Denki moved through the treetops like a graceful acrobat during a routine
Branch to branch.
Trunk to trunk.
No hesitation
Where he used to slip, now he adjusted.
Where he used to overshoot, now he flowed.
His feet found bark naturally, his hands grabbed without looking, and his body twisted through gaps with practiced ease.
The forest no longer felt like an obstacle course—it felt like his own backyard
It was the last day of the trip
And Denki had made sure to use every second of it.
Every morning since that first reckless dive past the wall, he’d returned to the dangerous side of the reserve.
Same routine.
Same risks.
Better results.
He’d sparred with Stonehide Boars, learning how to strike joints instead of armored plates—and when to retreat before getting gored
He’d been chased by Shadow-Fox packs, training his Electric Field to pick up the slightest movement, learning to react before ambushes even began
He’d even tested his stamina against a swarm of Hyper-Stinger Wasps from a very safe distance—pure evasion drills, no heroics, just speed, angles, and restraint.
Not to mention, he managed to get some payback on that moose who chased him the first day.
Some fights he won cleanly
Some he barely escaped
A few he outright lost—forced to disengage, retreat, and accept that he wasn’t ready yet.
And that was fine
That was the point
Now, as the afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, Denki slowed his pace.
His Electric Field expanded briefly, scanning the terrain ahead.
No immediate threats
Good
He angled his path toward a familiar clearing—one he’d come to think of as a gym.
He began carrying a bundle of fresh fruit from the trees ever since he noticed his ‘gym bros’ stash getting low a few days ago.
The boulders were still there.
The logs were still scattered like discarded weights.
Deep grooves in the earth marked where things had been lifted, dragged, dropped, and slammed back down.
Denki landed at the edge of the clearing just as the sun was reaching its peak, and took it all in.
And at the center of it all—
The TitanBack Gorilla lounged against a tree without a care in the world
It lay against the trunk of one of the massive trees at the clearing’s center, broad back pressed to bark thicker than most buildings walls.
One arm was draped lazily across its torso, the other resting on the ground like a fallen pillar.
Its chest rose and fell in slow, heavy breaths.
Napping
Denki smiled to himself
“Guess leg day’s on hold”
He moved quietly, scaling a nearby boulder and hopping onto a low-hanging branch that extended over the clearing.
Settling himself above the sleeping giant, he leaned back against the trunk, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.
Just for a few minutes
The forest was peaceful up here.
No alarms from his Electric Field.
No hostile intent.
Just the distant sounds of birds and wind moving through leaves.
Then—
CRACK
Denki’s eyes snapped open
Another sound followed—CRUNCH—like wood being twisted apart by bare hands.
He sat up on the branch, lightning instinctively flickering under his skin as he focused his senses outward.
Something big was moving
Very big
From the far side of the clearing, trees bent and snapped as a second gorilla pushed its way through.
This one was leaner but no less terrifying—dark charcoal fur streaked with scars, shoulders hunched forward like it was perpetually ready to strike.
Every step it took left dents in the ground.
It tore a fallen log in half with a single wrenching motion and tossed the pieces aside like trash.
Denki swallowed
“What…is he doing?”
One massive eye opened
Then the other
The gorilla rose slowly, deliberately, rolling its shoulders as it stood to its full height.
Compared to the intruder, it was larger—broader, denser, darker silver fur catching the light like steel.
The moment their eyes met, the air changed
Denki could feel it—raw territorial pressure, instinct sharpened into something almost tangible.
The Titanback drew itself up and slammed its fists against its chest.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The sound thundered through the clearing, echoing through the forest like a war drum.
The intruder snarled and answered in kind, smashing its fists into the ground and ripping a boulder free, hurling it aside in a violent display.
Denki’s breath caught
(Oh. Oh no)
He wasn’t just showing off it’s strength
This was a challenge
For ownership.
Territory.
Dominance.
Then—
They charged
The ground shuddered as two titans collided
The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, blasting loose dirt and leaves into the air.
The sound was less a clash and more an explosion—bone, muscle, and force meeting head-on.
Denki gripped the branch tightly, eyes wide
The Titanback grabbed the intruder by the shoulder and drove it backward, slamming it into a tree thick enough to stop a truck.
The tree split down the middle, bark and wood detonating outward as the intruder roared and shoved back.
They grappled, arms locking, muscles bulging as they strained against one another
The intruder twisted suddenly, sweeping a massive leg out and smashing the Titanback into the ground.
The earth cratered beneath the impact.
Before the Titanback could rise, the intruder seized a fallen log and brought it down like a hammer
CRASH
The log shattered against the Titanback’s raised forearm
The Titanback responded instantly—grabbing a boulder the size of a small car and swinging it in a brutal arc.
The intruder barely ducked, the stone pulverizing another tree instead.
The clearing became chaos
Logs were thrown like clubs.
Boulders became projectiles.
Each strike reshaped the battlefield—craters forming, trees falling, dust and debris filling the air.
The intruder leapt forward, slamming both fists into the Titanback’s chest
The Titanback staggered—
Then planted its feet and lifted
With a roar, it grabbed the intruder by the waist and threw it across the clearing.
The other gorilla crashed through rocks, rolling to a stop in a cloud of dust.
Denki stared in awe
(…I would have died. Instantly)
The intruder rose again—bloodied, furious—and charged once more, tearing a boulder free and hurling it point-blank.
The TitanBack caught it
Caught it
Then crushed it between its palms and hurled the fragments back like shrapnel
The clash didn’t slow
If anything, it grew worse
The two gorillas slammed into each other again, shoulder to shoulder, neither willing to give ground.
Their feet dug trenches into the earth as they pushed, muscles bulging and veins standing out beneath fur and skin.
Rocks beneath them cracked and popped, spider-webbing under the pressure.
The intruder hooked an arm around the TitanBack’s neck and heaved, lifting the heavier gorilla just enough to slam it sideways into a cluster of boulders.
Stone exploded outward, shards whipping through the clearing like shrapnel.
The TitanBack roared and answered with raw force—grabbing the intruder’s forearm, twisting, and hammering it downward into the ground again and again until the dirt liquefied into mud beneath the impacts.
Denki’s jaw hung open as he realized he was seeing what a note in the information described about the TitanBack Gorilla
— Known to reshape terrain during conflicts —
The intruder ripped free and lunged, driving a knee into the TitanBack’s ribs.
The hit landed hard—hard enough that Denki heard it crack even from above.
But it didn’t fall
Instead, it seized a fallen tree trunk—roots and all—and swung it in a brutal arc.
The intruder blocked with its forearms, but the impact sent it skidding backward, carving a trench through dirt and stone.
Both gorillas were bleeding now.
Cuts crisscrossed their arms and torsos.
One eye of the intruder was already swelling shut.
The Titanback’s breathing was heavier, but its stance remained solid, unshaken.
They charged again
This time the collision was catastrophic
The ground collapsed beneath them as they slammed together, the force blasting soil, broken stone, and shattered wood into the air.
The clearing vanished behind a massive dust cloud, swallowing both titans whole.
Denki shielded his eyes as grit peppered his face
He couldn’t see anything
Only hear
Deep, thunderous impacts.
The crack of bone against bone.
Trees snapping like twigs.
Boulders grinding against one another as they were dragged, thrown, or crushed.
Each hit sounded heavier than the last
Denki leaned forward, squinted eyes and a heart pounding
(Who’s winning?)
Then—
BANG
Something burst out of the dust cloud
The intruder gorilla was launched through the air, spinning end over end before crashing into the far edge of the clearing.
It skidded to a stop, leaving a long scar in the ground before going still.
Denki sucked in a sharp breath
“…It’s over”
The dust began to settle
A massive silhouette stood within it—broad, unmoving, victorious
The TitanBack Gorilla
King of the clearing
Denki allowed himself to relax—
Then he heard it
Not a gorilla’s roar
This one was deeper.
Rougher.
Filled with something vicious and feral
A beastly roar tore through the clearing, rattling Denki’s bones
Before he could think, there came a sound like steel being dragged through steel—
SHRRRAAAAK
The remaining dust cloud was blasted outward as if struck by a shockwave, leaves and dirt exploding away in all directions.
Denki’s eyes widened
Standing behind the Titanback was an equally towering Razorback Grizzly
Its fur was dark and matted, its back lined with jagged, blade-like protrusions that gleamed like sharpened metal.
Massive clawed hands flexed as it leaned forward, breath steaming, eyes locked onto the gorilla.
Fresh, deep gashes tore across the Titanback’s back, blood flowing freely down its fur
Denki’s stomach dropped
(The hell…just happened?)
The Titanback roared in pain and fury, spinning and swinging a massive arm toward the bear—
But the Razorback Grizzly moved
It slipped aside with shocking speed for its size, the Titanback’s fist smashing into empty air and obliterating the remains of a boulder behind it.
The grizzly snarled, claws scraping together, muscles coiling as it prepared to strike again.
In the distance, the downed intruder pushed itself back up slamming the ground to let its presence be known.
Denki stared, frozen on his branch.
“…You’ve gotta be kidding me”
One King
One Challenger
One throne
And now a third monster just stepped into the ring
“2 against 1 just ain’t fair!”