NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: The Demon Hound was taken out so easily
The old man was stunned. He looked into Anthony's eyes; they were bright and showed no sign of fear. Although the six adults had stepped forward, their eyes were filled with tension and panic.
But the young man before him showed no fear, even a hint of excitement. His expression was exactly like how he had looked when he first joined the Watchmen. For some reason, he handed the dagger over.
Taking the dagger, Anthony smiled slightly and moved around to the side. When the driver uncle saw Anthony, he nearly exploded with anger. An old man was one thing, but now a sickly kid too?
"Are you looking to die?!"
Anthony rubbed his nose. "Well, I'm an espers too."
The driver uncle and the others were taken aback. "Huh? What rank?"
"I just Espers a couple of days ago. E-rank, with a superhuman vision ability."
"Support type? Then what are you doing here? Stay in the car," the driver uncle grumbled. Support-type espers could play a significant role in a professional espers team or certain special situations. But in direct combat, they were just cannon fodder.
Although an Espers espers's physical abilities were somewhat stronger than an average person's, with some training, they could reach the level of special forces. If the espers's rank was high enough, they could even surpass human limits and become superhuman. But first, they had to be trained. A newly Espers rookie was still worse than a few strong men.
Hearing this, instead of retreating, Anthony stepped forward. "I think we can kill this demon hound."
"Kill it? With what?"
Anthony calmly said, "Uncle, you have an internal injury. You can hold on for at most three more minutes. If you die, no one else will survive. So why not let me give it a try?"
The driver uncle was stunned. He had retired because of an internal injury caused by a mysterious creature, an injury that couldn't be healed, forcing him to retire. Otherwise, how could a D-rank Night Watcher only last twenty minutes? This secret hadn't even been noticed by the retired old man, yet this young man in front of him knew. Clearly, this kid wasn't an ordinary person.
The driver uncle stared at Anthony. "Are you sure?"
Anthony nodded. "I'm sure. And if we cooperate well, we might be able to take it down in one go. Even if not, we can at least hold it off."
Seeing Anthony's calm demeanor, the driver uncle laughed out loud. "Kid, you're not afraid of death, are you? Not bad, that's how an espers should be. Alright then, let's give it a shot!"
Anthony never intended to be a hero or sacrifice himself for others. He just didn't want the driver uncle to die, forcing him to run away. Besides, as that person just said, a D-rank demon wasn't unbeatable!
The D-rank demon hound growled at the sight of so many people. Especially the two in front, who both had energy fluctuations, making it feel a sense of danger. But having wounded the most dangerous espers, it wouldn't give him time to rest. It glanced at Anthony and the driver, then at the people behind them, and made up its mind.
Anthony noticed all this. This demon hound wasn't stupid; it planned to kill the weak first. Seeing this, Anthony took two more steps forward, positioning himself between the demon hound and the people behind him.
"Kid, you..." The driver uncle hadn't finished speaking when Anthony suddenly said, "Uncle, watch carefully in a moment."
With that, Anthony took two more steps forward, completely separating himself from the others.
The demon hound wasn't going to miss such an opportunity; it roared and charged forward. Anthony remained calm in the face of the incoming creature. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he felt a rush of adrenaline.
In the past, every encounter with these creatures had been a despersate defensive struggle, with several close calls. But things were different now—he was no longer a prisoner, and he had become an espers.
The days of hiding and running for seven years were over. Now, he could finally face the beasts head-on.
Roaring, the demon hound lunged at Anthony. With his focus heightened, Anthony channeled his espers power into his eyes. In the next moment, the creature's movements seemed to slow down. Of course, Anthony knew it wasn't actually slower—his enhanced vision was making everything appear that way.
When he had tested his power before, it had been on inanimate objects, so he hadn't realized this unique aspect. The short three-minute test window was likely the briefest use of an espers power on record. He had discovered this ability while using it in the car, which was why he dared to come down and fight the creature.
With his ability active, Anthony could clearly see the demon hound's blood-red eyes and its gaping jaws. His vision wasn't just seeing a flat image; it was like observing a solid, three-dimensional object. This time, being even closer, he felt as if he could almost predict the creature's next move.
In the next instant, his espers power ran out, and the world returned to normal speed. In that brief moment, the D-rank demon hound had already leaped at him. Anthony didn't make a wide, dramatic dodge to avoid the attack. Instead, he simply crouched slightly, twisting his body in a subtle way. The movement was so minimal it seemed no different from before. Yet, it was just enough to perfectly evade the creature's claws! The sharp claws scraped past his clothing, missing him by a hair's breadth but never actually touching him!
The driver uncle, watching from the side, was slack-jawed. When Anthony didn't dodge initially, he almost thought the kid was done for. But then, Anthony had barely moved, yet he had evaded the attack.
But it wasn't over yet! As he dodged, Anthony gripped the dagger in reverse and stabbed backward. Although his line of sight should have been blocked, the dagger struck the demon hound's abdomen perfectly as it pounced!
*Shhhk!* The sharp blade sliced through the demon hound's belly, causing hot blood to gush from the wound. The others were stunned. In their eyes, Anthony had made a peculiar movement as the creature attacked, then the demon hound seemed to leap again. It was like they were performing some kind of deadly dance, almost touching but not quite. The final stab looked as if Anthony had pre-positioned himself and the hound had jumped onto the blade on its own.
*Howl!* The demon hound howled in pain, collapsing to the ground. The driver uncle snapped out of his daze. If he missed this chance, he might as well not be a Watchmen at all. With a shout, he channeled all his espers power into his arms and stepped forward, bringing his weapon down hard on the demon hound.
*Crack!* With a spurt of blood, the hound's massive head was severed. The demon hound was dead! Everyone was left in a state of shock. It was over? The demon hound that had nearly killed the driver after a twenty-minute battle had been taken down so easily? The others might not understand, but the driver uncle and the old man knew exactly what had happened.