Chapter 284
Breathe in, breathe out, Kyle thought, suppressing his aura as much as he could. Through Synaptic Barbs, he felt Arhades stop for a moment as he looked at Kyle.
“It’s a habit I’ve picked up,” Kyle whispered, continuing to move toward the hodag nest. If the hodags had any ability to perceive mana, they would easily detect Arhades, but Kyle still felt it was worthwhile to practice suppressing his own energies while approaching potentially dangerous foes.
He’d never be as stealthy as Jarberry, but if it bought them even a moment of surprise or hesitation it would be worthwhile. Of course, that was all assuming the hodags were actually paying attention at all. From what C.H.A.D.D.’s map indicated, the beasts were lounging around their nest, barely seeming to move at all. Why would they? Kyle thought. From the dossier, it sounded like they were an invasive species, with no natural predators on the planet. They’d only been allowed to stay because they weren’t overly dangerous and their population was relatively low, at least until now.
Anticipation built in Kyle’s chest as they rounded a corner, and finally spotted the creatures. The C Grade had wandered a short distance off, leaving the weaker ones behind. Three of the four D Grades were curled up, taking a midday nap in a small clearing in the woods. The fourth was rubbing against a tree, and gave Kyle a good look. It was large, maybe two meters tall, and twice that long. Its back was covered in rows of sharp spines, with two stubby horns sticking out over its eyebrows. The hodag’s face looked almost pug-like, though misshapen fangs jutted out on all sides of its comically wide mouth.
Kyle gave a questioning look at Arhades, who simply nodded as he stepped forward. Catching the C Grade by surprise would have been nice, but handling its potential backup was more important. Mana began to swirl around Arhades as he drew his blade, and a moment later there was an intense flash of light and heat.
Even with Kyle’s impressive Perception, the attack was fast. The four D Grade hodags lie slumped, beams of light having burned through their skulls, killing them instantly. The skill was ruthless, efficient, and perfectly tailored to handling large, slow creatures like this. They really are a good match for him, Kyle thought. The velgian knew his strengths, and was playing toward them as much as he could.
Of course, the D Grades weren’t their main target. Kyle put some distance between himself and Arhades as the ground nearby rumbled, and a C Grade presence washed over the area. Trees were splintered apart as a massive dark form entered the clearing, letting out a terrible bellow of rage.
The C Grade hodag was almost twice the size of its D Grade variants, the majestic horns on its head curving forward like a bull’s. Claw-tipped paws tore at the ground as its tail thrashed, searching for the source of the attack that killed its progeny. Then, it spotted Arhades.
In a blur of dark fur and spines, it charged him, wicked maw open to consume him in a single bite. In a flash of light, Arhades disappeared, reappearing behind the hodag a moment later with his blade held sideways. A spray of blood burst from the hodag’s side where it had been struck, but it paid the injury no mind as it turned and lunged for Arhades again. Perfect, Kyle thought.
He and Arhades each had a role to play, and Kyle was going to play his well. Watching the beast chase after his comrade, Kyle extended tendrils of Parasitic Resonance. He tried to keep the creature on the outer range of his skill, pushing it farther as necessary to ensure that he could establish a connection.
It was a powerful creature, certainly, with impressive physical might. But as Arhades dodged attack after attack, one thought came back to Kyle’s mind. It’s a very weak C Grade. Identify showed attributes that were predictably physically oriented, with very little else going for it. Even in her weakened state, Kyle believed the shrike Matriarch was stronger than the C Grade now pursuing the velgian. Slowly, but surely, Kyle’s skill began to take hold.
Arhades deftly dodged and countered each strike, blurring into beams of light at the last possible moment to land deep counters with his blade. Even though nothing more than superficial damage had been done, the battle seemed very much in Arhades’ control. At least, until the hodag decided to change tactics.
With another bellow, it raised a clawed foot into the air, and then slammed it down. A crater formed around it, and it took the moment of surprise to charge directly at Arhades once more. Just as it was closing in with its jaws open, its head snapped to the side as a blast of force struck it like a freight train, knocking it off balance and creating room for Arhades to land a deep cut on its chest before regaining some distance.
The hodag whirled on him, its tail extending impossibly far as it swiped at the retreating velgian. A wall of light appeared, but was smashed apart as the hodag finished its rotation, landing its first blow of the fight. Arhades was thrown back, and Kyle watched as runes across his armor lit up to disperse the force of the blow.
By now, Kyle was ready. With Ignition blazing in his chest, Kyle twisted with Parasitic Resonance, focusing on one of the creature’s legs as it charged. It faltered slightly, giving Arhades a chance to dive out of the way before he was overwhelmed. Unfortunately, the hodag’s toughness was on full display. Even with the injury to its foreleg, it recovered quickly, now turning to look at Kyle with hate-filled red eyes.
Unlike Arhades, Kyle wasn’t going to try and wait to counter the creature. He ran in the opposite direction of the recovering Velgian, launching another full-force Repel from his elbow to draw the creature’s attention. The blast of force did little damage, but succeeded in drawing the hodag’s ire. All the while, Parasitic Resonance fought against the C Grade’s natural power to gain more dominance.
Even with Ignition active, Kyle had to admit that he was slower than Arhades with his powerful light magic. Still, thanks to C.H.A.D.D.’s early warnings and his Synaptic Barbs, he kept one step ahead of the hodag, expertly maintaining his distance as the beast tore through the woodlands after him. The biggest threat to him was the tail, which extended and lashed out in unpredictable patterns. He’d had some narrow misses, and it would only be a matter of time before he slipped up and the tide of battle turned against him.
Fortunately, Kyle wasn’t the C Grade’s only opponent. A momentary shimmer in the air was the only warning as dozens of beams of light drilled into the hodag from above, searing its scales and digging into its flesh. Kyle recognized this as the same technique Arhades used against the D Grade versions; each of the beams powerful enough to instantly kill the creatures. By contrast, the scorching beams of light only seemed to make the C Grade angrier.
[DR. MAYHEW, IT APPEARS TO BE ACTIVATING A SKILL.]
This is what he’d been waiting for. With a focused effort, Kyle pushed his mana through Parasitic Resonance, bringing his Willpower to bear against the hodag’s mana network. The beast was powerful by virtue of grade alone, but Kyle’s Willpower was far beyond what most would expect for a D Grade around his level. While Parasitic Resonance had yet to scale enough for Kyle to kill the hodag outright, he was more than able to disrupt its flow of mana.
It let out a mighty roar, which was followed by a look of confusion as it turned toward Kyle. He could almost see the gears turning in its head, as it bellowed again, lowering its horns to charge. A wave of light rushed out to meet the creature, scoring dozens of small cuts across its flesh. If the hodag cared in the least, it didn’t show it. At the last moment, it leapt toward Kyle, its fang-filled maw ready to consume him.
Paws to the left and right, and crushed if I try to go underneath, Kyle thought. His options were to try and get over the hodag, or jump backward. Anything else would require him to block with Storm Shelter, a prospect that he wasn’t confident in. Making his choice, Kyle activated Repel, launching himself atop the monster’s stubby snout and between its horns. The moment it landed, Kyle used Repel again, shoving its head down as he vaulted over. Or tried to.
He felt a moment of panic from C.H.A.D.D. as the hodag’s mana surged quickly, and before Kyle could react, hundreds of needle-like fur barbs shot out of its back, directly toward him. He crossed his arms at the last second, covering his face as the needles peppered him. They found little purchase against his Enhanced Carapace, particularly with the little amount of mana that was put into the skill, but he felt the real attack coming courtesy of Synaptic Barbs, and he was too slow to react. Its tail whipped around, catching him square in his side and launching him toward the nearby trees. Kyle felt his ribs crack as the tail impacted him, but the second impact against the trees never came.
[THAT WAS DANGEROUS, DR. MAYHEW.]
Trees blurred by as C.H.A.D.D. admonished him; nimbly navigating through the woodlands, using the C.H.A.D.D. pack’s newfound mobility.
Kyle tried to reply, but coughed up blood. Resting a hand against his side, he activated Healing Impetus, feeling the cracked bones begin to mend with a wince of pain. Adaptive Regeneration was already active and washing that away, and he took a deep breath.
He tried again, this time being able to form the words. “Thank you, C.H.A.D.D, that was close. I should be able to reengage.”
The drone obliged, slowing the pack’s propulsion as Kyle felt solid ground beneath his feet. Despite the upgrades, Kyle was still faster when he had Ignition active. Which was good, given that Arhades was frantically fighting alone against the enraged hodag. Trees all around had been reduced to splinters, and Kyle felt mana gathering around the beast just as C.H.A.D.D. flashed a warning.
He'd been knocked out of range for Parasitic Resonance, and the skill coming was a big one.
“Arhades, to me!” Kyle shouted, the Velgian responding instantly, retreating toward Kyle in a stream of light. Just in time, as the Hodag looked at them, opened its mouth, and bellowed.
Kyle activated Storm Shelter, a feeling of desperation in his chest. A moment later, a barrier of bark and springy vines appeared directly in front of him, further shielding them as the shockwave of power ripped at the barrier. The enhanced defensive abilities he’d used against Marcus’ mechs didn’t activate, and the hodag’s attack was nearly the equal to the shrike Matriarch’s.
The only saving grace was that, rather than a focused blade, this attack was much wider range, even if it had similar power. That meant that Storm Shelter was able to hold on for a few full seconds before being destroyed, C.H.A.D.D.’s barrier managing to absorb even more of the impact before it, too, was blown away.
Arhades threw up a wall of light that was also broken, and the duo were blown dozens of meters back. All around them, the forest had been destroyed, only a small pocket of trees in the wake of Storm Shelter managing to stay standing. Staggering to his feet, Kyle extended a tendril of Parasitic Resonance to Arhades, who was on one knee not far away, and channeled Healing Impetus into both of them. The velgian’s armor had blunted the worst of the shockwave, but deep bruising was already evident on his pale skin.
“Can you still fight?” Kyle asked the velgian, his eyes not leaving the hodag who had already lowered its horns to charge.
“Of course I can,” Arhades said dismissively, brushing some errant locks of hair out of his face. “Can you?”
Kyle just nodded, dashing to one side as Arhades moved to the other, avoiding the charging monstrosity. Another wave of light washed over the beast, as Kyle took the opportunity to land a full-power Repel against its weakened leg. Neither man wanted to back down, not when their quarry was right here. They shared a look from opposite sides of the beast, understanding one another. There would be no retreating today.