Chapter 53: Summoner’s New Arts

Chapter 53: Summoner’s New Arts Carlos groaned as he pushed himself up from the bark of the tree he’d crashed into. His left arm burned with pain, a thin line of blood trailing down to his elbow. He winced, shaking his head as the world stopped spinning. The fight earlier had left him drained, but that was when he heard the deep, resonating snort of a beast. His eyes darted forward, widening as another Minotaur emerged from the dense thicket. This one was larger—towering—its hide covered in scars and dried blood. It gripped a massive wooden club in its right hand, dragging it along the forest floor, leaving a line in the dirt as if to mark its next kill. Carlos didn’t flinch. It was an apex beast like the one before. Gritting his teeth, he exhaled sharply and dashed forward, lightning crackling across the blades in his hands. With a roar, he plunged both daggers into the creature’s throat, lightning exhuming from the blades like a storm given flesh. The beast let out a choking gasp, blood pouring from the wound as it stumbled back. Its club slipped from its grip and slammed into the dirt. Moments later, the Minotaur’s massive body crumpled to the forest floor with a dull thud, its life extinguished. Carlos stepped back, breathing heavily as he wiped his arm across his face. The coppery scent of blood mixed with the ozone of lightning still lingered in the air. He stared at the corpse for a moment longer before nodding. "It’s done," he muttered. Turning to return to his teammates, Carlos took a step— And that was when a crash of thunder struck. The massive club slammed into his side from nowhere, sending him hurtling like a ragdoll into a nearby tree. He smashed into it with enough force to split bark, and pain exploded through his ribs. He coughed harshly, blood staining his lip. His vision blurred, but through the haze, he saw something that chilled him to the core. The Minotaur... was standing again. It was healing rapidly. The slash across its throat sealed within seconds, and the light returned to its beastly eyes, now gleaming with savage fury. "No... no way," Carlos whispered, squinting in pain. He forced himself to stand. Blood dripped from his lip, his chest heaved—but he wasn’t done yet. He wouldn’t die here. With a scream, he lunged forward. The Minotaur raised its club again, aiming for Carlos’ head. But before it could connect, Carlos vanished in a burst of lightning. "Instinct swap!" he yelled, now behind the beast. He slashed at the Minotaur’s hind leg with ferocity and precision, his blades carving deeply into the muscle. The Minotaur staggered with a shriek and dropped to one knee, its massive body trembling. "If the throat won’t kill you..." Carlos snarled, leaping high into the air above the creature’s head, "then I’ll burn your brain instead!" He drove both lightning-infused daggers into the top of the Minotaur’s skull, pressing them in with every ounce of strength he had left. Lightning surged from his body into the beast, uncontrollable and brutal. The Minotaur let out a horrifying, ear-shattering cry. Blue light began to leak from every orifice—its mouth, its nostrils, and its eyes. Smoke curled from its fur as the scent of roasted flesh filled the air. Finally, its body collapsed in a heap, unmoving. Carlos stood motionless, staring. His hands trembled. He waited. Seconds passed. Then a full minute. Still no movement. Only then did he exhale, releasing the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He nodded slowly. "Stay down this time." But the relief was fleeting. The sky above darkened without warning. Carlos’ shadow stretched unnaturally long. His instincts screamed. RUUNNNNNN! He dove left—just in time—as the club smashed into the ground where he’d stood, shattering the earth and sending a violent gust of wind that made him stagger back several feet. Carlos steadied himself, heart pounding in disbelief. ’What the hell? How is that bastard still alive?!’ The Minotaur stood once more, club in hand, as if nothing had happened. Carlos cursed under his breath. "I guess it can’t be helped then." He sheathed his daggers. A blue glow began to pulse beneath his feet. The energy snaked out from the earth, swirling in currents around him. Then, with a flash, the energy exploded upward, taking form. A beast emerged from the storm—a lion-like creature with a body built like a fortress and four dragonfly-like wings that vibrated with power. Carlos smirked. "This is the first form of my summon... and the last you’ll ever see." With a snap of his fingers, the summon vanished and reappeared in front of the Minotaur in an instant, lightning trailing behind it like a divine storm. The lion’s paw slammed into the beast— And the Minotaur’s body disintegrated into ash. No scream. No final stand. Just pure, instantaneous death. Carlos stared at the spot in disbelief. ’The lightning summons of my family... unstable and powerful. That was barely a sliver of its strength.’ He dismissed the summon, shaking his head. "I’d like to see you come back from that." --- Meanwhile... Kairos exhaled deeply, ears straining as he concentrated. He had to rely entirely on his hearing—his eyes were useless here. The Invisible Spider skittered across the battleground, its presence detectable only by faint sounds and the vibrations in the air. One mistake and both he and his summon would die. Then—he heard it. He sprinted forward, merging into the rhythm of the forest, each step disappearing like smoke in the wind. He moved faster than sight, his Echo Walk technique bending time in brief flashes. He reached the spot he calculated the spider to be. Shadow energy surged around his body, focusing in his left arm. "Dark Spear!" He leapt into the air, the energy forming into a spear-like point around his gauntlet, and he hurled it with all his might. The Spider reacted in time, retreating back—dodging the spear just barely. But that had been the plan all along. As the spider evaded the attack, Kairos’ Shadow Wolf appeared behind it, striking with precision. A blast of shadow energy erupted from its tail, slamming into the spider’s abdomen. The Spider shrieked, green blood spraying, but it wasn’t fatal. That was fine. The spider thought, as long as I escaped the much fatal attack I... Kairos and the Shadow Wolf swapped places—teleporting. The Spider hadn’t seen it coming. Kairos appeared behind the creature and punched through it with his dark spear technique, his hand piercing through the beast’s chest. Green blood splattered as the spider’s body flickered and became visible. Its invisibility faded the moment it died. Kairos stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground, breath ragged. His body trembled, completely spent. Still... he smiled. He had won. Two apex-ranked beasts in one day. He had truly gone beyond. He looked up at his Shadow Wolf. It stared at the spider’s remains, hunger gleaming in its eyes. "You can have the spider. Don’t touch the Minotaur." The wolf needed no further command. It prowled forward, shadows extending from its paws like ink. The shadows enveloped the spider’s body and within moments—nothing remained but bones. [Shadow Wolf has gotten stronger.] [Shadow Wolf has defeated an enemy stronger than its existence.] [Evolution.] Kairos gulped. ’Evolution... again?!’ From a distance, Rivet and his team had watched everything—speechless. First, they’d been stunned by Kairos’ martial techniques. Now, they watched his summon consume a beast whole. "What the hell is this guy?" one of the soldiers asked. "How is his summon absorbing a beast like that?" But Rivet wasn’t just surprised. His eyes sparkled with interest and something far more calculating. ’Knowing that bastard, He always seemed to be hiding something... So the something is this powerful.’ Rivet smirked, raising a finger. "Keep recording, boys. This is getting a hell of a lot more interesting than I thought."