Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System

Chapter 70: Fire and Blood

The unstoppable beast brought its mouth close to the wounded cannoneer's face, parting its jaws as its foul breath exuded against him; reeking of spoiled meat and blood. All Magnus could do was stand there, trembling as he bled out, watching as the malicious one slid its blade across his cannon, preparing for a second strike–

"Hraaah!"

A bash of a shoulder came from the fur-coated wearing man of pale, scarred skin. The swift, sharp blow knocked right against the beastman's abdomen, causing it to slide back several meters.

"You!" Magnus said, looking at the monk's back.

Isaak stood there with his fists ready, flexing his body as his muscles swelled with dignified, faithful strength, "Keep it up! We can do this!--"

The words of encouragement amidst the bloodbathed colosseum were intervened as the monk found himself immediately lunged at by the beastman. There was no time to move, as the Forgotten Beast did not use its sword, instead snapping its jaws around the monk's body.

"Shit!--" Magnus shouted.

The size of the jaws allowed the cloaked predator to envelop the entire torso of the scarred monk, only leaving his neck untouched.

"I'm…fine! I can take it!" Isaak said through gritted teeth, assuring the others.

["Temple of Flesh"]

The monk flexed his body to an extraordinary degree, allowing his muscles to harden like that of steel as the beast's fangs were stopped from piercing too deep. As the fangs dug into his flesh like nails, the man breathed in while grabbing hold of the beastman's jaws, attempting to pry them apart.

"Nggraaah!" Isaak roared, summoning all of the strength he could.

Perhaps a mere inch, he made them budge, but it only allowed the beast to bite down harder, digging in further.

The closest that was able to still move quick enough was the maestro, slamming his hammer right against the head of the beastman.

"What's this thing's skull made out of?! Diamonds?!" Ramon called out, stumbling back as his hammer was completely rejected, not so much as earning the beast's attention.

Another scream of pain left Isaak's lips as the fangs now bit down freely, leaving no time for the others before the monk would be torn apart.

Yet, the teeth were stopped from feasting upon Isaak's body–

A pair of gauntlets accompanied the monk's desperate grip, pulling at the top of the beast's jaw.

Seung stood there, landing atop the cloaked one's snout as he yanked upward without any mercy, leaking blood from his own nose with a bruised eye and shoulder, "Damn mutt…!"

It was a surprise to see the reckless crusher actually committing to lending his strength to the aid of another, even if the golden-haired man seemed more focused on inflicting harm to the beast. The maestro lended his hammer, using it as a lever stuck between the creature's jaws to help further part them. It was that combined force of the three men that finally freed Isaak from its bite.

"Haah…!" The monk stumbled back as blood leaked from the holes in his body.

Ramon stepped back as well, leaving the beastman to spin around and shake its head to try getting the one who still held onto it off.

Like a cowboy trying to remain on the back of a raging bull, Seung remained on the beast's head, digging his fingers into one of its nostrils as a hold, "I've got you now!"

It was an unorthodox way to disrupting the beast's rampage, though it allowed everybody to approach, preparing to strike until–

The beast's chest puffed up as if swelling with air; its fur stood up as electricity ran across its body. It cocked its head back with the gauntlet-wearing man still holding on, opening its mouth as a howl was released.

The bestial call emitted with a mystifying force, bringing with it a current of debilitating electricity.

"Ah–" Seung let out, going stiff as he fell from the beast's body.

It was the same for all that listened to the all-encompassing howl; it brought all of the survivors unmoving like statues, left as unmoving as old stone. There was complete silence as the beast's call; those that were paralyzed by it couldn't so much as move their lips or tongues.

The bloodthirsty beastman set its malice towards the crusher who was left motionless on the ground. It raised its accursed blade, looming it over Seung while looking down at the man as if relishing the position it left them in.

Finn emerged from the shadows behind the beast, even if he felt it was an action that placed his life in far too much risk.

'Shit…I was the only one not caught? I couldn't hear it when moving in the shadows…I'm the only one that can do anything right now, then,' he reasoned.

Rather than approaching the lethal beastman directly, he kept his distance while manifesting something to steer its attention from skewering the others.

["Throwing Knife"] [Mana: -100] [1800/2200]

He watched as the tossed blade only bounced right off of the beast's cloaked back, though successfully bringing it to turn around. The blood in his veins turned to ice as he found those glistening eyes locking onto him, listening to the grains of sand be pushed as its colossal greatsword was dragged.

'I have to hold my ground here—all I have to do is buy some time. I can do that much, can't I?' Finn questioned.

He backed away until witnessing the cloaked beast suddenly launch into the air, leaping towards him. The way it moved so swiftly, going from simply standing in one spot to crossing half the colosseum in a leap looked to him as if it "skipped frames" as though a video being forwarded.

Waiting just before it landed as the shadow of the beast cast itself over him, he lunged forward, rolling right beneath the cloaked predator as its blade crashed down into the sand.

"Huu–" Finn sharply breathed out between his lips as he jumped to his feet.

A single glance back found him not even a second of freedom; the beast was already turned around, swinging that harrowing blade at him. He bent his knees, ducking down as he watched the sable sword pass right over his head; a trail of death followed it in the air.

Just as he ducked, he found himself having to jump up as another swipe came low for his legs. As his boots met the sound, his eyes locked onto the beast, he was ready once again; an overhead slam brought him to flip to the side just as the colossal weapon crashed down.

Finn watched as sand scattered like unruly waves amidst a storm at sea, gathering himself for but a fleeting moment.

'It's unbelievably fast, and even more aggressive. Being that large with a sword that huge–it can swing it around unnaturally; I can't blink,' he thought.

The sand rumbled as the beast threw itself towards him again, sweeping its blade in a violent arc. He flicked his dagger right past it, slipping the projectile through its legs.

["Blade Warp"] [Mana: -100] [1700/2200]

As he crossed the distance of the battlefield, catching his thrown dagger, he spun around as his boots slid across the dark grains. A skip of his heartbeat came as he met eye-to-eye with the bloodlusted gaze of the beast, finding it no more than a meter away from him in that split-second.

["Impervious"] [4:59]

Out of reflex as he felt his own life out of his hands, he clad himself in the fleeting, golden light just as the beast swept by him, opting to use its claws rather than its blade in that moment. Though he negated being wounded, the strength behind the cloaked one's blow caused him to stumble back, having to turn as the beast drifted right behind him.

There wasn't a single opening for him to counterattack, as the relentless beastman pressured him every moment.

'How long are they paralyzed?! I can't keep this up!--' Finn thought, flipping himself backwards as the blade chased him.

He ran up the blackened, stone walls of the colosseum, jumping into the stands. Right behind him, the beast followed, needing only a single leap to crash down onto the seats.

The far-reaching strides it took while sweeping its blade caused the stands to be carved apart while the assassin moved back.

"Shit," Finn quietly remarked, finding his back to a wall.

As the beastman closed in, a glimmer of golden light shined from behind it. The speed at which the force arrived brought Finn to jump to the left just as the beastman moved to the right.

Slamming right against the back wall of the stands with his fist shattering the stone seams was the reckless crusher.

"Almost had it!" Seung called out angrily at himself as he removed his massive gauntlet from the wall.

With the sword-wielding beast enacting its full wrath now, Finn set his sights back on the grounds of the arena, hopping back down.

Everybody else seemed to be coming back from their paralyzation, just in time as the Forgotten Beast slammed down in the center.

"I can move again…" Magnus remarked, picking himself up.

"That was scary," Ramon added, rolling his shoulders.

Finn stood beside Seung, who landed right beside him. There was something about the presence of the gauntlet-wearing man that was suffocating. It felt like standing beside a wild animal, that a single wrong move would turn that violence his way.

"You're pretty good. The only person here worth a damn in a fight," Seung remarked, smacking his gauntlets together as his eyes remained on the beast.

"Thanks?" Finn said with a raised eyebrow, glancing over.

They were both bruised and bloodied, though the beast was left in the same state.

Its aggression had halted as it stood there with an eerie restraint.

Charlotte stood beside Finn, keeping her sword enchanted with fire, "What's it doing?"

"Do you see that, mate?" Jasper asked as he kept his ground with them.

Finn saw it clearly; the blood that leaked from the beastman's wounds did not fall onto the sand. It left the forgotten one's body in a scarlet vapor, clinging to the black blade it wielded so gracefully.

"I think it's getting serious now," Finn observed hesitantly.

"It wasn't before? Give me a break mate," Jasper tiredly sighed.

The beast tore away its own cloak, unveiling its blackened fur that had shimmered with stripes of blood, glistening with scarlet malice.

Seung seemed more than happy with this change, slamming his gauntlets together as they sparked, "--This is getting good! My heart is singing!"

"It wasn't before, mate?" Jasper said once more.