abcnovels
Chapter 173
Chapter 173
Chapter 173
Chapter 173
‘What now?’
The intruder seemed confused by the sudden intrusion. He must have been puzzled as to why he had missed this.
The reason was simple.
‘I’ve distracted him.’
Since he realized that I was not an easy opponent, he poured all his senses into me. If I had hesitated or fought him from a distance, he would have had room to maneuver. In that case, he would have quickly noticed the kids coming.
Ice Horrors possess extraordinary physical abilities, but their essence lies in being ambush predators. If they judge it difficult to control the environmental conditions, they will retreat immediately.
‘But we can’t let that happen.’
We need him. I need his mind, the Mother of the Sky needs his heart, and even his flesh for the others.
‘We’ll catch him here.’
As I growled, he alternated his gaze between me and Number 26.
Among the enemies present here, I am the most threatening to him. After all, I shattered his armor with my bare hands.
But his instincts suggest another answer. He sensed the presence of a superior predator, a Sea Demon, higher than the Ice Horror.
Number 26 tends to suppress psychic powers emanating from its body to accommodate the sensitive Adhai. If I hadn’t been injured, it would still be hiding.
‘Are you properly angry?’
Numerous eyes flowed like water over Number 26’s body. The pupils, imbued with the ‘Abyssal Terror’ characteristic, glared at the Ice Horror.
A powerful psychic power emanated from its body, dyed a shade close to purple-pink, filling the space with intensity.
Fortunately, the psychic power doesn’t flow outward beyond space. I suppose it’s controlling it to avoid Gallagon’s notice.
In summary, Number 26 is currently in a state of cold fury.
‘But that’s even scarier.’
The Ice Horror seemed confused about where to focus due to the psychic power. It stumbled about aimlessly, as if representing its master’s consciousness.
It would be troublesome if his attention shifted elsewhere. I rose to my feet with unbroken combat arms and let out a thunderous roar.
Roar
My roar echoed far beyond the chamber. Ice shards and stone fragments around me flew into the air from the shockwave. Startled by the power contained in my roar, the Ice Horror twitched its tentacles.
Ssaaaa!
Roar
The Ice Horror roared loudly, just like me. Ignoring Number 26, it rushed towards me. I, too, charged towards it, pounding the ground with each stride.
Leaving traces on the shattered ice floor, we charged towards each other. As we clashed again, the chamber trembled once more.
Crack!
Both my combat arms and dorsal arms are broken, and my head armor is shattered. Energy is being consumed to heal the broken bones, so I don’t feel as powerful as before.
Meanwhile, he shows no sign of fatigue and continues to demonstrate his strength. Should I call him an Apex Monster just based on his sheer specs?
‘Well, that’s preferable.’
He’s a cunning predator. He wouldn’t consider fleeing when faced with an opponent he can handle comfortably. While the enemy is off guard, we can diligently entangle him.
While I’m holding onto him, the kids moved.
Transformed into her griffin form, the Mother of the Sky ascended onto Adhai’s back, holding the ‘Divine Spectre’. Despite the dense darkness, Adhai carried her swiftly and soared over the Ice Horror’s back in the blink of an eye.
As Adhai flew, almost touching the Ice Horror’s carapace, the Mother of the Sky extended her spear to strike his back. Perhaps due to the added thrust from the high-speed flight, thin wounds were left on his carapace.
Sss…
As we struggled in combat, the annoyed Ice Horror hissed as it suffered an attack. Its tail moved to get rid of the annoying intruder.
Despite being in an underground space devoid of any light, the incredibly developed auxiliary organs revealed its presence. The tail, rising to strike Adhai, looked like a massive barrier.
Riding Adhai like a mythical hero fighting mythical beasts, the Mother of the Sky and Adhai skillfully evaded the Ice Horror’s tail. Thanks to Adhai’s improved flying abilities, they effortlessly maneuvered even in the relatively narrow underground space.
The Mother of the Sky focused solely on thrusting her spear, while Adhai evaded the flying tail and body.
While the two were coordinating their attacks, Number 26 also prepared its assault.
It waved the tentacles protruding from her body like a conductor’s baton. Immediately, debris scattered across the chamber floor.
The Sea Demon’s unique technique, ‘Demon Crash,’ had been activated. The shards permeated with psychic power now became projectiles for her psychic cannon.
Some of the debris floating in the air shot out like bullets, hitting the Ice Horror’s torso.
Sss!
The Ice Horror seemed unsure where to focus. As his attention dispersed, the force behind his jaw, pressing against me, slightly diminished.
‘Good!’
Seizing the opportunity, I exerted force on the tentacles ensnaring his jaw and head. For the first time since the fight began, he staggered backward.
Ss?!
He seemed taken aback and failed to respond properly. I pushed harder, forcing him back. Due to the uneven floor from the collapsing ground, his body tilted significantly.
As a result, the broken carapace I had exposed was prominently exposed.
As the startled Ice Horror tried to regain his footing, his body froze in place. Unbeknownst to him, a mesh of psychic power spanning hundreds of meters entangled his frame.
The one who cast the net was Number 26. Once again, it had cast ‘Restraint.’
[ZZZ (Now!)]
Hearing my shout, Adhai swooped in at terrifying speed. The Mother of the Sky, atop him, thrust her spear forcefully.
The sharp tip of the spear pierced deep into the broken carapace’s interior. Without any resistance, the spear plunged deep inside his body.
Saaaa!
The Ice Horror, impaled by the Divine Spectre, screamed in agony, thrashing wildly. With a massive body easily surpassing 100 meters, his rampage shook not only the chamber but the entire underground space.
[ZZZ ZZ (Watch out!)]
?Got it.?
The Ice Horror’s body and tail bounced through the air like a roller coaster track, while Adhai performed aerial acrobatics, navigating between them.
‘Not enough yet.’
Due to his immense size, even driving the Divine Spectre all the way to the hilt didn’t inflict fatal wounds.
I climbed atop him, causing havoc on the collapsed floor. Then, I widen my jaws into a split to bite into the broken carapace.
Sss!
The creature, writhing in pain as if being salted, quickly sensed my intent and swiftly flipped its body. As a result, my attack missed. Instead of soft flesh, I bit into the very tough flank carapace.
‘Tch.’
The teeth that could chew through battleship hulls merely collided helplessly with the Ice Horror’s carapace. Experiencing my teeth break for the first time since arriving in this world, I inwardly cursed.
Sss.
Furthermore, the creature now realized what I was aiming for with this attack. To conceal its weakness, it twisted its body to continuously target the wounded area.
Despite Adhai flying around and unleashing Purple Lightning, the fastest among us, it was futile.
He’s the kind who barely scratches, even after taking my Psychic Breath head-on. With lesser power than that, Purple Lightning couldn’t harm him.
?Tough!?
?Watch out, little one! Move aside!?
Seeing this, Number 26 exerted itself again. The psychic power emanating from its body materialized and glowed.
Then, debris floating in the air gathered in front of Number 26, slowly rotating.
Understanding what he was up to, I firmly restrained the Ice Horror with all my corroding tentacles and combat arms.
Sssss!
Grrrr!
It seemed that he, too, thought he needed to quickly deal with me and leave this place. His thick, elongated body wrapped around me. The collision between his carapace and my composite scales sparked flames.
He’s much stronger than me. If he decided to crush me, I wouldn’t last long.
As evidence, the message ‘Pain Nullification’ repeatedly appeared before my eyes.
Enduring the pain with the characteristic effect, I seized one broken dorsal arm with a corroding tentacle. Then, I tore it off.
‘Ugh!’
The pain, incomparable to when it broke, pierced the inside of my head.
I hadn’t gone mad and torn off my own arm. The dorsal arm, resembling a crow’s foreleg, had the sharpest bone blade from my body attached to it.
With all the bones broken, the dorsal arm couldn’t move. But I intended to use it as a weapon.
‘This should do.’
I received the broken dorsal arm torn off by the corroding tentacle with my combat arm. Then, I swung it like an axe, striking down on the Ice Horror’s weakness.
Sssss!
The Ice Horror screamed as my bone blades sank into it, even though the Divine Spectre had already pierced it. Strong predators, accustomed to trampling over others, often couldn’t bear their own pain. The Ice Horror was no exception.
Its grip on me weakened. Trying to distance itself from me to hide its weakness, the Ice Horror, now struggling, faced another weapon I had concealed.
The five faces on my head carapace opened their mouths simultaneously. Ultrasonic waves capable of paralyzing any foe poured forth from the mouths of the anthropomorphic entities, aimed at the Ice Horror.
Sss?!
The creature, properly struck by the paralysis waves on its head, ceased its movements. Almost simultaneously, Number 26’s weapon completed its firing sequence.
[ZZZ (now!)]
?Got it!?
A psychic drill made by mixing psychic power and large chunks of ice tore through the air, heading towards the broken carapace of the Ice Horror, our carefully crafted weakness.
Pure psychic power and ice fragments began tearing the creature’s flesh apart.
Ssssss!
The destructive power of the psychic drill, made by Number 26, or rather, the Sea Demon, was remarkable. It shredded the internal bones and flesh within the carapace, and the organs were spun out and pulled out almost to the point of extraction.
The creature screamed in agony as its organs were shredded.
But that was the limit.
Although the psychic drill rotated with enough force to tear the creature apart, destroying its carapace was beyond it. After greatly expanding the wounded area, the psychic power that formed the drill scattered into the air.
?I’m drained…?
?Little adult? ?Danger.?
Number 26’s body, having consumed excessive psychic power, shrunk to a size of 50 cm, as it did when resting on my head, and Adhai placed her on his back.
Sss…
The Ice Horror’s antennae trembled uneasily. How many predators like it had suffered such fatal injuries? Probably none since infancy.
Realizing it couldn’t go on any longer, the creature tried to burrow into the ground.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
While coming was at its whim, leaving wasn’t. I grabbed and dragged the creature from behind as it attempted to flee.
Grrrrr…
Sss?!
Then, I pressed my head against its wound. The warm blood seeped into my closed mouth.
Using my combat arms and corroding tentacles, I widened the creature’s wound, then pushed my head even deeper. With the horns on my head and the bone blades under my jaw, I rummaged through the creature’s insides.
In an attempt to get rid of me, the creature bit my tail with its jaws. The more it struggled, the tighter I held onto its gaping wound.
The pincers at the end of my tail, the carapace and legs attached to it, were being torn off by the creature’s jaws, but I didn’t give up.
How long has it been? As I pushed through what felt like a solid wall, the cold air enveloped my head.
The moment I realized I had completely pierced through the creature’s body, its death roars echoed in my ears.
Sss… sss… s…
The Ice Horror, who might have lived for hundreds, if not thousands of years, let out a subdued cry as if feeling unjust, and then collapsed.