NOVEL NEXT Chapter 171: Shit
The lasers were quick. The wolf was quick. The Sentinels aimed at an opening. The wolf had good reactions.
The wolf extended its back four legs and pushed away from the ground. The lasers brushed against its ribcage and belly as it flew into the air.
The cloud of underworld energy embedded in the wolf's fur that defended against the Hound's bite did nothing against the hot and powerful lasers, and they singed its fur and hide.
Anerias, Dukiel, and Julius winced as the lasers reached the base of the wolf's stomach.
Fortunately, it was a female wolf and it wasn't affected by the lasers other than the wide band of burned skin along its underside. It stung. It burned. It was painful.
But compared to the pain the wolf had felt when adapting to the underworld energy? It could have been worse. Still, it winced, and it ended up jumping high up in the air to avoid the laser.
Stuck in the air, it couldn't move.
The Sentinels readied another round of lasers, even if they might not make it in time before the wolf landed again.
The Hellcat shot out from a nearby tree canopy. Violina wasn't sure how it had hidden when the trees around didn't have any leaves, only gnarled, bare branches. But it didn't matter. It flashed through the air like a bolt of black lightning, scratching the wolf's belly with eight sharp, dark claws.
The wolf flapped its legs to try and balance itself in the air and land upright. It had noticed the Hellcat, but that wasn't why it was kicking the air. Still, after the Hellcat struck the wolf, the wolf kicked the Hellcat into the forest with tremendous force.
Anerias' heart twitched as he saw the limp Hellcat soar through the air and crash among the trees, disappearing from sight. He wanted to run and check on it but knew he couldn't. Any movement he did could distract the familiars or grab the wolf's attention.
It seemed like the Sentinels held the wolf's full attention even before it landed, but if it saw something moving right behind them, it might react to that instead and set off toward him as soon as its paws touched the ground.
Anerias just had to trust his Hellcat.
Anerias looked away from the forest and looked at the wolf right as it was about to land. But instead of touching the ground with its paws, it caught a pillar of ice to its chest that bounced it back into the air.
At the peak of its air-based journey, the wolf caught another round of lasers, and this time, it took the full brunt of the lasers to its shoulder. Although the ice pillar had rocked it back into the air, it had also changed its trajectory slightly.
But a graze had been enough to get through the wolf's defenses. A full-on hit might even be enough to kill it, even if it wasn't in the best spot.
The lasers crashed into the wolf, blasting it away. The lasers kept contact until the wolf sank to the ground several long strides away, blasting the wolf's flesh.
Violina clenched her fist in excitement. She and the others excitedly looked at each other. They were about to turn and see how Zach was doing when the shadow of the wolf rose and loomed, darkening the already dark underworld energy.
The expressions of the students grew even darker as they looked at the wolf's body. Smoke wasn't rising from it. It was rising to it.
The wound along its underside and the crater on its shoulder were both drawing underworld energy from the layer along the ground. The wounds were healing at a visible rate.
"Shit." Violina had learned from Zach. When things went to shit, one had to call it.
"Jules, it looks like you're going to have to do something about that," Dukiel called out to Julius.
Julius didn't respond, but he heard and understood what he had to do. His Mannequin would have to risk its life to make an opening for the others to land a killing blow. Again. Your next journey awaits at M V L
The wolf glared at the Sentinels. That had hurt. It didn't hurt anymore since it was as good as finished healing, but the wolf remembered the pain, and it correctly identified the Sentinels as the source of the pain.
"Dukiel, do your Sentinels have the same killing power if they go melee?" Violina quickly asked.
"No. The lasers are the most powerful attack. But it comes at the cost of durability and mobility."
"I see. Then, it looks like you and Nessa will need to join the fray."
"Are you serious?" Dukiel asked in disbelief and fear. He didn't want to believe that Violina wanted them to fight against that wolf.
"Yep."
"..."
"Sorry, Nessa, I know you don't like that skill of yours."
"That's hardly something to be worried about right now."
"I know. With your skills, you two should be able to block one hit without dying. That's all you need to do," Violina pleaded with them. She knew what she was asking.
"And you? What will you be doing while we risk our lives?" Dukiel angrily asked.
Violina unsheathed her sword and covered it in a layer of ice.
"I'll be right next to you." Violina turned to Dukiel.
"You're free to join us. I know your skills are better at close-quarters combat." Both of Anerias' skills were very short-ranged. His second was only effective when he touched his target.
But he didn't have much combat experience, and unlike Dukiel and Nessa, he didn't have any defense. It was unfair to ask him to join them in the fight against the wolf.
"What the fuck do you think of me? Of course, I'm joining. That fucker kicked my Hellcat." Anerias' hands caught fire. They burned with smoky black flames.
A thud shook the ground. It came from Zach's fight with the bear, but they couldn't turn around, not when the wolf was running toward them.
Anerias and his fiery hands led the charge.
Dukiel's head slumped as a sigh escaped from his lips. Nessa's reaction was similar, but she steeled her resolve. The two and Violina rushed to catch up to Dukiel.