Chapter 727: No Talks, Only Carnage
A caw like grating scales echoed through the forest. Pines swayed like mere sticks about to be ripped off at their bases, while the ground rumbled under the basilisk’s predatory charge.
Yann hoisted Adam over his shoulder before he could summon his demonic cleaver, the effort tearing out a guttural growl from his lips. The teenager’s unnatural weight, however, barely distracted him as fur erupted from his skin and his legs swelled with bestial power.
As his muscles strengthened, the weight faded, and his voice rang out in a desperate whisper. "The enforcers, the council—even the rector—will feel your blade. Run! That’s all we can do, lad."
He continued, the words searing through his breath like molten pieces. "It’s an ancient magus-level creature that feeds on demons and ghosts—the Ashenveil Grove’s guardian!"
Wind whipped Adam’s hair against his face as he raised a brow. Did the creature sense his demonic bones, the cleaver’s presence inside his soul sea, or could it somehow perceive his ghostly past? Perhaps a mix. Not that it mattered.
He could see the basilisk’s burning glare ignore Yann, the forest, and the world to lock on him, feel its desire to tear his limbs, then crush and devour what remained of him with that beak lined with teeth. Somehow, it appeared maddened, as if the mere sight of him had enraged the creature beyond reason.
Even worse, it was catching up with each second crawling by. He would smell its putrid breath on Yann’s back in the next moment, then feel its icy teeth in another.
There will be no talks or negotiations with it. Only carnage.
He placed a firm palm on Yann’s lower back, lights resuming the summoning of his weapon in his other hand. With a push to increase momentum, he threw his legs up, soaring over the shoulder.
Yann yelped as he tumbled, but spun in the same movement. Throat dry, he watched Adam spin over his shoulder, then land right before the charging beast. But his eyes locked on the forming blade.