NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 165
The catastrophe revealed the deity. As the disease crawled up from the ground, even the once superior speed faltered. Furthermore, it needed to rise higher than when it was buried underground.
When the tentacles and thorns were shot, the Wolf shook its body in confusion. Just the smallest, most minimal movements. A struggle to evade countless tentacles. It didn’t matter how overwhelming the void was, devouring the disease’s tentacles, protected by various skills, was beyond reach. Thus, evasion was the only option left.
Even escaping proved challenging. Tentacles alone were one thing; then there were new tentacles stretching out from the disease’s. As more tentacles emerged, the Wolf swallowed hard, scanning the surroundings.
Not just one tentacle, but all of them. It seemed as if branches were spreading from a trunk. And at their ends, black thorns blossomed.
It resembled a black tree. A tree blackened as if struck by lightning. Such forms sprouted and covered the area beyond comprehension.
In the midst of it all, the Wolf felt as if it had become trapped in a bizarre forest. Had it not been for the black fog, it would have been crushed by the overwhelming magic. However, it wasn’t incapable of staving off the disease’s power.
In terms of magic, the Butterfly of Covenant surpassed the disease. The Black Magic, which even gnawed at the purple magic, couldn’t possibly fall short. In truth, the only magic the Black Magic had failed to block was the black magic unleashed by the Master of All Things.
Yet, in the end, it’s just magic. The Wolf hadn’t escaped the Black Forest just yet. When the tentacles and countless thorns struck out, there was no room to step, let alone move.
While the thorns could be consumed by the void, the tentacles could not. Ultimately, as long as it couldn’t escape the forest, any attempt to flee would end in being caught and impaled by a tentacle, leading to its demise.
The disease was convinced by the instincts of a beast. It believed it had succeeded in killing the Marang. Twisting its lengthy body, it erupted its magic, turning the Black Forest into a hellish battlefield.
Nowhere could the Wolf be found. Without a trace, it disappeared, leading the disease to conclude that the Wolf had perished. Torn and shredded by tentacles and thorns, no magic left behind.
It was a mistake for the disease to pull back the tentacles with such confidence.
No, it’s hard to call it a mistake. The disease merely lacked the ability to find the Wolf, and it was so powerful that this unfortunate incident occurred.
The Wolf was simply holding its breath. Unless it could gain the upper hand in strength, stamina, magic, and speed, the only choice left was to hide.
The skill-protected tentacles of the disease were more robust than anything else, unbreakable even when colliding with one another.
Magic could be stalled by the Black Magic. If it couldn’t escape the Black Forest, the only way for the disease to retract would be to have itself withdraw. Deceiving the disease was the Wolf’s only method.
Thus, as the Black Forest disappeared, the Wolf concealed its presence, taking a breath.
While escaping wouldn’t be difficult with Stealth, the goal was still to lure. After a moment of contemplation, the Wolf decided to expend its skill points.
The skill that could have risen in rank anytime since Neverland was forcibly elevated to the next stage.
[Gale(D) Lv.1 acquired]
[Gale(D) Lv.1 merged into Storm(C) Lv.9]
With that choice, the remaining proficiency was entirely fulfilled.
[Storm(C) Lv.9 proficiency maxed…]
[Storm(C) Lv.10 reached max level. Storm(C) Lv.10 → Tempest(B) Lv.1]
[33 skill points remaining]
The Wolf’s wind advanced into a new realm. A step further enhanced the output beyond the previous limits.
The air, the currents of the atmosphere suddenly shifted, beginning to gather around the Wolf as the disease sensed this change.
The ground-eating bug would not accept the fact that the Wolf was still alive and lunged forward with its long body, like a dragon rising.
No matter how strong the wind was, stopping the disaster was another story. The power of the disease was too immense. Indeed, there was nothing the Wolf could do in its present state.
From the risen monstrous body, the extending tentacles tore through the air, closing in.
In response, the Wolf extended its own tentacles. Thorns packed with magic were unleashed, triggering a storm. A whirlwind unveiled with that force.
Even then, the power fell short. Adding Hardening to that, the Wolf infused the thorns with void. If it could be applied to a tangible thorn, it could be done with immaterial power as well.
It pierced the disaster’s tentacle, an A-rank beast, but the thorns exerted to the limit could not penetrate the disease’s scales. Even if it were possible, this horrific monster wouldn’t relent so easily. If it had, it would have already been subdued.
The goal was merely to draw attention, not to defeat the disease here. When the lifted monster’s mouth extended, the tentacle reached out and slipped away due to momentum. The shards raised by the self were pursuing the Wolf.
The void devoured all those shards, and in the moment the distance widened, the Marang wrapped itself in the storm.
Though the Marang couldn’t outrun the disease, the gap had certainly narrowed.
The descending body of the disease’s giant sunk, dispersing the raised dust while the Marang, cloaked in a tempest, soared through the skies.
“To lure that….”
Aster chuckled in disbelief. It was madness, teetering like a tightrope. Nonetheless, the Marang continued to evade, somehow managing to pull away. It seemed logical for a creature fearless, not human. Beyond courage, the Marang swam in the realm of recklessness.
However, it would never fall into the bog. Tentacles and thorns. Shards and stones. It was deftly avoiding it all.
Such precise movements were unbelievable to behold. With the slightest miscalculation, one would surely be caught by the tentacles, yet it was surprising that there were no misconceptions.
This meant that the Marang was infinitely above the disease in terms of combat. Like a video replayed dozens of times, the Marang intuitively understood how the disease would move. As if it had experienced it in the future, it recognized the chaotic and destructive movements of the disease.
Knowing that a single mistake would lead to ruin, the Marang hesitated not.
As the beast and the spellbound were intertwined, it wasn’t just Aster who sensed the presence of the Marang. Hong Yu-ri shook her head at the familiar aura.
Having just used her magic, there was no time to hesitate. Though slightly low on magic, Hong Yu-ri opened her pouch and gulped down a potion.
The more she used it, the more it felt like boiling within. She sensed that something unknown was transforming within her. Magic addiction— a sensation well-known to her. Normally, she would’ve stopped at this point, but something mixed in urged her on.
Use your magic. Don’t hesitate. Drawn by the whispering within, she was compelled.
Yet, regardless of such whispers, magic had to be used. In the end, there would be limits to avoiding the tentacles and shards. It wouldn’t be strange if the Wolf got caught at any moment. And when that happened, an inescapable death would follow. She needed to create a gap before that.
“You, change direction. I’m shooting over there.”
She held Baek So-yul’s chin and turned it around.
It wouldn’t matter anyway. With Baek So-yul’s eyes, she wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of the Wolf’s movements, not even as an afterimage. Even with the tracking magic eyes, she was merely chasing the Wolf’s movements.
All Baek So-yul could see was the figure of the disaster’s monstrous being.
But that would suffice. It was better than stirring unnecessary confusion. While surprised by the sight of the disease, Baek So-yul regained her composure rather quickly, having previously seen the massive corpse of the Volcano Ceratops. As Baek So-yul continued her incantation, Hong Yu-ri began to mumble alongside her.
“Alb pur Stelele sunt sa explodeze.”
When Baek So-yul completed the second verse, Hong Yu-ri began her incantation as well, and the rhythm reached its final verse together. Upon reaching the last line, their voices intertwined harmoniously, amplifying in resonance. The magic that was almost trademarked by Hong Yu-ri merged with Baek So-yul’s voice.
“Iată moartea ta―!”
A slight difference. Hong Yu-ri’s voice ultimately led over Baek So-yul’s, and when she finally completed the final incantation, their magic manifested and descended upon the earth.
A pure white light layered twofold, exploding simultaneously. Even a three-verse magic wasn’t enough to defeat a monster, but it was sufficient to obscure vision and create a loud bang. The magic of the two had granted the Wolf a brief moment of respite. That time was enough for the Wolf to break free from the predicament.
As Marang escaped the Black Forest and soared towards the sky, the mages beheld the silhouette of the Wolf reflected in the white crescent moon.
Wrapped in the pitch-black fog, something stirred from the black Marang illuminated by moonlight.
It was a shimmering mirage. Along with the fog, it mystified the Marang, then vanished like extinguishing light.
Though its appearance had faded, the lingering black fog subtly formed the silhouette of the Wolf.
The disease lacked the ability to find the Wolf. The brief moment granted by Hong Yu-ri and Baek So-yul’s magic had delivered counterattack time to the Wolf.
More precisely, it was a moment to provoke the rage of the disease.
The disease was in deep thought. Just a bit further ahead, it would know of the swarm of plagues besieged by magical bombardment, realizing it would soon face the same onslaught.
Its ingrained instincts hesitated the disease. If it continued to chase the Wolf, it would fall victim to magic once more. With that, as it attempted to retreat, it was wracked with pain, twisting its body.
Something— an unknown force gnawed at it. Even the armor of magic was bitten through, penetrating skills including the Devour, reaching true contact.
Marang’s fangs sank into the creature gnawing through the earth.
It wasn’t a tremendous damage. With regeneration, it could recover within moments. Yet, that pain was enough to evoke the disease’s fury. It felt immeasurable rage at the fact that not a floating island in the sky, but the fangs of a four-legged beast had touched it.
Though it had superiority as a life form, lacking intellect, that kind of cognition was impossible for the disease.
In the end, casting a shadow over the bug chasing the Wolf, the floating island loomed ahead. The Transformed one, already aflame, clung to the disease, smoldering, though the massive thrashing extinguished the fire.
The ground trembled as the thrashing monster writhed, while the swarm of plagues became entangled in the chaos. The surrounded swarm, already ravaged by bombardment, burst with pus, releasing green smoke that spread slowly, continuing the incantation of magic.
In a situation where only escaping was required, the Wolf was too preoccupied dodging the tentacles, shards, the disease, and the magical bombardment to notice.
As a result, summoning the storm took a moment longer than it should have.
The plague burst forth with pus. Upon contact with the taint of green fog, the Wolf’s legs began to dissolve. Despite the healing factor, even with regeneration, it couldn’t match the speed of decay. Thinking it might soon become a puddle of blood, the Wolf steeled itself, allowing the void to consume its melting leg. —Of course, it could regenerate, but that took time.
The problem was that very time.
Surrounded by the two monsters, the plague and the disease, the Wolf gritted its teeth.
It had succeeded in luring but ultimately, if it couldn’t escape here, it would be tantamount to digging its own grave.
The plague and the disease. An army that couldn’t die. Countless spells rained down upon the head of the Marang cloaked in fog.