Using the Flame of Evolution as the power source, I concentrated the energy on the edge of my blade. It was so powerful that the blade was starting to show cracks, unable to hold all the energy injected into it.
"Take this!"
Without any hesitation, I waved the sword, aiming for the nose of the shark. Its wide-open mouth threatened to swallow me whole as I did that.
*Clang!*
As expected, however, not even the most concentrated blade attack was enough to crack its defenses. Rather, with that hit filled with all the strength in my body, the sword completely broke.
"Tough guy!"
With my sword gone, I opened the [Spatial Storage] quickly and pulled a new sword, together with two cylindrical objects.
*SNAP!*
The giant maw closed and almost caught my legs. In the nick of time, I managed to throw in the two cylinders inside its mouth. I counted for five seconds as I tried to distance myself from it slightly. After the five-second buffer, while the shark was about to chase me again, two loud explosions echoed.
*KABOOOOM!* *KABOOOOM!*
Horizontal pillars of flame flashed from the gaps in the shark's teeth. The cylinders I threw, the makeshift grenade made of the concentrated energy of thousands of tamers, exploded inside its completely unguarded mouth.
"... You're kidding me, right?"
However, even with that much firepower, not even a scratch was inflicted on it. Isn't this an impossible match already? I think that even with the gun, I can't penetrate this bastard's thick skin!
I paid a short glance to where Igni was, running away. She should reach the gun's location quickly if she runs at full speed. However, even that "quickly" would take a few minutes at least.
"I don't think I could last that long!"
I turned off the Flame of Evolution. With how much I had before, I could only use it for about a second or so. I took a deep breath and focused my mind as I held the new sword with two hands.
If I can't beat it with energy, then I'll beat it with brains!
The shark was quick. In the instant that I had my eyes closed, it had already managed to close the distance between us, bringing me within biting range once more.
A large maw threatened to swallow me whole... But Instead of dodging, I just looked ahead and smiled.
"You know how to fight large beasts, right?"
*SNAP!*
The jaws of the shark quickly clamped down once more. I was stuck inside its mouth, but with some quick motions, I managed to dodge all the rows of its teeth and reach the back of its throat easily.
After looking for a nice, soft-looking spot, I quickly let off a slash. However, not only did I not leave even a single scratch on it, I found out that I wasn't alone inside its mouth.
Worms, as large as I was, started burrowing through its skin and launching themselves toward me. I grimaced at the disgusting sight and dodged, only to realize that the spots the worms hit opened into a new hole.
"...!"
Whatever this worm is, it is so powerful that it can burrow through the meat of the shark without much difficulty! If I got hit by that, then my body would probably have a brand new hole in it.
I looked around, and the hair across my whole arm and the back of my neck rose from extreme disgust. It wasn't at the level of simple goosebumps anymore; I felt a physical and mental repulsion toward the scene before me.
All around the shark's throat, hundreds of the large worms started wiggling disgustingly. I looked behind me and noticed that they were there too, at the gums and palate of the shark's mouth. I was completely surrounded.
"Did I just get myself trapped?!"
With its mouth closed, I didn't even have a way to escape. I had no choice but to make a last stand.
I closed my eyes and focused my mind. I extended my senses to every single worm around, then released all of my power at once.
Primo's Flame of Evolution, Broken Phoenix's healing aura, Brother Mountain's Sigil protection, Lifeblood, and Echoing Thunderclaps. All those skills were used in a short instant, at the same time.
My attack may be powerful, but my movements could only be described in one word: uncontrollable. I slashed all around the place, bisecting all the exposed worms in an instant. As I completed a single pass, a shower of green blood flew all over me. Then, before even reaching anywhere, they got wiped out by a sudden blast of wind and burned by a hot wave that followed shortly.
*GRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!*
The shark roared in pain as its throat was burned. However, it seems like the wounds are healing quickly. Its wounds were closing right before my eyes. Wait, but before that, I need to get out!
I dashed forward, evading the sharp teeth all around the mouth, and jumped down into a free fall.
"...!"
While falling, however, I noticed that I was already several kilometers away from the area we were fighting in. This direction was definitely headed for Igni!
"You dumb fish?! You try to touch my girl, and I'll grill you from the inside out!"
Luckily, I could still feel Igni's presence rushing forward at the speed of sound. She was a good distance away for now, so she should be safe. More than that, I need to figure out a way to hold this shark's attention for a bit longer.
"I've already run out of good karma by now, so I can't use the Flames of Evolution anymore!"
Currently, my arsenal consists of this lone, plain sword, the gun's bullets, and various types of grenades.
"Right! Grenades!"
Although the explosive one failed to injure it, I think others still have their uses. I took out two more grenades from the [Spatial Storage] and threw them toward the shark's head.
The two canisters weren't treated as a threat by the shark at all and landed. As soon as it touched down, a black cloud spread all around its face, completely blocking the senses around its head, which include vision, smell, taste, and hearing.
It's a fine way to gain some respite, but the duration of the smokescreen was too short. Only 30 seconds before it would dissipate.
As I could see the ground approaching faster and faster, I quickly used [Shadow Movement] and transferred to the shadow realm. There, I still continued to fall but was gradually slowing down. The Shadow realm was like being underwater; even normal movements would get a slight resistance.
After I determined that I had slowed down more than enough, I jumped out of the shadow realm and landed on top of a grassy plain.
I quickly scanned around but found absolutely no presence of demons, monsters, or anything else other than the large shark violently rampaging in the sky.
I already used up all my powerups, and using the brain to fight didn't work as well as I thought. Now, there's nothing left but skills to try.
Of course, forbidden skills are outside the range of choices. With the fact that I don't have any halo or healing aura available anymore, I can't risk using a skill that would potentially take my life.
"I still need to use the gun to kill you, after all!"
---
As Will was fighting for his life, Igni was single-mindedly rushing ahead.
The halo on top of her head was spinning rapidly as she scanned everything that she could as quickly as possible. She was running at almost the speed of sound right now, making it hard to turn even if she wanted to. She rushed ahead, smashing against the trees like a bull on the loose.
"My Lord... Will! Wait for me!"
She desperately moved her legs, applying all the reinforcing skills that she could. However, even with that, she still felt that she was going too slow. With how fast she is, it'll take her about ten minutes more before she reaches the gun's location.
"Faster... Faster!"
Igni started to lose sight of her surroundings. Everything turned into a blur as she ran. Her steps, previously leaving deep marks on the ground with every step, now only left a slight depression with a burning foot mark.
"...!"
As seconds passed, her vision started blurring. Her speed kept increasing as her body started feeling colder. Although she was cutting through the air against air friction, instead of feeling the heat, she felt cold!
"This..."
Finally, she noticed that her speed was no longer a problem... The falling leaves, the rushing dewdrops, the flowing water... Everything came to a halt. She was running in a world where time had stopped!
'I don't know what's going on, but this is a chance!'
Thinking of such things, she ran as fast as she could, heading for the one thing that could give Will a winning chance.
Over the forest, across the meadows, and above the mountains. Finally, she found it. The gun was situated at the top of a volcano, right in the middle of its crater.
Without hesitation, she jumped down and grabbed it... But as she did... Time started running as it normally would.
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