William rushed down the cramped tunnel, his arms brushing against moldy, jagged stones. The sharp pain made him curse, but he would have anyway.
The horrid stench of decomposition, the heavy air, the thickening poisonous mana that rushed to his circuits—they were too much to handle for his old bones. But he couldn’t slow down.
Not when his predecessors had guarded the sealed entrance from their last failed subjugation two thousand years ago. Only cruel death awaited them in the mountain’s depths. No, it would be worse than that...
Each attempt had led the enraged beast to their village. Like a reaper at death’s service, it made it a mission to wipe out any living beings under rivers of dark venoms. The order’s only salvation had been to leave the mountain altogether until it calmed down. That’s why they had narrowed the tunnel to hinder the beast. That’s why he would buy his family precious seconds to escape.
Just as he thought about those he had to protect, the tunnel’s walls trembled and the ground quaked.
His battle-hardened instincts awakened instantly. He waved his staff, a green mana barrier forming around him. Rubble crashed on it with dull pangs as he clutched the slippery walls for Keep reading on NovelHub - where stories come alive! But reacting and the implications were two different things.
"Oh, no..." Blood drained from his face, and his heart pounded against his ribs in a painful litany of dread. "Those brats provoked the beast."
Ignoring the burning scratches accumulating, he fought against the trembling ground and rushed down the winding path until it branched into a cavern twice the size of their town.
Sweat-soaked hair plastered to his forehead, he panted and scanned the cavern. It was the first time he witnessed the basin of dense purplish venom at the center. Its sparkle illuminated the room, and the stench loosened his grip on his staff.
He recoiled, shocked that a single whiff forced a numb sensation to course through his muscles. At least there was no doubt in his mind. He stood before the heart of the poisonous mana. Now, the beast.
His fingers tightened around his staff as his eyes darted to the source of the noise... only for them to widen when he picked up Adam’s forceful voice.
"Weaker beasts can shapeshift into humans and talk, so why are you acting all shy?"
He rubbed his eyes, the terror he had expected to feel upon gazing at the monstrous centipede not manifesting.
The uncountable barbed legs, akin to rusted swords piercing ground like paper, should have chilled his blood. He should have trembled in despair at the indestructible colossal plates of dark chitin covered in purple patterns. Yet, not even the disturbing clicks of the creature’s snapping mandibles and screeches could capture his gaze. Rather, they struck him less than Adam and Misha’s mischievous grins.
They evaded lethal strikes in a graceful dance while talking to the mountain overlord in a strange spectacle he couldn’t quite grasp.
"The records said the creature was an impossible existence. Are they... playing with it?"
Just as he mumbled under his breath, Misha chuckled. "It says it doesn’t want to turn into our ugly species and that our language is roach shit."
Her golden eyes turned as sharp as an eagle. She leapt over the centipede as it lashed its long body like a spiked whip. Mid-air, she snorted. "I don’t like to be called ugly by an insect."
She kicked backward—a crushing force—then dropped like a comet, hands seizing two of the centipede’s legs.
With a snort, she leaned back and pulled. Her feet dug into the ground, and her muscles throbbed under the effort, but it yielded results. Disturbing cracks reverberated.
The centipede roared in rage before only agony and hate remained as a metallic scent filled the room, and viscous blood cascaded down the two legs Misha tore off.
But its suffering had only begun.
"Yes, yes. You’ll make us pay in blood. I’ve heard this so much that it falls flat."
Above the beast, Adam snickered. Fist clenched and qi rumbling in a waving aura that distorted space, he vanished and reappeared on its flat head.
His fist crashed down like a star.
A deafening impact blasted dust in a perfect circle. The basin of venom stirred, droplets crashing on the ground. Sizzles filled the cave, and toxic mist rose only to fade under the crunching sounds of cracking chitin.
The creature squirmed in agony, blood seeping from its damaged head, while Adam leapt beside Misha.
He clenched and unclenched his fist, satisfied by his strike’s power. Even if he would need more blows to kill a tier-eight magical beast, he could finally wound them. And with the knowledge came his confident voice.
"You’re fighting a lost battle. Come on, just talk to us."
Misha watched the suffering insect, sighing. "It’s not too late to stop this senseless fight. We don’t enjoy making you suffer."
The centipede’s mandibles clicked with more strength in answer. Thoroughly humiliated by the teenagers’ physical might, it steadied its body and opened its mouth.
No matter what, it would take revenge on them, recover, then annihilate the mage’s order above. These fools trampled the agreement it made six thousand years ago with Pablo and allied with cultivators. Unacceptable!
Adam watched it spit a thick stream of dark venom, rolling his eyes.
The air evaporated, the raining drops melting the ground in a horrifying show of corrosion. But liquid was liquid, and he had many methods to deal with it no matter the quantity. He snapped his fingers, condensing a raging mana vortex.
It engulfed the venom, its sky-blue color turning deep dark before he threw it into the basin, shocking the centipede.
As it wondered if its eyes played tricks on it, Adam blurred again, his fist clenched and his face solemn. "Beat it into submission, Misha."
Following closely behind, she nodded. "It has too bad a tamper. I’ll teach it who’s the boss."
He chuckled. "Spoken like a true mage!"
William watched what followed, unsure about how to describe the scene. After all, no one would believe two barely sixteen-year-old brats had mauled a calamitous beast until it whimpered at their feet. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he could believe his own eyes...