Shoujo Hater-Chapter 65 - 60: The Final Gamble

Lin took a long breath, calm as a cold lake. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"You filthy lizard. Is that all you've got?"

"You were talking about how high and mighty you were just a second ago. Where did all that great talk go?"

"I told you before. I am going to kill you today, Isphyrlya."

"And do you know something? This is a fact you keep lying about to yourself. Everything that happened to me all this time was because I was at the bottom of the food chain. The suffering I endured, the suffering I am enduring now, and the suffering I will suffer in the future all exist because of my weakness, my stupidity, and my incompleteness."

"But from now on, I will climb this food chain."

"I will stand at the very top of it."

"What you are suffering now is because of your ego and your insufficiency."

"You act tough toward lower beings because you cannot surpass those who are equal to or stronger than you in your clan. So you fill this hole by acting strong toward the weak."

"I can see it now. You are just a lowly lizard in your clan, nothing more than a total clown."

"For all this time, you were just a fucking lizard who was born at the top of the food chain with only one purpose, bitch.

And this purpose was to boost my ego."

"And sadly, now this lizard has fallen from her place."

"You think you are a queen or something, but you don't understand one thing. I am the final boss here, and you are the player."

"You are the one challenging me."

Lin exhaled another long breath, activated his eye, and clenched his dagger tightly.

With massive speed, he moved like a blue flash. Isphyrlya's eyes could not detect his body. All she saw was the beginning of a dark blue line that extended randomly through the air.

With only one sentence escaping Lin's mouth.

"To live or to die. Only one can stand."

Before Isphyrlya could react, Lin was already in front of her. He slammed his knee into her stomach, making her struggle to breathe. As she tried to launch an attack, Lin had already avoided it, sending a feinted kick toward her midsection. He instantly changed its trajectory, and a powerful slash erupted from his dagger, cutting through Isphyrlya's frozen hand and drawing blood.

Isphyrlya tried to freeze the wounded area, but Lin gave her no chance. His blue aura surged, pressuring his body and forming the image of a black blue eyed serpent. Lin launched himself relentlessly at Isphyrlya, smashing her into the bottom of the mountain. He struck her with countless punches, damaging her from every direction. It was as if a massive black serpent had seized its prey, tearing into it from all sides.

With a swift punch, Isphyrlya was sent flying into a cave. Lin clenched his dagger and unleashed two slashes at the cave's ceiling, sending down icy spikes that pierced into Isphyrlya, making her bleed further.

Without wasting time, Lin bounced rapidly within the cave, slashing from every direction.

Isphyrlya covered herself with a high mana shield over her vital areas to reduce the damage.

Lin then activated his serpent earring. They fell from his ears and transformed into moving golden metal serpents. They rushed through the cave at high speed, striking Isphyrlya repeatedly and causing her to bleed even more.

Lin took advantage of the situation and attacked the cave itself, intending to collapse it entirely on Isphyrlya's head.

Isphyrlya endured the assault because she was preparing to use a massive amount of mana to freeze the cave and trap him.

Lin noticed her intention. He leapt to the end of the narrow cave, pressed both legs against the wall, and gathered momentum. He shot back through the cave as the golden serpent earring returned to his ears.

As Isphyrlya began freezing the cave, Lin's dagger was already charged with black maholic energy. A massive slash struck the upper part of the cave, causing it to collapse onto Isphyrlya. As Lin fell, he threw his dagger into the roots of a tree, used it to swing, and landed safely on the ground.

"Haaaaa… haaaaa…"

Lin breathed heavily.

"I hope this finishes her."

The moment he finished speaking, a massive surge of energy erupted from the mountain.

Isphyrlya shattered the fallen debris and burst out. She descended from above, forcing Lin back by a meter from the explosion.

"Damn you, woman! Why won't you die?"

Isphyrlya raised her remaining hand, her eye glowing.

Twenty white hands formed around him. Lin tried to escape, but failed when a magic circle froze his leg in place. The twenty white flowing hands crashed into him, striking from all directions and inflicting damage everywhere.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Lin screamed as the pain overwhelmed him, struggling to endure it.

A sudden realization flashed through his mind.

He had no other choice but to scream.

The sound triggered a massive snowfall that poured down the mountain. Isphyrlya tried to stop it, but that brief distraction was all Lin needed. Those few seconds were enough for him to escape her trap.

Lin shattered the twenty white hands and broke free, collapsing to one knee.

Isphyrlya seized the opportunity, raised her arm, formed a magic circle, and launched a white snowy blast.

Lin grabbed his dagger and rolled rapidly, barely avoiding the attack. Then the serpent tattoo around his neck moved, transforming into an aerial serpent. He swiftly placed the dagger into the serpent's mouth.

Lin was preparing for his final gamble.

This gamble was extremely dangerous, but he had no other choice. Everything depended on how much he could imitate.

He could not use his Noctarine skill or his instinct. Even attempting either would cause his organs to explode and his soul to shatter. On top of that, the blessing he had devoured was under Nullen's control, making it completely unusable.

That left him with only one option: to forcibly imitate the instinct he had used before.

He had not used it yet because this state required extreme exhaustion and absolute mental focus.

He did not know how much strength it would replicate from the original state, but he was certain it would be less than forty percent.

Lin closed his eyes and leaned forward, lowering his upper body. His hands swayed slowly from side to side. Every muscle in his body clenched as unbearable pain formed inside him. His breathing grew deep and heavy.

Isphyrlya's senses sharpened. She felt the air around Lin change, reminding her of the monster she had fought before.

A cold breath emanated from Lin, and his eyes slowly widened.

At this moment, Lin's talent managed to imitate a powerful monster state. Even if it was not the full form or a perfect copy, it was still strong enough to tip the balance of the battle and signal the beginning of the end between a dragon and a small monster.