Chapter 543: A Beast’s Call for Help!
Chapter 543
"Where are you all? Ugly beasts." Grey’s voice cut through the suffocating dark as he stood rooted, his purple robe draped across his body, blending him almost perfectly into the endless night sky.
Although he could barely see more than a metre in front of him, his stance betrayed no ounce of fear. He stood steady, his head twisting slowly, eyes scanning for even the faintest ripple of danger. For a while, there was only silence. Then...
GROWL!
A guttural sound rolled from behind him. Grey’s lips curled into a smile as he spun sharply, lightning dancing in his palms. His sudden glow lit up the shadows just enough to reveal not one beast but three, their monstrous outlines flickering menacingly in the flashes of light.
"This will be fun." Grey’s grin widened.
One of the beasts lunged, its claws tearing through the darkness. Grey reacted instantly, his body leaping backward a metre just in time. The claws cut through the air with a sharp hiss, creating a shockwave that rumbled like a muffled bang.
’That was close.’ Grey thought as he landed firmly, lightning sparking faintly beneath his boots.
Before the trio could advance again, energy surged at his feet. With a thunderclap, his body shot forward like a bolt unleashed from the heavens. The earth where he had stood split apart violently, stone and soil cracking under the raw force of his departure.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of one of the beasts. His sword materialized in his hand, gleaming faintly. With one smooth swing, he carved through its thick neck. The weapon, far superior in rank, met no resistance. The beast’s head slid free and hit the ground with a dull, gruesome thud.
Another growl ripped out behind him. Grey spun, lightning igniting his movements. The second beast slashed its claws down, but his sword intercepted it cleanly, the impact ringing out with a metallic crack. Grey didn’t budge an inch.
"Be as sturdy and unmovable as the mountain, then be as fluid and unpredictable as water. But in my case..." Grey’s voice was calm, steady.
BANG!
He vanished in a blur, reappearing with his blade already buried deep into the second beast. It collapsed with a heavy thud, sparks flashing across Grey’s body as he finished:
"...be as unpredictable as lightning." His triumphant smile flashed...
WACK!
The third beast’s claws smashed into him before he could fully turn. The blow sent Grey skidding back several metres, his boots screeching against the torn ground. His arm throbbed painfully, the impact rattling his bones.
"Tch..." Grey hissed. He slammed a palm into the earth. A lightning arrow erupted into existence, crackling violently. He drove it into the ground, the surge halting his sliding body with a burst of sparks.
The beast wasted no time. With a guttural roar, it blurred forward, its claws slicing at his head. Grey swung upward, redirecting the lightning arrow in a deadly arc.
The beast’s instincts screamed at it. It recoiled, leaping backward at the last possible second. The arrow carved through the empty space where its chest had been and then dispersed in a scatter of electricity.
Grey flexed his wrist, grimacing. "That one was hard..." he muttered under his breath, shaking off the sting in his arm where the claws had landed earlier.
The beast crouched, its growl deeper, louder, echoing like a war drum. Then it charged again, faster this time.
Grey steadied himself, lightning crawling across his body like a living storm.
Twisting his head to the side, Grey’s hands shot up, grabbing the beast’s arm, and in one fluid movement, he slammed his foot into the ground forcefully before spinning around and smashing the beast into the ground with all his Ki directed to his arms.
BANG!
A crater nearly a metre wide and deep instantly formed beneath the beast’s body as its eyes rolled back, black blood spraying out of its mouth like a fountain of corruption.
In one desperate movement, the beast growled louder than ever, a sound that vibrated through the air like a dying roar, and it swung its feet towards Grey’s abdomen, hoping to dig them in and crush him.
But the Supreme Magus simply took to the skies, lightning bursting around his body as he avoided the strike in a twinkle of an eye, rising above with effortless grace.
"Goodbye," Grey coldly said as he snapped his fingers.
Five arrows instantly shimmered into view, each one buzzing with unstable lightning, almost as if the air itself was afraid of them.
Without wasting time, they shot downward with blistering force, crashing into the beast with such devastating impact that a loud, deafening bang echoed out, a sound so thunderous that it would no doubt reach any student within the area.
The crater beneath the beast’s body widened, chunks of earth and stone blasting out as if nature itself was rebelling against the carnage. The lightning scorched the ground so badly that smoke and the acrid smell of burnt flesh lingered in the air.
The beast’s skin instantly shriveled up, blackened and twisted, and the blood within its body dried up completely, leaving only a husk of what once was a raging predator.
Only then did Grey calmly land back down with a soft smile tugging at his lips, his purple robe fluttering lightly as if mocking the carnage around him.
’Magic is indeed helpful. Damn! I can’t believe I had this immense power hidden within me all this while I was striving to learn Ki. Just how strong was I really back in my world? Was I feared? Respected? Admired? Or was I the weakest, clawing my way up through sheer will alone? Well, only the heavens know.’
He sighed inwardly and decided to go extract the beasts’ cores. But before he could even take a single step forward...
TCHWK!
Something sliced brutally through his back, causing his eyes to widen in horror. Blood filled his mouth almost instantly as he coughed it out, the metallic taste spreading across his tongue, while he slowly turned his head. Behind him was a pair of claws, long and curved, digging mercilessly into his flesh.
And now surrounding him, almost like shadows lurking in the void, were about twelve more beasts, each with a sinister grin plastered across their twisted faces.
’Fuck! How the hell didn’t I notice they were sneaking up on me in time? Wait! How did they even come here? I thought the beasts were spaced out.’ His thoughts raced as he stared at the blood dripping steadily down to the ground, forming a small dark puddle beneath his trembling feet.
’Was the beast’s final growl a plea for help? Did it call its allies over with that cry? Am I screwed right now or what?’
BAM!
The beast’s foot shot out, slamming viciously into Grey’s back and sending his body hurling forward, torn away from its claws. Blood spurted from his mouth once again, painting the air crimson as his figure crashed down with force, his robe tearing in the violent wind of impact.