Chapter 27: Through the Chest
Kratos and Tony leaped sideways in opposite directions, narrowly escaping the explosion that erupted where they had been standing. Both landed lightly on the thick trunks of nearby trees.
The grotesque protrusion embedded in the center of the arachnids’ foreheads had indeed happened to be biological cannons.
Tony looked beneath him at the devastation it had left behind, and his pupils contracted.
’Just a split-second delay and that would have been us.’
The forest floor had vanished beneath the blast. The grasses, roots, and stones had been erased completely, replaced by a crater several meters deep as smoke curled from within into the air.
Taking in the moment, he swept his gaze away just to meet that of Kratos’.
The "sworn brothers" nodded simultaneously at each other in understanding, and without a word, they launched themselves forward, off the tree’s trunk.
Both of them landed on the top of one of the massive webs nearest to them, stretched between towering trees. As strong as the strands were, they didn’t even bulge or sag beneath their weights.
Then, they ran.
Like arrows released from a bow, the two sprinted across the silvery web, their feet finding impossible balance on top of the threads.
In the same vein, the arachnids reacted instantly.
SHHHK! SHHHK! SHHHK!
Thick web nets burst from their mouths, shooting toward the duo from every possible direction.
Tony was fast to react as he ducked beneath one, twisted around another, and leaped over a third, evading each burst of web net while landing comfortably on the web strands and continued running along it.
On the other hand, Kratos simply vanished between the web nets, weaving through the barrage with movements so refined that not a single strand brushed his clothing.
Once he was out of the attack’s way, he glanced over and saw that Tony was still fine and able to keep up.
’I guess I should focus then. Seems little brother can handle them,’ he thoughtfully lied to himself, since his attention still swept across from time to time to where Tony was.
He reached the point in the distance where one arachnid screeched as he appeared before it. Its crystalline horn flashed and—
BOOM!
It shot its attack too late as Kratos had already spun through the air, performing a crushing bicycle kick that exploded against the creature’s armored carapace with enough force to buckle its entire body.
CRACK!
The impact shattered Kratos’ foot, leaving no crack on the arachnid’s back, but the force from the kick was still enough to send the massive monster skidding backward across the web.
With no time to spare and revering the pain shooting across his leg, he continued with the momentum of the rotation from the kick as he drew both swords in a flashing arc.
White streaks of energy enveloped their edges.
SHIING!
Two arachnids that had lunged from either side froze. A heartbeat later, their heads slid cleanly from their bodies as black blood sprayed across the webbing.
"Ouch!"
Kratos couldn’t bear the piercing pain that shot through his joint; he had tried so hard to ignore it as he felt immense strain on his left knee.
His footing faltered, and with one unlucky step forward, Kratos could have lost his balance.
However, the arachnid whose carapace had suffered Kratos the pain saw this as an opportunity and lunged immediately, raising a scythe-like foreleg that sliced downward with terrifying speed.
Kratos shut his eyes in endurance, opening them at the same time, and twisted at the final instant.
WHOOSH!
The blade slashed past his chest.
His body dipped beneath it as he caught himself mid-fall, spreading both legs apart before landing lightly upon two separate web strands suspended beneath him.
...
[You have slain an Azure Poison Arachnid (x3).]
[+75%]
Across on the other side, Tony saw the notification but didn’t spare it too much attention. However, since he was yet to slay any of these creatures, he instantly took note that he also got EXP points with every kill performed by Kratos.
In that case...
His sword danced through the air as he slipped between stabbing limbs and incoming webs, moving exactly as unexpectedly from him.
The truth is, Tony had started not well off and slower when compared to Kratos. But due to his high [Intelligence] attribute, he was able to quickly adapt to the rhythm of the battle.
All it usually took was one or two sidestep(s), then a pivot, and a leap. He repeated these evading skills as he tried to find an opening to land his own attack.
"There."
A smile plastered across his face as his feet pushed off a web strand, and he soared high above one arachnid.
His blade angled downward as his body rotated into a perfect descending slash.
’I’ve got one.’
SHIING!
It was only when the sword struck that Tony slowly began to realize his mistake.
His blade had stopped cold against the creature’s glossy black carapace without even leaving a scratch on it.
His eyes widened.
Before he could fully realize the extent of his mistake and correct himself, the flat side of the arachnid’s massive foreleg smashed into his body.
BAM!
The impact blasted every ounce of air from his lungs; his eyes widened towards the sky above, and his mouth hung ajar with dry air leaving without obstruction. His body spun helplessly through the air, straight toward another waiting arachnid.
The waiting creature’s enormous pincers slowly spread apart as it waited patiently and was very ready to crush Tony the instant he arrived.
Meanwhile, engaged in battle nearby, Kratos had witnessed everything with divided attention.
His eyes narrowed when he saw Tony’s attack earlier and he had wanted to shout that he should reinforce his blade with divine energy since he realized beforehand that a normal blade wouldn’t work against the armored carapace, but he never had the chance as he was distracted.
"Little brother!" he shouted with an outstretched left hand.
Free once more, he wanted to set off to save his "little brother," but two arachnids descended beside him just then. At the same time, their crystalline horns glowed.
BOOM! BOOM!
Spheres of azure poison hurtled toward him.
Kratos threw himself into a forward somersault, the explosion missing him completely and instead—
BOOOOM!
The two projectiles collided with the very arachnids that had fired them, their bodies engulfed by the explosion from their own attacks.
Using the momentum from his front flip, Kratos descended toward one of the thick web strands supporting several corpses he had slain.
SHIING!
His sword severed it effortlessly, and he leaped from its imbalance, allowing enormous carcasses to crash downward.
At that same instant, and figuring that lunging forward will be too late to save Tony, he activated one of his skills for the first time.
[Severance.]
A silver arc flashed, and a scythe was sent forward, perfectly splitting the waiting arachnid before Tony in half. The slash didn’t stop there as it continued, slashing a second, a third, a fourth, every arachnid standing behind it facing the same unfortunate fate as they were cleaved apart in a single uninterrupted line.
The remaining arachnids further behind moved faster than anticipated, as the scythe slash collided with a huge tree trunk, slicing it in half before vanishing.
SHHHK!
A fresh web shot from nowhere, wrapping tightly around Tony’s body.
His mind was still electrocuted by the initial impact; hence, he was unable to react as he was violently dragged away, pulled toward the arachnid that had attacked him.
Kratos’ eyes sharpened.
He exploded forward.
But another crystalline horn glowed from his blind spot, sending a sphere of azure poison at him.
At the last possible moment, his instinct saved him.
[Saint’s Step.]
His figure disappeared.
The explosion tore through empty air.
Rather than continuing toward Tony, Kratos reappeared before the arachnid that had ambushed him, and his swords descended instantly.
He had made the last-minute decision because Tony had realized himself.
His eyes snapped open as brilliant, brown energy engulfed his blade.
[Divine Edge.]
[-10 MP]
This time, the empowered sword slash sliced effortlessly through the arachnid, pulling him. The creature split apart under the attack.
Tony savored the brief moment and released himself from the web before sliding to an abrupt halt across another strand, then grabbed the web attached to the corpse and swung it with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The dead arachnid whipped around him in a violent circle, its biological cannon discharging involuntarily.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Azure explosions erupted continuously as the spinning corpse became a grotesque flail. Everything caught within its circular path was obliterated.
The trees were felled. Webs extinguished into vapor. Even other arachnids exploded one after another beneath the barrage.
[You have slain an Azure Poison Arachnid (x3).]
[+75%]
...
[You have slain an Azure Poison Arachnid (x3).]
[+75%]
...
Since Kratos had a divided attention in this battle, he had caught the attack just in time. Hence, just as it came, he dropped flat against the web, supporting himself with both hands before flipping backward in one fluid motion and landing on top of the armored back of an unfortunate arachnid.
Its head barely turned before Kratos’ two swords pierced downward, black blood oozing out upwards and painting his face.
The battle between the duo and the arachnids intensified.
Silver and brown flashes danced in the air. Azure explosions did their best to counter, accompanied by shooting webs.
Black blood soon painted the white, solid threads black, as countless corpses rained from atop and shattered into themselves on the ground below.
Neither side showed mercy, until—
"No!"
Kratos’ voice thundered across the forest.
Time seemed to stop.
His eyes locked onto Tony.
A razor-thin web spear had burst from the darkness and pierced completely through Tony’s chest from the back.
He vomited crimson blood, dyeing the silvery strands in a colorful blend of red and silver.
Tony’s body hung there for a fleeting second, then he began to fall.
Kratos forgot everything — the monsters surrounding him — and sprinted across the web at full speed, leaping desperately from strand to strand.
Only one thought continuously played and replayed in his mind until they became faint.
’Little brother! Little brother...’
His distraction almost cost him his life as a scythe-like limb swept toward his side, without an utter of care. At the last possible instant, Kratos reflexively twisted away.
SHRAAK!
The blade that could have cleaved him completely in two left a deep gash across his arm, blood spraying into the air.
But Kratos didn’t seem to care.
He completely ignored it until he reached Tony just before the victim struck the forest ground.
Sliding across the web, he caught Tony’s almost lifeless body in both arms, warm blood immediately soaking through his clothes as he allowed his feet to slip off the strand.
With Tony’s body in his arm, he descended to the forest ground.
His "little brother’s" breathing was faint. His eyes were already beginning to lose focus.
———
Author: I decided to lock from this Chapter. This is 40k+ words before unlock. Also, keep supporting the book for Chapter update events and to increase story’s visibility in the app.
