novelraw Chapter 68: The Tiger’s Feast
Chapter 68: The Tiger’s Feast
"Who are you people, and what do you want?" Verso asked, his knuckles whitening as he tightened his grip on the Black Scythe.
He stared at the three men standing across from him. They were not just laughing at him, but also were looking at the group with a predatory look almost as if they had done this a hundred times before.
They were clearly not candidates partaking in the exam.
’How did they get in here?’
The dungeon gate was supposedly locked down for the exam. But as Verso scanned their clothes, he got the answer he was looking for.
Their gear was pretty high end, but it was slightly tattered, covered in layers of old salt stains and dried monster blood that looked days old.
’They didn’t break in,’ Verso realized, a chill running down his spine.
’They were here before the exam even started.’
"They are after Han," Lua gasped out.
She was leaning heavily against a rock and the crimson rapier in her hands was shaking. Her breath was shallow as blood slowly trickled from a wound on her shoulder.
"Four more of them... they went into the cavern after him."
The man in the front who looked like a veteran with a longsword, gave a low chuckle.
"Young man, I’m sorry to tell you that we were asked to leave no witnesses behind. Orders are orders."
Six massive brown wolves, each the size of a small car walked up beside him. Their fur was stained with blood as their eyes glowed with feral bloodlust.
"You should curse fate for stumbling upon us." The leader said.
With a sudden violent motion, he slashed his blade through the air. A sharp arc of blue energy hissed toward Verso, moving with the speed of a bullet.
CRACK.
A small stone golem manifested instantly in the path of the bolt.
The blue energy shattered the golem into a thousand pieces of rubble instantly, but the impact was neutralized.
"Actually," Verso said, his voice dropping into a low and dangerous tone.
"I think you’re the ones who should curse fate." As he flicked his wrist outward.
The ground groaned as seven massive summoning rifts tore open in a semi circle around the group.
Seven Giant Golems, each standing nearly twelve feet tall, walked out of the rifts. Their yellow runes flared with a blinding intensity.
The three men’s laughter died instantly.
The three mercenaries instantly went serious, their hands shifting to a tighter grip on their weapons.
They had not expected to fight a no name candidate with this many Mutant summons.
"Tch," the leader spat, though his eyes were now darting between the golems.
"You think this is enough to take us on? Once the four guys inside are done killing your friend, it is just a matter of time before all of you die."
The two other men whistled, and the six Mutant wolves walked outwards, preparing to clash with the stone wall of golems.
Seeing this Verso’s mind raced.
He had the numbers, but the dead wingless bats on the ground were a grim reminder of how strong these men and their summons were.
If their partners did end up coming out of that cavern, then there was a very likely chance that the situation was going to become even more dire.
’Fuck, Han, what are you doing!’
Suddenly, three dark puddles appeared on the ground between Verso and the mercenaries.
Three Umbra Panthers leaped out of the shadows, streaks of shadows leaking from their fur as they let out low, vibrating growls.
"Leave this to me." A voice called out from above.
Verso looked up to see Xavier standing on his Stone Gargoyle, his lightning spear crackling with yellow sparks.
The blonde boy walked off the edge of the gargoyle’s back, dropping ten feet and landing perfectly in a crouch before the mercenaries.
"You go after Han," Xavier said, standing up and spinning his spear, he did not look back at Verso.
"I’ve got these vultures."
’He’s right,’ Verso realized, his heart hammering.
’If I can help Han take out the four guys then we can gank up on these three!’
He didn’t waste another second as Verso broke into a sprint, heading straight for the yawning mouth of the cavern.
"Oh no you don’t!" The lead mercenary roared, swinging his sword to launch another blue arc at Verso’s back.
But before the energy could leave the blade, a bolt of lightning struck the man’s sword, forcing him to dodge.
Verso disappeared into the darkness of the cave just as the sound of clashing steel and snarling wolves erupted behind him.
"You’re against me now," Xavier said.
Verso caught one last glimpse of the blonde boy who had an insane looking smile had stretched across his face, one that looked more like Moon’s.
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Verso rushed into the cavern, his boots skidding on the damp floor.
’Please be fine, Han! No way you died this quick!’
The path was a familiar as it was similar to the caverns he had entered before, twisting deeper into the heart of the island.
As he rounded the final corner into the massive, hollowed out opening, the smell hit him first.
It wasn’t the salty rotting smell of the Siren, it was the heavy metallic scent of fresh human blood.
Verso froze.
The scene in the center of the room was a nightmare.
Three bodies lay scattered across the rocky floor, their limbs twisted at impossible angles and huge chunks of flesh missing from their torsos.
These were the mercenaries who had followed Han.
In the center of the cavern stood an eight foot tall White Tiger with two curved horns protruding from each side of its head.
It was hunched over the fourth man, its massive jaws currently munching on the mercenary’s shoulder with a sickening crunch sound.
Standing in front of the tiger was Han.
His ancient black robes were shredded and soaked in blood that wasn’t his. He was standing perfectly still, his golden revolver held loosely at his side.
As Verso stepped into the light, Han slowly turned his head.
The dead look was back, but this time it was fully hollow, cold, and utterly terrifying. He looked at Verso as if the boy was nothing more than another piece of meat for his tiger.
"So," Han said, his voice a calm like a chilling whisper that echoed off the cavern walls.
"You finally came to finish the job, huh?"