Reborn As An Evolving Monster

Chapter 198 Hunting & Affirming

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The Dark Corrupted Spear floated in the air, right in front of Mark.

"Yeah. It's time..." He raised his left arm upwards. "To bring this back."

The next second, out of the center of his palm flowed out a great amount of dark liquid.

A cloud of Corruption hovered above him.

At first, Mark wanted to make a volley of Dark Corrupting Spears. But then,

[You have learned the Skill: "Corruption Production[C]".]

[You have learned the Magic Skill: "Corruption Control[C+]".]

Suddenly, the cloud started spinning, as if it was being molded.

[You acquired the Sub-Skill "Dark Corruption, Colossal Harpoon[B-]".]

"Well..." Mark directed his gaze towards the target. "That was easy."

He extended his left arm towards that target. 

The Colossal Harpoon made of the Dark Corrupting liquid spun for a second, before flying towards the target with great speed.

Towards the chosen target.

Towards one of the Olga's eyes.

A second later, a mighty roar resonated.

"SHIT!"

As soon as the Olga's head rose, opening its mouth, Mark lowered his body.

Unfortunately, the gigantic creature's movement made his skull collide with its tough body, immediately making him cough up blood and turn dizzy.

Mark's spider leg limbs, despite being embedded, couldn't fight off the pressure at all.

A second later, he was blown off.

'...'

Mark took a deep breath.

The distance between him and the Olga was increasing.

Waiting too long would result in a missed opportunity.

An opportunity he could not miss.

An opportunity he did not want to miss.

[Your Passive Skill "Combative Eyes[D]" is activating!]

Immediately, time started flowing slower.

Things slowly started disappearing from Mark's field of vision as he focused.

Soon, he wouldn't be shielded by the wind pierced by the Olga as it moved.

To fly, he would have to, first, kill the momentum with which he was blown off.

This meant coming to a dead stop.

Something Mark couldn't afford.

His speed couldn't reach that of the gigantic Olga, especially with the wind working against him.

The distance between the two increased.

Mark's left hand twitched.

He remembered something.

A memory he didn't even think he had.

His body remembered instinctively.

The feeling of wielding a long chain as if it were a whip.

A chain made of bones, long ago.

Mark pulled his left arm back.

He extended it as if he was throwing something.

The next second, a long rope of Dark Corrupting Liquid exited Mark's palm and moved with great speed towards the Olga.

The Dark Corrupting Liquid solidified, and, once the length was deemed appropriate, Mark grabbed it.

A Dark Chain.

He pulled it down with all his strength.

At the Dark Chain's end,

Pierce-

A Dark Sickle.

Mark spread his wings and pulled on the chain at the same time.

Due to his earlier positioning, he was now behind the Olga.

The chain was parallel to its body.

Mark pulled with all his strength to kill his momentum.

The Dark Sickle was pulled, drawing a long wound on the Olga's back.

It seemed like a long wound, but the creature was so big that it could barely be noticed.

All of Mark's upper body muscles contracted to their limit.

Eventually, he stopped. Not without feeling like his arms were about to fall off.

Hanging onto the chain, Mark dangled next to the Olga's tail.

He slowly started pulling himself up.

Convinced that it had gotten rid of the annoyance, the Olga was on its way.

A couple of minutes later, Mark had taken back his position on its head.

He lay on top of its head, with his spider leg limbs embedded.

In each one of his hands, a Dark Sickle connected to a Dark Chain.

The Dark Chains were wrapped around his wrists. 

Additionally, another five Dark Sickles were piercing the Olga's thick fur all around him.

And, therefore, five Dark Chains encircled his waist tightly.

'Tsk. Using Corruption this way consumes much more Mana... Still, this is my best shot.'

Without moving around, without raising an arm, Mark focused.

He slightly unclenched his left hand, and let a great amount of Corruption leave his palm.

The dark disks connected by the dark line on his left arm were slowly losing their color.

[Your Title "Devourer" warns you.]

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" reminds you that your supply of Corruption is not infinite.]

'Yeah, well...'

Dark Corruption, Colossal Harpoon-

Dark Corruption, Colossal Harpoon-

Dark Corruption, Colossal Harpoon-

Dark Corruption, Colossal Harpoon-

Mark braced himself and tightened his grip over the Dark Sickles.

'I'll just have to take some more from Elisa.'

Pierce-

Pierce-

Pierce-

Pierce-

An ear-shattering cry resonated.

Mark clenched his teeth and contracted every muscle in his body.

The Olga's convulsions and the wind pressure exerted as it turned around and spun made it impossible for Mark to think about anything else.

'Holding on now means... If I can hold on now...!'

Both of the Olga's eyes had been pierced.

Not only that, but a great amount of Corruption had entered its body.

Still, that wasn't enough to bring it down.

Mark was too focused on holding on for dear life to think about that.

On the other hand, the Olga was, more than ever, determined to get rid of the parasite that had climbed over its body. 

It tilted its head downwards, and started a hellish descent into the blizzard.

...

What if Master doesn't come back?

What if Master doesn't find me?

What if Master isn't even looking for me?

The Lioness' restless leg kept twitching and jerking.

What if I have to go back to that place?

To that life?

Prior to being found by Mark, the Moonlit Feline had spent all of its time inside the Dungeon fighting.

Fighting and killing to survive.

But thanks to him.

Thanks to the Master, for the first time, it had... It could sleep peacefully.

What if the Master doesn't...?

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Elisa shouted. She remained seated.

Krista immediately raised her head. 

He was there.

Master had found his way back.

The Lioness immediately stood up and ran towards him.

She jumped and, with her paws, brought him to the ground.

Lick-

Lick-

"Don't tell me you were worried I wouldn't come back?"

The Lioness pulled her head back.

She stared at her Master's monstrous face.

You will make it-

Words that Elisa had spoken.

And once the two of you are outside, I'm sure-

Words that had been spoken in front of Krista.

He will take care of you, always-

Elisa had spoken those words while she was bleeding out.

I'm sure that-

And because Elisa spoke those words while she was bleeding out, there was no way Krista could forget them.

He will always be there for you-

"Well, color me intrigued. What kind of luck is that? How did you find us?" Elisa asked.

To Mark, he was simply returning from a successful hunt.

But for Krista, this was much more.

For the first time, she had doubted that her Master would come back. That he would be there for her.

Those doubts dissolved completely.

The Master would always be there for her.

Krista believed it wholeheartedly.

A sad cry emanated from the Lioness' mouth as she buried her head into her Master's chest.