novelraw Chapter 140: Facing Kaela Part II
Chapter 140: Facing Kaela Part II
At that moment, as if to prove my point, her glare suddenly turned unimaginably frightening. My entire body trembled and locked up as if I were staring into the eyes of an apex predator. An immense aura burst out of her and crashed into me, pinning me down with suffocating pressure, and I couldn’t even twitch a finger.
You have been afflicted with Predator’s Gaze
You are stricken with fear.
All stats have been temporarily reduced by 20%.
Movement speed decreased by 50%.
Your body has momentarily frozen up and is unable to move.
You have been afflicted with Berserker Aura
Skill effectiveness has decreased by 20%.
This sensation—this crushing dread—felt eerily similar to the skill Graham had used against me back in the Grand Colosseum. Crap!
As I remained frozen in place, Kaela’s silhouette blurred through the haze of her aura, launching toward me at an alarming speed.
Damn it, move! I’m stronger than I ever was before! I bit my lower lip so hard that blood began to drip down my chin.
One Who Conquered the Impossible’s effect has activated.
All your reduced stats have returned to normal.
You are no longer frozen in place.
[Desperate Willpower Lv.8] has activated.
Your combat power has increased by 24%.
A rush of clarity snapped through my nerves like lightning. The suffocating weight crushing my chest vanished, and strength flooded back into my limbs. I gasped and staggered forward—finally able to move again.
Unfortunately, Kaela didn’t grant me even a fraction of a second to recover.
In the very next instant, an agonizing pain tore across my back as her claws raked through my armor. Before I could even turn toward the attack, her fist slammed into my ribs, driving the air from my lungs and sending a sharp jolt of pain through my entire torso.
I turned around just in time to catch a flicker of white fur—only for her to vanish and reappear on my opposite side. A sharp kick struck my thigh, sending me stumbling. Scratch seven hundred, her Dexterity has to be over eight hundred!
She was circling me at an impossible speed. Even with my stats restored and then boosted further by Desperate Willpower, I still couldn’t match her movements. She was truly a monster among monsters.
Pain flared across my leg as I steadied myself. Meanwhile, Kaela had never stopped moving, and she lunged in again, her claws slicing through the air in streaks of silver. Another slash grazed my forearm, leaving a burning line of pain. I swung my sword defensively, but I was always a breath too slow—always reacting after she’d already moved. If this kept up, I’d be shredded before I could mount a real offense.
HP: 72%
Left with no other choice, I decided to bite the bullet. I planted my foot, channeled mana deep into my blade, and roared, “Windstorm!”
Activating this skill required a bit of time. As such, I instantly activated Weapon Manifestation in tandem with Cryo Magic, conjuring several icy shields around me in rapid succession. The circular barriers snapped into place like floating frost mirrors, locking into formation to intercept Kaela’s incoming blows, even if only for a few seconds. But that was all that I needed.
As she broke through the icy shields and swung her claws toward my neck, the sword vibrated violently, and a massive burst of compressed air detonated outward in a spiraling vortex. The sudden eruption of wind tore through the dueling cube like a miniature hurricane. Dust, debris, and fractured tiles whipped into the air. Kaela, mid-attack, widened her eyes as the force slammed into her torso.
“Huh—?!”
The gale hurled her backward, her body flipping through the air before she dug her claws into the floor to grind herself to a stop. Deep gouges tore across the tiles as she braced against the wind, her muscles straining to keep herself from being swept away.
I didn’t stop with just that. Using the combination of Weapon Manifestation and Cryo Magic, I conjured more than a dozen icy blades that materialized around me. With a sharp gesture, I sent them all raining down upon her.
The blades whistled through the air, descending in a deadly barrage. Kaela glanced upward, her ears twitching, and snarled. She pushed off in a burst of motion despite the storm of wind still raging around her. The first few icy blades slammed into her crossed arms, exploding into shards of frost that scattered across the cube. Then she retaliated, punching straight through the barrage with overwhelming force, shattering one blade after another as if they were nothing more than glass ornaments.
“Hah! Cheap tricks!” she roared.
This is a no-go… All my tricks are ineffective against her. Guess there’s no other choice but to use “that” if I want even a chance of winning, I thought, steeling my resolve.
Then I uttered, “Fabled Vessel.”
You have activated Fabled Vessel.
Please select a divine hero or demigod that you want to possess.
[The Crimson Sovereign – Tyrant of the End]
[Voldrath the Eternal – The Lich-King of a Million Souls]
[Alric the Sword Saint – Hero of the Eternal Blade]
…
Without hesitation, I chose Alric the Sword Saint.Top of Form
You have possessed [Alric the Sword Saint].
Warning: Your current stats are too low to receive his full power!
Only 2% of Alric’s power is transferred to you.
Your stats have temporarily increased significantly.
Your swordsmanship-related skills have drastically improved.
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Perfect Blade Form Lv.10].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Phantom Cut Lv.8].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Sword Intent Lv.7].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Sword Aura Lv.5].
The instant I possessed Alric, his skills poured into me, and my entire perception sharpened. The world seemed to slow as my mind surged forward with a clarity and precision far beyond my own limits. My grip on the sword steadied instinctively, my stance tightening and solidifying as though guided by invisible hands, shaping me into a top-tier swordsman within the blink of an eye.
Unbothered by my sudden transformation, Kaela pounced at me again, claws ready to tear me apart. But this time… I moved first. With a single, precise step forward, my blade swung in a flawless arc. A thin, immaculate line of silver light swept across the cube. Kaela’s eyes widened as a shallow cut opened across her abdomen—appearing before she even realized she’d been struck.
“Wh–What?”
I didn’t give her a moment to process what was happening as Sword Aura erupted around me, immediately pressing into her aura with terrifying force. Even Kaela’s feral instincts couldn’t stop her from freezing for a fraction of a second under the pressure.
As Perfect Blade Form activated, my sword moved without hesitation, tracing flawless arcs through the air. Paired with Phantom Cut, three overlapping lines of flying sword slashes materialized at once and struck Kaela simultaneously, drawing blood and driving her backward. Cracks spread across the floor as she struggled to regain her footing.
Seeing that the attack wasn’t enough to take her down, I rushed toward her and swung my blade. She tried to retaliate with a sweeping claw, but I effortlessly redirected her momentum as though her strength weighed nothing. A perfect thrust pierced the air beside her cheek, carving a faint line across her skin. Another cut slashed her shoulder, forcing her several steps back.
For the first time, it was Kaela who couldn’t keep up with me.
Blood trickled from her arm as her posture dipped slightly, her breath hitching from the pain and exhaustion. Yet her golden eyes were filled with wild, primal excitement.
Then she threw her head back and laughed with a manic expression.
“Hahahaha! That’s it, human! You finally showed me something to back up your arrogance!” Kaela shouted, baring her fangs in a wide grin. “Now it’s my turn to show you something interesting.”
Her manic laughter didn’t stop. If anything, it grew louder and deeper like the howl of a beast. Her muscles tensed, swelling beneath her skin. Silver light erupted from her body, crackling like arcs of lightning.
“Watch closely, human…” Kaela growled, opening her palm before her, then clenching it. “This is the true power of a Beast Berserker. Beastification!”
Suddenly, Kaela’s body began to distort—her shoulders broadening, her limbs thickening unnaturally as fur burst from her skin like exploding needles. Her tail elongated, snaking across the ground. Her fingers stretched, bones cracking as they morphed into razor-tipped claws the size of daggers. Crunching noises echoed from every part of her body as her frame reshaped itself.
Then her jaw snapped forward, reshaping into a lupine muzzle lined with serrated fangs. A monstrous roar ripped from her throat, shaking the entire cube. “GROOOOAAARRR!!”
When the transformation finally settled, Kaela towered over me—nearly four meters tall, a colossal humanoid wolf beast built purely for slaughter. Gray and white fur bristled along her massive arms and legs, every muscle rippling with terrifying power. Her golden eyes—still unmistakably Kaela’s—burned with unrestrained battle frenzy.
I’m fucked. Guess this is why her class is Beast Berserker… Of course, she can transform into a giant wolf beast…
She exhaled, and a plume of hot air visibly steamed from her nostrils. “Try not… to die… too fast… human.”
Before I could answer, she vanished.
A shockwave blasted outward as Kaela moved so fast that even with the enhanced stats and Alric’s skills enhancing me, I barely registered the blur before she reappeared above me, her massive shadow swallowing my entire field of vision. Her claws descended like a guillotine.
Boom!
I barely rolled away as her strike obliterated half the floor, leaving a crater several meters deep. The cube trembled violently under the sheer, monstrous force of her transformed strength.
“Ghhh! No other choice. It’s time to go all out!” I gritted my teeth and activated Berserk.
You have entered Berserk Mode.
Power surged through my limbs like boiling lava, spreading through every muscle and nerve with explosive force. My vision tinted crimson as my Strength and Stamina skyrocketed. The pain in my ribs dulled, my fatigue evaporating beneath the fury.
Kaela noticed immediately, and she dashed toward me—her colossal frame blurring like a streak of silver lightning. Flinch I did not. I simply stepped forward to meet her, raising my sword. As her massive claws descended, I swung upward to intercept.
The impact triggered a shockwave that rippled through the cube, sending tiles exploding in every direction. My legs nearly buckled under the force, but I managed to hold my ground. Kaela’s eyes widened in surprise—seeing her attack blocked despite her Beastification.
Before she could reposition, I lunged in with a Phantom Slash. Two phantom afterimages appeared behind my real blade, tearing across her massive torso in three clean, overlapping strikes. The force drove her back several paces, claws gouging furrows into the floor as she steadied herself.
She retaliated instantly. One of her claws scraped across my temple, carving a sharp line of pain and drawing a streak of blood.
With all my cards laid out on the table, I could finally meet her blow for blow. My technique and speed gave me the edge, while her strength and stamina were overwhelmingly superior. Thus, neither of us was yielding, and neither of us was able to gain ground.
This fight… had become a stalemate.