Shadow Weaver: Sole Heir Of The Night

"That one looks like a hammerhead, but it's not…"

Outside the Alpha crawler, Savage Wolf stared down a digital binocular device, peering in the distance at a red centipede creature 100 meters in length coiled around a massive tree in the opening.

Hunting and killing corrupted beasts was a very different task from just fighting against monsters. It demanded not just sharp wits, but also knowledge of said beast, its habits, and its various weak points.

"It's at most a terror of uncommon tier." Savage Wolf pulled back his binoculars and turned to Enzo and Zeke.

It wasn't what they were looking for, but it wasn't nothing either.

"You can try your luck, but make it quick. We still have an actual objective." Savage Wolf glanced at Enzo and Zeke, seeing them fully kitted and ready for a fight.

"Huh? What do you mean?" To the side, John raised his eyebrow, noticing the underlying meaning behind Savage Wolf's words.

Did he really want them to fight a terror on their own? This was a bit much, no?

Before he could say or do anything, however, Zeke's hair ignited as a blast of fire erupted from under his feet sending him flying towards the tree which the red centipede was coiled around.

"Oh? He's a Sky?" Not paying John any mind, Savage Wolf lifted his binoculars and followed Zeke's figure as it hovered above the beast soaked in fire.

The difference in size was all too glaring, but…

The Sky was a race of ancient warriors well known in the universe. They had murals depicting them fighting off corruption when it first reared its head in the universe, though all this was long before humanity ever reached the stars.

"Flayed centipede would just roll down the tongue, haha." Zeke mocked, then with his staff pointed out he barked a series of words.

Words of power.

"Fire is eternal, unquenchable and irresistible, the Sky is all bearing, world encompassing—Skyfire Blaze."

Suddenly a gust of wind picked up, then the very air ignited atop Zeke's staff and pushed downwards, bringing with it an unrestrained fire.

Before the centipede creature could react, it was bathed in flames.

"You can still join in, kid. That strike isn't enough to one-shot…" Savage Wolf said to Enzo, but when he turned he noticed…

He was gone.

-grinnn

As soon as the first wave of flames dialed down, Enzo appeared on the underside of the centipede and drilled directly into its flesh, immediately causing its blood to splatter and rush.

Enzo was more experienced in killing things way out of his league than most people here, so the moment he saw an opportunity he took it without a second thought.

What he had attacked just now was what seemed to be a main vessel to get the maximum possible results.

But when facing a corrupted beast, that was rarely enough.

Rawrrrrr

An earthquaking screech resounded from the mouth of the centipede as it swayed, releasing its grip from the tree and falling to the side; it plummeted directly into the ground.

At that moment Enzo also released his grip and fell into a shadow before resurfacing a few meters away on the ground.

His eyes later refocused as he stalked the beast.

What he and Zeke just did was obviously not enough to kill this thing. After all, it was a terror; the both of them were just Star Weavers.

Truth was, even someone like Savage Wolf would have a bit of trouble when trying to kill a terror of the same rank as him.

That was why the great terror mission's precise words were "Hunt and extract." If Master Seth thought they could kill a great terror, he would tell them plainly.

[It's getting up, distract it while I bleed it to death].

Enzo sent a message to Zeke through his coms hoping to establish some sort of cooperation. However, the reply was less than expected.

[Fat chance, let the best man win].

Zeke responded.

As far as he was concerned, this was not a life-and-death situation. Their goal of taking this thing's life was purely based on their hopes to get stronger and or receive an echo.

Cooperation wasn't necessary here.

Enzo had different standards when it came to battle; he had a more fight-or-die approach, so he took every battle seriously. Seeing the message from Zeke made him frown.

Naturally he was soon able to pull himself together.

Zeke was capable of taking care of himself and so was he, maybe cooperating wasn't necessary here.

"Flames rage, flames rampage, welcome the Flame Sage!!"

Zeke spoke, forcing a rush of fire through his staff and creating what seemed to be a fire tornado.

The Sky had ultimate control over the elements their body was assigned to, and amongst all the elements, the one with the most terrifying damage was none other than flames.

Tossing the fire tornado like a coin, Zeke watched as it grew and encompassed the 100 meter long creature, trapping it in a prison of hellish fire.

"That's some real firepower."

At the back, Savage Wolf commented, a bit lost for words as he watched the scene before him. This kid's power was absolutely astounding; that was saying a lot seeing that his star core wasn't even the best in the group here.

'This universe is quite deep.'

He was starting to believe the members of Weavetech those two killed really were Exalted.

'Does that mean they could kill me if they tried?'

He thought, looking at the others through the corner of his eyes… Everyone was in one way or another special, and that included him.

"You guys can also join in, you know?" Savage Wolf looked to the rest, offering them the chance to join.

Silence.

No one even bothered to speak.

Let the monsters fight was the common thought in their minds.

"Hehe," back in front of the flaming tornado, Enzo laughed bitterly at the spectacle.

He didn't have any flamboyant ability like Zeke, nothing too crazy. However, if there was something he knew how to do best, it was one thing.

He knew how to kill monsters.

A resplendent light shone in his eyes as the void coffin suddenly became visible on his back.

He clasped one side of the coffin and lifted it up in a strange position.

One spin.

Two spins.

And suddenly he threw the coffin into the air like a cannon, his body following it tightly.

The coffin was as light as a feather for him, but to others, even tyrants, it was as heavy as the core of a dwarf star.

As the coffin reached its peak it started to plummet, moving fast through the eye of the tornado aimed directly at the centipede which seemed to have been deprived of air.

Everyone watched this scene in confusion and panic, seeing Enzo do something so reckless.

In the next second, however—

Screeeee

A painful death screech resounded from within the tornado and a series of messages appeared before Enzo.

[You have slain a Crimson Tail Centipede]

[Symphoning starlight]

[Uploading stats…..]

[Name: Enzo Malvaran]

[Rank: Star Weaver (Stage Two)]

.

.

.

.

Looking at the screen as the flame tornado around him gradually dissipated, Enzo couldn't help but smile.

Stage Two.

He had killed two beings at the Exalted (Terror) Stage. It made sense that he would sooner or later enter this stage.

"You stole my kill, man," suddenly Zeke cursed, rushing to Enzo who was seated atop the coffin which had crushed the centipede's head in.

"You snooze, you lose," Enzo mocked, looking at Zeke from the corner of his eyes.

This guy wanted to show off a minute ago and now he was acting so shameless? He had to find a new group of friends for real.

"Same to you guys." Without even sparing them a glance, Savage Wolf sped past them and cut off the tip of two mandibles from the centipede and stuffed them in a special bag.

Corrupt creature remains in most cases could be repurposed and used to create a myriad of high-grade weapons. These kids didn't need those right now, but as a 3rd year who was about to go out into the real world—

He knew all too well.

"Did you get an echo?" Suddenly a voice resounded next to Enzo, sending a chill down his spine as he instinctively reacted to these set of words.

'Hehe, Thane.'

Enzo smirked, then shook his head at John. He didn't get an echo this time, but he had advanced to Stage Two, which was pretty good for a 1st year.

"Let's get going, it's almost noon. We still have to find the hammerhead centipede." Drawing their attention, Savage Wolf walked forward towards the crawler.

In as much as this detour was his suggestion, he also knew that failing to meet the old devil's standards was the same as courting death.

He would hate for the old man to take them on a 'supervised' mission.