Black Mane (2)
Clang! Clang! Kagagagang!!!
"What the fuck! Doesn't your jaw hurt?!"
Steel-like fangs kept slamming into me, trying to rip my body to shreds. I kept dodging the beast's savage bites by repeatedly using Rabbit Hole.
Whine! Yap yap! Grrrrrr! Kagagagagang!!!!!
The thing was already fast as hell when charging, but the speed at which it opened and closed its maw was like a goddamn grinder, making its blade-sharp teeth blur into afterimages.
Staring down an A-rank monster—an alpha A-rank wolf beast called Blackmane—only one thought crossed my mind.
Dog breath reeks.
Wolves were canines, and Blackmane was a wolf-type monster. Every time it opened its mouth, the stench of dog filled the air. Nothing else mattered.
Well, maybe one other thing: I hoped Ia Ris noona would show up before the support team detected the vital signs of the awakeners who'd gone in first, sparing me any hassle.
To face an alpha monster—one with evolution and enhancement traits, no less—and still think like that, you had to be one of two things.
One: an S-rank awakener who could solo alphas like it was nothing.
Alphas were treated like kings in their rank. So an alpha A-rank like Blackmane was basically beyond A-rank. Think of it like Ul Blond, who's rated beyond A-rank among awakeners. Easy comparison.
But even that Ul Blond was nothing before a real S-rank. S-ranks were awakeners who transcended other awakeners. If you had S-rank-level power, you could stare down an alpha A-rank and think, Dog breath reeks.
The other type who could stay this chill... was someone with Rabbit Hole.
Groooar!!! Zap! Clang!!!
"Doesn't clashing your teeth like that hurt?! It should, normally!"
Just as Blackmane's jaws were about to swallow my head, I sparked white and hopped onto its back. The moment my shoe grazed its black mane, the beast—which had already learned what Rabbit Hole could do—twisted wildly. But once part of its body touched mine, resistance was pointless.
Crackle!
Rabbit Hole let me teleport with anything I touched that I wanted to bring along. I could move my body parts separately, but not isolate and teleport just a specific part of an enemy's body. Separate objects I touched, though? Totally doable. That's how I'd ditched everything but the civilians and their clothes earlier.
Would've been nice if I could detach and teleport just its head. I'd be S-rank number one by now.
But no such bullshit instant-kill. So I stayed F-rank cannon fodder.
Anyway, lost in those thoughts, I teleported Blackmane into empty air in an instant.
Grrr?!
High enough that skyscrapers were ant-sized below, it let out a panicked yelp. I leaned into its ear and whispered what I'd blast it with in a game if it were human.
"Jealous? Get your own Rabbit Hole."
At 3 meters tall and 8 meters long, Blackmane's sheer physique was a weapon. Just charging and biting could kill you—total physical bully material.
But beast-types like this? Strip away their natural physique, and nothing's left. It's enough to survive on raw body alone.
That "physique is plenty" advantage turns into "all you got is physique, so you're fucked" against Rabbit Hole.
Vwoooooom. Zap!
Just before its massive body hit the ground, I fired Rabbit Hole again. Back to the sky it went. Its legs, coiled to spring at me the second it landed, sliced empty air instead.
Gr... grrr... Groooar!
A near-human whine of intelligence echoed out, like it was asking, It won't keep looping, right? I grinned and answered anyway.
"Yep. Spot on. Limitless Gyro Drop till backup arrives."
Anti-Physical-One-Trick-Beast Subduer—Limitless Gyro Drop.
Using Rabbit Hole to haul the touching beast to the highest altitude I could climb barehanded, then teleporting just myself a bit away to fall together. Rinse and repeat when it nears the ground. Perfect name for the technique.
Brutal, rootless-looking as hell, but among my Rabbit Hole derivatives, it was one of the most efficient and clever.
The Liar's Trap A- and B-rank guildies, plus other support awakeners—it'd wrecked them all effortlessly. That's how OP this move was.
Showy physical bruisers like this? Limitless Gyro Drop crushed them easy.
Couldn't I just keep dropping it faster till it splats? Nah. Monsters don't die without mana-based attacks. I'd already slammed it headfirst at terminal velocity—no scratches.
Proof right there. No clue why, but bullshit for mana-less me.
Killing wasn't the only win con anyway. Rendering it helpless? Victory mine.
Still, no thrill to it. Had to borrow others' hands to finish. No satisfaction subduing an A-rank like this.
Wish I could wield mana like normal awakeners...
"...Wait, mana?"
Why the hell is Ska Rate's and Lapis Julie's mana mixed in my body?
The word triggered Dr. Emme's words from earlier. Right—mana was in me now. Wrecking my body in real-time, sure, but I could control it.
I'd confirmed before the checkup: I could direct the red and blue sparks at will.
No idea how they differed from my original white sparks, but it meant I could wield mana too.
Sweet. First, get healed by Ia Ris noona. Then hit up Dr. Emme: what do these sparks do? How to use 'em?
Am I finally a proper solo awakener?
Too shocked by the death diagnosis earlier, I'd skipped mentioning the new colors. Left the lab bummed, no questions on new potential.
But fixable! Go back, ask. She'd snap those half-lidded eyes open, point out possibilities—like when she first awakened Rabbit Hole for me!
"Fuck. Imagining it is hype as hell."
Heart racing again. That thrill when she named my lame ability Rabbit Hole? Unforgettable.
Ia Ris noona, wrap this up, heal me—straight to the lab. Can't wait, for real.
Zap. Crackle.
Maintaining Limitless Gyro Drop, I tested manifesting new sparks in my palm. Heat from red, chill from blue—these exotic beauties made my chest swell just looking.
Wanna try 'em now. But unknown powers? Ask Dr. Emme post-checkup. Novels and comics say debut on new foes—national rule.
Fiction bullshit. IRL, unleashing unknown shit on enemies? Suicide bait.
Safety first. Every awakener's mantra. Lots die ignoring it.
Not me with Rabbit Hole. Flail Blackmane in the sky forever? Done.
Unless it suddenly masters mana, platforms midair, and charges. Total nonsense.
Not the protagonist or anything.
A body-only survivor suddenly learning mana? As likely as Ska Rate repenting and becoming a priest.
Even as an adaptive alpha, impossible...
"...Ah."
BOOM!!!!
A shockwave rattled the air as black lightning foot-planted midair and lunged at me.
Groooaaar!!!!
Roaring pure rage, fangs bared—way fiercer than before.
"You motherfucker?!"
Crackle! Fangs shredded where I'd been a split-second ago. I Rabbit Holed out.
Its pent-up drop fury slashed empty air. But one bite wasn't enough.
Grrr...!
Midair twist—red, massive translucent platform under its paws. Mana foothold.
Crunch...!
The platform dented concave around it from the lightning lunge. Using the springback.
Center of the huge mana pad—built to hold its bulk—it maxed the tension, eyed me.
Grk.
Lips curled like a smirk. Then—max spring plus four-legged leap: supersonic charge.
......BOOM!!!!!!!
Sound lagged behind the speed. But not enough to catch my anywhere-teleport Rabbit Hole.
Crackle! To a safe sky spot. Its max-speed spring? Wasted.
Couldn't even chase my afterimage. Beasts gonna beast—alpha or not.
Evolution skips brains, huh. All on the same dumbass level.
Whiiiiiish!!!!!
But red-glowing eyes scattered ahead—tilted mana panel diagonally in its path.
Boing.
Bouncing off at charge speed, plummeting vertically. The moment I saw it...
Eh?
Had to scrap my thought. Wasn't aiming for me—from the start.
The downed awakeners on the ground.
"You crazy bastard!"
Crackle!!!
Cursing on reflex, Rabbit Hole. Hit ground—instant. Head a 3m-tall, 8m-long monster hurtling hypersonic above.
No time evac everyone safely.
That speed? Reach out, I'd bounce off before teleporting.
Standard Rabbit Hole useless.
But standing idle? No. Impact alone levels the area.
What do? How?
Crisis hit—blue sparks flew, thoughts accelerated. But judgment window tiny.
Do something. Anything.
No way? Just bail?
In that accelerated decisional blink, the black wolf grinned, impact-ready.
......You dog bastard.
Rage at its victory smirk—I reflex-punched right hook.
Thought/processing hypersped for some reason—everything slo-mo. But my red-sparked right arm kept normal speed.
Hit in time.
Thud.
Straight fist met skull.
Zap.
Tiny spark—vision went white.