Chapter 163: Chapter 163: The Last 20 Seconds
Lucian’s clawed hand shot down to his stomach. His black claws closed around the broken light blade embedded in his abdomen and squeezed. The already fractured weapon shattered in his grip with a sharp CRAAACK-CRAAACK-CRAAACK, fragments of dissolved light scattering like dying fireflies.
His other clawed hand raked across Hoffman’s chest.
"AAAARRRGH—!" Hoffman screamed as obsidian claws tore through his fractured Light Armor and dug into flesh. Four deep parallel gashes opened across his chest, blood spraying outward.
Lucian drove his foot into Hoffman’s midsection. The kick launched Hoffman backward through the air like a cannon shot. BOOM. He crashed through three walls in succession — CRAAASH, CRAAASH, CRAAASH — each one collapsing behind him in cascades of brick and dust before slamming into the side of a reinforced building. The impact cratered the wall around his body.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Predator Form Timer: 0:20 remaining.
Lucian’s crimson eyes locked onto the cloud of dust where Hoffman had landed. His fangs bared. His claws dripped with blood — both his own and Hoffman’s. The wound in his stomach was already closing, Eternal Regeneration fighting through the residual light mana burning in the tissue.
From the rubble, Hoffman pulled himself free. His Light Armor was gone — completely shredded. Blood soaked his chest, his back, his thighs.
But his eyes hadn’t dimmed.
He coated both arms in dense layers of condensed light. His hands blazed like twin suns. Every remaining drop of mana he possessed surged into his arms. This was his final gambit — a dual palm strike designed to create enough distance for one last spell.
He charged.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each step cratered the ground. He closed the distance in a blur of golden light, both palms thrust forward. The air compressed between them, screaming with contained energy.
Lucian caught both palms with his free hand.
BOOOOOM!
The ground beneath both of them cratered — a sinkhole forming instantly. The shockwave flattened every remaining structure within fifty meters. Rubble flew. Dust erupted in a mushroom cloud.
Hoffman’s light mana cracked against Lucian’s grip. His reinforced palms pushed, pressed, tried to drive Lucian backward. Lucian’s claws dug into his palm.
SCHLIKT. SCHLIKT.
Lucian’s claws pierced through Hoffman’s palms. Blood sprayed from both hands in thick streams. The light mana coating his arms flickered and died — Lucian’s grip disrupting the flow entirely.
"AAAAAAGH—!" Hoffman screamed. His knees buckled. Blood pooled between their feet.
Lucian headbutted him.
CRAAAACK!
Hoffman’s nose shattered. Bone fragments embedded into his face. His head snapped backward, a spray of blood arcing through the air. His eyes went glassy for a heartbeat.
Lucian pulled Aethon from his Shadow Storage with a flick of his wrist. The S-Rank longsword materialized in his clawed grip. His claws made the hold awkward, but he didn’t need finesse. He needed finality.
He drove Aethon through Hoffman’s right shoulder, pinning him to the ground. The blade punched through his flesh embedding itself in the cracked earth beneath. Hoffman screamed again. His body convulsed. Blood poured from the wound in waves.
Lucian stood over him. Fangs fully extended. Crimson eyes glowing with feral intensity. The crimson haze around his body pulsed like a living heartbeat. His clawed free hand rose above his head, fingers spread wide, aimed at Hoffman’s chest.
Hoffman looked up at Lucian through blood-filled eyes. His mouth opened. Blood spilled past his lips.
"I guess the winner takes it all." His voice was a wet gurgle. "I was defeated by a monster — not a human."
His light faded.
His eyes went blank.
His chest stopped moving.
Lucian drove his clawed hand into Hoffman’s chest.
SCHLIKT.
Hoffman’s body jerked once — a final involuntary spasm — and then went still. Dead.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Quest Complete — Stop Councilman Hoffman from killing the remaining scientists.
Rewards:
• 50,000 SC
• Bloodline seal -1% (73% → 72%)
• New Title Acquired: Realm Breaker — Deals +20% damage against any target above your cultivation realm.
• A-Rank Light Armor Spell — Learned.
Lucian stared down at Hoffman’s corpse. His breathing was ragged. His crimson eyes were wide, unblinking, feral. The crimson haze around his body didn’t fade. It intensified. Expanding outward in slow, rhythmic waves.
His body trembled. His muscles spasmed. His claws flexed involuntarily, still buried in Hoffman’s chest. His fangs extended further, pressing past his lower lip. His silver-black hair whipped around him as the crimson haze flared outward in a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath him.
Through the telepathic link, Clara’s voice came through — worried, but carrying an undertone of fear. "Lucian? It’s done. Hoffman is dead. You need to come back. Now."
No response.
"Lucian!"
Static. The telepathic link filled with a low, guttural growl. Clara flinched.
Lucian pulled his claws free from Hoffman’s chest. He stepped away from the corpse. His crimson eyes scanned the battlefield — like a predator scanning for prey.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
PREDATORY INSTINCT OVERRIDE ACTIVE.
Rational thought degradation accelerating.
Deactivate Predator Form immediately.
The system sighed. I guess someone is going to die.
He took a step toward the group. His clawed hand dropped Aethon. The sword clattered against the ground with a metallic CLANG that echoed across the ruins. His claws couldn’t grip it anymore.
Rose’s voice came through the telepathic link, shaking. "He’s coming toward us. Why is he coming toward us with murderous intent?"
Clara’s response was immediate. "He can’t recognize us. He’s losing himself to that power."
Ryan’s voice, strained with pain from his shattered leg. "We need to run!"
Lucian broke into a sprint.
His speed was terrifying. His Predator Form Agility still exceeded 400. If anything, losing his rational mind seemed to have removed the last mental inhibitions on his body’s movement. He was faster.
He closed the gap in seconds.
Ryan tried to reinforce his suit’s ice barriers. Frost crystallized across the damaged armor in thick layers. The suit’s remaining systems screamed warnings.
Lucian’s backhand shattered the barriers with a single blow.
CRAAAASH!
Ryan flew backward through the air, his suit sparking and crackling. He crashed through a pile of rubble and disappeared into the debris.
Rose threw up every Aegis barrier she had. Five layers stacked between herself and Lucian.
Lucian tore through them like paper.
KRRRAK! KRRRAK! KRRRAK! KRRRAK! KRRSH!
The remnants of her Aegis dissolved into nothing.
Rose screamed as Lucian’s claws struck her. The blow sent her tumbling across the ground. She collapsed, limp, a wound across her shoulder bleeding steadily.
Lucian stood over Rose.
His clawed hand rose above his head. His crimson eyes stared down at her with a predator’s gaze.
He brought his claws down.
And Clara appeared between them.
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