LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 169
Red eyes and bright yellow pupils glare at each other.
They’re staring at one another, but the emotions are completely different. While the calm Marang remains unfazed, the expression of the Plague twists into something grotesque.
The humiliation of having to flee from those pesky creatures that could shred him to pieces the moment he descends. The annoyance of having scattered the Plague from his group.
And above all, the fact that the Wolf—who used to be of no concern—is now blocking his way. All of this is ruffling the Plague’s feathers.
It’s frustrating. The way the Wolf seems intent on holding on and enduring the fight.
Its long tail sways around looking for an opening, but the Wolf doesn’t budge, and that only further angers the Plague.
The rat extends its front paw, but the Wolf anticipated the move and started climbing it instead.
It was annoying that the Plague had avoided the attack, but he figured it was inconsequential. Because, after all, it made contact.
How foolish—climbing up without a clue that it was destined for death. Even though he was injured and exhausted, his essence remained unchanged. Soon enough, he would melt down into a puddle of blood—but that thought was misguided.
As the Plague expected it to decay and fall apart quickly, it was startled when the Wolf sunk its teeth into his nape and began to squirm.
He hurriedly reached out to throw the Wolf aside, but the Wolf jumped down faster. The Plague couldn’t quite grasp the situation that its way was still being blocked by the Wolf.
Why? Just why? No, how?
When the Plague saw his own flesh caught on the Wolf’s teeth, and even spat it out and trampled over it, the focus in his eyes began to fade.
The little sanity remaining slipped away entirely. The lord of the Plague roared in a twisted manner, pressing his front paw against the ground.
His anger toward the Wolf topped his survival instincts. The beast howled, vowing to devour the irritating Wolf, as those red eyes that did not avert their gaze pierced through the very essence of calamity.
[Plague Spreader (Flag Road)]
[Length 35.4m] [Height 16.4m] [Weight 259.6t]
[Strength 674] [Agility 751] [Stamina 738] [Magic Power 754]
Despite its intimidating stats appearing somewhat lacking compared to the Disease, it was indeed a monster befitting the name of a disaster.
Not even complete as an individual, but a true lord in his swarm. Yet even now, the Wolf remained far from being within reach.
The Wolf, knowing full well, still tried to fight.
A sliver of desperate greed clung to the Wolf. Until he reconciled with himself, he definitely wouldn’t stop chasing.
Marang’s shadows rose in dozens to pierce the Plague, yet evaporated before they could reach him.
The formless shadows wavered and seeped into the ground, disappearing. Finally, the Plague charged, leading with its enormous fangs, while the Wolf watched until that movement became familiar.
Familiarity was far from reached. It was barely perceiving a fading afterimage.
The beast rushing with horrifying speed was the ultimate threat. Green smoke flowed from the Plague’s jaw, resembling the Wolf’s mist and trailing behind it.
If it merely touched its skin, it would be consumed quicker than melting. That’s why the Wolf tolerated it. But if he came into contact with that smoke, he’d surely turn into a puddle of blood. The Wolf foresaw countless futures ahead.
Among those countless futures, there wasn’t a single scenario in which the Wolf gained the upper hand. If there was no best outcome, he’d only avoid the worst. No, that was simply the best he could do.
The moment he dodged the charge, a front paw lashed out at him. A blood-soaked hand reached for the Wolf’s ankle.
He anticipated that attack too, but responding was barely feasible. Even if he foresaw the future, the Plague changed its actions accordingly. No matter how many distant futures he envisioned, it was futile if he couldn’t respond fast enough.
Ultimately, the overwhelming speed. Even a Wolf cloaked in a tempest had to take the hit.
Even battered and injured, the Plague loomed high above the Wolf. In pure speed, it was even faster than the Disease. The fastest monster the Wolf had faced so far.
The striking front paw missed, but the long tail snatched the Wolf’s waist in an instant. Under tremendous pressure that felt like its spine was about to buckle, the Wolf suddenly vanished causing the Plague to cock its head in confusion.
In the next moment, the Wolf sprang back onto its tail, sprinting like the wind. It leapt onto the injured body of the Plague, diving down to take a bite. The struggle was fierce, but not enough to shake off the experienced Wolf.
Extending its tentacles, the Plague prodded into the wounds, but they dissolved instantly in the thick dark red blood, causing the Wolf to click its tongue.
This thing’s entire body was poison; that was the essence of the Plague. As the Wolf severed the tentacle, it felt a burning heat in its foot upon stepping onto the blood.
Attempting to summon Transformation to incinerate the Plague met with a failure instead. The vast gulf in their abilities extinguished that black flame.
—Transformation couldn’t possibly reach it.
Using Gluttony to devour the poison seemed the better option, but despite having Healing and Regeneration, the Wolf’s paws were nearly melting away.
Yet, the Wolf refused to accept it.
Eventually stepping on the pus, the Wolf observed a thin stream of green smoke seeping out. Even without seeing, the pulsing blood vessels covering its back hinted this was indeed the source of the Plague.
If it could just swallow this, the fight would become much more manageable. Even as it exhaled deeply in exhaustion, the long tail whipped like a whip.
But the target of that whip wasn’t the Wolf. The Plague ruptured its own pus. Thick green liquid, much like blood, spilled out, from which smoke started to rise.
When the Wolf’s expression stiffened, the Plague leaped forward, aiming for the Wolf just as the moment arrived. At that instant, something caught the Plague’s eye.
Something unknown and rippling—a primal instinct screamed that this was dangerous.
Despite sensing danger, the outcome of disregarding it ensued.
Surely, there’s no way such a lowly being’s tricks could reach him.
The price was steep. The Plague twisted in agony as pain arrived. Invisible teeth of the beast devoured the Plague and swallowed it down ravenously. Even the green smoke, unblemished by the Void, was consumed.
Corrupted pus burst, releasing liquid; the Wolf grasped the foothold made at a high point and pulled itself up. It looked down at the Plague, still moaning in pain.
—Indeed. It wished to be ignored and underestimated. That moment of complacency was the fastest route for his fangs to meet him. The Plague glared with a twisted face.
Quickly forming a foothold to step on, it widened the gap, pursued closely by the Plague. As expected, it was quite the speed. Just before being caught, the Wolf released the storm it had been cloaked in.
The blade-like winds left lacerations on the Plague’s face, but as the foul blood spilled forth, even the storm melted away into nothingness.
Injured yet relentless, the Plague continued its pursuit.
Even amidst the fierce winds, the smoke refused to disperse as if it had a certain stickiness.
Just as the massive jaw emerged between the clouds of smoke, the Wolf hurriedly sought refuge in the shadows, but paused in realization. Regardless, it would melt away in the next moment.
That would leave it defenseless. There would be no way to resist anymore.
A mere disparity in abilities. Shadows or Black Magic could not withstand the smoke. The Wolf’s insight pierced through the Plague’s essence once more.
[Skills Acquired]
[Plague God (A)] [Domination (B)] [Great Magic (B)] [Superior Stealth (C)] [Poison Immunity (C)] [Magic Concentration (C)] [Superior Regeneration (C)] [Damage Reduction (D)] [Spiny Tentacle (D)] [Superior Sense of Smell (D)] [Gluttony (E)] [Clarity (E)] [Weak Vision (E)] [Resilient Skin (E)] [Heat Detection (F)] [Suggestion (F)]
Plague God. That was the true nature of the green smoke tainting everything in its path. An entity capable of polluting everything was nothing short of a calamity itself.
Among the skills it possessed, none could contendingly oppose the Plague God except for the Void.
The moment the humongous jaw grazed the Wolf, they both emitted countless spikes as if they had an agreement.
Same skill—yet the outcome differed. The Plague’s spikes were blocked and fell to the ground against the Wolf’s spikes.
Despite striking each other with similar spikes, the Wolf’s remained formidable without losing power.
That was expected. There’s no countering spikes enhanced with Hardening and Devouring. Ultimately, the Plague’s being was pierced by countless spikes, and its howls of agony bought time for the Wolf.
As it distanced itself to catch its breath, the Wolf thought perhaps it could win while maintaining distance, but being slower to respond meant it could never create a gap. Pierced by spikes, the liquid seeping from the pus filled the surroundings with thick smoke.
Even the more damage caused, the more the smoke would congeal.
Even resisting with Black Magic wouldn’t allow it to dominate, as the Plague God wasn’t magic-based. Even attempting to summon Transformation extinguished the black flame in the thick smoke.
Currently, the only option left was to push back the smoke with a storm. Although it bore comparable skills, the discrepancies between power, speed, and all other stats left it in a pitiful position.
Considering that it was even able to fight like this due to the Plague being tired and injured was downright disheartening.
While the Wolf was lost in such thoughts, the Plague’s mouth twitched as well.
He found it remarkable that the injuries wouldn’t heal. With this extent of damage, he should’ve healed a long time ago. Even when he rubbed his shoulder with his front paw, thick blood still flowed.
Far from healing, it was worsening.
The Plague acknowledged that catching the Wolf was proving more tedious than expected. Their group was approaching but so was the Floating Island. In fact, it wouldn’t be hard to escape from this place if it really pushed itself.
It needed only to dash past. No matter how quick the Wolf’s feet were, they were far too slow to catch up. Yes, that should be all it would take—but…
“――――――!”
That red eye was too bothersome to let it happen—!
The very same eyes that challenged him not long ago. Even at this moment, with unwavering red eyes staring, the Plague’s pride wouldn’t allow fleeing. The lord of the tainted roared loudly as he slammed the ground.
The monster soared high, attempting to leap after the Wolf as it vanished like an afterimage. Yet, the Plague split the spot where the Wolf had been.
Now invisible, the Wolf was accelerating in that overwhelming speed. A bit faster than before. The speed at which it darted by made it nearly impossible to pursue even its afterimage.
In that moment, as the Plague turned its head, the Wolf gasped.
Clearly, it was still tracking its position. Had the Plague acquired such a skill?
No, that wasn’t it. The Wolf belatedly realized it was the Plague itself revealing its position.
Plague God. It swirled around the green smoke to disperse it. Wherever the smoke thinned was where it stood.
Long arms tightened around the Wolf’s throat, yet the beast pressed forward as if it mattered not that the Void was called forth.
As that brutish hand pressed down without a chance to evade, the Wolf clenched its teeth. It felt like its spine was sinking into the ground. Of course, there was no pain, but the situation remained unchanged.
Green smoke seeped from its teeth, viscous saliva dripped and eroded the earth. The hand gripping its neck, despite being shredded by the Void, was no worse for wear.
The swarm approached, and the yellow eye looked down on the Wolf disdainfully. As its breathing grew shallow, the Wolf acknowledged and affirmed once more.
It could not win against the Plague. If it clung to its stubbornness, it would die in an instant. Thus, the acceptance was inevitable.
The moment the wolf made up its mind, the Plague’s paw tightened around the Wolf’s neck and erupted into black flames. Before it could grasp the pain of being turned to ash, the Plague sunk its teeth into its own ankle and severed it. As Devouring burdened his body, the yellow eye glared at the fallen black Wolf.
—What on earth has transpired?
As the Wolf, panting roughly, stood up, a smoky breath resembling charred ash escaped its mouth.
[Remaining Skill Points 33 → 1]
Thus, the Wolf stepped forward once more.
[Inferno (A) Skill Acquired]
To fulfill its promise and devour the beast of disaster.