CHAPTER 38
Defeating a newly manifested awakened beast wasn't supposed to be a problem for awakened sorcerers like him and Yuki, who had more than five years of training, but that was only the usual case.
Exceptions always existed, and looking down at the creature standing below them, shards of ice piercing the skin of multiple dormant beasts as they scurried forward, they both knew that before them was a creature they would rather not scuffle with.
The beast possessed natural counters to their battle styles and Yuki's flames—their best ace—with its ice and long-range attacks.
Megumi couldn't imagine the level of focus he would need to evade attacks of such nature, and it would also depend on what the scale of its attacks was. Whether it could throw one shard, ten, or a hundred, as well as how fast each shard could go.
He lingered for a while, staring at what looked like a frost cyclops, a single icy blue eye resting on its forehead—if he could call it that—like a cold, frozen lake.
Its snow-white skin looked smooth as marble, glowing with a bluish hue, and from it hung tiny ice shards ready to unleash frozen fury upon anything that came close to it.
Leaning back on top of the tree, he was about to heave a sigh when he saw something suddenly come flying toward him.
A crystalline shard, gleaming like a fragile mirror, shot toward him as it whistled through the air. He dodged the attack, allowing the ice dagger to embed itself in the branch of the tree…
… And then his eyes widened…
As the dagger pierced the tree, it shattered, and the shattered ice fragments lingered around the branch. They latched onto it, and then he watched as a crystalline weave slowly began spreading across the branch, leaving behind ice trails.
The ice weaves continued to spread across the tree. It went from the branches to the twigs, the leaves, and then down to the trunk of the tree. Prompting him and Yuki to jump away as quickly as possible.
And after the tree was encased in a layer of ice, it shattered, turning into a thousand shards that fell to the ground. He stared at the ice shards, a bit apprehensive.
'Well, there goes our element of surprise.'
Quickly, he turned his gaze back to the creature that had just attacked them, its icy blue eye now turned to them. He lingered for a while, then reached for one of the tree's twigs and broke it off.
Without a moment's hesitation, he threw it with all his might at the frost beast, but before his projectile could make contact, a thin layer of ice quickly spread across the creature's body, and then the same crystalline weave latched onto the twig.
If he had doubts about whether they wouldn't be able to beat the beast, well, now he didn't. No matter how he tried to look at it, facing the creature would only result in their defeat and possibly death.
Unless Yuki could get close to it somehow…
But even if she did get close to it, they still had no idea what all the beast's attributes were. It had already shown them enough power and control to make them waver.
The very reason why he had tested the beast's defensive capabilities was that its offense seemed to be limited by time. There was a considerable amount of time before it could shoot out another wave of shards—ten seconds to be precise.
That was ten times more than enough time for either him or Yuki to close the ten-meter gap between them, which would leave only the icy layer of defense between them and victory.
If only making contact with the ice wasn't supposed to be a death sentence…
His gaze shifted to Yuki, his mind wandering, and on his face rested a perplexing, apprehensive expression.
'I'll need to kill it in one attack if I want to survive a direct confrontation with that frosty monstrosity.'
Then his mouth twitched…
'Shadow Strike would be the best option… if only I knew how to perform it.'
Yuki blinked a few times while watching his weird performance, and then the ice beast moved, a few dozen shards simultaneously flying toward them.
Megumi instantly snapped out of his daze, jumping to the side while Yuki dived to the opposite side, and then they watched as more of the trees turned into a thousand shards of ice.
They would have to either take out the beast or get away from the area soon.
'I'm killing the damned bastard.'
Megumi quickly rushed to Yuki's side, getting down on one knee, his voice low as he spoke, staring at the ice beast afar.
"Plans have changed, Yuki."
Then he sprang up from the ground.
"We'll kill the ice beast, and then we'll leave."
That was the best thing they could possibly do.
Yuki nodded her head, filled with firm resolve. She was a bit quiet these days and was a lot more keen, a far cry from the fierce, chatty, and impulsive girl he had met five years ago.
"I guess you intend to be the one to kill it, then?"
He nodded his head, a slight smile spreading across his face.
"Yeah, we'll wait for the beast to launch another attack, and then we strike."
The plan was simple and just as straightforward as the creature's pattern of attack. There was a clear disparity in intelligence, and they hoped to capitalize on that.
The only thing that hulk of ice had to its advantage was the troublesome attribute of its ice ability, and it was perhaps the only thing it needed. But against him, there was always bound to be a way.
One chance… One attack… One strike was all he had. And he would be done for, turned into a thousand pieces of broken ice if he dared fail.
Patiently, they waited, and a few seconds later, the creature moved in its same repeatable pattern. Dozens of shards flew straight toward them, and once again, they jumped to the side, evading the attack.
Then, they ran forward, Yuki quickly engulfing herself in her crimson flames while Megumi danced through the trees, his left palm tightly gripped around his right fist.
The sorceress shot forward, quickly closing the distance between her and the ice beast by a few meters, and her flaming hands instantly shot forward, a stream of wild, dancing flames following suit.
The creature stood still, the blue hue of its snow-white skin glowing brighter as an even thicker layer of ice shrouded its body. The flames continued to burn violently, but it tenaciously persisted.
And then…
'Bang!'
A thud ensued, echoing louder than even the tremors that threatened the earth a while ago. The beast's protective layer of ice turned into a hundred broken shards as a fist firmly sank into its flesh.
Channeling as much innate energy as he could muster into his right arm, Megumi continued to dance through the forest as he awaited Yuki's action, and as soon as she launched an attack, he followed suit.
Running through the trees as fast as he could, he released his fist from the grip of his palm and lunged forward. His feet planted deep into the ground, his left hand slightly flung back, and his hips swung as his fist went flying like a rocket.
It connected with the creature's abdomen, sending a hundred fragments of broken ice flying into the air; his fist continued forward, going deeper, past the beast's marble-smooth skin and into its body.
'Come on! Come on!'
He gritted his teeth, lunging his hand further into the creature's body.
It felt cold, and he could already feel the frost slowly latching onto his skin, moving quickly from his hand to his wrist.
'Come on!'
With firm resolve and grit, he tore through viscera, damaging the innards of the beast as much as he could, his face turning pale as his body slowly turned cold.
'Die already!'
Finally, after a long while of cold agony, a soft, familiar melody resounded in his ears.
[You have slain a dark beast.]
…
'Who the hell said greed is a sin?'