Murim Recurve

The Beast roared with a tremble, expressing pain for the first time. Even when its arms had been cut off, it only roared in anger. But now, it expressed pain as its body began to bulge little by little.

Re'Kha hurriedly ran backwards, increasing the distance between her and the Beast. She activated her bracelet and enveloped her with Water Qi, using the chance to take out another Water Qi Essence from her storage ring.

She was out of Elemental Qi and needed to recover before she could fight. And, during this time, she didn't wish to fight against the Beast. After all, until now, even when she was attacking, when the Beast's hand was about to smack her body into a paste, she used a Palm Projection to defend herself.

The amount of force she could output from it was enough to stall it and dodge the attack. But without a single unit of Water Qi in her body, she didn't have that guarantee of surviving. Even though her armour would provide her defence, it was only against Elemental Qi.

Against pure physical attacks, it didn't offer much in the name of defence. And, the Beast was only using physical attacks, even though its body seemed to be made with something that caused her to feel fear.

Even though Re'Kha stepped back for quite the extent, she could still perceive the Beast clearly. After all, the domain of Water Qi emitted by her Water Qi Essence and the one embedded inside the Beast touched one another, allowing her to see the Beast thrash in pain as its insides began to burst one by one.

Bubbles started to form on its body and frothed over, exploding as they splashed weird goo all over. The Beast thrashed in pain before slumping down on the ground, glaring at Re'Kha with a deadly stare, causing her to shudder.

Even though it seemed to have died, Re'Kha wasn't sure yet, deciding that it was better to wait for some more time and find it out. And just as she had expected, it hadn't died completely yet. For, its severed arms were still twitching.

The fingers of its right hand scratched the ground, pulling the arm along as it headed towards the Beast. But through the severed wound on the arm, Water Qi entered, causing it to froth as its skin began to form large bubbles all over before bursting.

Re'Kha waited patiently for a long time before she took a step forward, thinking of something as she summoned her Balou once again. As she would be able to check through her Balou, she didn't risk her life.

The Balou walked forward as it touched the severed arm, flinching when it collapsed into a puddle of goo. Similarly, when it touched the other arm, another puddle was created. Finally, the Balou gazed at the Beast, gently touching one part of its body when the Beast eyes shot open, expressing fury.

Through their shared thoughts, Re'Kha witnessed what the Balou witnessed. The Beast had almost formed the face of a creature that was half Kalki and half Balou. And, growing from its now serpentine body were four limbs, resembling a pair of hands and legs.

They seemed to be a mix between a Kalki and a Balou. That wasn't all. There was even a tiny marking on the Beast's forehead. It was just a line, but the moment she noticed it, Re'Kha was afraid. After all, it signified that as long as the Beast developed, it would have eventually condensed the third eye, the most mystical aspect of a Kalki, their race's most important trait.

Followed by its glare, the Beast's body collapsed into a pool of sticky goo. And, it didn't seem to end at this point as the Balou's body began to froth a little around its joints. It seemed to have been triggered by the sticky goo that splashed on its body.

But, it wasn't harmed beyond that point as the Water Qi coursed through the place, soon annihilating every trace of the sticky goo. Soon, the cave walls returned to being normal. As for the Balou, it had absorbed some Water Qi and recovered completely.

Re'Kha observed everything, noting down all the details mentally, intending to consult with her father about this. The enemy was strong, just too strong. And, the reason Re'Kha had won was that she used its weakness—the eggs—against it, thereby managing to kill it.

Had it been a plain where it was free to move around as it wished, it would have been hard to kill it even if a team of Harmonisers ganged up on it. After all, it was capable of digging through the ground.

"Still, it feels like I have heard about such a Beast before though?" Re'Kha wondered as she picked up her sword, noticing that it had subtly changed. The Water Qi Essence fragment embedded in it had become a tad darker, but the quantity and quality of Water Qi in it had increased.

Moreover, the material itself seemed to have been subtly affected, as it felt different to the touch. Re'Kha thought for a moment and activated it, noticing that it emitted a blue hue. But this time, the radiance was dimmer but more condensed, like a stream of water was flowing over it.

Moreover, the way in which it flowed seemed to be invoking something strange as Re'Kha could feel her heart thump all of a sudden. Shaking her head, she looked at the eggs, noticing that one of them had begun to crack.

"If two more of such creatures are birthed, and were to grow, the damage to the place would be catastrophic." She frowned, intending to destroy them when she thought of something, deciding to be safe.

She made the Balou stand before the pair of eggs as Re'Kha stood above it, activating the sword as she plunged it from behind the safety of the Balou. No blood splashed out as the eggshell shattered into pieces.

And, writhing within was a baby Beast, unable to retaliate as it struggled to move. It had tiny arms at the front, a spherical head with an exaggerated mouth, and a serpentine body. And even as a pre-hatchling, it had a row full of sharp teeth in its mouth, ready to slaughter after birth.