Chapter 585: Chaos Flame (True Form) [Part 1]
Northern watched as Dante stumbled back, his boots scraping against the crimson ground. The Lieutenant's face betrayed a flash of frustration—perhaps even fear.
Northern's eyes purposefully measured and followed every single one of their strikes.
By now, it was evident enough that the shell areas of the Dark Turtle served not just as a damage absorber but also a damage reflector.
The Dark Turtle's single eye seemed to pulse with cruel intelligence as it tracked their movements.
Its massive form shifted, the black plates of its armor grinding against each other like tectonic plates in motion.
That sound—that horrible grinding-seemed to reach into Northern's chest and squeeze.
Something about it felt wrong, fundamentally wrong, as if the noise itself was an affront to nature.
Northern gritted his teeth, gnashing angrily as he propped himself up.
"Damn turtle," he muttered in disgust, circling his arm, the left first and then the right, before fixing the monster with a dirty glare.
As if waiting for him, the creature's eye flared bright crimson. The red veins across its shell pulsed, and suddenly the air grew thick with an oppressive energy.
Northern felt it first-a crushing weight that seemed to press against his very soul. His legs trembled, fighting against an invisible force that threatened to bring him to his knees.
"Everyone, move!" he shouted, but his warning came a fraction too late.
The Dark Turtle's shell erupted with crimson light, and waves of force exploded outward in all directions.
The ground beneath their feet cracked and splintered, fragments of earth hanging suspended in the air for a heartbeat before being violently repelled.
Alystren was caught mid-stride. The wave struck him like a physical blow, sending him tumbling backward.
He managed to drive his sword into the ground, using it as an anchor-it was not enough, the force uprooted and threw him into the air but thin, green threads flew out of his body and attached themselves to the ground, pulling and grounding him with an even more resisting force.
Northern blinked for a moment, observing the guy's ability. He looked down and saw.
[You have discovered Talent (Mulish Thread) (A)]
[Do you want to copy (Mulish Thread) for 700 talent fragments]
'Oh? Cool. Yes,' he grinned.
[You have copied Talent (Mulish Thread)(A) for 700 talent fragments]
'I guess I'll check it out later,' Northern raised his head, returning his focus to the ongoing battle.
Everyone was actively engaging and disengaging the monster, everyone except the Lieutenant's trio. They had tried, but one reflected damage had sent Shane reeling so far back
that finding her way would be another hectic work and walk for her.
The other two understood that there was no place for them in this battle.
Even Ryan couldn't find an opening to attack. He wasn't the best when it came to close
combat, but his destructive ability made up for that more than enough.
However, he was being very calculative; there was no way he was just going to attack without inhibiting the rapid and flowing movements of the rest of them.
As the force struck, he put up a fortress of ice, but it meant nothing-everything shattered into splinters as he was thrown away.
Shin's clones dissipated instantly from the brunt of the monster's red energy, the dark essence that formed them scattered like smoke in a storm.
The real Shin barely managed to cross his arms before the blast reached him, his feet sliding backward, leaving deep grooves in the earth.
Dante fared slightly better, having anticipated the attack. He dropped low, one hand pressed against the ground, his body wreathed in a faint red glow that seemed to deflect the worst of the force.
Northern easily shielded himself with Void Force, the blast seemed like it was sucked into the air, but his body felt the strong force of the attack, taking him back one step.
As the waves of force subsided, leaving them all staggered, the Dark Turtle's eye fixed once again on Northern.
There was something almost contemplative in that gaze now, as if it was measuring him
anew.
Something about the look in the creature's eyes did not sit well with Northern, and it was even more frustrating that he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet.
He had faced powerful enemies before, but this was different. This creature wasn't just strong -it was intelligent, methodical, patient.
And they were running out of options.
The red veins in its shell began to pulse again, faster this time. Whatever was coming next would be worse.
Much worse.
The Dark Turtle's shell began to emit a low, resonating hum that made Northern's teeth ache. The crimson veins pulsed with increasing intensity, like a heartbeat growing stronger, more
urgent.
'It's charging something,' Northern thought, his eyes narrowing. 'But what?'
"Don't let it finish whatever it's doing!" Dante shouted, already moving forward despite the
obvious strain in his movements from the previous attack.
"Everyone stop!" Northern's voice rolled out like thunder.
With the way his voice came out, there was no way anyone wouldn't stop.
All of them, even the already moving Dante, were halted in their tracks by Northern's voice.
Dante turned. "This is really not the time for your show off."
Northern had a dark frown on his face as he turned to the Lieutenant.
"Show off? I'm about to take on this damn thing for real, who's talking to you about show off.
The rest of you are just going to be a hindrance."
The creature paused, its eyes gluing to Northern who slowly walked forward.
It was as if there was a silent, intellectual acknowledgment from the monster as Northern
moved closer.
Its kind of behavior was not one any of them had seen. Except Northern, of course.
'Devils are quite the annoying monsters. With a Behemoth, I can tell how dangerous a monster of such caliber would be...' His eyes radiated with a cold blue light.
"I have spent the past few minutes gauging the monster's ability."
Not just with his senses but also his magnificent eyes.
Northern grinned sinisterly. "Don't worry, it's beatable. I got worked up for nothing really."
All of them frowned in different shades.
"I said this is not the time for that!" Dante yelled.
"Northern, this is a Behemoth, you said it yourself. This is something we have to work
together to defeat. Only you can't do this."
Northern raised a corner of his lips, his eyes fixed on the monster.
"Nah, I'm enough." He looked at them again. "You all can step back. No one will be dying
soon after all."
Shin and the others finally stepped back, taking several leaps to give Northern and the monster enough space.
Northern raised his hand, looking at his palm with a dangerous look in his eyes.
"Come, black flame."
WHOOM
Black flame ignited in his hands, dancing gently with a bluish dark depth.
The dark luminescence of the flame reflected on Northern's face as his eyes pierced deeper
into it.
Then his voice came again, this time low-he was talking to himself.
"Infuse it with Chaos essence instead of Void."
WHOOOOM
The flames escalated, in an instant changing color from black to impure white, however, still
keeping its flame properties.
Only now, its otherworldly dance was more intimidating and awe-striking, dwarfing both
Northern and the monster.
"What is that?" Alystren muttered in confusion from where he was.
The rest of them also had that expression that asked the same question.
Northern looked at the flames, satisfied.
"So this is what the true Chaos Flames look like, huh."
Since he had no chaos essence, Void essence had always been used to propagate both Black
Flame and Black Lance. But they were essentially parts of Chaos Flame.
And now that Northern could use Chaos essence, he would finally be able to bring the
attribute to life.
He raised his second hand, spreading out his palm, and he uttered:
"Black Lance."
A vicious black spear appeared from his palm, plunging toward the sky with ominous sparks
running around it.
Northern observed to his satisfaction then infused the lance with Chaos Essence.
Just like before, the lance exploded. As it exploded, the surrounding ground began to slice
randomly.
All of them immediately put up all their defenses to protect themselves, watching the clean, untraceable cuts that separated several points of the ground.
Northern's expression became more evil as he thought.
'I wonder what will happen when the true nature of a flame that can burn anything, mixes
with the true nature of a lance that can deliver a cut that only its target can take...'
A twisted darkness fell on his face, blue light radiating in his eyes. The monster also seemed
to be taking its time waiting for Northern, taking forever to charge up its strike.
"Now let's watch you absorb and deflect this."
The air grew thick with tension as Northern's aura shifted, becoming darker, more
malevolent.
The white flame danced before him like living entities, casting eerie shadows across the
crimson ground.
With deliberate slowness, Northern brought his hands together. The flames and the lance began to swirl, intertwining in a display that made reality itself seem to warp.