CHAPTER 37: AGAINST THE GREY TIDE!
Kael did something he had never thought he would do. He had left his group behind to defend themselves, even if he only planned to for a short while.
He had thought with this wretched apocalypse, he would have to give his life, sell his soul, and crush his emotions to protect his loved ones. Only now did he realize that his thought process was wrong. In this apocalypse, he wasn't alone. In this devastating apocalypse, he wasn't the only one who could grow stronger.
So...
'I will trust in them.'
His body flew into the air, flames bursting out from his hand. With his strength now past the 20 mark, this skill of his had become so powerful. Not only was it no longer mandatory that he release flames upon impact, but the shockwaves generated were more dangerous, and his already inhuman strength was amplified several times by the explosion. If there was one thing he wasn't happy with, it would be that the heat from his flames wasn't any different.
'It must be because of my Law Comprehension...'
The thought passed through his mind as the leeches were flung away from him like rag dolls, some outright dying from his skill. He knew his EXP count was rapidly increasing, and for once Kael was grateful that the system didn't fill his vision with these distracting messages.
- Thud!
He landed on the other side, crushing several leeches beneath him, black blood splattering into the surroundings and onto his body. Kael ignored the remaining surrounding leeches and broke into a sprint.
"Ah!"
He released a war cry, lowered his knees slightly, and braced himself as he slammed into the obese main body that was still erupting with floods of leeches.
- BAM!
Several worms were flung away as Kael and the monster crashed through the wall and into the room on the other side, away from his group's sight.
.....
Seeing Kael take off, Rose quickly commanded the zombie to move in front of the good portion of the corridor where several leeches were crawling from. Her undead hurled its fist around, slamming the leeches aside. Many lunged at it, trying to sink their rows of teeth into its decayed flesh, but the flame aura covering the undead singed their skins, causing them to screech in pain.
Seeing more leeches jumping forward from the other side, Ms. Claire swiftly moved forward. She raised her hand and focused on her skill, which had only a two-second cooldown. Her mana erupted within her, and with will and determination amplified by the running adrenaline in her veins, Claire controlled her skill and made her barrier appear far away from her and in the air, obstructing the new waves of raining leeches.
The barrier didn't even last for a second, but yet again, it was enough to stop their momentum, causing the leeches to plunge uselessly below with angry screeches, the wet sounds of their bodies colliding with the ground soon drifting upward. Claire gasped as her eyes widened in surprise. Not only had she gained a level from her actions, but even a message telling her that her skill had upgraded flashed before her.
"Be careful!"
Hearing that voice filled with panic, Claire knew she had made a stupid mistake. She had allowed herself to be distracted in such a battle where life and death could be decided in a second. Her focus came back to the present only to see terrifying rows of teeth filling her vision. Claire's eyes widened as a wave of fear erupted from within her, but before the leech could engulf her head with its outstretched mouth, she was yanked back violently by Alice.
The leech collided with the ground, but with an angry screech, it quickly lunged at them once more. Alice raised her sword to defend but was pushed to the ground by the monster's weight because she wasn't able to balance herself rightly in time.
- SKEEEE!
Alice huffed in panic as the leech slammed its tail against her sword, sending it flying away. She could only watch as its rows of teeth descended toward her head.
"Get away from her!"
Nathan's cry suddenly reverberated through the air, and before anyone could react, he slammed into the side of the leech, sending them both tumbling on the ground and into the wall.
- SKRREE!
The leech screeched in annoyance upon having its prey snatched once again. It raised its head to attack the new vermin only to feel the body beneath plunge into his shadow before vanishing away. It opened its mouth to screech in anger once again when Alice rammed into it with her massive bulwark, sending the monster flying away and down the building.
- SKREEEE!
Alice, Nathan, and Claire panted heavily, their eyes filled with fear. More of the creatures rained on them, but luckily, Rose's zombie skill cooldown had passed, allowing it to summon three more fireballs that exploded within their ranks and sent the descending leeches flying away.
"Regroup!" Ms. Claire’s voice rang out, Alice and Nathan nodding in agreement. They were already close to their limit. They could only bide their time and place their entire hope on Kael now.
*****
Kael's body smoothly flowed into a roll, his body pivoting to face the monster before him in a crouched position.
- SKREE!
- SKREE!
- SKREE!
Several leeches at level 13 lunged at him, but he easily rolled to the side, avoiding their attacks and fixing his eyes on the main body struggling to rise to its feet.
'How do I kill this thing? With all these worms it's releasing, I'll be hard pressed to even close the distance.'
The question churned furiously within his mind, even as his face remained calm and his eyes focused. Now that he wasn't only fighting to protect, Kael found his thoughts flowing more smoothly. That invisible pressure that always weighed on him, though still there, had now lessened greatly.
"Ignition fist!"
Now that he was in an enclosed space, Kael found himself back against the wall as more leeches erupted from the main body, restricting his range of movement. The leeches were now hovering at level 13, their almost two-meter bodies coiled around themselves as they flew at him, some crawling on the ground releasing screeches that exposed their rows of jagged teeth.
- SWISH!
One of the worms jumped at Kael, its coiled body turning into a blur that almost caught Kael on the neck. Luckily, he was able to timely tilt his head to the side, causing the monster to smash against the wall instead, a tiny web of cracks spreading from the impact. Kael quickly caught the monster by the tail and smashed its slithery body against another lunging monster.
- BAM!
The other leech was sent flying back into the tide with an angry screech, but more took its place, their bodies surrounding Kael like a grey mist. Kael used the leech in his hand like a battering rod. He smashed several of the monsters to the ground and flung many more away. He smashed another leech only for the one in his hand to finally reach its limit and burst into blackened blood that splattered onto his face and into his eyes.
"AH!"
Kael cried in panic as his vision became clouded by the blood.
'No! I must not panic!'
Kael quickly threw three units of Energi into his mind stat and focused on the ethereal sense awarded to him by the stat. He knew he couldn't afford to clear his eyes of the blood normally; he would only be flooded by the tide by then.
His senses spread outward, the world appearing clearly in his mind. The darkness of the room vanished, replaced by a monochrome map of heat and vibration. He could 'see' the thermal signatures of the leeches as pulsating veins of cold hunger, and the heavy, rhythmic thrum of the main body's heart beat against his awareness like a drum in a hollow cave.
Kael's calmly beating heart suddenly smashed against his chest with panic as he saw the scene before him. Several rows of teeth filled his senses, covering every angle surrounding him, each only a few inches from him. Kael suddenly released a breath, his fast-beating heart instantly falling into his control.
He made a decision in that split second, his COMBAT TRANCE allowing his hand to rush forward even before the thought had ended. He caught the leech lunging directly at his face, his right hand barely covering a bit more than half of the monster's head. But that was enough!
Golden flames erupted beautifully from his hand, moving from the monster's head and swiftly covering the rest of its body. At the same time, he enhanced his strength with several units of Energi. The head of the monster was literally crushed in his palm like a rotted pomegranate, the thick leathery skin splitting apart as his fingers sank deep into the pulpy interior, meeting in the middle with a wet, bone-deep crunch.
This had barely happened when Kael's body tensed as he braced himself. Pain suddenly exploded across Kael's senses. He had thought he was getting numb to the pain. After all, he had lost a limb and had experienced many grievous injuries. Even now, every movement of his body sent a spike of pain through his body from his left stump, but he had adapted to the pain. In fact, he enjoyed it a bit. The pain grounded him at a moment he found his mind wavering.
Yet, what Kael felt now eclipsed any pain he had ever felt, rushing toward the top of the list of what he never wanted to experience again.
"ARGGGH!"
Several rows of jagged teeth tore into his body, and even through the pain, the sound of his blood being sucked away from him at a terrifying speed almost made Kael faint in panic. He could feel his body rapidly getting weak, as he lost nearly a liter of blood in just a short moment.
Every plan that had formed in his head flew out the window. And Kael didn't hesitate for even a split second to use his upgraded skill. He coughed blood, the pain almost making him collapse, but he still forced the words out of his mouth through sheer will alone.
"IGNITION MANTLE!"
*****
AN: Thank you for reading. Click on love if you enjoyed the chapter😁.