered remains of the palace—plummeted in the direction of the ocean below.