The Glorious Evolution

Back on Cruor, The First Vein...

Scarlet leaves scattered beneath Idriss’s boots as he sprinted between the forest’s pale trunks... thick roots broke through the damp soil, forcing him to watch his footing while the rattle of chains grew louder behind him.

Clang!

He twisted his greatsword behind his shoulder, catching the chained fang before it reached his upper arm.

The impact pushed him into a patch of crimson moonlight spilling through the tangled canopy, but he used the momentum to jump over a fallen trunk... before he landed, a second fang tore through its moss-covered wood, throwing splinters against his back.

He rolled once and continued running, his expression as solemn as it could get.

Behind him, Fang pulled both weapons out of the wreckage and followed, his enormous frame smashing through branches that Idriss needed to avoid.

”Where are you running? You left the Academy behind you!”

Idriss ignored his wicked taunts, sprinting without any intention of slowing down.

The moment his detection totems warned him of the three approaching enemies, he opened his dimensional communications to send an SOS to the Academy.

Missed calls and messages flooded his vision.

Levi, Shia, Naima... even the High Chancellor!

’They already knew?’

Everyone seemed aware of the danger except him... he believed that someone must have sold information about his whereabouts, perhaps even his enrollment at the Academy!

He sent the distress signal with his location to the Academy, then summoned a Nocturnal Contract.

His first instinct was to escape into the Boundless Expanse by returning to his little private island in the desolate void... a month-long cooldown was a small price to get away from these three.

Space rippled before him.

The dimensional gate began forming, but its edges suddenly twisted... before the opening stabilized, it collapsed on itself!

Idriss understood at once.

’A Spatial Jammer...’

Whether they used a Solar Totem or a Vile Totem to power it, the purpose remained the same... destabilizing the spatial energies within its radius, making long-distance dimensional gates nearly impossible to establish.

Gates connecting different realms were particularly sensitive. Disturbing the space at either end could ruin the connection before it formed... even when Nocturn’s system opened it.

His authority over the laws within his own realm was one thing. Establishing a passage through the space of another world was a different matter entirely.

Na’thir’s hounds clearly came prepared to take him alive... of course they wouldn’t leave his easiest escape available!

Idriss abandoned the failed gate and ran.

If his estimate was right, the jammer’s influence shouldn’t extend beyond thirty kilometers... he needed to break out of its radius before trying again.

Until then, he could only rely on the old, reliable method.

Running as if his legs had caught on fire!

He chose Fang’s direction even though the route toward the Academy lay behind him.

Breaking through a Tier 5’s pursuit offered him a better chance than running into his best friend’s killer, who was positioned in the direction of the Academy... and he had no intention of discovering the illusions the white-haired Rain had prepared for him either.

Unfortunately, Fang understood that Idriss had picked him as the weakest link amongst his peers, which hurt his pride a little.

Cling! Cling!

One chained weapon kept attacking Idriss from the side, while the other struck ahead of him, forcing him to change direction whenever he approached an opening.

Fang wasn’t trying to win their fight... he was trying to keep him inside the spatial jammer’s radius until the others arrived, since he couldn’t afford to get kidnapped inside Idriss’s Dominion.

Whenever Idriss tried to close the distance or reach him with his spiritual energy, Fang immediately broke away... his chained weapons let him attack without giving Idriss the direct contact needed to pull him into his Dominion.

Whoosh!

Idriss lowered his body, allowing a chained fang to pass over his head before swinging Fin’Sho toward the approaching werewolf.

Fang twisted his wrist.

The weapon curved back, its chain winding around Idriss’s sword arm before the greatsword reached him!

Idriss planted his feet and pulled against it, forcing Fang to dig his claws into the soil.

Ka-thumb!

His heartbeat thundered as he awakened his Blood Fusion... heat rushed through his veins, swelling his muscles while steam poured from his skin.

Neither gave ground.

The chain creaked between them, its links cutting into Idriss’s arm as both relied on their enhanced strength to pull the other.

Yet, while Fang kept pulling, a thick crimson aura gathered along Fin’Sho.

Then, Idriss deliberately eased his resistance.

Fang seized the opportunity and yanked with a cold grin!

Whoosh!

Idriss shot toward him, drawing the greatsword around his side as the heat inside his body surged.

Blood Fusion Arts: Ten Ton Slash!

He planted one foot within striking distance and turned his whole body into the swing, adding the momentum of Fang’s pull to the blow!!

The pressure reached Fang before the blade did.

His grin vanished.

He released the snare and crossed both fanged weapons before his torso... blood flooded over them, crystallizing into a thick crimson barrier just as Fin’Sho struck!

BOOOOM!

The barrier shattered!

Crimson fragments burst across Fang’s face as the greatsword smashed into the weapons behind it, forcing his arms toward his chest.

His feet sank into the ground.

Crack! Crack!

Fractures spread across the taut chain links... the fangs trembled against Fin’Sho’s edge, barely keeping the greatsword from reaching his torso!

’They won’t hold!’

Fang stopped pushing against the blade, realizing that the force behind Idriss’s strike was no joke.

He pivoted sharply, lowering one weapon and raising the other to angle the greatsword past his side!

Fin’Sho scraped along the fangs and slipped free... then, the crimson slash swept past Fang’s ribs and sliced through the forest behind him!

RUMBLE!

Trees split apart along its path, their severed trunks hurled aside as the force ripped open the ground!

Soil and boulders erupted in two towering waves, exposing a deep chasm that raced hundreds of meters through the forest!

Fang stood beside its jagged edge, his cracked chains hanging between bloodied claws.

A moment longer... and that slash would have gone through him.

Idriss didn’t wait for him to recover... he pushed off and resumed running along the newly opened chasm.

Killing Fang would accomplish nothing if the other two reached him first... he needed to get beyond the Spatial Jammer’s radius and open a gate before they closed around him.

A dimensional screen appeared before him, displaying the Academy’s response.

-The dean and instructors are on their way. Keep sending your location and survive as long as you can!-

The dean was a Tier 7 powerhouse, while the instructors accompanying him were Tier 6... their arrival would be more than enough to end this hunt.

But the Academy stood hundreds of kilometers away.

Even if they rushed here as fast as they could, reaching him would still take more than fifteen minutes!

Fifteen minutes... against these three?

Idriss couldn’t be certain he would survive the next few exchanges, let alone hold out until they arrived.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He dismissed the screen and raised Fin’Sho just as two chained fangs shot toward him!

Cling! Cling!

Both smashed against the greatsword in quick succession, showering his face with sparks... violent vibrations traveled through the handle, numbing his fingers and nearly tearing the weapon from his grasp!

Idriss forced his grip to hold.

With that much force behind those sharp tips, one clean hit would tear straight through him!

Before he could react, the detached fangs disappeared into the trees and shot back toward him from different angles!

Idriss leaped sideways, narrowly avoiding the weapons as they smashed into his previous position, tearing two deep furrows through the ground.

Fang emerged from the trees and reattached the fangs to the chains, fragments of his shattered blood barrier still clinging to his fur.

”You’re making this difficult.”

Fang’s damaged chains rattled behind him, followed by another sharp whistle.

Idriss ducked, allowing the weapon to pass over his shoulder before turning around a thick trunk.

The chained fang tore through it, but the brief obstruction gave him a few more steps.

He needed to make them count.

So far, Idriss had used short, controlled bursts to keep ahead of Fang... the werewolf’s speed gave him little choice.

He had learned the technique at the Academy, concentrating Blood Fusion in his legs to propel himself forward. However, using its full power would generate enough heat to damage his leg muscles.

He had saved that final burst for an opening... one chance to leave Fang behind, escape the jammer’s radius, and open a gate.

’Now...!’

Idriss desummoned his heavy greatsword and directed most of his fusion toward his lower body!

Ka-thumb!

His thighs swelled, tightening the fabric around them as heat rushed into his calves... steam poured through his trousers, and the soil under his planted foot began to crack.

Blood Fusion Arts: Furnace Step!

BOOOOM!

The ground exploded apart as Idriss shot through the forest, leaving Fang’s next attack to tear through the white steam trailing behind him!

His feet barely touched the ground before another burst propelled him forward... trees rushed past, branches whipped against his face, and the distance separating him from the werewolf finally began to grow.

Fang pulled his weapons back and gave chase.

Idriss could still hear him... but the footsteps no longer remained right behind his back!

Heat seared through his leg muscles, putting him in immense agony... he felt like his legs were being melted by his own blood, but he endured it.

He kept forcing one stride after the other as he followed the direction he had chosen on his map.

A little farther...

If this burst bought him those few uninterrupted moments, he could...

’Huh?’

The scarlet leaves stopped moving.

Idriss noticed it as he rushed past the next tree... its branches remained perfectly still, untouched by the wind and the force of his passage.

Then, the forest fell silent.

No rattling chains.

No crashing branches.

Not even Fang’s footsteps.

His body still felt as though it was rushing forward, yet the trees around him no longer reacted to it...

’An illusion!’

Idriss’s expression froze for a moment... before he could react, the scenery directly ahead of him cracked.

Shatter!

The false forest broke apart like glass, revealing a thick black muzzle, messy, tangled crimson hair, and a pair of sinister eyes staring straight at him!

The Hound!