Chapter 57: The World Is Cruel

Yenna’s gasp turned into a choking cough as blood sprayed from her mouth, staining her trembling lips. Her wide eyes looked down at the claw protruding from her chest, the metallic sheen glinting ominously in the dim cave light.

Vell was silent, his mind struggling to comprehend the scene before him. It had happened so fast, too fast for him to react. He was frozen, his body refusing to obey the frantic commands of his brain.

’What? I could not sense it? Me? How? …This cannot be happening… Yenna…’ Something he had buried began coming back, it was the rage and hate, returning full force.

“Haha… HAHAHAHA! THIS IS FUCKING CRAZY, YEAH, I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT HOW THE WORLD WORKS…” He went silent, his eyes ignoring Yenna and glaring at the monster standing behind her, its long claws dragging on the ground.

“Yes… this world is indeed cruel,” memories of his friend’s dead body and how he was accused flashed in his mind. “Tch, and just when I thought I was finally moving on.”

“What is this human going on about? Did he lose his mind after I killed this girl?” It looked at Yenna, thinking about slicing her up again, just for good measure, but this thought was interrupted by a cold voice that sent chills throughout its body.

“One question… Where is your mother? Think about your words carefully, my hand might slip.” His presence was chaotic, his eyes locked onto the monster. Any single move and it would be in pieces.

The monster froze, its claw twitching in hesitation. His words carried a weight that pressed down on the air itself. The mana swirling around him felt alive, oppressive, and deadly… This was not how the monster expected things to go.

’How does he know about mother? Did the scouts tell him? Dammit, this is bad. I should escape from this cave first. I need to take him outside where the others are waiting, but…’ It knew there was no way it could escape him. No response came to mind, it just stood there, staring at him.

“Cat got your tongue?” His voice was low, deep, and sounded like an echo. “I asked you a question. Where. Is. She?”

“I-I do not know what you are talking abou-” Its arms fell to the ground, his attack was so quick that, to it, he had not moved an inch. “Gugh, what? I could not see his attack? How is that possible?”

“Sigh… fuck this shit, I will just kill you and all your pals outside.”

Its eyes widened in shock as it staggered back. “What? He knows about them? How? Their presence should not be detectable to anything below their level—do not tell me, this human is…” It ran, but not even four steps in, its body fell down in many pieces.

He slowly walked over to Yenna, placing a hand on her chest and then pouring mana into her body. Luckily enough, he was not too late. After finishing that, he walked by the corpse, picking up the mana core and eating it, but the mana tasted awful, so he spit it out.

“Such a foul taste… Four more, huh.” He expanded his mana zone to cover a larger area, but there were no other monsters except these four. “Hmm, that one at the back looks strong… Can I defeat it?” He walked out, his posture calm but his aura was lethal.

“Where is number 78? Did he really lose to a human? How disappointing,” one of them said as it vanished from its spot to attack. It was confident in its stealth skills, but Vell could sense its location very easily.

It materialized before him with a snarl, its clawed hand slashing through the air where his head had been moments before. With a swift, fluid motion, he ducked and countered with a mana-infused blow to its chest, sending it flying into the trees.

“Disappointing, indeed. I thought you were all captains. But what is this? You are no different from the scouts… Actually, at least they were brave enough to face me head-on, unlike you cowards.”

“This human… all of you, attack at once,” the one at the back commanded, and they wasted no time. They instantly appeared before him, looking pissed, their aura filling the air, but this did not bother him, if anything, it made him smirk in a sinister way.

’Fucking idiots,’ he thought, his mana condensing on his skin like another layer of skin. His sword trembled, as though it itched for the taste of more blood.

“You are quite the arrogant human. I can see why Mother would want something like you,” the massive one spoke, trying to look intimidating, but it ended up getting roasted.

“Who invited the pig?” This was a taunt, and it worked.

“Fucking human!” It lunged at him, and he took a martial arts pose, channeling his power into his fist and then letting it loose. The attack connected with its body, but it did nothing, and the pig rushed him with a smirk on its face, thinking he would be sent flying. But to its horror, despite its size, Vell stood there, his martial arts pose unbroken as he wound up another punch.

“Pigs are dumb no matter the world, huh.” His punch cracked the air as it connected with its forehead, sending it flying back. It landed on its feet and smiled.

“Stupid human, aiming for my forehead was a dumb mis—” Its vision blurred, and it fell down, dead.

’He killed number 71 with a blow to the head? Impossible. Not even we can damage him with blows there. There has to be a trick to it, but what?’ This one looked smarter than the others so far, its build was slim, and its grasshopper legs made it clear that it was a speed fighter. ’I should analyze him and come up with a logical counterattack.’ It noticed him looking at it with a strange smile on his face.

“Let me guess, your specialty is speed, and judging by your expression, you are the tactical type. You want to analyze my fighting style so you can come up with a ’logical’ counter. Am I right on the money?”

The creature’s compound eyes twitched in agitation, its slim antennae quivering. It stayed silent, which only made his grin widen.

“Thought so, here is the thing about logic: it does not mean a damn thing when you are up against overwhelming power. I learned that the hard way.”

’He is too dangerous, I should end him immediately.’ It hesitated for a moment, its body poised in a combat stance. It clicked its mandibles and then vanished in a burst of speed, a blur barely perceptible even to Vell’s heightened senses. A gust of wind followed as it darted to his side, its sharp appendages aiming for his ribs.

But he was not where it had calculated he would be.

Boom.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep