Chapter 462: A Fierce Showdown [Part 5]
The creature standing before Northern defied conventional biology. Its pale, almost sickly flesh stretched taut over a muscular frame, displaying veins and tendons that pulsed with an unsettling rhythm, as if animated by an unnatural force.
Multiple elongated arms protruded from its torso, each limb ending in razor-sharp claws that curved like scythes, poised for violence.
These limbs twisted and coiled around its body in an almost serpentine manner, suggesting a creature that moved with both grace and grotesque agility.
Its head, crowned with a mane of long, white, braided hair, contrasted sharply against the pallor of its body, giving it an almost human-like visage marred by the feral intensity in its eyes.
These eyes, a piercing yellow, gleamed with a predatory intelligence, scanning the surroundings with the keen perception of a hunter forever on the prowl.
Sharp fangs jutted from its maw, completing the look of a creature bred for predation and survival in a realm far removed from any human concept of nature.
The creature's joints and flesh were interwoven with dark, fleshy tendrils that snaked across its form like parasitic veins, occasionally twitching and coiling as if they possessed a mind of their own.
Its entire structure exuded a sense of violent purpose, a being sculpted by the chaotic tapestry of a realm beyond reason, where its every movement blurred the line between organic and monstrous.
Northern glared at the visage of the creature, his face contorting with irritation.
The Kirithon let out a guttural screech that reverberated through the entire mountain. The mining field shook with tremors, and the soul summons currently mining paused and staggered back in fear.
Even Lynus and his subordinates, who were also mining, dropped the tools in their hands and looked towards the direction of the screech.
A tense frown appeared on Lynus's face, one that showed he was extremely wary of certain things.
'First was the enormous monster that fell from the sky, now this monstrous scream? What is this guy up to?'
He sincerely hoped that whatever Northern was doing would ultimately drive him to his own ruin. Then he would be able to break out of this place.
But right now, he had no choice but to observe how truly powerful this kid he had underestimated was.
He picked up his tool, an air of nonchalance wafting around him while others still seemed concerned about what was going on.
The soul summons most especially showed a level of concern that was equal to a creature fearing for its monarch.
The creature let out another bellowing screech that seemed to roll the dark skies of the Limitless Void.
It laid its evil eyes on Northern, then, with a mad speed that belied its size, it vanished, moving like a blur and appearing right in front of Northern.
It opened its maw, black streaks of light gathering at the point of opening. Instantly, it shot a black ball of light directly at Northern's face.
But Northern didn't need to deflect. This was the Limitless Void, after all. The force of defense was permanently up.
Northern was in his own soulscape; this was a domain that the Kirithon would never be able to win.
The black energy discharged and exploded like a nuclear bomb, razing the landscape with ravaging intensity.
But Northern was still standing, the land beneath his feet untouched while the surrounding terrain had been eaten away.
The air simmered with residual heat, the aftermath of the explosion still crackling like distant thunder.
The creature's screech, now mingled with frustration, echoed through the void, only to be swallowed by the vast emptiness.
Northern's eyes narrowed.
There was no time for arrogance, not here. He moved, not with the speed of desperation but with the precise, measured pace of someone who had traversed these battlefields countless times.
He lunged, the dark blade in his hand slicing through the dense air of the Limitless Void with a whisper of death.
The Kirithon reacted. A flurry of its elongated limbs whipped forward, a chaotic barrage of scythe-like claws aimed to rend Northern's flesh from bone.
Northern twisted his body, each movement a calculated dodge that allowed him to glide through the onslaught like smoke through a battlefield.
Claws slashed mere inches from his face, the wind from their force tugging at his armor, but none found purchase.
In a split second, Northern's stance shifted.
He pivoted on his heel, his momentum carrying him low beneath the creature's guard.
The onyx blade glimmered in the dim light of the void, thrusting upward, seeking the unprotected underbelly of the Kirithon.
The blade struck.
It plunged deep into the pale, sickly flesh, meeting resistance as if biting into something both organic and not.
A hiss erupted from the creature, not of pain but of sheer indignation, its form shuddering as dark tendrils lashed out from the wound like frantic serpents.
They coiled around Northern's arm, searing hot against his armor, each tendril pulsing with a rhythmic thrum that resonated with the erratic beat of the creature's unnatural heart.
Northern gritted his teeth, feeling the burn of the tendrils seeping into his flesh, attempting to tear his arm away.
But he held firm, driving the dark blade deeper, twisting his other hand and bringing the blade with deliberate cruelty, slashing across another part of the Kirithon's underbelly with
the Soul Taker.
The Kirithon reared back, wrenching its body away from the weapon embedded in it, the tendrils snapping back into its form with a wet, slithering sound.
A thick, viscous fluid, dark as the darkness itself, oozed from the wound, dripping to the ground where it sizzled and hissed upon contact.
With a roar that shook the foundations of the Limitless Void, the creature lashed out, its many limbs moving with the speed of a thousand striking serpents.
Northern was ready. He shifted his stance, following the principles of Chaos Step, his body flowing like water as he slipped past the first assault, his movements fluid and unbroken.
He brought the Soul Taker up in a sweeping arc, deflecting the next strike, then spun, his foot connecting with one of the creature's outstretched arms, sending it sprawling back.
But the Kirithon was relentless.
It recovered with disturbing agility, its limbs coiling and uncoiling as it launched itself at Northern once more.
This time, it moved with a vicious intent, no longer the wild, unfocused aggression of before.
It had learned. It adapted. Its movements became more deliberate, each strike calculated to corner Northern, to cut off his escape routes and force him into a fatal misstep.