Chapter 164: Still Not a Match (Bonus 100 PS)
Kai was expecting the skeleton deer to chase after him; it didn’t.
It would be really bad, as he wouldn’t reach Bryan in time to help him, but Dorian prevented the situation from going bad by intercepting the skeleton deer. His initiative gave Kai enough time to close in and also charge an attack.
Earlier, his Dark Discharge Imprint barely left a mark on the skeleton deer.
Barely drew blood.
Kai decided to charge as much mana as he could into his scimitar to cast the Dark Discharge; the most powerful Dark Discharge he had ever thrown. Not to mention, the mana he gathered from the Retribution Ending Fragment pushed his attack even higher.
His scimitar was charged with so much mana that its sharp edge turned black.
Even he was afraid and also excited to see how powerful the attack he was going to deliver.
Kai made a stomp to stop his momentum as he arrived right below the skeleton deer’s head.
It was easy access to its throat from where he was.
"Let’s see your head roll!"
He pointed the sharp edge of the scimitar upward, sprang into the air—and twisted his body with the full force of his core to swing the blade. The curved blade whistled sharply as it rose, striking the skeleton deer’s hardened bone with a thunderous ring of steel.
And the mana that was accumulated within the blade exploded at once.
Crack—!
A direct hit.
Kai’s abyssal eyes flickered when he saw the cervical vertebrae cracked.
He pushed with renewed vigor—an excited smile bloomed on his lips as victory stood within arm’s reach. All he needed to do was make one last push, and he’d enter the white realm that was full of bliss right beyond.
But that gate of victory was shattered in the blink of an eye.
From within the bone, a violent, sickly green energy burst forth with such strength that Kai’s scimitar was flung back with a resounding clang. His body spun the other way around, as his eyes widened in absolute shock.
Kai was slammed into the ground and skidded back.
He caught himself and looked up, watching the skeleton deer stagger back.
It didn’t suffer a clear fatal wound, so this made Kai frown.
Does its bone body act as a real body? It still has pain nerves?
Since he was fighting a skeleton monster, he had assumed that the only way to bring it down or even hurt it was through severing its limbs. All he had done was crack its spinal column—something that shouldn’t have been enough to stagger it so badly.
So, this was a surprise.
Just then, Kai remembered something when he saw a dark sizzle on the skeleton deer’s neck.
At where his scimitar had landed.
Right... There’s the Fatal Whispering Wound.
Kai remembered that his Blood-phantom Scimitar has the Fatal Whispering Wound; inflicting maddening whisperers from the Furies on anyone or anything that was wounded by it. Seems like it was powerful enough to also influence a Star Beast.
It only works when the blade itself inflicted the wound.
Using the Dark Discharge from afar wouldn’t trigger the maddening effect.
More importantly, the Fatal Whispering Wound also made it harder for it to heal that cracked spinal column even with energy. It’s surprising that it didn’t get decapitated by my attack, but a bit more hits like that, and it’s going to drop. I can win.
Kai still has a lot more mana and stamina.
He wouldn’t be able to make a slash as powerful as the one he did, but it doesn’t matter.
Just enough to dent the bone, and that’ll be fine.
Soon, the skeleton deer adjusted to the whisperers inside its head and lowered its head. Green eyes glared at Kai with the kind of wrath that would burn forever. Its focus was now entirely on Kai, and that’s somewhat what he wanted.
On the side, Dorian was already pulling Bryan away.
Bree was already back on the incline in the distance, watching the fight from afar.
I know I told them to run, but I changed my mind. I think I can win this.
Almost as if it sensed the confidence in Kai’s mind, the skeleton deer’s jaw unhinged—and a noise like grinding marrow rattled across the clearing. A crackling, bony sound that shouldn’t be possible to be produced by a monster of bones.
Kai’s grip on his scimitar tightened as he watched the antlers flare again.
Pulsated again.
Green energy bled outward in an aurora, washing over the dead trees and churned stones.
But it caused no shockwave as it did before.
Instead, the antlers shifted before Kai’s very eyes—the green deepened and burst into a bright, violent orange. The aura—and corruption it emanated thickened. Kai felt them sink through his skin and hummed in his teeth and bones.
Kai felt small again, and he realized then that he had gotten ahead of himself.
It took four students and luck to defeat the Star Beast that fell onto the hive.
And he had been wrong to think that he stood a chance alone; the thought struck him sharp and cold. He was still not a match—for a Star Beast even with his strengthened physique. Not yet, at least.
Before he could turn, the antlers hummed with that orange light and detonated outward.
Dozens of bone branches shot across the distance like spreads, blotting out the sky.
Kai’s pupils blew wide, and his breath was caught in his throat. Survival instincts snapped his mind, and he threw himself into a roll as the first branch cratered the ground where he’d stood with a violent force.
He came up swinging; scimitar biting into the second branch hard.
But the blade rebounded with a shriek, metal against the unyielding hard bone.
And the momentum hurled him sideways; both his arms were numb.
Like the reach of a tentacled monster, three more bone branches came. He ducked the first one with precision, weaved past the second, but the third one curved at a very unnatural angle—dipping low before rising; a serpent of bone that aimed at his face.
Swish—!
Kai tilted his head in the last second, and the branch carved a line of fire across his right cheek.
Blood welled and ripped; the ground shook as each missed strike pounded stone.
He dodged more. Took more cuts. His ribs sang with a shallow gash, and his shoulders were now blooming red. Somewhere behind him, the others were shouting at him. The world had shrunk to bone and orange light and the scream of his own lungs.
It was hard to hear what they were saying, but he still raised a hand.
A gesture for them to stay back.
Having them come back to help him get away would only make things worse.
Kai would survive this; he’s probably the only one who can.
I can’t keep moving back. That’ll only give it more space to attack. I need to get close!
Realizing that leaping back would only give more chances for the bone branches to attack him, he charged forward to close the distance and get inside the skeleton deer’s reach. He wanted to escape, but moving back would not do him any good.
Landing one strike as a distraction and then running away, that was his plan.
But the skeleton deer made it clear to Kai that it was a bad plan almost instantly.
Kai ran and ducked under a thick branch while keeping his speed, and his instincts suddenly screamed. It was too late. The branch above him sprouted—a smaller branch, a twig of bones that stabbed down into his thigh and calf.
Pain lanced through his leg.
He rolled out with a grunt, pushing off with his good foot to launch himself away.
It had more control over its antlers the closer they got to the main body.
Kai clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Nobody would be able to anticipate that, other than having already fought this Star Beast. He learned the hard way that the antlers became more lethal the closer he got to the main body, but he got out of it, fortunately.
Or at least, that’s what he thought until he looked sideways.
"Eh...?"
His pupils dilated when the skeleton deer was already there.
It had severed its connection to the blooming branches, wrenching its skull to the side with a violent yank until its own antlers snapped. No hesitation. No pause. It charged straight at him while he was still scrambling for safety.
Now its head was already lowered—antlers levelled at his body. Point-blank.
No time for Kai to dodge it.
Even if he could attempt to dodge, the antlers took up a wide area. He wouldn’t make it.
"Shit... I’m dead!"
Crash—!
Kai’s body moved before his mind could catch up, but it was not by his own doing.
Something hit him from the side; a force that wrapped around his torso—and wrenched him sideways. The antlers missed his body by an inch and cratered the stone where he had been; shards of rock sprayed across the area violently.
He hit the ground and skidded; the world a blur of motion and noise.
And when he came to a stop, his eyes found her—Bree.
She had her arms wrapped around his arm, which made it clear that she had tackled him out of harm’s way. Her desperate dive had carried them both out of death’s door, but that’s really risky for her to even attempt.
Confusion spiked through the adrenaline.
Kai hadn’t sensed her.
Not even a whisper of approach, yet she had crossed the distance to reach him in the nick of time. But the confusion lasted only a heartbeat, as that doesn’t matter. Right now, what really mattered was that she was here.
Bree, who should be at a safe distance, had thrown herself into danger again.
All because she wanted to save him.
And though she was smiling as if everything was fine, Kai could see blood on her back.
She got cut by the antlers without a doubt, but it wasn’t deep, thankfully.
"Don’t be reckless." Kai rose despite the pain across his body that made him hunch. He pulled Bree up and brought her to his back, using his body as a shield as the two backed away from the skeleton deer. "You can’t be here. You should’ve stayed where you were."
"Are you telling me to watch you die?" Bree argued, glaring at Kai from over his shoulder.
"I’m going to be fine. I’m not dying easily. I can escape, but you have to get away."
"No, absolutely not. I’m going to help you run."
Just then, the skeleton deer charged again; hooves galloping hard against the stone.
And the worst part was that its speed doubled.
Kai grabbed Bree’s forearm and pushed her away before he crossed his arms.
Crash—!
