Chapter 33: Scrap
The reckless youth pushed down on the Earth with his legs and flew into the metal colossal. Seeing this, red lines activated in the center of the metal wolf's chest that flowed down into its matte obsidian claws. The next moment, it brandished its black claws that had now turned red, and the youth watched in confusion as it swiped at the nothingness in front of it.
‘!!!’
Alarm bells rang once again in his mind and he spun his body as if he was dancing in the air.
WHOOSH!
Cutting blades of extreme wind passed by him in a flash before bisecting and slaughtering the nearby wolf population. Despite the mass amount of organic tissue it passed through, the air blades continued unhindered, lacerating the Earth and forming thin but deep ravines into the ground. The alpha of the pack saw this and quickly commanded the rest of the wolf population to remove themselves from the surrounding vicinity and beyond.
BANG!
Three eyes stared coldly at the bipedal creature who was currently hammering his fists onto the base of the metal wolf's skull. The attacks barely even left a dent but that in of itself was surprising. Its own claws that it took pride in merely scratched the black surface, although blunt attacks were more effective against hard steel, the comparison still irritated the alpha wolf.
It kept staring at Zan, observing his behaviors. A long time had passed since it was unable to see through a creature. Perhaps it had been relying on its third eye too much since it was the first time it had seen something that was blurry in front of its cosmic perception. That did not stop the alpha from planning his downfall however. Insidiously…the demonic wolf was calculating and scheming, thinking of a ploy to bring down both colossal threats in one go.
As it continued to focus all of its perception towards the red haired boy, a weird feeling surfaced in its chest. It was abstract and incomprehensible yet intensely profound. Resonance…? Intertwined strings of fate? Soul ties? The wolf shook its head, there’s no way that it would have such things with this odd looking bipedal creature. It had to snap back to its senses soon, the battle was still going on.
The alpha looked at the metal wolf and instantly, clarity and brilliance filled its eyes. Royal, purple aura manifested from its body and the three-eyed wolf took command of its troops once again. As that brute was focused on the head of the creature, it would focus on its heart. In the process, the two would exhaust each other and its pack would deal with the scraps.
BOOM! BOOM!
The youth continued his slogfest with the metal colossal. Every time he saw red lines flow out of the metal beast’s chest he would immediately trace its path and prepare accordingly, dodging many attacks that even he deemed fatal. The extreme air blades could no doubt bisect his body in half even with his reinforced defenses and that red beam of pure energy would definitely vaporize a hole through his chest.
Still, the youth did not back down, either out of bravery, stubbornness, or unnecessary pride. In the process of it all he was thrashed and razed, quickly suffering numerous injuries that mutilated his body. The gashes and contusions healed at amazing speeds thanks to his black blood, so fast that the naked eye could observe it however…the scars left from the abuse stayed forever on his physical vehicle. Under the heat of battle, under Zan’s ignorant disregard, the screams of what was left of his human body were left unheard.
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SCREEEEEECH!
The three-eyed wolf leaped across the chest of the metal beast, dragging its proud and deadly claws along its underbelly. A line of dazzling sparks beautifully cut through the sea of black steel while the army of wolves below it swarmed the metal imposter in hopes of hindering its movements. The demonic wolf landed right under the neck of the beast and as he looked up he saw a tiny fly being swatted from the air over and over just for it to launch itself back up.
The creature was tough and tenacious, dodging the most fatal blows and launching strikes that swung the massive head of the metal monster backwards. The demon wolf acknowledged the bipedal creature. It would have been a deadly, life-threatening fight between the two and a large fraction of its pack would most likely die under his hand.
Zan the lone wolf did not share in the same thoughts, he continued to fight the head of the beast, discovering a myriad of problems as time went on. It had only been a few minutes since the battle started but his body was simply not behaving as it should. The intricate control over his body and his masterful energy manipulation degraded immensely since his last fight, the youth simply did not know what was wrong.
Genius energy manipulation that was both perplexing and mentally demanding was easily executed under the boy’s masterful control. But now he could barely push energy into his arms or legs without his energy clotting, delaying or simply dispersing. In fact…the energy inside his body was leaking out of him. The implications of this was dangerous and absolutely disastrous going forward.
Energy manipulation was the first multiplier to his strength. And now it seemed that just as briefly as he was introduced to that world, he was being taken out of it. The thought was demoralizing but he had no time to dwell upon it, he put all that injustice and anger into the metal beast. At least he had traded energy manipulation for pure brute strength.
Heavy blows rained upon the metal wolf’s head, slowly denting the metal until it concaved enough to almost hit its brain. Genetically altered keratin went against advanced steel over and over until finally, the chest of the metal wolf started to open.
ROOAAAR!!!
For a short moment the metal beast was burning with red lines all over its entire body, it roared at the moon then spun itself in a circle, throwing all the ants off of its body like a tornado. Its solid metal tail whipping the wolf pack into flesh paste and broken bone. The metal beast then started to devour its lesser organic creatures in a mad frenzy. Zan opened his eyes wide as he noticed that for each organism devoured, the dents and tears that they inflicted upon the metal beast started to heal, nanotechnology regenerating itself with the bioenergy it consumed.
The alpha of the pack commanded the rest to run away as it dashed madly to its companions in an effort to save them. Zan meanwhile noticed the pure urgency of the situation and focused all his perception towards his body and his energy circuits. The youth squatted to the ground, his quads ballooning in size as spiraling energy outwardly condensed around his legs like a spring. Zan looked like a young war god, preparing to ascend towards the skies.
BOOM!
The youth flew high into the stars.
The three-eyed wolf was not paying attention to the young warrior. It had reached its destination only to see a closer view of its kin being mercilessly devoured in front of it. Wrath and grief came over the wolf as its third eye transformed colors. Suddenly, a burst of purple aura enveloped the world, freezing time and space in a lock. The three-eyed wolf proceeded to direct its gaze towards the metal monstrosity. Magically, the beast’s chest started to be cut open, as if the wolf never stopped trying to carve its heart out. Wrenching and screeching metal assaulted its ears but the demon wolf enjoyed every second of it. Seconds passed and finally, the metal beast’s chest was open. There laid inside of it, a bright energetic sphere radiating untold power.
At the last second however, the purple aura of majesty washed away, the alpha’s third eye closed and started to bleed. The beautiful demon wolf collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. As it raised its head from the dirt it saw…the metal monstrosity seem to grin. The imposter raised its head towards the moon and slowly, it started to condense bright red energy into its mouth. Some of the wolves around their alpha grew frenzied and started to attack the metal beast but to no avail. Some of the others tried to drag their leader out of harm’s way but she was too heavy, they were too weak, and they were too slow. The monster saw this and a hint of intelligence finally appeared in its eyes. It purposefully slowed its concentration of energy to fully enjoy the moment.
Looking at the moon and stars, it was a beautiful night for slaughter.
THUD!
A large, bulky, gray left hand dropped from the sky, covering its left optic medium.
‘>>>???’
The metal beast continued to execute its program despite the random error. The wolves and their alpha continued to stare at their bright red doom in hopelessness. But then…a star fell from the heavens.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!