Chapter 63 The Deciding Move

Ethan's POVThe beam collided with the ground where I had been a moment before, detonating with a deafening explosion similar to the power of three or four grenades combined.

Shards of rock and debris erupted in every direction, and a cloud of dust and smoke enveloped the area. I cloaked myself in dark energy protecting myself against the aftershocks of the explosion.

I vanished into the darkness again with my eyes narrowing as I assessed the situation. The monstrous shadow stood at the edge of the chaos and had stopped chasing Victor as it knew that more enemies had arrived.

Its movements were slow but deliberate as it scanned the area. Victor in the distance appeared totally exhausted as glowing blood embers in the darkness still danced around his fists.

Virelle's urgent voice sounded in mind, "Brother Ethan, I'll create a diversion! Be ready!"

From the corner of my vision, I saw crimson threads lashing out like serpents, weaving an intricate web that glittered in the dim light. At a speed, I hadn't expected the crimson webs to gather into an inescapable net that closed on the bloated figure from all sides.

I was sure that a normal Elemental Sea mage would have been absolutely dismembered into countless pieces if they were caught by surprise by this move.

The monstrous shadow turned its attention toward the threads, its hulking frame shifting as it prepared to strike. Its arms expanded and it gathered bloody energy into its fists and brought them together with a resounding boom.

The boom created bloody circular ripples that grew outwards and as it passed through the encroaching threads they broke apart into pieces and scattered like fireflies.

But the purpose of this distraction had already worked. Sounds of chains rustling sounded in the dark as I closed in and three streaks of green light lit up the night.

They moved silently as if they faced no wind resistance and instead of targeting the bloated figure's vital points which I was sure it could have defended, it targeted the knee joints and its nether regions.

The streaks were so fast and moved so silently that the bloated figure already occupied in defending against the earlier strikes only moved enough to dodge a single streak aiming for its left knee but the other two had already met their mark.

They stabbed deep and left as quickly as they had entered its body vanishing back into darkness as the glowing green light on the crystal blades dimmed. The bloated figure roared in pain and staggered back as I had severed the tendons of its right leg.

A bloody light flashed as it tried to regenerate the wound on its waist and leg but Victor closed with a frosty expression on his rough face but this time he had a hatchet in his right hand.

Without any sound, he dropped low and with his knees sliding on the ground he attacked the already wounded right leg intending to sever it completely.

The figure roared in anger and brought its claws down in time to stop the swipe of the hatchet. But this instead of Victor, it stumbled back and I could sense the disbelief in its roar.

The plan worked, I smirked as I realized my trick had worked. Knowing that the bloated figure was too strong and most likely a grade 3 being, I had laced my green crystal blades with the Lotus Mirage snake's poison that I kept for so long in my spatial ring.

Victor had a bewildered expression for an instant but he pressed forward relentlessly with his peak grade 2 strength. Their clashes created aftershocks in the surroundings that blew away the surrounding dust and rocks in the air.

But I knew that it wasn't enough to kill the bloated shadow as Victor was too exhausted over this long battle.

So, I gathered my chains into two gauntlets covering my hands till my elbows, and moved into its hind side. When it almost lost its balance I punched it with my thorned fist. It roared in defiance and one more arm sprouted out from its left rib blocking my fist.

I was shocked as sparks were produced from our clash and it was only then that I noticed that the new arm was made of metal. But I steeled my expression and we both attacked continuously giving it no respite or any opportunity to counterattack.

I knew the poison had infiltrated its whole body but it wasn't strong enough to kill it. The poison's grade was a realm lower than the bloated creature so the effect was not enough to kill it.

The bloated creature flailed frantically, using its massive claws and the gleaming metal hand to block our relentless strikes. But as my next punch was about to connect, the chains surrounding my fist dissolved into dark smoke.

In their place, a swirling black sphere formed, radiating dangerous, unstable energy that pulsed with lethal intent.

The sphere glowed faintly with an icy blue core and its surface teemed with countless razor-sharp ice shards rotating like a miniature maelstrom. I twisted my body to dodge the silver hand lunging toward me and directed the Shadowfrost Nova at the creature's exposed side.

The moment the attack connected, I felt a sharp discomfort ripple through my body from the abrupt shift in momentum, and I leaped back with haste, retreating to a safer distance.

BOOM! The sound of a muffled explosion shattered the stillness of the night. A dense cloud of dark mist and frost spread rapidly which engulfed the bloated figure in an ominous shroud.

Visibly exhausted Victor struggled to catch his breath. His wide-eyed gaze flickered toward me, filled with a mixture of amazement and relief. I had warned him of my plan for a surprise attack, but witnessing its execution had clearly left a unique impression on him.

As the mist began to dissipate, the aftermath of my strike was revealed. The once-shrouded figure's cloak had been torn to shreds exposing a grotesque form.