Ethan fixed his gaze on the milky-white Qilin’s incoming strike, studying every nuance of its movent. In his perception, the attack looked slower than before, almost restrained, yet in the very next instant it was already upon him, crossing the distance in a flash that defied common sense. He wanted to imitate it, to seize that fleeting insight and reproduce it in his own body, but there was no ti for that. The mont was already gone. So he abandoned analysis and moved on instinct alone, attacking the only way he truly knew how.
A thunderous boom erupted as Ethan’s fist collided with the Qilin’s hoof. The impact detonated into a violent shockwave that blasted outward in all directions, ripping through the air like a living thing.
The seven angels hovering above felt their hair whip wildly as the surge slamd into them, while farther back, the so-called Dark Web "experts" were thrown completely off balance. Most of them rolled across the ground like scattered gourds, and several of the weaker ones spat mouthfuls of blood onto the ice, their faces twisted in pain. This was just the shockwave from a single clash, nothing more, yet it shattered whatever confidence they had left.
These were fighters who once believed themselves elite, and now all they could think was the sa stunned question. What the hell were these things? Monsters. The white Qilin alone was already terrifying, but the real target of their assassination was even more absurd. In that mont, countless curses were silently directed at the Dark Web that had dragged them into this nightmare.
Ethan, after colliding head-on with the white Qilin, only stepped back half a step. That single exchange told him everything he needed to know. The Qilin’s power was no longer crushing in the way it had been before. It was still imnse, but it no longer felt insurmountable.
The trial itself offered no instructions, no hints, no explanation of how it was ant to be passed. All Ethan had was mory. Last ti, he had endured two moves and been blasted away on the third, only to wake up soaking in that strange white liquid. He had no idea whether that had been a reward or just so arbitrary consequence, but if it truly counted as one, then the conclusion was obvious. Defeating this white Qilin should an the end of the trial.
The Qilin did not give him ti to dwell on it. Its second attack ca imdiately, another front hoof swinging toward him. Ethan t it head-on again, fist against hoof, repeating the sa clash as before. Another massive shockwave exploded outward, even more violent than the last.
"Again?!" soone scread from the distance.
The Dark Web operatives were already at their limit. One man, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, wore an expression of utter despair. The previous shockwave had injured him badly, and if this continued, wave after wave, he knew he would be shaken to death without ever being touched directly. Panic overtook reason. He turned and ran, but he barely made it three steps before the next shockwave caught him. It slamd into the backs of everyone who had shared the sa thought.
A wet, explosive sound followed as countless people sprayed blood almost simultaneously. Even the angels floating high above were pushed back, drifting nearly an inch through the air. The only ones completely unaffected were the children sealed safely inside the purple-gold barrier.
And this was only the beginning.
The white Qilin twisted its massive body, turning its back to Ethan as it raised a hind leg. The posture was unmistakable.
"Sa damn move!" Ethan roared.
This was the kick that had sent him flying last ti, the one that had overwheld him completely. Now, instead of fear, his entire body burned with heat and excitent, like he had just finished warming up and was finally ready. He brought both fists together overhead and smashed downward as the Qilin’s hoof arced up from below. The two forces t head-on.
A sharp crack rang out.
The Qilin’s leg was driven straight back into the ice, and fine fractures spread across the milky-white surface beneath it. Yet Ethan did not allow himself to relax. Even as he pressed the attack, part of his attention remained fixed on the feathered figures above, always prepared for a sudden ambush. But they did not move at all.
The next mont, Ethan no longer had the luxury of watching them. The Qilin charged, throwing its entire body forward in a brutal slam, like an iron mountain rushing to crush everything in its path. Boom after boom echoed across the frozen lake as the two collided again and again. The explosions did not stop, and through it all, Ethan held his ground. Even the children inside the purple-gold shield stared with mouths hanging open, unable to look away.
Ethan versus the white Qilin was less a battle and more a series of planetary collisions. Each impact forced Ethan back under sheer force alone, yet the Qilin could not land a decisive blow either. No matter how many tis it struck him, he kept coming back, relentless and stubborn, like a cockroach that simply refused to die.
The exchange continued for who knew how long. To everyone else watching, it was a display of terrifying strength. Only Ethan knew how miserable it truly felt. With every collision, his chest tightened further, his breathing growing heavier as his bones and muscles felt like they were being hamred into shape over and over again. A maddening itch spread throughout his body, deep and unbearable, as if sothing inside him was being forced to change.
As for the Dark Web operatives, only those who had tried to flee from the shockwaves had been shaken to death. The rest had done sothing far smarter. They had repositioned themselves outside the purple-gold barrier, diagonally across from Ethan. The shockwaves struck the shield directly, and on the far side of it, there was a strange dead zone where the impact simply vanished. That spot was the safest place in the entire battlefield. These people, who once believed themselves untouchable, could now only stare in silent shock at the fight unfolding before them.
"Seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six..."
Inside the barrier, the big black dog stared intently at Ethan, muttering numbers under its breath as if counting sothing important.
"What are you doing?" Luna asked, standing right beside him after hearing the strange muttering.
The dog ignored her completely. "Seventy-nine, eighty..."
Boom.
The instant he reached eighty, Ethan and the white Qilin collided once more. This ti, Ethan manifested both his bear form and his panther form behind him, his movents accompanied by deafening sonic booms. It was maximum speed and maximum impact, everything he had poured into a single clash.
The collision landed heavily, followed by a dull, rolling thunder.
Then Ethan stumbled forward.
He lost his balance, unable to stop his montum, pitching toward the ground as his eyes widened in disbelief. Behind him, the white Qilin burst apart, its body dissolving into a spray of milky-white liquid that scattered across the ice.
The big black dog finally grinned. "Knew it. Eighty-one strikes. The peak of nine."
The Qilin’s remains splashed over the frozen surface, and Ethan felt the ground beneath his feet soften. The ice, battered and cracked yet stubbornly intact through the entire fight, suddenly lost all solidity. It turned to liquid without warning. Ethan tried to leap away, but it was too late. His feet were already subrged, and a powerful force seized him, dragging him downward. The pull of the white liquid was stronger than the Qilin itself, yanking him below the surface with terrifying speed.
"Brother!"
"Master!"
The children scread, their faces pale with fear as Ethan struggled briefly before vanishing entirely. He sank without a splash, without even a ripple disturbing the surface. No matter how he fought, his body was pulled relentlessly toward the depths of the lake.
’Great. I beat the thing and now I’m going to drown?’ The thought was pure frustration. His lungs burned as he fought to hold his breath, but eventually his body betrayed him. He inhaled.
The white liquid flooded into his lungs.
Yet he did not choke.
There was no suffocation nor pain. The liquid tasted smooth and rich, strangely pleasant. With every breath, more flowed into him, and still his body accepted it without resistance. Instead of panic, a sense of clarity spread through him, as though his entire being had beco lighter, freer, and more fluid. It felt like stepping into an entirely new world.
This milky-white liquid could replace oxygen.
Just like the Life Water inside the cockpit of the Shatterstar.
User Comments
0 comments from readers