Chapter 59: I Am Going To Hunt Her

The hit caught Vell square in the chest, a brutal impact that sent him flying backward through the air. He crashed into the trees, the force of the collision splintering wood and sending debris everywhere. Pain tore through his chest, stealing his breath and making his vision swim.

’What was that?’ He coughed, spitting out blood. His ribs were definitely broken, he could feel them grinding against each other with every breath. ’How did it—’

He struggled to his feet, his body trembling from pain and exhaustion. The monster was advancing on him, its movements different now. Not defensive anymore. Predatory. The shift was terrifying, a complete transformation from skilled opponent to something that wanted him dead.

“You are indeed an impressive human,” the monster said, its voice mocking. “But it seems your luck has run out.”

Vell wiped the blood from his mouth, his grin replaced by a grimace. He knew he was in trouble. This wasn’t the same monster he’d been fighting moments ago. This was something else, something far more dangerous.

’I let my guard down. Even though I knew it was strong, I still let my guard down. This might actually be bad.’

He tried to summon his mana, to channel the energy that had always been his edge, but his body rebelled. The pain in his chest made it difficult to concentrate, the energy felt sluggish, unresponsive. He was running on fumes, his main core depleted faster than he’d expected.

’No, not now,’ he thought, panic starting to creep in. ’I can’t— I have to—’

He lunged anyway, desperation fueling his movements. He aimed for the monster’s exposed neck, his blade heavy in his hand, but the monster was ready. It sidestepped the attack easily, countered with a swift strike.

The dagger sliced through his defenses, grazing his arm and drawing fresh blood. He stumbled back, his movements clumsy, uncoordinated. Every breath was agony, every movement a struggle. He was losing, he knew it.

’Tsk, so annoying.’ He exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. ’I almost let panic take over there, but this is me we’re talking about. Something like this shouldn’t make me break down.’

His mana flickered for a split second before a punch connected, sending him flying. He didn’t fight it as his body crashed into a tree, his vision going blurry. When it cleared, he saw the monster standing a few feet from him, looking disappointed at the state he was in.

“You know, with all the arrogance you were putting on, I expected a better struggle from you, but this… this is just pathetic. You deserve to die, human.”

Vell’s eyes widened as he looked up at the monster, something in his stare made its body go cold. “What did you just say?”

His mana exploded outward, enveloping his whole body. It slowly began compressing against his skin, forming black scale-like armor, his eyes filling with bloodlust.

’What is this?’ The monster jumped back, its hands shaking just from the sight of his aura.

He exhaled, black smoke billowing from his nostrils as his aura intensified. The air around him started crackling with energy, oppressive, suffocating. The ground beneath his feet began to crack, the trees around them groaning as if they were trying to bend away from him.

The monster stumbled backward, its eyes wide with shock, with terror it hadn’t felt in years. It had underestimated him, mistaken his earlier desperation for weakness. Now it was staring at something far more dangerous than it could have imagined.

“You… what are you?” it stammered, its voice trembling despite trying to sound brave. The confident smirk it had worn moments before was gone, replaced by fear.

Vell tilted his head, his expression unreadable. When he spoke, his voice was low, guttural, carrying weight that seemed to press down on everything around him.

“What am I?” he repeated, each word slow, deliberate. His bloodied lips curled into a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m what happens when you corner someone who refuses to lose.”

With a burst of speed, he closed the distance between them. The monster barely had time to react, its claws slashing through the air in a desperate attempt to counter. But the attack did nothing. Vell took the full force of it, didn’t move an inch. The monster tried to jump back but he grabbed it by the throat, his eyes locked with its.

“You pushed me to use this power. I was saving it for your mother, but I guess if I’m struggling against you, I can’t possibly be a match for her, right? Well, you should at least be proud. This is a great feat on your part.”

The monster’s eyes widened, its pupils shrinking to pinpricks as it stared into his eyes. It struggled, its claws raking against his arm, but his grip was iron. It could feel the power radiating from him, dark, suffocating energy that seemed to drain the life from its body.

“M-Mother…?” it choked out, the word barely a whisper.

“Yes,” he whispered, his voice carrying a disturbing amusement. “The one you call ’Mother.’ I’m going to hunt her down, rip out her core.”

He tightened his grip, the monster’s struggles weakening with each passing second. Its eyes began to roll back, its body convulsing as the life drained from it, but before that, it managed to speak.

“You are truly powerful, human, but if this is your best, you are no match for mother. I hope she rips you apart, feeds you to the wolves.”

That got on his nerves. He’d wanted to give it a simple death since this power was so hard to control, but being looked down on always rubbed him the wrong way.

“I was going to end this quickly out of respect for the fight you put up,” he said, his voice cold, venomous. “But since you want to insult me even as you die, let me send you off with a gift.” He began forming a ball of dark energy in his hand. “You see, this energy is very… well, I’ll let you experience it yourself.”

He pushed the ball of mana into its body, it immediately spread throughout its system.

The monster’s entire frame convulsed violently. Its eyes widened in terror, its claws twitching as it tried to resist the force. The energy coursed through its veins, burning through every nerve, ripping through its insides with relentless ferocity.

“What… what is this!?” it screamed, its voice breaking with agony, with despair. It clawed at its chest, trying to tear the source of its torment from its body, but it was useless. The mana wasn’t just invading, it was consuming.

The creature fell to its knees, its body writhing as the energy ravaged it from within. Its muscles spasmed uncontrollably, a scream tore from its throat, echoing through the forest. Black veins pulsed beneath its skin, spreading outward, each one glowing faintly as if its very essence was being burned away.

Vell watched, his expression cold, detached, as the monster’s body began to deteriorate. The energy was relentless, eating away at muscle, at sinew, at bone, but the worst part was the pain. It wasn’t just physical. The mana was attacking its spirit, tearing at the core of its being, unraveling it strand by strand.

The monster’s screams turned to choked gasps, its voice breaking as the pain went beyond anything it could comprehend. “Stop… please…” it begged, tears streaming down its face. Its proud demeanor had crumbled completely, replaced by something pitiful, broken.

“Stop?” he said, tilting his head as if considering the request. His lips curled into a cruel smile. “You think mercy is an option after what you’ve done? No. You earned your death.”

He turned, began walking back toward the cave until he came to an abrupt stop. “Oh right, I almost forgot about you.” He twisted his head, looking in the direction of the monster that had been following them.

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