The SSS Beast King: Rebirth of the Legendary Predator
Chapter 56: Edge of Death

Chapter 56: Edge of Death

A team of six, each held a weapon, but from what I know, normal weapons don’t get transported alongside you when going anywhere in The Core. So these meant these were items. What bad luck I have, the only item I got was a useless wall I threw away a long time ago, I do regret it now, maybe I could have used it as a shield.

The first to make a move had a bow. I could hear the string curl back into position as the arrow escaped its grasp. It was fast, cutting through the air in a second. It was coming from the front, lightly downwards so I couldn’t duck. With its velocity, I only had some seconds left to react. I couldn’t lean back, that was too slow. I had to choose a direction to move,

Left, right? It had a light curve to my east, so left was the way to go. A pivot on my left foot, and my abdomen tilted slightly, I could hear the air being cut as the arrow passed me.

But that wasn’t the only thing I heard. I slightly adjusted my eyes to see what was on my right. There, I saw a sword coming at me. It was moving horizontally, and its metal looked new and sharp, so there wouldn’t be much drag. It had a slower velocity but a much bigger density and size. So basically, it was harder to dodge, but I had more time to think.

My balance was still on my left foot, so anything that would need both would be risky. And even if I didn’t, ducking would let me dodge, but make me vulnerable, so it was out of the question. A step back? That would only delay my death. I could only step left, which would position me right in front of him. Damn it, what do I do? My body was screaming at me to move, but I couldn’t figure out how I should do it. So I just let it take control.

My spine screamed in protest as I arched backward, forcing myself to stretch to the limit. I felt the bones in my back protest, the muscles burning, but I had no choice. The sword was too close, too fast.

And as luck would have it. I fell beneath it, I was parallel to the ground, something that shouldn’t be possible. And it wasn’t, I felt like I was about to die on the second. I couldn’t even feel my spine anymore like it had broken in two.

The sword slashed the air in front of me, directing it straight into my face. This made me realize I had escaped death. But as was smirking, I felt the world drag me down, as my balance was ripped to shreds. My eyes died, and the world around me started to slow down as my body slowly descended.

But as I looked up, I could see the sword coming straight for me. It was fast and coming straight down, but this didn’t matter either way. I could not dodge it while falling, I had to somehow stop it.

As I descended, I tightened my core and twisted my whole body in a way I never knew I could. My legs coiled up underneath me, and with a kick that was more instinct than precision, I sent one foot sweeping through the air. Its target? The knee of my opponent. His whole momentum was hinged on it, so I could just send it off balance...

It was an absolutely reckless move, something that I would normally not see myself doing, but in a situation where everything else is off-limits, even if I act out of impulse. And by dumb luck, I hit my target. The force from the fall and the momentum of my foot swept him off balance, causing him to fall.

I saw his feet slide from beneath him as he fell horizontally as he crashed into the ground. His sword flew into the air, now useless.

My body, suspended between air and earth, felt like it was tearing apart. I twisted my spine and bones just enough to slightly control the fall so my right foot which was still extended from the sweeping fall first, slamming into the ground. I felt my calcaneus shatter, but I couldn’t let that hold me down, literally.

My left leg followed, but the landing wasn’t soft. It was a violent impact, and the shock ran through my spine, but I absorbed it with a sudden flex of my knee. I staggered, as my arms were still moving in the air, overstretched. Using the momentum of my left foot landing, I pushed myself forward and braced myself into a crouch. My legs were bent low, angled to spring back into action. And that action was just around the corner, as behind the swordman I had just barely survived, was now another, holding a big hammer.

’The hammer was already falling. If I stay, I die.’ Roll over, too slow. Step to the side? In this position, that is absorbed. Backwards? To fall again, yeah no. Only one way to do this.

The only action my position benefited.

My bent leg was already coiled, it was the source of both my balance and power at the moment. So I pushed off it, my muscles burning like they were trying to swim in a volcano. This wasn’t a step, I wasn’t trying to dodge it any sort of way, no I was going towards him. I launched forward, my arms dragging against the hard ground.

The shockwave made my whole body ache, as the hammer with the ground with a power that was meant for me. I could have never survived an attack like that. It wasn’t humanly possible, well maybe not for a contractor, if I was a newborn maybe I would have stood a chance.

My heart was racing, there were too many.

I landed face-first onto the ground. I twisted my neck just enough to see what was happening, which is when I saw a spear. Already thrusting downward. It was coming straight for my thick skull.

What now?

I was on the ground, facing the ground, my hands were absolutely useless in a situation like this. And no twist of my body would save me now. But my legs... my legs were still extended, positioned just right.

In an almost unnatural twist, I pulled my legs in, arching my back as I forced myself into a scorpion position. My head almost touched the ground, and my chest pressed against the stone floor. My back screamed at me as I forced another position I never thought I would even do in my life. My legs, now high in the air, kicked out like a whip.

As the tip of the spear was about to strike my head, my right foot stuck it. There was just enough force to knock it away from his hand.

The movement was brutal, pain shot through my spine as I held the pose, my legs stretched out in front of me, my body still arched in midair, but I had survived.

Not long after, my body rolled over falling on my feet.

I looked in front of me. My body running on adrenaline, keeping it from collapsing from the immense pain I have experienced until now.

I smirked, my eyes almost bloodshot as I saw a human in front of me, which had a lonely lantern on his back. ’There you are!" My true goal from the beginning was to find him and steal his lanterns and from what it seems, this team was one focused on protecting the captain, meanwhile, he didn’t do anything. That was why, he was unarmed, and shivering with fear.

I ran towards him, my feet hitting the ground with great force. The pain was there, but I just ignored it. The end was near, I couldn’t let myself falter to the pain after enduring so much of it, it would be disrespectful to my body which had given it its all to create all of those near-death escapes.

I extended my arm, stretching it towards the lanterns. Victory was mine, and with this, I would show the others that I am the ruler of this game, not Dusk.

Such a salty and almost metallic taste victory has... wait wasn’t it supposed to be sweat.

Wait... sword, hammer, spear, and bow. That’s four, and with the captain five... but I saw and counted six.

I felt my body getting him by a great force, and I flew into the air. Now this, was a situation I couldn’t escape.

As I hit the wall, bloodshot from my mouth, and I almost bit off my tongue with my teeth. As the world stopped spinning, I could differentiate a figure inside the darkness, and it had a shield.

How could I forget the shield, the heart when it comes to protecting?

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