"You are different from the others I saw before. You look strong," Draven grinned.
"That’s a Duskborn Chira!" Deka called out.
"Be careful, Draven! It’s a Hybrid Rank B! It’s unlike an ordinary beast!"
But as he speaks, the Duskborn Chira’s piercing eyes lock onto Deka.
A cold sweat dripped down Deka’s forehead. He stiffened under its gaze.
The air grew heavier. Then, to their surprise, the Chira vanished!
Gone in an instant.
Deka barely had ti to react when a flash of black fur appeared right in front of him.
The Chira’s claws lashed out. They were about to cut through the air when...
"Tch!"
There was a blur of motion. A solid impact from behind.
"BOOM!"
Draven’s Morphos slamd into the Chira’s back, sending it skidding forward, passing the two.
"Rude beast," Draven smirked, resting Morphos on his shoulder.
"Turning your back on like that?"
But then, sothing stung from his right arm.
Draven glanced at his arm.
A fresh wound.
But from where?
His eyes darted to the Chira.
The Chira stood, its venomous tail dripping.
’A venom?’
"...So it’s sneaky, huh?"
Draven tore a piece of cloth from his clothing and tightly wrapped it to stop the poison from spreading through his body.
Then he squeezed his right arm, causing reddish blood to spurt from his wound.
[Spirit Heal!]
In three seconds, his wound closed imdiately.
Thanks to Tiara’s skill.
Draven rolled his right fist.
"Deka, put up a barrier with Bella and wait for ."
He felt this Chira was attacking the weak first.
Also, he would have difficulty fighting while protecting others since the Chira moves quickly.
This is the reason he brought Deka.
His skill can protect the others.
Above all, his protective barrier was too strong. He also has an Azure I.D. which is useful in the town.
Deka nodded, summoning a thick shield around them.
"Now, it’s just us," Draven grinned.
He analyzed the beast carefully.
Its body was a chaotic mix of different creatures.
Dark lion’s muscles, bat’s wings, and...
That tail.
It’s like a deadly, scorpion-like stinger, pulsating with venom.
Without warning, the Chira moved.
Draven simultaneously attacked it, closing the gap in an instant.
Draven swung Morphos, aiming and cruising its side again.
But the Chira abruptly stopped mid-dash, dodging backward.
"What the—?"
Draven’s eyes widened.
It was retreating mid-attack.
’This Chira has flexibility that can move freely as it pleases!’
Reading its movents, a slow smile spread across Draven’s lips.
"Don’t disappoint now."
He dashed forward, swinging upward.
’Then let’s try this!’
The Chira kicked off the ground, wings spreading as it took flight.
Then it dove down.
Its skull-like head lowered, aiming straight for Draven like a raging goat.
Draven stood his ground and didn’t raise his Morphos.
"You’re really fast," he grinned.
Then his hand shot up.
’But you made a wrong decision!’
"CRACK!"
He caught its head with his left hand.
His palm pressed against its thick skull, stopping its charge dead in the air.
The ground cracked beneath them from the force.
"This one really thinks that it can crush with his head."
Since Draven didn’t raise his Morphos, the Chira thought he was an ordinary human whose thick horn could crush.
Draven’s grip tightened. His fingers dug into the Chira’s head.
With raspy, painful snarls, the Chira’s tail started to lash out, whipping toward Draven’s shoulder.
"Tch."
Draven’s Morphos intercepted it, parrying the strike.
He keeps parrying its consecutive slashes. But his grip on its head never loosened.
His fingers even dug deeper.
The Chira snarled in fury, its claws slashed forward.
Draven got hit on the left arm.
But his image faded like smoke.
[Phantom Mirage!]
It was Naisha’s skill that could leave its image in a blink of an eye.
Then...
"BAM!"
A sudden blurred force struck the Chira from below.
The Chira’s body shot into the air, spinning violently.
"My Babe’s skill was so cool!" Draven laughed.
The Chira struggled to stabilize itself, but pain flashed across its face.
It felt Draven’s hit.
Looking down, it searched for Draven.
But Draven was gone.
Suddenly, a shadow lood behind it. And before it could react...
"BOOM!"
Draven’s Morphos slamd into its back, driving it straight into one of the Nipa huts like a falling teor.
The earth shook and destroyed the hut, dust exploding outward.
[Gale Glide!]
This skill allowed Draven to ride wind currents, enabling sustained flights and enhanced aerial agility.
Draven landed as light as a feather. Then he delivered another powerful blow, driving the Chira deeper into the ground.
"Just making sure there’s no sneaky attack," he grinned.
Draven examined the tilted face of the Duskborn Chira.
"So, this is a hybrid?"
"Yes," Deka replied as they ca near Draven.
"It has unique traits and different parts. It’s also much stronger compared to other beasts of Rank B."
"Yes. Hybrids are a combination of beast to beast, monster to monster, or beast to monster."
"I want to et more of them," Draven grinned.
Then he felt a slight numbness in his right arm.
"Looks like I didn’t remove all the venom. The healing was effective only for closing and replenishing the wound."
Just then, his eyes landed on the nipa hut where the Chira had crashed.
His smile faded slightly.
"That’s the house where I saw sothing move."
He approached cautiously.
At first glance, it looked like any other ruined hut.
Old, falling apart, forgotten.
But as Draven stepped inside, his gaze locked onto the floor.
A section of the wooden planks was broken.
Beneath it, sothing was covered up.
"Hey, Deka, Bella! Get over here."
The two hurried over as Draven pulled away the wood.
Under it, a dark opening stretched downward.
It’s not like the structured underground path from earlier.
This was different. It looked like a deep, crude hole.
Like a well.
Draven peered inside, noticing a ladder attached to the rock leading downward.
Deka’s face stiffened.
"Don’t tell ... you actually want to go down there, sir? We need to get to town faster."
Draven grinned.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But what if there are people here? Verdants?"
Bella folded her arms.
"You’re not really concerned about what you saw earlier, are you?"
She sighed.
"You just want to explore."
Draven didn’t deny it.
"Let’s just take a peek inside, please?"
Draven clasped his hands together, his lips in a wide smile.
Bella and Deka exchanged looks.
They both knew Draven was going in no matter what.
Bella sighed again.
"I doubt that ’peek’ part."
Deka chuckled to himself, then grabbed the ladder.
"I guess we have no choice."
One by one, they climbed down.
Reviews
All reviews (0)