fKyran did not avoid the worm-like beast's beady eyes. Even though every part of him was screaming for him to run, he chose to hold his ground instead control his uneven breathing.
The worm-like beast appeared to be staring at him, but Kyran hid inside the carcass ribcage. It might have smelled him because he did smell right now, but it could also be wondering whether the smell was from the beast carcass or something else. After all, the worm-like beast did not attack at once.
Kyran had an escape route planned before deciding to watch the confrontation between the dog-croco and comodo-jaguar beasts. But if he had moved as soon as the beast looked his way, then he broke his cover just to be killed. Because fighting a large-sized beast, which was bigger than the mutated Basilisk in the Valley of Morte, was suicide. Especially now that his magic usage was limited, he could not use any of the Regis Technique. The only thing he could rely on was his measly human body, innate ability—which appeared to be useless in this situation—and the weapons he just forged. All of which might be above average in terms of quality. But he was an insignificant lifeform compared to the beast in front of him.
The worm-like beast's beady eyes squinted as it arched its back, ultimately emerging its lower body from under the ground.
It was then that Kyran had a better look at its tails. Its tails were at least a hundred meters long, and though it looked like snake tails, its appearance reminded him of a sea-type beast he once read back in military school; a legendary-type sea beast named Kraken. Attached at the end of each of its tails were different weird-looking, small-sized beasts. The dog-croco beast was just one of them.
Kyran's heart pounded heavily in his chest. Cold sweat trickled down the side of his face, as well as his back, while he watched the beast wriggle its way near the carcass he was hiding.
Doing his best to control his breathing, Kyran gripped the hilt of one of his short blades. The worm-like beast's eyes were too small, and he was not confident he could aim at it well given its movement. He did not even have anything at his disposal that he could use to divert its attention while he moved in for an instant kill.
No.
He did not need a diversion.
Kyran's greatest advantage right now was that the worm-like beast had no idea what he was, so he should take the initiative to attack.
Keeping this in mind, Kyran immediately formulated a plan.
The moment the worm-like beast was only five meters away from the carcass, Kyran's left hand flicked over his tool belt, swiping three short blades at once and throwing them at the worm-like beast's face.
He aimed for its eyes, but just as he predicted, at the exact moment he moved, the worm-like beast's beady eyes glinted, and its several tails stretched out. The small-sized beasts attached at the end of the tails fused, with four of them swatting the short blades aimed at its head as if they were annoying flies. The rest of the tails shot forward and pierced through the carcass's ribcage.
BOOM!
A cloud of black dirt and beast decay scattered everywhere.
WHEEEEENG!
The worm-like beast wailed, opening its massive mouth in anger.
WHOOSH!
A five-meter long dark purple spear with a diameter of seven centimeters whizzed out from the cloud of black dirt and went straight into the worm-like beast's opened mouth.
Before the dark purple spear could enter the beast's mouth, all of its tails moved to cover its mouth.
SIZZLE!
When the tails touched the dark purple spear, they passed through, cutting all of them like tofus.
WHEEEEENG!
The worm-like beast wailed as dark blue blood spurted out from the tails' cut.
WHOOSH!
The dark purple spear flew straight into the mouth, piercing its top palate. The spear didn't stop and continued to push inside the palate, working its way inside.
BLOP! BLOP!
Gurgling sounds erupted within the worm-like beast as the spear made through inside.
And then…
BOOM!
Dark blue blood, flesh, and body matter splattered everywhere, mixing in with the cloud of black dirt as its head was
One by one, the small-sized beasts emerged from the intact part of the tails, and they all wailed in pain.
WHOOSH!
Several short blades wheezed out from every direction within the cloud of black dirt and went straight into the mouths of the small-sized beasts. The short blades hit the mouth's top palate and continued to pierce through until they hit the area where the brains were located.
All at once, the wailing sounds stopped.
The tails convulsed for a few seconds, then it stopped before finally falling on the ground with a loud thud.
The cloud of black dirt finally dispersed, revealing the destroyed carcass's where Kyran hid. It also revealed the worm-like beast's body as dark blue blood spurted out from its destroyed head.
A silhouette slowly approached the worm-like beast's head.
The silhouette was other than Kyran.
After the tails of the worm-like beast attacked the carcass where he was, he barely managed to avoid getting skewered alive. Then he took advantage of the cloud of black dirt to move and summon an enhanced Void Spear.
At first, Kyran pondered how he could make the beast open its mouth as wide as possible so he could aim the Void spear inside. He believed that he would not have a second chance if he aimed at its head outside and missed. Luckily, the worm-like beast appeared to have been pissed by the fact he had experienced another sneak attack; thus, it wailed in anger. When it did, Kyran did not hesitate and immediately aimed for its mouth. After which, he made the Void Spear explode.
Noticing that the worm-like beast's tails were still moving even after its head had exploded, Kyran prepared to attack those. He had already grabbed the shaft of the bone spear he forged and was about to cut the tails into many pieces when suddenly the small-sized beasts appeared one after another. Instead of using the bone spear, he used the short blades and similarly aimed at their opened mouths. Thus, killing the worm-like beast's tails as well.
Kyran cautiously approached the worm-like beast and checked if it still had any pulse.
Though it appeared to have died, who knew if it had another trick up its sleeves? Kyran felt that the worm-like beast could regenerate as long as one of its tails was alive. If that happened, he would definitely die.
Kyran heaved a sigh after confirming that the beast had really died.
Using the Void Spear, like how he used a Void Needle, was a gamble. Creating such a huge spear and making it explode took a lot of his magic reserves as well as mentally exhausting him. After all, the needle worked with his Regis Technique, and now that he could not do that, he had to put the new idea he learned about his Void into play. If it did not work, then at least he aimed for the beast's brain. Maybe the spear would not kill it instantly, but it could delay it, and Kyran could run.
'But if that also did not work… will I really die in this place?' Kyran wondered as he looked up at the dark starless sky.
His eyes narrowed as he thought of the reason why he was here in the first place. What would happen to his clan if he died here without accomplishing anything? Would the Royal Army stop harassing them, or would they continue to do so in the pretense that they let a 'threat' live?
'I won't die. I can't. There are still so many things I had to do,' Kyran thought as his eyes glinted with resolve.
Kyran buried his resolve deep within his heart. Without further ado, he studied the worm-like beast's body and looked for its lungs. Technically, it was his prey. Now, he was just collecting the lungs he needed to enter the clearing to the black obelisk.
It took Kyran more than an hour to locate the beast's lungs. It was his first time dissecting a worm-like beast. He found the experience enlightening, especially on how different its internal body structure was. Its internal organs also looked different, but since blood usually passes through the lungs, he collected those with a dark blue hue.
Three organs had a dark blue hue, and one of these would definitely be the lungs.
Because the organs were big, Kyran could only place them on one of the skulls he found nearby and dragged it with him back to the obelisk, all the while praying that he did not meet any beasts.
It took Kyran hours before he finally returned to the clearing. He never had issues with direction, but it appeared as if the obelisk had changed location. Kyran was not making excuses. The black obelisk did move. Proof of that was the carcasses around it had changed. As to how and why it moved, he had no idea. Kyran had no plans of knowing either.. All that mattered to him was to understand why the Void path led him to this place to train.