Gotta Catch It Fast
Chaaaaaak—!
Leon’s sword, driven deep, carved a long gash through the beast’s belly. The creature’s flesh sizzled and burned under the blue sword aura.
Puhwaaaaak—!
Black blood erupted like a bursting dam and drenched Leon’s face. It was sticky and reeked of something foul—enough to turn anyone’s stomach.
But—
“Hahahahaha!”
Leon threw his head back and roared with laughter, utterly delighted by the act of tearing the thing apart.
However, his sliding charge lasted less than three seconds before it slowed. No matter how much speed he’d built up, no matter how slick the ground, the resistance of carving through the beast’s flesh was immense. Still, he’d managed to carve a wound from near its head down through a third of its torso.
“Kiiiiiiiiiiik!”
A thunderous roar. For a human, it would have been like being split from collarbone to solar plexus. The pain had to be staggering.
Tak—
Leon withdrew his sword and snapped back up from his prone slide in an instant. The enraged beast began curling its countless legs inward, intent on shredding him beneath its belly. What passed for its feet were sharp, pointed tips—more than enough to skewer a human body like nothing.
Shiiiiiiik!
A terrifying sight as the surroundings were blanketed by legs thick as ancient trees. The gaps between them were so tight there was barely room to squeeze through.
“······.”
Leon waited in silence, unshaken.
The next moment—
Bajijijijijijik—!
The beast’s entire massive body was engulfed in blue electricity. The dazzling light and residual mana made it seem as if lightning itself had struck the spot. It was the spell Aria had been chanting while simultaneously casting a barrier over Leon. The powerful voltage locked the beast’s body solid for an instant. Its surging legs froze midair, twitching and convulsing.
Chaaaaak!
A blue semicircle appeared before Leon. He sliced through a couple of legs to open a path and immediately burst outward.
“Kieeeeeek!”
A beat later, the paralysis lifted and the beast raged.
Huuuuung!
Several segments of its rear body whipped like a tail, sweeping horizontally at the fleeing Leon—a fan-shaped path that scoured the entire escape route.
Paang!
Leon kicked off the ground and launched himself high into the air. The beast’s sweep seemed to pass harmlessly beneath him—
But then—
Suuuuk!
As if it had anticipated this, it suddenly stretched four legs upward in long extensions. The flexibility and free movement of its multi-jointed limbs sent sharp blades shooting up toward Leon’s feet.
“Playing tricks with that ugly mug, huh.”
He sneered and released mana throughout his entire body.
Paang!
His form, wreathed in bluish smoke, spun violently in midair. It almost looked as if he’d kicked off empty space itself—reducing the hit area, amplifying his gliding speed for an instant, a technique that altered angle, tilt, and direction.
Shiriririk!
Leon slipped exquisitely between the bars of outstretched legs. The beast’s attacks only grazed the barest edge of his silhouette.
Tak, tak—!
Landing, Leon took a few more Heavenly Spirit Steps to put solid distance between them. Then, flicking the filth from his sword, he thought:
A hit like that won’t even come close.
Even after taking a major wound, the thing was still full of life. Not just stamina—its regenerative power was exceptional too. Already the blood pouring from its belly was slowing to a stop, and the stumps of the severed legs were writhing as flesh began to reform.
In that case—
I’ll have to try splitting its head open first.
He had no choice but to aim for the common vital point of all living things: the head. But the cluster of tentacles and horns around its mouth, and the two massive pincers guarding the area like an iron fortress, would make it far from easy.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t take it down. If he’d been alone, maybe. But with Aria at his side, there was no way he’d lose to something like this. Given enough time, he could carve it into pieces.
However—
It’s going to take too long.
Just a few seconds ago, from deeper inside the city, a surge of energy had erupted all at once, pricking at Leon’s senses. The Gonghyeol Group must have launched their attack. And yet no sound was coming through the communicator—which meant either the situation was extremely urgent, or they were pulling some kind of scheme.
“Well, guess I’ll just have to take it down as fast as I can.”
Reaching that simple conclusion, Leon shot a glance at Aria across the way. She seemed to be thinking the same thing; she nodded at once. Leon and Aria faced each other with the beast between them.
“Kiiiik······.”
The creature let out a faint whimper, looking back and forth—a cautious air that didn’t match its bulk. It was weighing which was more dangerous: the human with the sword, or the one with the lightning.
Pajijijijijik!
Aria settled that dilemma for it. Dense masses of mana rose from both her hands—a thrilling energy that constantly spat blue sparks. Raindrops that touched it instantly turned to pure white steam.
“Kiiiik!”
The beast’s wavering head locked into place. Seized by a chilling dread, it launched itself at Aria in a convulsive burst.
Hwaeaeaeek!
A whip the size of a house swept in an arc toward the tiny human.
“Deus cali van bandeum······.”
Aria’s lips moved a few times. Her eyes filled with a mysterious radiance. Her damp, wet hair rose high and fluttered. Both arms stretched forward as if pushing the approaching beast away.
Kwajijijijijijijijik—!!!
From Aria’s fingertips, the thunderbolt of nature itself manifested. Densely condensed energy radiated outward, finely shattering the space around it. Dozens of zigzagging blue lines intertwined and crashed into the beast.
“Kiek!”
It reflexively crossed its pincers into an X.
Pajijijijijik—!
The electricity failed to hold against the hard exoskeleton of the claws and fizzled out weakly. However, no matter how large the surface area of those claws, unless they formed a perfect shield, gaps were inevitable. Current that slipped between the two pincers struck the beast square in the face.
“Kieeeeeeeek!”
Both eyes and the area around its mouth were seared raw; it thrashed in agony. More than half its tentacle cluster burned away, losing length. Even so, it didn’t slow the charge meant to crush Aria.
Aria calmly activated the Blink spell she’d been double-chanting.
Pajing—
Her form lightly leaped through space and vanished.
Kwarrrrrr—!
The beast left only a deep furrow in the empty ground.
“Nice work!”
Leon shouted as he vaulted onto the creature’s back. The previous blow must have hurt badly; it still couldn’t properly control its body.
Tak, tak, tak!
Leon began sprinting along the long body from near the tail toward the head. Though it was uneven, shaking, heaving, and writhing, he used his trained sense of balance to keep perfect footing, running across it as if it were flat ground. Reaching the nape took only a few seconds.
No carapace covered it. At the crack where head met body, the cervical vertebrae were fully exposed—a clear weak point.
Leon reversed his grip on the Heaven-Shattering Sword. Then he raised it high with both hands and drove it straight down.
Swaeaeek—!
The sword tip plummeted downward. The blade sang in answer to his will as the sword aura swelled.
Got it······!
That was when the beast’s tentacles began thrashing violently.
Uuuuuuuuuung—!!!
A bizarre wave pulsed outward from the tentacles in concentric circles. It shook the air of the entire area, scattered every falling raindrop, and tangled the flow of every energy—including mana.
“······!”
Leon’s entire body hardened as if turned to stone. His qi and blood reversed completely. His five senses scrambled into chaos. Strength drained from his limbs. It felt like a massive bell was ringing inside his skull.
Of course the descending sword lost its power. With mana unusable, the aura clinging to the blade vanished in an instant. Leon barely managed to force strength into his grip so he wouldn’t drop the sword.
The beast frantically shook its body—like a cowboy being thrown from a rodeo bull. Half-paralyzed, Leon was flung off without resistance. As he flew through the air, his vision caught the beast desperately working its legs to flee in one direction.
By the time he hit the ground, control of his body was gradually returning.
Pabababak!
He landed in a rolling tumble, hastily steadied his breathing, and circulated his mana. One inhale, one exhale. The flow of energy normalized at once, and his senses returned.
“Fuck, what the hell was that.”
Leon spat a curse in bewilderment. It had only been two or three seconds—but to neutralize an intermediate Expert martial artist to that degree. It was a truly astonishing ability.
“Master!”
Aria had been caught in the wave as well. Spinning her circles to quickly break free of the suppression, she called to Leon with wide eyes.
“Are you all right?!”
“I’m fine! But first we need to catch that bastard fast!”
Watching the beast flee like mad, sensing the brink of death, Leon shouted. He immediately lit a fire in his eyes and began stepping the Heavenly Spirit Steps.
Because the creature was heading straight for the heart of Pribil.