Chapter 209 - 207
Chapter 207
Van and Ray could be seen standing in front of four strange, monstrous-looking beasts that were growling at them with guttural intensity.
Their tails flicked from one side to the other as they took steady, deliberate steps toward the boys.
Naturally, Van and Ray were also retreating backward as the creatures approached calmly, almost as if they were savoring the dread that was clawing at the duo’s hearts.
"Ra-Ray?" Van called out with a slight stutter in his voice.
Though his contrapted hand remained pointed forward, he still trembled while his eyes gleamed a bright blue, ready to unleash a kinetic blast when the moment was right.
Ray’s gauntlets were tightly wrapped around his hands as he watched the beasts continue their advance.
They were still about five meters away, but depending on their actual rank, they could close that distance in a second or two.
’Damn. This is bad. I can’t let Van deal with this alone, which means I have to do more than simply cripple these things. I have to kill them and, in the process... evolve.’
Turning to look at Van briefly, the Aspirant clenched his fists tightly before performing a quick scan of the tremendously wide cavern.
No other Aspirant was in sight, which meant if he had to undergo an evolution, only Van would be present to witness it.
Fewer people meant less explaining to a crowd later.
"Van... steady. I’m here with you, don’t fret. Just support me wherever you can, I ca—"
Ray paused as he looked in Van’s direction, seeing him pointing the bracelet that held the scanning feature toward the pack.
The moment the device finished its analysis, Van paled visibly.
"What happened? What’s their rank?"
Van looked up at the Tribrid with wide, fearful eyes.
"Th-They are of the advanced rank."
The moment the words left Van’s mouth, the beasts lunged forward almost instantaneously, drawing Ray’s focus back toward the threat.
The predators were now just fractions of a second away from closing the gap.
Without hesitation, Ray swung his hands forward, unleashing a dozen luminous claw slashes from his gauntlets that rocketed toward the monsters.
Seeing the attack heading their way, the creatures quickly dispersed, jumping away and scattering from the trajectory of the energy waves.
The slashes struck the rocky floor instead, causing deep, jagged grooves to appear in the earth.
"VAN! I need you!" Ray thundered as lightning began arcing around his feet, growing in intensity with every passing pulse.
His eyes shifted, catching a subtle twitch from one of the beasts.
Without delay, he darted toward the creature with a clamorous bang of displaced air.
He appeared directly in front of the monster so swiftly that the beast was almost taken aback.
.... Almost!
In a heartbeat, its spiked tail darted toward the Tribrid like a lethal arrow, heading straight for his head and ready to impale his skull.
Without hesitation, the boy immediately leaned backward, the tail whooshing past his face and cutting through the air with a sharp whistle.
From his low position, Ray swung his fist, smashing the tail upward and displacing the beast’s footing for a fraction of a second.
Before the Aspirant could capitalize on that opening, a second predator lunged in from the side, ready to tackle him to the ground and impale his chest with its spiky frame.
Without delay, the youth vaulted upward with a forceful push, hovering above the beast for a fleeting second before he hurled his hands downward.
He unleashed two simultaneous lightning strikes that bashed into the creature’s back, shattering several spikes and sending it sliding across the cavern with a pained growl.
He landed. Noticing that the beast was not dead yet but merely disoriented, Ray darted forward with incredible speed.
Then, hauling his hands again, he sent a few lightning strikes smashing into the beast’s head, cracking the natural hard armor covering its skull, though it was still not enough to kill it.
Unfortunately, the others rushed at him simultaneously.
Due to the fact that Van remained motionless, the beasts didn’t seem to register his presence, instead choosing to focus their collective wrath on Ray, who was causing the most significant damage among them.
This allowed Van a vital moment to study them—their patterns, the way they moved, how they reacted, and most especially, any signs of weakness.
While Ray was practically surrounded by four Advanced-ranked beasts, the tech genius didn’t aim to make a move just yet; his mechanical hand was lowered while he kept watching with intense focus.
A long, spiked tail sped toward Ray’s exposed back.
But with fluid speed, he spun around while a pristine, white circular shield of light materialized in the path of the tail.
The tail struck the shield.
The conjured weapon absorbed the impact from the limb like an airbag receiving more than half the force from an accident crash.
Swiftly dispersing the skill, Ray’s hand shot forward, grabbing the tail faster than it could retreat.
His ears were continuously twitching as if tracking the movements of the other beasts and their placements in the dark.
Without hesitation, he swung the tail upward, causing the beast’s hind legs to flail into the air, revealing its underbelly, which had no protective coating around it.
’I only have ten meta-force left.’
Lightning crackled around his gauntlet and, without delay, he hauled it forward, sending a single strike of the element flying toward the target.
Tchiiik—!
It sliced through the fleshy side hidden underneath the underbelly, causing black ichor to spray into the air as the strike rocketed from the beast’s behind until it smashed into the fleshy interior in the beast’s head.
The creature was sent squirming and growling on the ground, black blood pooling beneath its body as life faded.
[You have defeated...]
"Not now!" Ray grunted.
Quickly bending down low, Ray dodged a tail by the skin of his teeth and was about to send a lightning strike when he remembered the dire reality.
His meta-force had been completely depleted from the strike he unleashed which killed the previous beast.
Before he could react to the new threat, a sweep from another beast ended in him being smashed in the side by clawed feet.
[-10 HP]
[HP: 45/60]
He was sent sliding backward in pain, forced to grasp his side, which was already bleeding through his fingers.
The remaining beasts growled, ready to lunge toward the boy with all their lethal speed.
Until,
Booom—! Boom—! Booom—!
The thunderous sound drew their attention, causing the beasts to look to the side, but it was already too late.
A beam of energy slammed into their front legs, causing them to tumble forward head-first into the ground.
A pointed, mechanical encased arm could be seen with a rounded shape at the tip, emitting smoke like a cannon that had just been let loose.
Van collapsed onto his knees, his breath coming in heavy, ragged gasps.
"Finish them," he choked out.