{PLEIADES POV}
Looking at the emerging silhouette of the massive monster, I took a long breath and exhaled. I saw its head—similar to the rest of the stalkers—though this one looked somewhat feminine.
Then the upper part of its body appeared. It was like that of a human, except for the pale skin. Its physique resembled that of a female, apart from the strange hole on its stomach that spread like an oval.
From it, a glowing liquid was excreted, along with teeth-like bones that protruded outward, resembling a shattered ribcage.
As the monstrosity stepped closer, out of the darkness, its lower body came into full view. It stretched further into the shadows and was shaped like that of a spider. The spiky legs pierced into the ground, and where the female reproductive organs were supposed to be, the skull of a human—mixed with some canine features—was embedded.
Looking it over, I estimated it to be about 20 meters tall. The darkness, however, shrouded the creature's back, so I couldn't tell what it looked like from there.
My heart raced, and my breath hitched. From behind, I turned to see Regis now standing at my side. His teeth were bared, and flames danced wildly on his back.
Just in front of the monstrosity, the stalkers had fully transformed and looked different than before—the main change being the massive amount of muscle they had gained in such a short time.
Growling, the creatures lunged toward me. Giving Regis a look, he appeared hesitant but obeyed and went back to help the rest of the cohort battle the small fries, while I… I'd be fighting the real threat.
Focusing on my newly made ability, I activated it and created sixty-seven icicle shards behind me, proportionate to the number of stalkers. Then I activated Antithesis and switched their places.
The sight of ice shards met me as the stalkers disappeared from my view. Just as I took a step forward, I remembered the note in my pocket.
Quickly reaching into the pocket of my shroud, I took the note and looked back.
What I saw was the brutal onslaught of the stalkers being pushed back by the cohort. Looking at the resplendent figure of Nephis, I waved my hand toward her.
Frowning, I made spikes of ice pierce the opponents in front of her. She looked confused and turned to me. I threw her the note, and she caught it with one hand.
Giving her a thumbs-up, I stomped my foot on the ground, and a dome of ice encircled me and the monstrosity.
"Alright then" I muttered, getting into a stance and looking at the creature. The icicle shards grew longer and thicker, taking the shape of crude drills.
I was a bit confused as to why the monstrosity wasn't attacking—then I looked at its face. Drool dripped to the floor, and its eyes glowed, but its body wasn't moving.
'Oh, right' I thought, just now remembering the fact that I used my ability on it.
Ability Name: Pause!
Description: The user can cause living beings to freeze within their current state in space. Lasts for two minutes.
"Well, I've got another minute" I remarked and began to stretch.
(What are you… Why stretch? There's an Awakened Tyrant in front of you?!) Sunny said in a panic, and I widened my eyes.
"It is?" I muttered and focused on the monstrosity. Sitting comfortably within the monster were five cores dripping with profanity.
"Well, that's just great," I muttered, tightening my grip on the Kord. "A Tyrant? Isn't that a bit excessive?"
(Excessive? Excessive is you stretching like you're about to jog in a park! You need to focus, Pleiades! This thing will rip you to shreds the moment your… I… I don't even know what's keeping it from shredding you!) Sunny's voice was laced with panic
"Yeah, yeah. Calm down. I've got this" I said, mostly to convince myself.
With my Pause! ability still active, I had about a minute left. That was all the time I had to prepare.
I glanced at the creature again. It stood frozen—grotesque yet unnervingly still—like a cursed statue of a forgotten nightmare.
The jagged teeth-like bones in its abdomen glistened with glowing ichor, which dripped onto the cavern floor, sizzling wherever it landed. Its spider-like legs, piercing deep into the earth, seemed strong enough to shatter stone and definetly were.
The human-like skull embedded where its lower body began was the worst part. The hollow eye sockets stared emptily into the void, as though the monstrosity itself were watching me through it.
"Lovely" I muttered, forcing myself to move past the grotesque details and focus on the task at hand.
Activating Masked Expert, I created a porcelain mask in my hands. Then I used Explosive Arrangement and held the mask for a few seconds before upgrading it multiple times with Greater Stasis.
Thirty seconds before the immobilization wore off, I made the mist spin the icicle drills rapidly. As they spun, the sound beyond the dome made me wish the thirty seconds would pass in an instant.
Manipulating the ice around me, the terrain became covered with frost, and the shroud around my body took on a slightly crystal-like appearance.
Ability Name: Frost Calm
Description: The user can generate and manipulate a unique kind of ice. This ice can form complete constructs of destructive ice or generate a chilly mist. The user can also coat armor or weapons to make them stronger while adding frost damage.
It was simple, but its augmentation utility allowed me to strengthen my weapons and armor while freezing enemies. In a large-scale battle with teammates, I could enhance their weapons while suppressing foes. Suffice to say, I was pleased with it.
There was also Pause!, which I held back on—I could have immobilized the target indefinitely, but I limited it to two minutes.
Speaking of holding back...
Ability Name: Ironed Out
Description: The user can cover his skin in indestructible steel and turn his soul essence into the same steel, which can be manipulated at will.
With Ironed Out activated, my body became a fortress of indestructible steel. My pale skin was replaced by a sleek, metallic sheen. The chill of Frost Calm radiated around me, intertwining with the crystallized shroud encasing my limbs.
The two abilities harmonized perfectly—frost coating the steel to amplify my defense while adding devastating frost damage to every strike I'd unleash.
The dome of ice vibrated as my preparations reached their peak. My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline coursing through my veins as the final seconds of Pause! ticked away.
I took a deep breath and muttered, "Let's dance."
(Uh, I think you're underestimating how hard this thing's going to hit!) Sunny's voice chimed in. It sounded distant as I focused on the massive Tyrant.
The Tyrant's body shuddered.
And Pause! wore off.
Instantly, it lunged forward with a screech loud enough to make the air tremble. Its spider-like legs slammed into the ground, fracturing the icy terrain as it propelled its grotesque body toward me.
The skull embedded in its lower torso grinned hollowly, and the jagged teeth-like bones in its abdomen clattered like a hundred blades being sharpened at once.
With a flick of my wrist, I launched the spinning icicle drills forward. The shards roared through the air, leaving trails of mist in their wake, and crashed into the Tyrant's legs with the force of a catapult.
The impact shattered ice and sent shards of frozen flesh flying, but the creature barely faltered.
Before I could follow up, it retaliated. The Tyrant swung one of its massive spider legs toward me with terrifying speed. I threw my arms up defensively, my steel-enforced skin absorbing the blow.
The sheer impact sent me flying across the dome, crashing into the icy wall with enough force to leave cracks.
"Ugh…" I groaned, shaking off the dizziness as I staggered to my feet. My arms were fine, though a dull ache reverberated through them. I grimaced. "So that's how hard you hit…"
Even with Load Amplifier lessening the damage, it still managed to do this much with a single swing.
The Tyrant screeched again, its massive frame shifting unnervingly as it prepared for another attack. The jagged, glowing hole in its abdomen began to pulse, ichor bubbling ominously as if preparing to spew something nasty.
"Eww, gross."
I gripped my Kord tightly and activated Frost Calm to its fullest. The mist thickened, curling around my feet as ice expanded in waves across the terrain. With a single thought, jagged ice spikes erupted from the ground, aiming for the creature's spider legs to pin it down.
The Tyrant screamed as its limbs were trapped, the spiked ground holding its weight momentarily. For a split second, its glowing abdomen froze mid-pulse, ichor dripping like molten lava.
"This is my chance…" I muttered, surging forward. My steel-coated feet skidded across the frozen terrain, my Kord trailing mist as I swung it with every ounce of strength I had.
Cutting through the air, the Kord connected, severing one of the Tyrant's legs. It screeched in response.
Sliding across the icy ground, I retracted my blade and swung again. Icy mist trailed behind me, and with another strike, I severed a second leg just above the patella.
Smiling confidently, I leapt back, narrowly evading an incoming claw swipe. The Tyrant's massive body shifted as it recoiled, and its back hit the wall with enough force to make the cavern shudder and dust rain from above.
The Tyrant released a strange, high-pitched groan of pain that made me pause. I felt a sudden unease—something was off. The tyrant looked to back, as if distracted by something.
Following its gaze, I noticed a tunnel expanding deeper into the darkness.
'Is it… cautious about letting me go there?' I wondered, intrigued.
I activated Record and used Caster's Aspect to rush toward the tunnel. The Tyrant noticed immediately and howled, giving chase.
Continuously using Caster's Aspect, I pushed forward as the darkness ahead gave way to a small violet light. Narrowing my eyes, I kept running, doing my best to outrun the Tyrant.
The creature's roars echoed behind me, growing louder with every passing second.
The light grew brighter, and I pushed myself harder. The Tyrant was now a good forty meters away, but the sound of its heavy legs slamming into the ground was deafening.
I kept my eyes on the violet glow, determined to reach it.
Preoccupied with the light, I failed to see a depression in the ground. I stumbled slightly but managed to get my feet safely planted again.
Looking back, I saw the massive shadow of the Tyrant rapidly approaching, its grotesque form framed against the dark tunnel.
Not wanting to waste time, I turned back toward the light.
And before me stood a… tree?
Hello everyone, the Fic is back from Hiatus, Finally!
I am excited to continue this novel, also i'll delete Chapter 62 cause thats just a Notice about the Hiatus, anyway i'll be releasing everyday except for the weekends.
I Thank everyone that comes back to read this fic, see you all on the next chapter tomorrow, also i'll rlease these at about 5 PM.
Have a good day everyone