Chapter 84: An Unintelligent Beast!
Chapter 84
Growl!
Jace heard a sound from his right and the next moment, he was whacked by something powerfully strong. Blood splattered from his mouth as his body tumbled and bounced across the ground, each impact sending shocks of pain through him.
Kuk, Kuk, Kuk!
Jace coughed violently, clutching his stomach as he struggled to rise. Blood trickled down his face in messy rivulets as he looked up to see Renzo walking slowly towards him with a deep frown carved onto his face.
"You are so pathetic," Renzo spat with venom as Jace staggered back to his feet, his cheeks still wet with tears that refused to stop flowing.
"You claim you are a leader. You act like you know what’s best for people. You pretend to be stoic and calm even in the face of overwhelming danger, but in reality..." Renzo’s voice thundered as he swung his foot forward.
BANG!
His kick slammed into Jace’s chest, sending him flying again. His body rolled violently across the dirt until he crashed near where he had dropped his sword.
Blood poured from his mouth and nose as he twitched weakly, his breaths ragged, while Renzo casually strode closer, his shadow looming larger with each step.
"You’re just a kid who makes bad and reckless decisions. Decisions that can cost the lives of your friends. Aside from Rina, I hate every single person in this clan, and I hate you the most!" Renzo snarled as his steps grew heavier with rage.
But then...
Something changed.
Jace’s tensed muscles suddenly loosened, his trembling body no longer quivering. A calm stillness washed over him, and as he staggered up, his hand brushed against the hilt of his sword lying inches away.
His fingers curled around it tightly, and he pulled it into his grip. Wiping the blood dripping from his lips, Jace raised his head and glared at Renzo with steady eyes.
Sigh.
"Beasts will always be beasts. No iota of intelligence in them," Jace muttered coldly, gripping his sword tighter. His eyes, once bloodshot and broken, reverted back to their usual calm, piercing blue.
"Huh?" Renzo muttered with a raised brow, confused by Jace’s sudden composure.
"I got to give it to you," Jace continued with a faint smirk. "You had me there for a few seconds. That illusion was good—really good. I almost believed it."
He waved his sword through the air, and a puddle of water formed beneath him, rippling like it was alive.
"But do you know where you failed? You lost the moment you had Renzo say those words. Renzo would never say he hated the clan or its members. If he did, he wouldn’t have risked his life to save Kael earlier.
That’s where you slipped. You need to verify your words and facts before trying to put on a charade like this next time. So I’ll be generous and award you a five point five for overall performance."
He tilted his head slightly, his smirk growing wider as his eyes swept the murky battlefield.
"Now... I just need to find out where the real boss is hiding so I can finish this."
"Screw you!" Renzo roared as his form blurred forward at immense speed.
"Water Veil," Jace said calmly. At once, torrents of water flared around his blade, coating it in shimmering waves as he raised it high above his head.
"Waterfall."
With that, he slammed his sword into the ground with brutal force. A monstrous gush of water erupted upward like a tidal wave, crashing out with a roar.
The Veil itself seemed to shudder as the massive wave surged forward, swallowing the battlefield.
The sheer shockwave blasted Renzo off his feet. The illusory world around Jace cracked and tore apart under the weight of his attack.
Even the scattered corpses of the C-ranked Lycans that littered the ground were flung violently into the air before being tossed far into the distance, their bodies crashing like discarded rag dolls.
The dark area began to thin, replaced by roaring waters that carried Jace’s fury forward.
The amount of heavy shockwave was enough to push away the dark veil for a split second, and that was more than enough for Jace to catch a glimpse of the B ranked beast facing off against Vynn.
"There you are." Jace smirked as he dashed toward where the beast stood while the dark area began to close back up.
In another area, Erin stood frozen, shocked and confused at what she had just done — something she never imagined she would do.
She had killed another human. Not just any human, but a clanmate.
Her sword had lunged deep into him. Blood filled his mouth as he stared at the C ranked Reaver in disbelief, his eyes searching hers with a question she could not answer.
"Sh... shit." Erin stuttered. Her hands trembled; the emotionless mask she usually wore melted away. Her eyes blinked rapidly, unable to register what had happened.
"Mi... miss E... Erin... why?" the dying clanmate croaked as Erin withdrew her blade. The man hit the ground with a dull thud, his breathing ragged as he desperately tried to cling to life.
"I... I didn’t mean... mean to do this." Erin stammered, voice breaking. Her sword slipped from numb fingers and clattered to the floor with a metallic sound that seemed too loud in the dark haze.
"Rina!" Erin screamed, panic snapping through her as she crouched and pressed her hands against the wound. Blood soaked through her palms. "Rina! Where are you? I need you!"
Around her, the muffled, nightmarish illusions blurred the edges of reality. Erin kept pressure on the wound while frantically scanning the shadows she could just barely see. "Please stay with me. You will be fine. I didn’t mean to do this."
The man gave a weak, puzzled smile. "It’s... it’s fine. I guess this is how things were meant to be." He coughed once, then twice, and his hands fell limply. His eyes fluttered shut, and the last breath faded from his chest.
"NOOO!" Erin screamed.
BOOM!
A new shockwave slammed through the veil. Water splashed through the air like rain from a storm turned violent. The impact launched Erin and her sword across the ground. She bounced and tumbled, finally sliding to a stop, dazed and choking on dust.
CRACKLE!
Lightning snapped nearby. Erin forced herself to her knees and then to her feet. She blinked, wiped blood from her mouth with the back of her wrist, and looked up as the B ranked Lycan and Vynn faced each other in a brutal standoff.
"It wasn’t my fault," Erin muttered, voice tight. "It was the beast’s fault."
Her earlier tears were gone; rage replaced them. She tightened her grip on her sword until her knuckles turned white, and ice crept over the blade in an instant. The chill crawled up her arm like a living thing, and frost skated across the ground at her feet.
"And I will make sure you go to hell," she snarled.
She launched herself forward with icy speed, blade glinting, intent burning in her eyes. The dark veil rolled back and forth around the battlefield, but Erin’s focus was clear: she would answer for what had happened, one way or another.
Meanwhile, the dead clanmate she had just killed was seen breaking down into white light and then disappearing from view.