The Psychopathic Beast Emperor-Chapter 104: When the Sky Splits
They ran... like prey. Their boots slammed against broken stone as Bahamut’s group tore through the ruined streets of Farronhold, vaulting over shattered carts, collapsed roofs, and the bodies of buildings that had long since stopped being homes.
Behind them, the ghoul roared. The sound tore through the town like thunder splitting the sky.
RAAAAAAAAAAGHH!
The earth trembled, walls cracked, and loose debris slid from rooftops as the monster’s fury exploded across the battlefield they had abandoned.
Sel didn’t look as he pushed with all his strength.
"MOVE!" he barked.
Ren had already transformed further. His form had expanded into a much, muscular form, nearly the size of a horse. His legs blurred as he bounded across the streets in massive leaps, clearing entire houses at once.
Exildra lay across his back, unconscious. Blood still seeped from the ruined side of her face. Rakia clung behind her, pale but conscious, trying desperately to slow the bleeding with trembling hands.
"Stay awake..." Rakia whispered weakly, pressing a cloth against Exildra’s wound. "Stay with us..."
Ren’s glowing marks pulsed violently as he pushed his speed further.
Behind him, Bahamut and Sel guarded the rear while Apollonia ran alongside them, her wings occasionally beating to launch her forward over debris.
Then...
Bahamut staggered.
"Ghh!"
His body lurched forward as something slammed down on him like an invisible mountain.
The suppressors: they had finally reacted. Their weight dropped onto his body all at once, making his legs nearly buckle.
"Damn it!" Bahamut snarled, forcing himself upright as the invisible pressure clamped around his power like chains.
Sel glanced sideways.
"Can you still run?"
Bahamut bared his teeth.
"Just run!"
CRASH!
The street behind them exploded.
Stone and wood blasted outward as something massive tore through the buildings like paper.
The ghoul burst from the rubble. Eight feet tall. His claws dragging along the ground, his green eyes burning like corpse-fire.
It was smiling.
"You can’t escape!" it screeched gleefully.
Its legs bent, cracking the ground. Then it launched.
The monster shot forward like a cannonball, smashing through an entire row of houses as it barreled straight toward them.
"APOLLONIA!" Sel shouted.
She didn’t hesitate.
Her wings exploded open as she shot forward toward Ren.
"I’ll guard them!"
Sel and Bahamut skidded to a halt at the same moment.
Both turned.
The ghoul was already upon them: Its claws swung down like falling scythes.
CLANG!
Sel’s remaining machete intercepted the strike, sparks erupting as steel screamed under the impact. The force blasted him backward several meters.
Bahamut followed instantly.
His fox tails whipped behind him as he launched a brutal kick straight into the ghoul’s ribs.
BOOM!
The impact staggered it slightly, but it was not enough.
The ghoul’s claws lashed out.
SLASH!
Bahamut twisted aside, but one claw still ripped across his side. Blood sprayed across the ground as he slid backward.
The wound began healing immediately, but slower now.
The suppressors were biting into his power.
The ghoul noticed, its grin widening.
"Oh... tired already?"
It lunged again. Sel flashed forward.
Two rapid slashes followed.
CLANG! CLANG!
Both were blocked by the creature’s claws. Then its knee slammed into Sel’s stomach.
WHAM!
Sel flew backward, crashing through a wooden stall.
Bahamut roared and tackled the ghoul sideways, driving it through the wall of another building.
Both of them crashed through the structure and burst out the other side.
Dust filled the air.
Bahamut grabbed the creature’s face and slammed it into the ground hard enough to crack the street.
"STAY DOWN!"
The ghoul laughed.
Its claws pierced straight through Bahamut’s shoulder.
CRUNCH!
Bahamut grunted as the bone cracked.
Then the creature kicked him away like garbage.
Bahamut rolled across the dirt before forcing himself upright again.
Down the road...
Ren was already hundreds of meters away. Apollonia flew above him, watching for danger.
Sel staggered back to Bahamut’s side. They exchanged one quick look. No words were needed.
Delay it: Even for seconds.
The ghoul rose again. Its aura had grown thicker. The longer this continued, the worse it became.
Sel wiped blood from his mouth.
"Ready?"
Bahamut spat blood onto the ground.
"...No."
The ghoul lunged.
Sel and Bahamut moved at the same time.
Steel and claws collided again as the street exploded under their clash.
Behind them, Ren bounded across the final edge of town, carrying the wounded deeper into the dark wilderness beyond Farronhold.
And the monster chasing them, was still getting closer.
...
They burst out of Farronhold like arrows fired from a bow.
The ruined town walls disappeared behind them as the group sprinted into the open wilderness beyond. The land outside the town was uneven and wild, rolling dirt paths, scattered trees, broken stone ridges, and tall grass that whipped violently in the night wind.
Ren didn’t slow down.
His massive rabbit form bounded across the terrain in enormous leaps, each landing shaking the ground as he pushed his body harder and harder. The glowing marks on his body burned brighter with every jump.
Exildra still hadn’t woken.
Rakia clung tightly to Ren’s fur while pressing her hands against the cloth wrapped around Exildra’s ruined eye. Blood had soaked through almost everything.
"She’s losing too much..." Rakia whispered through clenched teeth.
Apollonia flew just above them, her wings beating heavily now. Even she was starting to tire.
"Keep going!" she shouted back.
Behind Ren, Bahamut and Sel burst out of the town seconds later.
Both looked worse than before.
Sel’s chest was soaked in blood from the earlier slash.
Bahamut’s shoulder still hadn’t fully healed thanks to the suppressors dragging down his strength like iron chains.
But neither slowed. They ran with all their might.
The ghoul burst from the tree line moments later: It leapt.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
The forest exploded.
CRAAAAAASH!
Entire trees snapped apart as the ghoul tore through the woods like a living disaster.
Its massive claws carved trenches in the earth as it sprinted after them on all fours, its long black tongue lashing wildly from its mouth of jagged teeth.
"RUN!" it shrieked gleefully.
Its body slammed through a rocky outcrop, pulverizing the stone as if it were sand.
Sel sensed it first.
"DOWN!"
He tackled Bahamut sideways.
BOOOOM!
The ghoul’s claws slammed into the ground where they had been running, creating a crater that sent dirt and stone flying in every direction.
The creature didn’t stop. It spun immediately, claws lashing again.
CLANG!
Sel intercepted the strike with his machete, but the force hurled him across the dirt like a thrown knife.
Bahamut roared and rushed the ghoul again.
CRACK!
His punch smashed into the creature’s jaw, snapping its head sideways.
The ghoul laughed, as its head twisted back into place.
"Still running?"
It slammed both claws into the ground. The earth trembled violently.
Then...
Bone erupted from the soil.
Hundreds of jagged spikes shot upward like a forest of spears.
Apollonia saw it instantly.
"REN!"
She dove downward.
Her wings exploded with radiant light.
"Radiant Shield!"
A dome of golden energy slammed into the ground around Ren just as the bone spikes erupted beneath them. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The spikes shattered against the barrier, but more were coming.
Sel saw the next wave forming.
"APOLLONIA!" he shouted too late.
A massive bone spear erupted silently from behind her.
Sel moved first, followed by Bahamut. They hit her at the same time.
"GO!"
WHAM!
The two of them slammed into Apollonia from both sides and kicked her away from the incoming attack.
The bone spear shot past where her body had been. Apollonia tumbled through the air before regaining control of her wings.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she shouted.
Sel didn’t look back.
"Protect them!"
Bahamut cracked his neck slowly.
"Now."
Ren had already disappeared deeper into the forest with Rakia and Exildra.
That left two.
The ghoul rose from the crater again, its green eyes glowing brighter than ever.
"You’re staying?" it laughed.
Sel rolled his shoulders. Bahamut’s fox tails swayed behind him.
Neither answered.
The ghoul’s body suddenly bulged. Bone spikes erupted from its back like grotesque armor. Its claws lengthened further.
Its aura thickened again.
"GOOD!" it roared.
Then it attacked.
The collision was immediate.
BOOOOOOM!
Sel blurred forward, his machete slicing in a cross arc that split the air itself.
The ghoul blocked with its claws...
Bahamut came from above.
CRASH!
His kick smashed the creature straight into the ground again.
The ghoul grabbed his leg mid-attack. Then hurled him into Sel.
WHAM!
Both crashed through a massive boulder that shattered like glass.
They rolled apart and stood again instantly.
Breathing hard, bleeding, but standing.
The ghoul charged again. This time Sel moved faster than ever before.
His blade flashed ten consecutive times.
A storm of green light slashes carved across the ghoul’s body, ripping chunks of flesh away.
Bahamut followed immediately.
Wolf claws, lion fists, fox speed, and bear strength.
Each transformation hit the creature from a different angle as they pushed themselves harder than they ever had before.
Their bodies screamed, their lungs burned.
But they kept attacking. Because if they stopped...
Ren wouldn’t make it far enough.
The ghoul regenerated again, its aura swelling violently.
"You’re getting weaker!" it shrieked happily.
"BUT I’M GETTING STRONGER!"
It slammed both claws into Bahamut’s chest.
CRUNCH!
Their ribs cracked.
Bahamut spat blood, but he still managed and grabbed the creature’s arm and headbutted it with enough force to split the ground beneath them.
Sel appeared behind it.
His blade plunged deep into the creature’s spine.
For a moment, the ghoul actually staggered.
Sel and Bahamut stood side by side, breathing heavily and bleeding.
Yet somehow... they were still ready to fight.
Because somewhere ahead in the dark forest, their teammates were still running.
The ghoul suddenly disappeared from their view and senses, causing their expressions to sink. Bahamut, whose senses were powerful than most, even failed to locate him.
They were just about to run from the place, when a massive claw appeared in their view. Right at the same moment, a huge dark slash flashed through the sky.
The sky split into two, like a god was descending while the ghoul disappeared mid-attack, shocking them.
Then they heard a cold, feminine voice which seemed to be directed at Bahamut.
"You did well, but it’s not yet time for us to meet. You passed the test and you will receive rewards for it when we finally meet.
As for this creature, you will still get your revenge at it. It will be sealed in the destroyed town until you come to kill it."
That was all they heard.
"That is a being above Tier 4. I am very sure of it..." Sel muttered, his eyes wide as he stared at the split sky, which seemed to be repairing itself, albeit slowly.
"That..."
"You’re one lucky bastard. Let’s go. The others should be waiting for us."
With that, they sprinted into the forest to join the rest of their group.
They had escaped the ghoul’s chase but there were more challenges ahead.
