Chapter 86: A Desperate Attempt to save a loved one!
Chapter 86
A few moments ago, Zen could be seen returning back to the clan after his successful dungeon raid.
His hands were casually tucked in his pants’ pockets and he was whistling a cheerful tune while walking through the forest. His steps were light, almost carefree, as if the weight of the battle he had fought earlier had already been forgotten.
"Even without a Veil, I managed to defeat a C ranked beast. That’s impressive. And now I wonder what my Veil actually is and why it is unrecorded. Is it a trash Veil or something?" Zen muttered as he finally passed through the forest and kept a steady pace, his mind wandering between pride and doubt.
"Could really be trash though, especially with the fact that the game and even system hates me. Tch! What a trashy life I received. Anyway, I think I have five minutes before I get back to the clan." Zen mumbled under his breath as he kept whistling, his tone sharp but playful as though he was trying to drown his own worries.
’This boot is incredibly comfy. Soft to my feet and I can’t even hear my footsteps.’ he smiled, taking a sharp turn and continuing for a few more minutes.
Soon enough, he walked past a final bend in the dirt path, the dense forest giving way to a wide clearing nestled in the embrace of two towering hills.
And then he could see the massive gate, thrice the size of an average man, looming ahead like an ancient guardian that refused to be ignored.
"The first time I came here, I saw some guards. But after a few more days, I didn’t see them again. Oh well, guess the clan didn’t need them and they were just for show." Zen muttered as he pushed the gate open, his palm pressed firmly against the cold surface.
The moment his hand touched the gate, it lit up faintly and then slowly creaked open, wide enough to let Zen walk through.
He hadn’t even taken more than two steps when a massive shockwave struck him head-on. It sent him skidding a few inches before he dug his heels into the ground, his muscles tightening as he forced himself to stop.
"What was that? What’s going on?" Zen muttered, his heart thumping loudly with every second. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, instincts telling him something was terribly wrong.
In less than ten seconds, he reached the wide compound of the clan which had two buildings. One was a massive structure that stood tall like a fortress, while the second was medium-sized, sitting a few metres away.
But none of that caught his attention. What froze his breath was the sight of dead beasts scattered everywhere, their bodies lying in grotesque heaps across the compound. His eyes widened as he halted, disbelief flooding him.
"Dead beasts? What’s going on? Are we under attack? A portal break maybe?" he mumbled, his voice low and heavy.
He tried to take another step when another shockwave erupted, rattling his bones. This time, however, he managed to brace himself and didn’t skid backward.
"Shit!" he hissed and bolted forward again. In just two seconds, he was now standing barely eight metres away from the heart of the battlefield.
What he saw nearly made his blood run cold. Clan members were strewn across the ground. Some were kneeling, their fingers clawing desperately at the dirt while they screamed in agony.
Others lay unconscious, their bodies twitching slightly—Kael among them, unable to move a muscle. A few seemed locked in delusion, their fists striking at the air as if they were battling enemies only they could see.
’Wh... what is going on?’ Zen thought, confusion clawing at his mind.
Then he heard it—a loud bang that tore through the chaos. His head snapped in the direction of the sound, and there he saw them: Vynn, Jace, and Erin, locked in a desperate battle against a towering beast.
Glancing down, Zen noticed the creature’s features, its form matching the same species as the corpses strewn all across the compound. His chest tightened.
"Inspect," Zen whispered, his voice almost trembling as he stared hard at the beast.
{Inspect Activated}
{Name: Dredfang Lycan}
{Rank: B}
{Health: Low}
{Veil: Eclipse Howl}
{Status: Hostile}
Tring!
{Skill: Inspect has leveled up}
{Inspect skill (lv2): Can now bring up more information like a weak spot, which will be shown as gray on a foe, and a tough spot, which will be shown as red. Skill can also now be used on a wider range.}
’A... a B ranked beast? A boss? Shit!’ Zen’s body tensed up immediately as his memories flashed back.
He remembered how utterly helpless he and the others had been when facing a B ranked boss with the flame Veil. They had been seconds away from death that day, and if not for Tom’s timely arrival, none of them would have survived.
"They’ve been fighting against these for so long? Shit. What the hell happened here?" he mumbled as his eyes darted across the battlefield, taking in the desperation on the faces of the other Reavers. His jaw tightened.
’Why aren’t the others helping? Why are they behaving weirdly? Hold on.’ Zen thought as he watched and tried to examine what was going on more carefully.
He could see a few of the Reavers walking and stumbling as if they were blind or couldn’t see properly. Some clawed at the air, swinging wildly at nothing.
Even Vynn and the others who were directly battling the boss looked sluggish, their movements dulled, their coordination off, as though something was interfering with their senses. At one point, both Jace and Erin staggered in unison, their attacks falling short by a wide margin.
’Is that it? Is the beast using its Veil against them? Is that why no one else is helping Jace? Damn it, so all of them are trapped in some kind of illusion or blindness.
Crap! But then why can I see everything clearly? Is it because I’m outside the Veil’s main influence?’ Zen’s brows furrowed as he kept piecing the puzzle together.
’But even if that’s true, how do I help them? How can I possibly defeat a beast that even a group of C ranked Reavers can’t handle? With my current level, and without a Veil I can rely on, I’m barely considered useful among the others.’ His fists tightened, frustration bubbling inside him.
While still racking his brain for a solution, Zen saw something that made his heart skip a dozen beats in just three seconds. The B ranked boss had effortlessly slipped past Erin’s icy slash, evading with unnatural speed, and repositioned itself for a lethal strike.
The others didn’t react. They couldn’t even sense it. But Zen could. His eyes widened, his chest clenched, and his heartbeat thundered painfully in his ears.
The beast was only a few metres away from Erin, its massive claw raised, brimming with lethal intent as it charged up for the final blow.
’No... no, no, no! Not her!’ Zen’s thoughts screamed as his body trembled, every part of him screaming to move, to act, to do something.
His mind spun like a storm, scrambling for a way to save her, but there was nothing. He had no time, no real strength, no powerful skill to use. He was too late.
"NOOOO!" Zen’s voice tore through the battlefield, raw and guttural. He thrust his hands forward as if that single desperate gesture could protect her.
’Come on, damn it! Stupid Veil! Freaking work already! I can’t lose her, I can’t lose anyone else here! Work, damn you! WOOOORK!’ Zen’s roar echoed inside his head like thunder, his determination clawing at the very depths of his soul.
And then it happened.
A sharp ding echoed in his mind, but it wasn’t from the system. It was something else entirely, a deeper resonance.
Like a storm breaking free, a surge of energy exploded from within his core. A ripple spread outward, translucent and glass-like, distorting the air around him before bursting forth in every direction.
Zen didn’t even realize what had happened. He grit his teeth, eyes blazing, and dashed forward with reckless abandon, hoping against hope to reach Erin in time.
"ARGHHHH!" His cry split the air as the beast’s claw was now mere inches away from Erin’s neck. In desperation, Zen ducked down, his body moving on pure instinct. He grabbed the corpse of a nearby C ranked beast sprawled across the ground. Without hesitation, he activated his skill.
{Soft Touch}
Instantly, the body lost its weight, becoming as light as a feather in his grip. Zen roared, pouring all his strength and all his desperation into the throw, and hurled it with every ounce of force he had left.
The corpse zipped through the air like a bullet, cutting across the battlefield with blistering speed. In just three seconds it regained its original weight, slamming with crushing force into the B ranked Lycan.
The impact knocked the beast completely off its feet, hurling it backwards as its body tore into the earth, carving deep fissures and cracks with the sheer momentum.
At the exact same moment, the ripple of energy that had burst out from Zen collided with the beast’s Veil.
The air vibrated, and then, with a sound like fragile glass shattering, the oppressive darkness shattered apart. The illusion dissolved instantly, leaving the battlefield clear as day.
And when the last shards of the broken Veil scattered like fading dust, Zen’s eyes glowed—pitch black, empty of all white, blazing with a strange and ominous power.