Chapter 48: Mana Blast (II)
The Mana Blast left Hide’s palms as a projectile, causing distortion in the air itself.
It was dark, compressed environmental mana moving at a speed that left a vacuum in its wake. It crossed the distance to the Wolfthrall Ruler in a fraction of a second.
The beast as arrogant and foolish it was, stood where it was, inside its own attack’s field. As the Mana blast entered the field of effect, the oppressive field tried to pull out the mana. But.
...It couldn’t.
The blast was too concentrated, its internal pressure was too high. It punched straight through the absorption field and struck the wolf directly in its goddamned face.
The detonation was not loud, at first at least.
The two opposing mana types collided, and the resulting explosion didn’t just break the Wolfthrall Ruler, the blast expanded outward in a sphere of destructive pressure that vaporized the beast’s skull, its reinforced ribs, and the heavy chains bound to its limbs.
The shockwave hit the flagstones, cratering the floor and sweeping outward. The smaller wolves that had been caught within the absorption field’s radius were simply gone as well, their bones turned to dust before they could even hit the ground.
Hide threw his arms up, the Carapace absorbing the backblast that reached him, his boots sliding back half a meter from the force.
When the dust cleared, there was nothing left of the first ruler but a scorched crater.
The system windows bloomed in his vision in a rapid, cascading sequence.
[Calamity Beast (Wolfthrall Ruler) — Eliminated]
Experience points gained: 1,000
[Calamity Beast (Wolfthrall minion) — Eliminated]
Experience points gained: 50
[Calamity Beast (Wolfthrall minion) — Eliminated]
Experience points gained: 50
The notifications stacked, confirming six smaller wolves caught in the blast radius alongside the ruler. The experience points flooded his system, the accumulation of the entire fight finally tipping over the edge.
[Level Up]
Level: 6 → 7
Exp: 150 / 1700
Level Up reward has been added to inventory.
The heavy, grinding sound of the citadel responding to the sudden drop in beast numbers filled the hall.
The stairs shuddered violently and dropped. Seven kills at once sent the mechanism plunging downward by several feet.
Hide looked at it. It was low enough now that he could make that jump.
He turned toward the wall where Fuu had been.
The remaining smaller wolves, disoriented by the blast that had annihilated their ruler, were recovering. Fuu was slumped against the wall, his back sliding down the stone. He was heaving, his chest rising and falling in shallow, desperate gasps.
He had three or four gashes across his body where the minions had gotten through his guard. One across his chest was deeper than the others, the fabric of his shirt dark and wet.
Five smaller wolves were circling him, their empty sockets fixed on the bleeding, exhausted prey.
Hide didn’t hesitate. Even though he saw no real reason to save the cunt, he did.
He closed the distance with the enhanced speed provided to him by the strengthening of his carapace, his boots cracking against the flagstones.
He didn’t bother with the Mana Blast — he didn’t need it for the minions. He hit the first wolf from the side, driving his Carapace-covered elbow into its skull. The bone caved, the anchor shattering instantly.
He caught the second by the throat, spun, and used it as a bludgeon against the third, the impact breaking both of their skulls in a tangle of limbs. The last two lunged at him simultaneously.
He dropped low, sweeping a leg out to shatter their forelimbs, then brought both fists down like hammers on their heads as they collapsed.
The notifications filled his vision and the stairs ground lower with each kill.
He had killed almost twenty or maybe thirty of them, but there were still double that number surviving and, these surviving beasts had been angered by the death of one of their big bosses.
Fighting them now with Fuu, would be a suicide mission. And as if that was not enough, the timer for the potion was going low.
Hide grabbed Fuu by the collar of his shirt and hauled him upright.
"Move," Hide growled, dragging him toward the staircase.
Fuu coughed, a wet sound that rattled in his chest, but his legs moved. "You... actually came back," Fuu wheezed, his eyes half-lidded.
"Shut up and climb," Hide said, practically throwing him at the lowest step.
Fuu scrambled up, his hands catching the iron railing, pulling his battered body onto the first landing. He dragged himself up the next flight, leaving smears of blood on the stone.
Hide stepped back, bending his knees, preparing to follow.
The remaining minions were swarming toward him, drawn by the movement. But they were F-Rank.
He leaped and was in the air, his hands reaching for the edge of the step, when the shadow hit him.
The second Wolfthrall Ruler — the one that had lost its skull not too long ago, had joined it back, it lunged at him.
The beast, driven by the vibrations of Hide’s heavy footfalls and the massive mana discharge from the blast, launched its massive bulk off the floor. Its jaws closed around Hide’s leg mid-jump.
They were not able to bypass the carapace scales, but the sheer weight of the almost two-hundred-kilogram beast, combined with the heavy iron chains dragging behind it, arrested Hide’s momentum completely.
Hide’s hands missed the stair by inches and as soon as the beast touched the ground it flung Hide away in the air.
He flew through the air, but landed on his legs.
They hit the center of the hall together, a tangle of old bones and rotted skin.
Hide’s legs skidded on the floor and then he hit a pillar hard, the impact driving the breath from his lungs. The Wolfthrall ruler opened its mouth and started creating one of those mana sucking field attacks.
The smaller wolves, surged forward in a tide of bone and claws.
Hide looked up at the stairs. Fuu was looking down at him from the second landing, his eyes wide with horror, his hand gripping a bottle of healing potion, Hide had threw before he fell.
Hide’s face split into a grin, his white hair plastered over his forehead. He could move however he wanted now, without looking for that fat bastard.