NOVEL NEXT Chapter 525: The Trap is Sprung
Ethan couldn't fathom why the Infernal Hound was such a glutton. Later, he'd learn it was a product of their brutal world—too many demons, too little food. What struck him as stranger still was that none of them ever seemed to starve. That was why demons were whispered to be a race of pure terror, devouring everything in their path until nothing but wasteland remained. The rumors, it turned out, had a basis in truth.
That insatiable hunger, however, belonged mostly to the lower ranks. The higher demons were different—creatures of vast intelligence and strength, with appetites guided more by taste than necessity. Take the Infernal Hound before him: one hot dog had been enough to win its loyalty.
"Senior, can you lure him out? I'll handle the rest," Ethan asked, seeing the beast licking its chops in satisfaction. At last, he voiced the plan he'd been holding back.
"No problem. A hundred yards, right? Any farther and he won't follow." The hound's eyes gleamed, and when Ethan pulled out a few more hot dogs, its long tongue darted out and snatched them up greedily. It agreed to Ethan's terms without hesitation.
"One hundred yards is plenty. Senior, if I can pin him down still, will you finish him?" Ethan's gaze sharpened.
The Infernal Hound didn't bother to ask what Ethan was plotting. If there was food involved, it was interested.
"Pin him down? If that blood-soaked fossil dares tap into his clan's realm, I'll swallow him whole!" it declared, thumping its chest with a claw the size of a wagon.
"Seriously?" Ethan blinked.
"Of course! Demons keep our word. You think we're like you humans? If it weren't for that little minnow vouching for you, you think I'd trust you at all?" The hound glared, its expression fierce.
"Uh…" Ethan rubbed his nose, more sheepish than offended. He couldn't exactly deny it—human treachery was legendary.
"Quit dawdling! Let's move! My time's running out!" the hound barked. Its body swelled, muscles rippling, and before Ethan could react he was swept up by a force he couldn't resist, deposited atop the beast's massive head. In a heartbeat, the Infernal Hound had closed the distance to the blood-red barrier, stopping less than a hundred yards away.
Without hesitation, it raised its paws and brought them down in a pair of earth-shaking strikes. The impact thundered across the battlefield, and the crimson barrier flickered, its glow dimming alarmingly.
"You mangy cur!" roared a voice from within. The old monster, who had only just settled back into his ritual, sprang up in fury. His twisted face was a mask of hatred. He couldn't afford to let the hound hammer away unchecked. While Ethan's own attacks required time to charge, the Infernal Hound's casual swipes shook the barrier to its core. Such was the power of a true apex predator.
What made it worse for the old monster was the hound's flames. Demonic fire clung to its paws, a scorching poison to blood magic. A touch was enough to vaporize the aura he relied upon. Ethan had no idea—the Dragon-Phoenix flames he'd seen before never had such a property—but the hound controlled its fire with precision. If it hadn't, Ethan would already be a dried husk on its head.
"Don't pout, little blood-worm! Come out and face me!" the Infernal Hound bellowed, grinning wickedly. Ethan, crouched between its ears, studied the old monster's expression. The man's face was clouded with hesitation. He didn't rise to the bait immediately, and that worried Ethan. What if he refused to step outside?
"If you hide any longer, I'll burn away every drop of blood aura you've gathered. Let's see how you plan to open that portal then!" the hound taunted, punctuating its words with blow after blow. Each strike sent fresh cracks shivering across the barrier, the blood aura inside growing thinner by the second.
At last, the old monster broke. His body blurred, a crimson flash erupting from the array. Ethan caught a clear glimpse this time: blood-red energy spilled from the glowing portal, channeled through three City Lord seals, and poured into the old monster's frame, coiling around him like smoke before sinking into his flesh.
"Brace yourself, boy, he's coming!" the hound warned.
Ethan's eyes never left the figure streaking toward them. Empowered by the borrowed energy, the old monster moved with terrifying speed. He burst free of the array, a tide of blood-soaked aura rolling off him, and swung a fist glowing with lethal crimson light. The sheer violence behind the strike was more than just physical force; it carried rage, bloodlust, and a touch of some alien power.
The Infernal Hound sprang back, narrowly avoiding the strike. The monster's fist smashed through the space they had just vacated, its glow chasing after them like a homing blade.
"Now, kid!" the hound barked.
"Forbidden: Frenzied Onslaught!"
Ethan seized the moment. His body blurred into his Panther form, the Twilight War Spear shifting with him, fusing into armor that clung to his upper body. Razor claws extended from his hands, gleaming like blades.
He had never used this skill before. Back in Ethereal, the description had warned that it couldn't immobilize targets stronger than himself, which made it useless against the foes he usually faced. But here, the skill's text had changed. His abilities had been evolving since the moment he arrived in this world.
[Dynamic Attribute 4: When equipped in Panther Form, gain the skill "Forbidden: Frenzied Onslaught." Locks your target for 6.2 seconds, unleashing a furious assault with your claws. Each attack deals 2% of the target's maximum health as damage. Final damage is determined by the speed of your claw strikes. Cooldown: 30 days. Activating this skill places all other Forbidden skills on this weapon into cooldown.]
The old warning note was gone. Ethan decided to gamble. Even if he failed, maybe he could buy enough time for Bongo to make her move.
A guttural roar tore from his throat. His body vanished from atop the hound's head and reappeared behind the old monster. For an instant he lost control of his own movements, his body acting on the skill's command. His image flickered, splitting into six afterimages, each one circling the monster.
The old monster's eyes widened in shock. His body, still in mid-air, froze rigidly. Even his raised fist remained locked in place.
'It worked!' Ethan's heart surged with triumph. His claws lashed out, slashing again and again, faster than thought. In seconds, he had landed dozens of strikes, tearing open the monster's flesh until its body was a ruin.
But before Ethan could savor the success, a crimson mist bled from the still-active array. It swirled unnaturally, saturated with alien power, and streamed into the monster's shattered body. Before Ethan's eyes, wounds closed, bones knitted, flesh regrew.
'Too close to the array. Damn it!'
The realization barely formed before the Infernal Hound bellowed, its voice shaking the ground. Its enormous maw yawned wide, a black abyss rimmed with fire, and snapped toward Ethan's position.
"Oh, come on!" Ethan swore.