Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 118: Awakened Horror

Kaiser’s stance dropped low, his blue eyes sharp like daggers. His muscles coiled beneath his skin, tensing subtly.

Bang!

The hard ground cracked as the creature lunged at him, its large but agile frame closing the distance rapidly.

Instead of meeting it head-on, Kaiser spun to the side. The creature brushed past him, their bodies touching. It turned around smoothly, charging at him again.

Spittle flew from its mouth as its maw opened, revealing rows of sharp teeth. Kaiser spun again, narrowly dodging its stinky maw.

He slashed its side with his sword, carving a deep wound across its skin. The frozen horrified faces on its skin writhed, as if the wound made them feel pain.

Kaiser ignored this and grabbed onto its fur. He let the creature drag him, slashing at its side again and again.

’...!!!’

Unexpectedly, the creature’s foreleg twisted unnaturally and struck him. Caught off guard, Kaiser was thrown off. He flipped in the air, then landed on the ground smoothly.

Adjusting his mask, he charged back at the creature. When he got close, he freed himself from gravity using his ability. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The creature’s claw swipe missed him by an hair’s breadth as he flipped over it. Locking his legs around the raised forelimb, he immediately targeted its fleshy neck. However, the creature sensed danger and lowered its head slightly. Virtuous Sorrow was caught between its teeth, held in place and unable to be moved.

Kaiser retreated while dismissing the weapon. When he landed, he summoned the weapon again.

’It’s intelligent and has sharp instincts.’

He noted, carefully moving around it. The creature snarled and followed his movements with its hollow eye sockets.

Kaiser was a little creeped out, but it didn’t impair his alertness. Crouching until he almost touched the ground, he sprang forward sharply.

The creature seemed to have expected this and struck instantly. A clawed swipe streaked through the air. The attack carried tremendous power, and Kaiser felt the lethality.

’Freedom from tangibility.’

Taking this risk, Kaiser felt his essence reserves drop rapidly. He phased through the creature’s foreleg, stepping close to it.

As soon as he appeared before its head, he deactivated his ability. Ducking low, he slipped under its sharp bite and slashed at the neck.

The dark purple blade sliced through its flesh, creating a deep wound.

Suddenly, the faces on the creature’s body screamed, their voices a cacophony of terror. The creature retreated, arching its back and growling quietly. The growl seemed to merge with the rumbling thunder in the skies above.

’Now it has stopped seeing me as prey. That’s good—probably not.’

The creature lashed out, its muscles flexing with explosive power.

Kaiser carefully avoided its claws, shifting just at the right moment.

Boom!

The ground shattered beneath its feet as it landed, the claws carving deep marks into it. Kaiser quietly admired its power, though the emotion didn’t linger.

When the creature attacked again, he casually stepped on its leg and stabbed into one of its empty eye sockets. Again, the faces etched on its skin wailed and writhed in agony.

This time, the creature bit onto his thighs before he could retreat, holding him in place. Seeing as he couldn’t retreat, Kaiser immediately changed tactics. He summoned Unremarkable Sword too, stabbing both swords into the eye sockets.

He felt the blades pierce into soft flesh with each stab. The faces wailed and screamed non-stop, as though the creature’s agony belonged to them.

’Almost...’

He waited patiently, bearing through the pain as the creature’s bite deepened. Suddenly, it released its grip on him slightly. After all, the pain of its internal organs and membranes being pierced couldn’t be ignored.

Kaiser seized this opportunity and turned around, escaping from its jaws and locking his legs around its head. While the creature tried to shrug him off, he stabbed both swords into its neck from both sides.

EEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!

The faces gave a deafening scream, their faces writhing violently. The creature struggled intensely, but Kaiser didn’t let go.

He latched onto it like a persistent parasite, unwilling to disengage until it was dead.

The struggle continued for minutes, proving the creature’s immense vitality. Of course Kaiser was equally cruel. He kept twisting the swords painfully, ensuring they dealt more damage to the creature.

Finally, its struggles eased into quiet despair, and it collapsed to the ground.

Thud!

[You have slain an Awakened Horror, Sabbath Nightmare]

[You have received a Relic]

Kaiser released his grip on the swords, pulling himself from beneath the dead creature. His leg still ached badly, though it had stopped bleeding. Once again, he was amazed by the healing ability of his physique.

’Phew, I killed it. Not easy but...’

He was glad that he survived again. Laying down on the cold ground, he stared at the dark clouds. Lightning rumbled within those clouds, illuminating them in short bursts.

’Ah...’

A sense of tranquility filled his heart, and a few faces appeared in his mind. One was a stoic-looking young man with a blindfold covering his eyes—President Anthony.

This was someone he had some expectations for, as the young man was genuinely true to himself. Perhaps by the time he returned to the academy, President Anthony would have gained his own color.

The second person who came to his mind was naturally Maya Grace. That quiet, pink-haired girl who was his regular reading partner. After an entire semester, he had gotten used to her presence. Now alone in this dangerous expanse of the Nirad Realm, he somehow missed the quiet peace he had with her in the library.

A few other faces flashed in his mind; Ysabella, Apollo, Adela, Liam, Hazel, and a few other notable figures he had interacted with at the academy.

’I wonder what they are doing at the moment?’

Abruptly, he sensed something approaching him. Judging from the sound of the steps and vibrations, he could tell that it was a bipedal being, and a quadrupedal being.

Instantly, he remembered the tan-skinned catkin he had seen before, and her tamed beast.

Not moving, he allowed them to approach him until the girl stood over him. Glaring at him with her sharp yellow eyes, she opened her mouth to speak.

"What are you doing in my territory?"