Weapons of Mass Destruction-Chapter 572: Witherclaw

Staring at the window, I let a chuckle slip from my lips. Another follows, building until it turns into full-blown laughter. I keep laughing for a good ten seconds before finally stopping.

[Focus]

I open the notifications again and start doing calculations.

Thirty-eight minutes from now. Twenty-three minutes before the end of the event, the Witherclaw should be worth somewhere around 38 thousand points, enough for me to secure the first spot. Even though Lissandra said that 25 minutes before the end, the beast would become strong enough to kill anyone here.

That means it needs to survive for at least eight minutes from the moment she releases it until I can kill it.

I let out a long sigh and rest my back against the wall, tilting my head up to stare at the ceiling absentmindedly. Out of curiosity, I press the tips of my index and middle fingers against the contours of my neck, tracing a path along my windpipe to feel for my pulse. It’s quick and erratic, mirroring my heartbeat.

Another chuckle escapes me as I lower my hand.

Then, I close my eyes and clear my thoughts.

When it's close to thirty minutes to the end of the event, I stand up and teleport outside, positioning myself on the cliff at the edge of the floating island. The strong wind immediately pushes against my body, and the view unfolds below me. The sea is nearly gone, obscured by dark clouds and a wall of rain and lightning that has already begun its bombardment of the trees in its path. Some of them catch fire only to be extinguished by the rain in the next instant.

All of the remaining islands I can see remain in the air, receiving their own constant barrage of lightning strikes.

With the storm comes a flood of stronger beasts. From behind it emerge, hawk-like creatures, their piercing screams cutting through the air, lightning trailing their wings. New beasts crawl from the water, floundering their way ashore and diving straight into battle with the attendees.

Yet the worst is still to come, waiting for the moment the timer reaches Lissandra’s appointed moment.

As that time arrives, a powerful mana signature emerges from deep within the storm, and I activate my eyes, tracking it as it moves.

The Witherclaw runs like a wild animal, sometimes on two legs, sometimes on all fours. It pierces through the wall of rain, dodging lightning all the while, and then delves into the forest. Immediately, explosions go off and powerful bursts of mana trigger an array of defenses the attendees have set against the storm and beasts.

I strengthen the shield around me to avoid taking damage from the storm’s lightning and continue to observe the beast’s progression.

It exits the treeline, holding a man by his leg, and begins looking around and sniffing. The raindrops splash on its pale skin, making its thin, fragile looking body glisten in the air.

The man being held channels mana and launches a swift, cutting attack at the beast, but the Witherclaw just takes one more step, yanks the man back, and swings his body against a tree. Blood sprays from his mouth, and I am pretty sure his spine cracks, yet he still doesn’t die.

The Witherclaw lets him go and moves closer, settling beside the man and staring at him with its empty black eyes as he lies there, dying. The attendee tries to speak, but only frothing blood escapes his mouth, until he finally remembers he can forfeit with his mind, dissolving into pale blue particles.

For a moment, the Witherclaw watches the spot where the man died. Then, it rises and turns directly to me, as if it could sense my eyes watching.

Its figure is not that much different from that of a human, though it looks very fragile, pale, and with thin, long limbs. It has a slightly larger head than its body would normally warrant, and its mouth isn’t really all that big, but when it opens, I can see multiple rows of sharp teeth.

Yet its black eyes remain empty.

The beast senses movement nearby and, instead of hiding, charges at a group of ten attendees, a mix of people from Hell and Hard difficulty.

The Witherclaw moves quickly, switching between bipedal and quadrupedal strides. No stun, disruption, or hold type skill seems to work on it, and the special-grade beast is nimble and perceptive enough to avoid most attacks.

Its claws now glow pale red as it easily pierces through the barriers, items, and skin of the attendees. Even though it looks fragile, the beast is incredibly strong, and its strength and speed continue to increase.

With every fight, the beast learns, adapts, and modifies its movements.

And it likes to play with those it hunts. It almost never kills its opponents outright; rather, it cripples them, severs limbs, breaks bones, and leaves them lying in the dirt while it takes its time with the others. Then it watches as they twitch, struggling to fight back, or slowly die.

If someone seems like they might be able to stand, regenerate, or escape, the Witherclaw turns its attention back to them and breaks a few more bones, in a careful manner that seems almost gentle.

Sometimes, it even looks up at me while doing so or while taking a bite from attendees who hesitate to forfeit.

Seeing that behavior from the beast, many of the remaining attendees simply forfeit and vanish, causing the beast to pause.

It stands there looking almost sad. Then it opens that mouth full of sharp teeth and lets out a sound I have never heard. It is not a screech, nor does it fit with any other sound I recognize.

A low, guttural chuff rolls out, rough and dry, followed by a rapid series of sharp, clicking barks. The sound carries a strange, uneven rhythm like a broken pattern of short, exhales forced through a narrow throat. A deep growl follows, vibrating low in its chest and rumbling just beneath the surface of the beast’s flesh.

Then it emits another burst of chattering clicks, each one sharp and deliberate, almost like the controlled rasp of bone scraping against bone. The sound is aggressive and carries the edge of something predatory. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Only when Jean exits the forest does the beast stop.

Fittingly, Jean grins and slams a fist against his chest, the impact sending vibrations I can feel even from up here. The force scatters the raindrops around him, making the rain pause for a brief moment.

The Witherclaw moves faster than before, and both the beast and the man collide in a shockwave that uproots the surrounding trees. Another attack follows immediately after, and the beast goes flying, launched through the air, unable to withstand the incredible strength that Jean possesses.

It crashes through dozens of trees and quickly picks itself back up, shaking its head. But before it can do anything else, it’s already being pulled through the air into Jean’s huge hand as he grabs its neck and slams its entire body against the ground in another explosion.

Jean moves to do it again, but suddenly comes to a halt mid motion.

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The beast is no longer there. Instead, it lands a short distance away, damaged but still functional. Holding the ragged remains of Jean’s hand, it looks at him and takes a slow, deliberate bite, tearing off one of the thick fingers and starting to chew.

Unsurprisingly, the huge man smiles brightly, the predatory gleam in his eyes almost rivaling that of the beast’s. The pressure around him rises with an audible thump, sending a burst of powerful vibrations through the air.

He takes a step, and the earth explodes; from the air, he grabs stones and hurls them at the beast.

The Witherclaw drops the hand and moves, nimbly skirting the radius of the explosion. Even though its body remains unaffected as Jean strains to pull it, the beast charges at him all on its own.

They clash again, and this time, the Witherclaw comes away wounded as well. The beast is thrown aside with a dislocated arm, and in the process, it leaves a deep set of lacerations across Jean’s face.

Fully ignoring his wounds, Jean charges the beast again, only to reach its position and not find it there. He looks around, confused and preparing for an ambush that never comes.

I track the Witherclaw, watching it retreat like a coward. It cradles its broken arm and lets out a series of short, sharp, distressed barks with a deep vibrating undertone.

At this point, I leap from the island, extending [Ley Line] below before teleporting, just in time to disrupt the dangerous strings of mana reaching toward the Witherclaw.

The beast notices the strings too late and would have fallen into the trap. With its empty eyes, it scans me, tenses its body, and prepares to charge, but then changes its mind. Instead, it bulldozes its way through the dozens of corpses of dead beasts that have risen and been forced to fight. Undead creatures, their eyes glowing with a mixture of blue and green light.

I disrupt another wave of dangerous threads not unlike my [Ley Line] and stand to face Yama, the 9th-round tournament winner.

"Incredible. So far, only two attendees have been able to see my strings, but neither could disrupt them with a simple glance," she says calmly as she steps out of the tree line.

Behind her, the corpse of Stormscale Basilisk moves with the same blue and green light in its eyes and huge, gaping, bloodless wounds marring its body. Even though it is weaker than when alive, it still feels impressive.

"Thank you, I have also noticed you observing my lines," I answer.

"I couldn’t help but admire them. They’re different from my own, and yet they’re still impressive in their own way. Now I want to ask you, why have you stepped between me and that beast?"

"It's mine to kill," I say simply.

"It belongs to whoever kills it first," she counters.

"It's mine." Then, just as she does, I raise my mana.

Her strings swirl in a huge circle around us, each vibrating at a slightly different frequency, but I know that in the mere moment, I would still be able to disrupt them.

After glancing in the direction where the Witherclaw went, I turn to Yama, "Your group?"

"Yes, along with some friends I made. While I hold you here, they should…"

Instead of letting her finish, I disrupt all the strings reaching toward me, and rather than using the [Ley Line] that I'm sure she tampered with, I use Wraith Dance to reach her.

The undead basilisk and a few of the other corpses rise to attack me, but I maneuver around them and make my way over to the woman.

Her strings are even denser around her; she uses them to move her body, increasing her speed as she pulls and yanks. She does the same with the corpses, which, without the strings, would appear to be pulled by invisible leashes.

I hear the Witherclaw's screech and change direction again, targeting the source, deploying [Eclipse] for a moment to eliminate anything she might use to slow me down.

I blow away a few of the undead monsters jumping in my way and duck under the Chinese man swinging at me with a dagger in his hand. I continue to run as he follows behind me, tall and slim and sending the familiar vibration of kinetic energy rippling outward from his body.

I absorb my momentum and lean to the right, only to have it absorbed again. A burst of kinetic energy surges through my body, and I execute a movement that would normally twist my ankle but instead adds momentum as I absorb the recoil.

The man falters, confused by this series of movements, finding himself thoroughly unprepared as I approach him from his left instead of his right. Even so, he still raises his weapon and blocks the incoming attack with his arm, but is too late to notice the Needle Point I use to break his kinetic barrier and the follow up that shatters his feet.

As he loses balance, I punch him, releasing more kinetic energy and sending him rolling through the forest.

Lightning from the undead Basilisk strikes my former position, and I use Wraith Dance three times in a row to reach a clearing with the Witherclaw standing trapped at its center. The beast is surrounded by half a dozen attendees, each one of them at least Beyonder or Hell difficulty. There is a cage made of pale white polished stone around it, further strengthened by the surrounding field.

The man using the stones wears a stone ring on his finger, the signature of which catches my attention.

Meanwhile, the Witherclaw tries to escape. Its left arm remains broken, but it uses its fangs to tear at the cage, which quickly regenerates before it can fully break free.

Three members of the group move to attack me, and at this point, I am sure they are all using something unseen to communicate.

Instead of fighting them, I raise my mana even further, flooding the air with its raw power. The sheer intensity overwhelms their senses, forcing the three men to step back in shock.

Then I form [Empyrean Lance] and shoot it through the cage, the lance tearing through it as if the stone were made of paper.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Witherclaw swings its claws once more at the damaged spot and breaks free.

Panic ensues, but before they can react, the swift beast, now free from the trap, leaps at the man with the stone ring, tears out his throat, and continues to gouge his face with its claws until the man disintegrates into a cloud of blue particles.

Without the trap, the men and women stand no chance against the Witherclaw as it tears through them. With nothing to slow it down, no one can match its speed or withstand the swipes of its claws.

Seeing Yama appear, the Witherclaw lets out those predatory noises again and lunges at her. Its speed surges, and with a single swing of its seemingly fragile body, it blows the basilisk's head clean off.

Before it reaches her, Yama attempts to teleport, but the Witherclaw uses its mana for the first time. A flare of energy erupts around its body as it reaches for Yama in the middle of her teleportation. The mana destabilizes her escape, snapping the threads she was trying to use.

She reappears from the failed teleport, her side twisted, torn, and shattered by the attempt.

At that moment, the Witherclaw fails to notice the string coiling several times around its neck. Even in her wounded state, Yama hides it well as she slowly starts pulling, trying to behead the beast.

And she would have succeeded if I wasn’t there.

I disrupt her attempt and return her cold gaze.

The Witherclaw realizes what happened, but the emptiness in its eyes remains unchanged. Ignoring a few weaker mana-based attacks, it swings to kill the undead beasts charging at it, then grabs Yama’s leg and leaps onto a branch of a nearby tree.

Even as Yama struggles, trying to strike or injure it in any way she can, the Witherclaw doesn't react. Its immense mana blocks most of her attacks. Still staring at me, it takes a bite of her leg. It reaches for another, but Yama vanishes into a spray of particles, likely having forfeited.

Jumping down from the branch, the Witherclaw steps toward me with the same predatory movement.

I hold my ground as it closes the distance. When it reaches arm’s length, the usually hunched beast straightens, standing several heads taller than me, its lanky, fragile-looking body looming overhead. It opens its mouth, releasing a deep, grating snarl while pressing down on me with its mana.

In response, I unleash my own. It surges outward, crushing the air with its weight as it engulfs the area and slams into the Witherclaw’s mana. My mana pushes against it, threatening to tear through and completely overwhelm it.

This time, I take a step forward, and instinctively, the Witherclaw steps back, ever so slightly hunching back down.

"Fuck. Off."

It hesitates for a few seconds before turning away and running toward more signatures.

I check the timer to confirm when I am allowed to kill it and follow behind.