The Hunter moved, and the arm-like tentacles struck from a distance much farther than I could counter. My reactions were good enough to keep them from hitting me, but it took all my focus to avoid them. The demon wasn’t superior to me in speed and agility, yet whenever I opened some space, it gave me no rest.
The claws nearly slashed me more than once.
The Hunter stopped attacking after some time. It also had limits, and I finally had time to breathe. Damn. I couldn’t even get close without significant risk. Above all, it felt like a test. It kept pushing me further than before without giving it all. How naïve of me to think I could take on a Hunter without a sword.
It mumbled something weird. Other people would think of it as gibberish, but I learned some of the Ath’Taren language in my past life, “Is this all you can do? Disappointing,” or something like that.
I tried not to get angry and let him notice I understood. Smart demons knew the value of information, and it might spread to the higher ranks. Those bastards were devious and cunning. I shouldn’t let go of my advantages.
After the Hunter decided it saw enough, playtime was over. The claws became faster. One of them grazed my shoulder, reopening the wounds. Without [Ath’Taren poison Immunity] I would be in even more trouble. I avoided using Defense Up again because I needed my mind in its current condition to survive. Magic drained it too much.
I dodged towards the bridge, and it kept chasing me without rest. I planned on using some corpses to delay it, but as soon as I stepped on the bridge, an enormous amount of New Qi gathered around the Hunter. That was never a good sign. The sign of a skill.
I bit the corner of my mouth in frustration. This wasn’t just some First Rank Hunter, but an elite with a skill, the top of the bunch. Most of them would become named commanders in the army, banes to all Old Earth Humans. I would recognize this Hunter’s name, but it was not like I could ask him for it.
The powerful and sinister Qi reinforces the six tentacles, and they bolt forward much faster than before.
[Flesh Ripper] (Translated from Ath’Taren tongue)
No time to dodge. I raised my arms in a defensive position, leaned to the right, hiding some of my vitals, cast [Defense Up], and prayed the claws missed any vital spots. Three of them missed my body. The others are a direct hit.
Defense Up lowered the damage but couldn’t soak it. One tentacle-claw stopped at my arms, tearing my flesh. The other one hit the same spot where I was stabbed before. That hurt like hell, but it didn’t get stuck. The last one brushed off my leg, painting the ground with blood.
I fell to my knees without screaming. My eyes still gazed forward. As long as I breathed, my tenacity to survive wouldn’t fade away. The Ath’Taren acted surprised that I withstood its power. That hesitation was enough. I was already bolting away amidst cars and corpses before it could attack again.
Some people still had to get off the bridge, but now it was not the time to be the hero, or I would be a dead hero. The tentacles came repeatedly. I moved without stopping, light-footed, to avoid them. The styles from the NOEA also had footwork, which helped me.
However, the Hunter’s destruction was getting to the place. It cared not whether its claws tore the whole place apart. And now I had to worry about it too. The Hunter won’t take any damage from the bridge’s collapse. It would lose some time on the water, and eventually make it out, but I would get hurt by the debris.
Halfway through the bridge, it still followed me. The Sergeant sent the civilians away, turning with his soldiers, waiting to help once I crossed. With the Hunter behind, that only meant more people for it to kill. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to escape. All those people would also die with me.
Should I take down the bridge?
No. Although, it would slow it down, since the Ath’Taren were afraid of water right now, soon that wouldn’t even slow them down. Nothing would stop them when the World Merge concluded. By dropping it into the water, it might even realize it was harmless, speeding their invasion up. I needed to damage it enough to make it retreat, or kill it with one blow.
Would my abilities together be enough to damage it?
A gamble, but even to gamble, I still needed an opportunity, one that didn’t seem likely to come soon. Any other person, even those trained soldiers, would already have collapsed with these wounds.
The determination of a warrior brought me this far, but I reached the limit.
I stumbled to the ground, dodging another claw. Yet now I fell, and the Hunter wasn’t kind enough to let this opportunity go. New Qi surged up again, the tentacle-claws powered up. This time I couldn’t do anything but cast Defense Up again.
The tentacles banded together for extra firepower instead of each one going their own way, as if it already considered my defensive spell. It planned to hit me with all it had. Overkill.
The tentacles got up to strike. I cast my last Defense Up, and braced myself…
“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!”
The sound of hope filled the air. It sounded like a bark.