My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 75

”Ugh...” Bruce groaned inwardly as the impact with the hard earth rattled his very essence.

Inside the mind space, Ray stood beside the gaming chair with Elyon on his other side, his face contorted in a dark scowl.

”You see? And you were mocking me, claiming I was too weak to do anything. Foolish brute! The Aberrants aren’t some easy threat you can just swat away,” Ray shouted, his voice thick with anger.

He felt a surging impulse to actually strike Bruce.

”Will you keep quiet? You annoying human,”

Bruce clapped back, his irritation flaring. ”As if you could do any better out there.”

Elyon watched the two of them and simply dragged his palm across his face in a weary facepalm.

’Great. Now there are two of them,’ Elyon thought. ’My ears are going to bleed for heaven knows how long.’

”... Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,” Ray scoffed, tossing his head to the side. ”You were calling me a weakling just moments ago. Tch!”

”You want the chair? Fine. Here!” Bruce growled, baring his teeth. ”Come and show me you can do better than me, you arrogant idiot.”

Ray’s eyes narrowed until they were mere slits, his gaze locking onto the werewolf.

”What did you just call me?”

Lightning began to crackle and dance around Ray’s hands as he snarled at the beastly figure.

”I said what I said.”

”Don’t think that just because you’re helping me or because you’re a werewolf, I won’t harm you. Don’t mess with me, you overgrown dog!” Ray shouted, sparks flashing across his pupils.

”Well, I dare you to do your worst,” Bruce growled, his muscles tensing as he prepared to stand up.

”Uhm... guys? Focus!” Elyon finally shouted, his voice booming through the void and successfully drawing their attention back to the screen.

∆∆∆

Back in the physical world, the werewolf lay motionless as the Aberrant approached at a terrifying, rhythmic pace.

Van lurched forward, desperate to intervene, but was quickly yanked back by Chloe’s iron grip.

”What are you doing? Don’t interfere!” she hissed.

”But Ray...”

Van paused as he finally took in the full, gruesome scope of the Aberrant’s condition.

If he thought the werewolf looked bad, the Aberrant had certainly paid a heavy price for its dominance.

Two of its massive teeth were shattered and missing, leaving jagged gaps where blood flowed freely from the gums.

Its abdomen was a mess of countless puncture wounds, and the singular spine protruding from its back had been split clean in half.

One of its eyes was missing, and deep, weeping lacerations lined its torso and powerful arms.

Only its back remained relatively unscathed, protected by that signature, rock-hard plating.

However, this damage was a double-edged sword; as the legend went, the more an Aberrant was injured, the faster and stronger it became.

In essence, the creature had traded its health for a massive power-up.

The transformation was evident as the Aberrant blurred, appearing instantly before the unmoving werewolf—hovering over him like a harbinger of death.

”Tsk, tsk, tsk. You certainly tried your hardest, but unfortunately, your best still wasn’t enough,” the creature hissed.

”Rest well knowing you performed exceptionally. Because of your struggle, I might actually evolve into a two-spined Aberrant.”

The monster lifted its massive, heavy foot over the werewolf’s head, staring down with a wide, predatory grin.

”Goodbye.”

With a sickening roar, he hurled his leg downward at a blazing, bone-crushing velocity.

”NOOO!” Van screamed at the top of his lungs, his heart dropping into his stomach.

He moved to sprint forward, but before he could even take a step—

Swooosh—!

Swooosh—!

It sounded like blades cutting through the air whistled through the clearing.

Four jagged lines of pure energy burst forth, slicing into the leg aimed at the werewolf’s skull.

Blood erupted instantaneously as the Aberrant tottered backward, howling in sudden agony.

It didn’t take long for the monster to regain its footing, but the momentum had shifted.

There, rising slowly from the dust, the werewolf stood tall once again.

Blood trickled from its snapping jaws, and its single remaining eye blazed with a terrifying mixture of deep-seated anger and raw power.

Then...

”Muhahahaha~ interesting! Wonderful. You actually managed to injure me deeply. Hahahaha! I’m impressed. But do you know?” The werewolf spoke, its voice a low, vibrating growl as it lifted its mangled, blood-soaked arm into the air.

Right in front of everybody, the sound of wet, grinding bone echoed as the werewolf’s skeletal structure shifted back into place.

Flesh knitted itself together at a frantic, supernatural pace, and within a few mere seconds, the mangled hand was completely fixed—restored to its lethal state.

”... I can fucking regenerate, you stupid degenerate!” the werewolf howled.

With a thunderous bang that shattered the earth beneath his feet, he exploded from the ground.

He shot through the air like a silver-streaked bullet.

The Aberrant didn’t fret. To a creature of its caliber, such speed was still well within its reactions.

Without wasting a millisecond, its massive claws lashed through the air at a blazing velocity, aiming to intercept the werewolf mid-flight.

But with a feral grin stretching across his face, the werewolf kicked the air itself, leaping gracefully over the outstretched hand of the monster.

Thud—!

He landed briefly on the creature’s forearm and, without a moment of hesitation, kicked off the limb like a trampoline.

He materialized directly in front of the creature’s face.

The Aberrant didn’t stand idle, though; its second claw was already arching through the sky, inches away from the werewolf’s exposed back.

Bruce didn’t care about the incoming strike.

He opened his jaws wide and, with breakneck speed, sank his fangs deep into the thick flesh at the side of the Aberrant’s neck.

He tore through the muscle with a violent twist of his head, causing thick waves of blue blood to splatter into the air.

”Aaaaaargh!” The Aberrant bellowed in raw agony as it began staggering backwards.

In a fit of blinding fury, the monster slammed its remaining claws into Bruce’s back, slicing the fur and skin open and causing blood to spray into the wind.

Yet, the werewolf didn’t even flinch.

With predatory agility, he managed to scramble behind the Aberrant and swung his own claws toward the back of the creature’s neck but...

Clang—!

His talons met the Aberrant’s claws as the beast performed a desperate, awkward block to protect the back of its neck.

Van paused.

His sharp eyes caught the significance of that specific movement, and his mind began reeling.

’Hang on a moment.’

He started playing back the mental images of the battle from the moment the Aberrant first crashed into their midst, through the Aspirants’ failed assault, up until this very second.

One specific detail stood out to him with glaring clarity.

’Why does the Aberrant keep blocking every single attack aimed at the back of its neck? It doesn’t seem to care about any other part of its body; it’s even willing to take life-threatening injuries just to trigger a power boost. Yet, when an attack is directed at that one spot, it always...always blocks. Why?’

The moment the question settled in his mind, Van’s eyes lit up in a flash of brilliant realization.

He snapped his fingers loudly, the sound lost in the chaos.

”RAY! The nape! The fucking nape is where the Aberrant’s heart lies! Tear the damned nape open and you kill the fucker!” Van screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying across the battlefield and causing the Aberrant to freeze in momentary, paralyzed shock.

__

A/N: Hey fam... Just wanted to quickly ask: How is the setting for Ray’s ability so far? I mean the whole mind space thingy. Is it okay by you all?

Also... The book so far. Is it good, mid or bad? Comment your thoughts so this author can know what he is doing wrong. Thank you 🙇