Khan's memories of the Nak language were older than his tragedies. He was still in Ylaco's training camp back then, but Professor Thogett's xenolinguistics class had already given him troublesome clues.
Even before learning the Niqols' arts and transforming, Khan had confirmed that he could understand the Nak language. He didn't need studies or experience for that. His brain instinctively translated those seemingly meaningless sounds.
The same had happened with the Tainted animal, but Khan had reason to be surprised anyway. The fact that a monster seemingly evolved from mere beasts could speak that language was shocking. Yet, there was more to it.
The monster had used the same words from Khan's nightmare, which the scientists had also reported. He already didn't believe the matter to be a coincidence, but that event dispersed his last doubts.
"What do you mean by that?" Khan asked, but the humanoid wolf didn't move. It kept its paw pointed at him while showing the same calm as before.
Khan couldn't share that calm, and annoyance surged when he realized how he had to speak. He knew the theory behind the Nak language, and his expertise in the Nele's arts turned his attempt into a perfect execution.
"[What did you mean by that]?!" Khan shouted. He had only voiced a meaningless clicking growl, but the right thoughts filled it.
The growl changed something inside the wolf. A tremor ran through its mana but didn't affect its firm posture. It almost felt surprised that someone had replied to its cry, but understanding Khan's question was another matter altogether.
"[Potential host]," The wolf repeated through another seemingly meaningless growl. Khan's brain instantly translated it, but that didn't make him any happier.
'It must have limited cognitive abilities,' Khan quickly concluded. He believed the humanoid wolf was special, but its intelligence probably didn't involve every possible field.
Khan's mana had long since crossed the boiling point by then, but his mind was calm and used those wild urges to quicken his thoughts. That conclusion led to a strategy, which he instantly implemented.
Even when Khan spoke his version of the Nak language, words couldn't reach the humanoid wolf, so he would let the scientists deal with it. Capturing the creature came next, so natural mana flowed toward Khan's legs to generate a sudden acceleration.
Ideally, Khan would always try to inflict a deadly injury on unaware opponents. His speed was his best asset, so it was better to exploit it before enemies could catch wind of it.
However, killing wasn't the plan now. Khan aimed to capture, which involved immobilizing and putting the creature to sleep. The wolf had assumed a humanoid posture, so its legs became his first targets.
Many beings as strong as third-level warriors could follow Khan's sprint, but reacting to it was almost impossible. Khan teleported behind the wolf, and the glowing knife swiftly slashed the back of its right knee.
The wolf howled, turning toward the source of the pain to swing its stretched limb. Its reaction was quick, and the same went for its turning speed, but putting flesh and bones in front of Khan was a mistake.
The incoming limb approached Khan's face rapidly, but he was faster. Lightly tapping the ground pushed him to his right, putting him right below the paw's claws. He also lifted his knife, and the dash ended in a rain of dark blood.
Khan found himself a few meters to the wolf's right, and one glance at his left revealed the result of his attacks. The monster had leaned toward him since one of its legs had lost a joint, and its stretched forearm had bent oddly, hanging from the thin piece of flesh that still connected it to the rest of the limb.
The wolf could still stand on the damaged leg, but its flexibility disappeared. The same went for the other injured limb. A sharp movement would be enough to tear the entire forearm off. The monster had lost half its battle prowess, but Khan didn't celebrate yet.
'That should have cut the entire arm,' Khan thought, his feet already mustering the next sprint.
Khan was no stranger to oddly thick muscles, so the partially failed severing didn't bother him. The monster's body was nothing compared to Wayne's, and that was enough. As for eventual surprises, he didn't plan to discover them.
The wolf howled in anger as its calm shattered, but the kick that landed on its nape cut its cry short. Khan had put as much strength as possible into the attack, and the monster slightly bent forward under its weight.
Nevertheless, Khan suddenly found himself unable to push the wolf any further. The monster's back tensed up, and the same went for its abs, turning its slightly bent posture into an immovable object.
Khan sprinted again, but the wolf's eyes lit up, releasing purple-red beams. The monster also spun on itself, following Khan with its gaze in an attempt to hit him with the attack.
The Lightning-demon style offered immense flexibility, but the humanoid wolf only had to turn its head and eyes to point its beams at Khan. The amount of mana in the attack even sent warning messages to his senses, forcing him to run around the monster to search for an opening.
The beams dug deeply into the ground and stretched in the distance as Khan flew up, down, right, and left. He was faster than the attacks, but the difference wasn't big enough to create a window where he could dive in.
Moreover, mana had accumulated inside the Tainted animal, creating the specific pattern for the spherical Wave spell. The wolf was ready to cast that ability as soon as Khan got too close, but he didn't take the bait.
The situation worked in Khan's favor since his energy consumption was far lower. He couldn't go in yet, but the wolf was relying on mana-hungry spells. It was bound to get tired before Khan, and he continued to fly and evade while waiting for that opportunity.
Still, the wolf lasted longer than Khan had initially predicted. He spent half a minute flying around the monster without ever finding the right opening.
As the seconds passed, Khan decided to move to a more active role. After all, time wasn't on his side, but the wolf launched a loud howl before he could summon his mana, and the already destroyed ground began to shake again.
Khan had witnessed a similar scene, and the lights that appeared in his eyes confirmed his hunch. Until now, he had flown close to the surface to search for wider angles to exploit, but his next steps sent him higher in the air.
The beams followed Khan, and being almost right above the humanoid wolf made it harder for him to dodge. However, the changes involving the ground were far more concerning.
The earthquake continued until the surface crumbled, revealing an array of underground tunnels. Khan spotted far more passages than before, which had a matching number of Tainted animals. A new pack had arrived, and its cries filled the area.
Khan counted six specimens as strong as third-level warriors and more than twenty weaker creatures. None seemed to feature intelligence, but that didn't change their overall battle prowess.
The cloud of dust that had risen from the surface couldn't hinder Khan's inspection. He tried to figure out the pack's intentions, only to be distracted by a new detail. The humanoid wolf had finally retracted its beams.
The end of one attack only marked the beginning of another. The pack didn't move, so the symphony was messy, but the humanoid wolf shone brighter than its companions, allowing Khan to see its body through the dust.
The humanoid wolf did its best to get on all fours. The injured leg wasn't a problem, but the right arm was gone, and no amount of strength could keep it straight. So, the monster limited itself to three limbs, stabbing them into the new surface while mana gathered in its abdomen.
Khan didn't need more clues to understand what was happening. He joined his palms, creating a chaos spear as he flew higher in the sky. The humanoid wolf eventually finished gathering mana, and a dense bullet shot toward Khan.
The bullet met a falling spear during its flight, exploding into a sea of raging waves that created a blinding surface in the middle of the sky. Khan flew above it, standing in areas the flares couldn't reach while his senses worked overtime.
The new pack wasn't moving toward the trench, which was reassuring. Yet, Khan didn't know how it would react to his retreat.
Attacking the humanoid wolf in the middle of so many Tainted animals was also a problem. Khan could try to pull something off with his speed, but the threat of the spherical Wave spell remained since many of those specimens had enough mana to cast it.
Khan reviewed simulations and plans in his mind while flares continued to rage, but something else suddenly reached his senses, sending his gaze into the distance. Mechanical noises had joined the howls and growls below him, and a familiar red glow soon appeared on the horizon.
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