NOVEL NEXT Chapter 50: Invasion
Nova stumbled, coughing blood. His eyes flickered to Adam in the distance, limp in the alpha's grip. Rage burned in his chest hotter than the blood pouring from it, but his body betrayed him. His speed was gone, his strength was fading, but he didn't give up.
The alpha smirked, teeth dripping with saliva, claws twitching with anticipation. It could smell Nova's weakness, taste it in the air. Each stagger, each delayed breath, was like a signal flare screaming.
But Nova's eyes, no, his soul, burned with something else. Not desperation. Not defeat. A will so unrelenting it bent the very fabric of reality.
The alpha lunged violently at him.
Nova's vision blurred, his body screaming, but deep inside, beyond the flesh, beyond the pain, a flicker of strength awoke. His entire existence compressed into that moment, into a single thread of purpose: protect Adam, and end the alpha.
Every scar, every fight, every drop of blood he'd spilled led to where he was now. He couldn't afford to lose this opportunity.
The alpha's claw slashed toward him, wide and heavy, ready to rip him apart. Nova didn't dodge. He, instead, stepped into it. The claw raked across his side, shredding him open, but his fist, his dying hand, drove forward.
Another corkscrew punch, but not like before. This was everything he had to offer. His muscles literally tore as he wound the strike, his bones cracked as he let it loose. His fist blurred, powered by his very soul, cutting through the alpha's ribs like paper, slamming straight into its heart.
The next second, the world seemed to have frozen.
The alpha's eyes widened, the red fading into black. A soundless gasp left its throat, claws stilled embedded in Nova's side. Then, with a tremble that rippled across its massive body, its heart burst under Nova's fist.
The beast collapsed instantly, lifeless before it even hit the ground.
Nova staggered back, dripping in blood, his chest violently rising like a storm. His legs gave out, and he collapsed beside Adam, dragging himself across the ground until his hand touched Adam's arm.
He rested there, head low, fighting to breathe.
Then, suddenly, a flicker of light emerged from the silence.
The checkpoint for clearing the F-rank dungeon ignited, the golden flare bursting into existence, covering the bathfield in a radiant glow.
The checkpoint symbolized safety. He let out a rough laugh, blood choking it halfway, but it was enough for anyone to understand that it was a laugh.
Until the ground rumbled.
Nova's head jerked up, eyes narrowing as cracks split through the dungeon. From the shadows, creatures poured in like moths to a flame, low-ranking but countless.
E-rank and D-rank monsters. Drapes with their elongated limbs, goblins snarling with crude weapons, small packs of beasts with too many eyes and too many sharp, pointy teeth.
They clawed over each other, howling at the scent of blood, at the sight of weakness.
Nova cursed under his breath. He reached for his bag, fingers trembling, pulling out the flare. His only chance to signal for backup. But before he could even raise it, a drape leapt, its grotesque arms snatching the flare from his hands.
Its jaw split open with an ear-piercing screech as it crushed the flare in its grip, sparks falling uselessly to the dirt.
Nova's heart dropped.
The monsters advanced, encircling them, eyes glowing a bloody red, like demons from hell. He tightened his jaw, his mind racing, his body finished, ripped apart, but Adam, he had no defense, no strength. If Nova fell now, Adam was gone.
He forced himself upright, every nerve screaming, blood dripping with each step. His fists clenched, trembling, but steady.
Think Nova, think. He said to himself, gritting his teeth harder, annoyance and rage covering his face. If I die here, so does Adam. I can't let that happen. I promised Marcus to keep him alive.
His eyes flickered to his hand, trembling but steady enough to reignite his burning itch. The Circle of Pillars had started to itch again. This time, it was much worse, the itchiness singeing through his mind.
The Circle of Pillars was also his last card, his last stand. He needed to awake now. He wanted any ability, no matter how trash it may be, just enough for him to hold off as he made his way to the checkpoint.
The monsters screamed, the screech high-pitched, piercing his ear, as they rushed towards him to crush him before he could take another step.
Drapes stretched their arms, goblins charged with wild grins, beasts lunged with snapping jaws. But Nova didn't falter. The itch on his hands grew as he left the mana, the energy in his body coursing through him, giving him a new light.
Nova's vision darkened at the edges, but the itch on his hand erupted into fire. The Circle of Pillars came into existence, his hand glowing like molten chains coiling around his arm.
His blood, his pain, his desperation, all of it surged into the pillar. The world trembled as if recognizing the birth of something forbidden.
The first wave of monsters crashed toward him. A drape lunged, claws stretching wide, but before it touched him, the circle flared. A pillar of darkness forged on his Circle of Pillars.
It's magnificent, radiant red glow staggering the creatures back. The goblins shrieked, impaled where they stood. Beasts automatically split mid-air, as if the light was enough to pierce through them.
The dungeon trembled violently under the weight of Nova's inborn ability, as though the pillars weren't just black looking lines, but laws rewritten in his name.
Nova's body could hardly bear it. Blood poured from his nose, his muscles spasmed, but his eyes sharpened. He guides the red light from inside him to materialize, giving him his ability at last, as he connected with the Circle of Pillars to become one.
"I am not done," he exclaimed, his voice breaking but resolute. "I'm far fucking from it."