Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 100: Broken Fate

Chapter 100: Broken Fate

Suddenly, without warning, chaos erupted. A few nightmare carapaces suddenly lunged and began tearing their brethren apart.

Looking below, Klaus noticed one of the carapaces slamming its scythe shaped limbs into another, ripping through chitin like wet paper. Screeches echoed across the battlefield as black ichor splattered the ground, and more of the creatures joined the fray.

It was a bloody slaughter among monsters.

Grotesque. Vicious. A little terrifying, if Klaus was being honest, but everything was going according to plan.

The chaos was deafening. It was a cacophony of screeches, snapping limbs, and wet tearing sounds. Slowly, the nightmare carapaces fell, not to blades or bullets, but to each other.

Then, as if summoned by the noise, the towering monstrosity lurking deep within the churning cavern stirred.

With slow, thunderous steps, it emerged from the shadows, its massive form blotting out what little light filtered through the gloom. It scanned the battlefield, searching for the source of the disturbance.

But when its glowing eyes landed on the frenzied carnage — its own underlings locked in mindless bloodshed — the beast paused.

Then, it tilted its head to the side in an almost childlike manner, as if trying to make sense of what it was seeing.

In the next moment, Adrian emerged from his hiding spot within the shadows and appeared directly infront of the monster. Noticing his presence, the Fleshwither shifted its gaze towards him. Then, a mad crimson flame ignited its eyes as though angered.

It had found its target.

The beast seemed almost insulted by the sight of the lone human standing before it, as if Adrian’s presence alone enraged it greatly.

However, Adrian didn’t seem to have noticed any of this as he was already facing the other way and entered a tremendous spirit, accompaned by a fierce of wind, increasing his movements.

The effect was immediate.

The sight of a lone, fleeing human was all it took to send the massive abomination into a frenzy. It let out a piercing, distorted echoing shriek.

From his vantage point, Klaus took it all in with sharp clarity. His eyes trembled but soon regained their focus. This was the moment they had worked for with their body and sweat.

’Now!’

Klaus tightened his muscles and shifted his weight low in his crouch, tension coiling through every limb like a spring pulled taut. Then, in the space between heartbeats, he kicked off the ground and hurled himself forward.

His body cut through the air like a spear aimed with deadly trajectory.

The young Strider flew through the air for exactly three seconds before he gracefully and silently landed on the creature’s back.

Luckily, he had timed his jump perfectly, and the awakened monster, consumed by fury, didn’t seem to have noticed his presence. However, just because he had landed on the creature’s back didn’t mean the danger was over.

A second later, the towering beast suddenly lunged with never-before-seen speed and, like an unbreakable ram, tore through the Nightmare Carapaces in its relentless pursuit as though they were made of paper. With a tremendous impact, the monsters below were either crushed outright or hurled aside, accompanied by a violent explosion of blood and dust.

In such a situation, Klaus had no choice but to cling tightly to the dark tendrils that made up the creature’s body, just to keep himself from being thrown off. The moment his hands touched them, a chilling sensation crawled up his spine. The tendrils were in constant, writhing motion — like living strands of shadow — shifting and pulsing beneath him.

How could this be... What exactly was he holding on to? he wondered in a bead of sweat.

Meanwhile, while he was holding on with his dear life, the creature rapidly shortened the distance between itself and the retreating Adrian then tried to pierce his body with its sickle-like limbs. Shards of rock were flowing like a torrent from its missed attacked which struck the ground instead of its intended target.

Truthfully, the sight of a monster about the size of a house, rushing at him like a speeding train was enough to make any person falter. Gritting his teeth, Adrian suppressed his anxiety and manipulationd the wind vectors around his body to maintain his pace.

Whether he was afraid, disoriented, or even terrified, didn’t matter.

After all, he was nothing but bait.

Given his Mysticism Ability — the power to manipulate the wind around him — he was the ideal choice for this role. This was his duty.

Half a dozen meters away, the monster finally reached their trap.

Nearly invisible in the gloom, five Nightmare Carapaces crouched behind a mound of black coral, perfectly still and waiting for the precise moment to strike. These monsters were part of the ones that had already been tamed by Morgan.

Blinded by rage and seething malice, the creature charged ahead, oblivious to the hidden threat. But Klaus, clinging tightly to its back, was all too aware. He inhaled sharply, adjusted his weight, and tightened his grip, bracing himself for the coming clash.

It happened just as the beast took a few more thunderous steps.

Hidden nearby, under the protective shroud of the Stalker, Morgan sent a silent mental command. In an instant, the nightmare carapaces burst from concealment and converged on the Freshwither at the same time.

One after another, they rammed their massive chitin-covered bodies into the creature’s legs had carried it in pursuit of Adrian.

The rest unfolded like fate.

With its legs struck in unison, the beast commander lost all balance. Propelled by its own furious momentum, it crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, sliding across the stone and carving a deep gouge into the earth as it went. Adrian jumped away whereas Klaus groaned, trying his hardest not to be blown away by the tremendous slide.

However, the advantage didn’t last long.

Somehow, the beast commander managed to recover its balance. Letting out a guttural roar, it slammed its shadowy sickles into the ground, using them as anchors to wrench its massive body to an abrupt halt. The sheer force of the stop nearly hurled Klaus from its back.

’Ack! Damn it!’

Fortunately, he had already equipped his nightmare gauntlets — Fang of Wrath — and used them to dig into the creature’s back, forming a vice-like grip. If anything, he was like a stubborn camp mosquito, no matter how hard you slapped or sprayed, he wasn’t letting go.

On the goodside, he had managed to keep his position on the creature’s body without giving away his presence.

On the downside, the monstrosity was already getting up.

Klaus grimaced. If it was allowed to stand up, their fates would be sealed.

Seizing the opportunity, the nightmare carapaces were already in motion. Before the beast commander could lift its massive frame, they crashed into it again, slamming it back down with sheer force. Their weight bore down on the creature as they locked their scythes around its limbs, pinning its arms in place.

At least, for a second.

The other two nightmare carapaces, trailing just behind, closed in and drove their scythes into the pinned creature. Unlike them, the beast commander lacked the protection of a full armoured shell. Their weapons punched deep into its exposed vitals.

Then, without warning, a spark of azure light flared ahead. Seraphim stood at its heart, flaming sword in hand. In a single bound, she shot forward like a bullet and unleashed a devastating swing with all her weight behind the blow.

The flaming blade struck true.

Seraphim’s sword carved a brilliant arc through the gloom, slicing deep into the beast’s shoulder. Fire exploded from the impact point, engulfing the upper half of its body in a searing blaze. The Fleshwither unleashed a deep guttural scream resembling that of a wounded animal, as if pain was a foreign sensation it had never experienced before.

Witnessing the scene unfold, Klaus allowed himself a brief, triumphant smile.

It seemed their earlier suspicions had been right all along. He recalled the way the inhabitants of this world had flinched at the sight of the azure flame; how some had even retreated in fear. More importantly, he remembered how effortlessly that silver blade had cleaved through an awakened beast.

By that logic, this abomination — also of the awakened rank — shouldn’t be any different.

And unlike the nightmare carapaces, it had no armored shell to shield its flesh. It would burn easily.

At this pace, they might actually pull it off. They might slay the beast commander.

But then, in the very next breath, his smile vanished.

’... What?’

His expression turned grim.

At first, he thought the creature was trembling from pain. But that notion vanished as heat began to rise from its body; slowly at first, then with alarming intensity. Within seconds, it became searing. Even with his gauntlets on, Klaus could feel the heat bleeding through, washing over his arms and chest like an invisible fire.

Abruptly, truly abruptly, it clicked.

The beast commander was seething with so much raw hatred and malice that its very body had begun to react, its flesh growing hotter with every passing second, fueled by its fury.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The wound that should have been fatal, or at least crippling, began to close, slowly knitting itself shut before his eyes. Then, with a violent twist, the creature strained its massive body and hurled the remaining nightmare carapaces, pinning it down, off itself like ragdolls before rising to its feet. The shadowy sickles screeched as they dragged free from the stone, carving deep gouges into the rock with a sound like tearing metal.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Five heavy Impacts echoed.

The nightmare carapaces, flung like broken toys, crashed down in separate spots. Each landing was marked by a sickening crack. Considering the height they had been hurled from, Klaus doubted any of them survived the fall.

All alone, Seraphim stood in the line of fire, directly facing the monster commander.

’Oh no. This is bad.’

Klaus remained on the creature’s back, too far to help. Adrian was still circling around the beast, preparing to strike from behind. The tamed nightmare carapaces had been thrown out of reach, their condition unknown, and they were no longer a factor.

He considered jumping down to aid her, but after a moment of thought, he stayed put.

Revealing himself now would be reckless. The beast still hadn’t sensed him, and that gave him a rare advantage. While its focus remained on the others, he could search for weaknesses or anything that might shift the balance of this battle.

They didn’t know if the awakened monster shared the same weak spot on its back as the scavengers or its underlings, the nightmare carapaces. Still, there was no reason to believe it had no vulnerability they could exploit.

In this position, where Klaus was undetected and close to the creature’s body, he had no choice but to remain still, even if it meant letting one of them face death alone.

So, for now, painfully, Seraphim was on her own.