Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The speakers abruptly thundered in the nick of time. An agonizing scream enveloped the inner hall, breaking the songs of the sea coming out from the monster's mouth.

The monster roared, "What is this?!"

It began thrashing on all the speakers it came across as it moved around. However, Calen intercepted its path, smashing the statue into its face.

The monster was forcefully propelled into the air, falling on the massive chandelier which broke due to the impact.

"Curse you, human. Why struggle when your fate is to become my meal?"

"I keep telling you. I'm not human. And your fate is to die in my hands. How bout that?"

Calen kicked off into the air and pounced on the descending monster with his favourite weapon.

"Ahhh!" The monster roared once more.

It transformed into wisps of mist and went through Calen's body. Calen felt a cold shiver consume him. He lost control of his body and fell to the ground.

His eyes widened as a stream of information coursed into his mind. Before he fell, he managed to twist his body in the air and avoid the claws of the monster's clan that was waiting for him on the ground.

Calen rolled on the ground, tightening his body as he slammed into a wall.

He stood up and let out a sigh. "I gotta give it to you. You have bags of tricks in your arsenal, don't you?"

The monster's voice echoed from nowhere. "Where is your weapon?"

"Why do you ask? It's right–" Calen looked at his hands and his eyes widened in shock. "Fuck!"

"Yes. This is the end," the monster said, and five misty figures lunged at him.

Calen evaded them all with his unique ability, but he was stunned as the monster rose from the wisps of mist underneath him. It whispered its melodious songs into Calen's ear.

Calen's eyes became diluted. He lost all his sense of reasoning and even his numens failed to help him.

From the corner of his eyes, he watched as a stealthy figure moved closer to the monster. The figure had the statue latched on its hands and swung it viciously at the monster, catching it off-guard.

Calen fell to the ground, but the effects of the songs still coiled in his head.

Reve appeared before him and whispered into his ears, "I'm going to get its attention. Take this, when you are free from the song, kill this damned monster."

Calen watched as Reve dropped a raygun in his hand. He had so many questions, but his body was paralyzed and he was basically inactive in the meantime.

Reve began slowly walking into the mist, remembering the direction he smashed the monster towards.

He stopped as he saw the distant form of the monster.

The monster's eyes scanned him thoroughly. "Who are you? Hmmm, you don't smell human. What are you?"

Reve kept silent, instead examining the monster with his eyes.

He thought, 'So, this is an akhlut. It's bigger than I imagined. Based on Captain Havoc's words, it's almost unkillable, isn't it?'

He kept his senses poised around him. Having seen the monster's trick with the mist, he knew the monster could attack from anywhere.

The fight became a standstill for many seconds, before the monster, infuriated by Reve's dismissive attitude, unleashed a flurry of attacks at him.

Reve dodged everything that came his way. His concentration focused on every possible attack. As long as something moved in his vicinity, he would react.

'If only I had Ether, perhaps I could put up a fight,' Reve thought.

Despite his positive calculations, the ether-channelling ability was yet to be present in his body.

He began counterattacking after a series of dodging. He couldn't resist the desire to test the limit of the monster.

Suddenly, a claw rose from the ground and attacked his face. Reve sidestepped quickly, but he got caught on his chest by the tip of the claw.

'What the hell?' He winced as blood spread on his chest.

To his understanding, the monster could only manifest mist clones, not mist body parts.

His senses picked up on something disastrous, which caused him to react by rolling on the ground. However, just as he thought he had evaded the sweeping attack, chains of mist bound his arms and lifted him into the air.

The monster began cackling, "Hahaha. This is the feeling. This is what I have always wanted. I can feel it… the blessing of Kathuk!"

Reve struggled to get free but the mist chains were surprisingly sturdy. He began to panic as he senses an otherworldly presence emanating from the monster, his heartbeat rose instantly.

Even though he could not see it, he knew, somehow, this monster had gained the ability to use ether. Suddenly, it all made sense to him… Captain Havoc's attitude towards the monster, and the disappearance of the passengers.

He realized. 'It's young. It's a rogue. It cannot control its hunger. That was why it boarded the ship because it couldn't wait until the captain brought the ship to the meeting point. Instead, by boarding the ship, it could feast on the passengers whenever it wanted.'

It was a common notion that young members of every race are numb to ether. The pervasive element gradually acclimates in their bodies which eventually leads to the ability of ether channelling after the consumption of primas.

It was the same issue he was facing at the moment. He hadn't been in this world for so long that ether had acclimated in him. Yet, he tried boycotting the entire process by consuming a prima.

The monster roared and otherworldly energy coursed through its mouth, threatening to be unleashed on Reve. It was the first time he came in close contact with ether.

The force had a certain pull about it. It seemed irresistible, lulling him into its cold depths, and sentient enough to resist the control of the monster's will.

Reve despaired as he imagined how he might die. He closed his eyes, preparing for the end. However, the sound of a gunshot pierced the air, following my multiple unceasing shots.

The mist chains dissolved and Reve fell to the ground. He saw Calen standing atop the monster's head with a raygun in his hand. It was the weapon Reve gave him before he engaged the monster.

Reve let out a sigh of relief. "What took you so long? I could have died."

"It was hard getting the song out of my head. By the way, can I keep this raygun? Anything that can kill this monster is a friend of mine," Calen quipped.

He pointed the raygun at the monster and continued shooting its head till he was satisfied.