Here’s a long chapter today. Mass release tomorrow- if no accidents happen that is. Stay tuned!

The momentary lapse of concentration was enough for Adrian to push the short sword and retreat away.

The shell shocked Viper stayed where he was, not bothering to chase after the escapee. He had more vital matters at hand- one that involved his very own life.

*Rumble!*

The twisting of black clouds above bore thunder that raged across the sky and flashed upon the land below,

*Whoosh. Whoosh*

The dusty winds were rotating clockwise. They were at the centre- and the radius was at the very least three hundred meters. The velocity accelerated every second; the speed was now so much that the visibility around was almost ill.

The previous rustling of leaves could barely be heard. The sound of the wind was enough to muffle it, let alone the crashing and slamming sound of falling trees.

Adrian sped across the forest and created a distance of a hundred meter from the black clad operative. He was still in the range of the storm, but that mattered little because he was now safe. Reinforcement had arrived.

He looked around and found a tall but sturdy tree, one that was standing stubbornly against the devastating storm. He approached it and jumped before jumping again on a lower branch. After a few consecutive hops, he was on the topmost branch of the tree.

He sat down and rested his back against the solid trunk. His eyes were locked on the man who was still staring up with a vigilant stance. Though the trees ahead covered everything, he could ‘see’ all with the help of his essence <Absence>.

The man knitted his brows. The strong winds were not able to take off the hood from his head. He knew what was coming and that deemed the mission an absolute failure- with no chance of redemption. He clicked his tongue and prepared to run.

If a battle were to happen, his probability to come out alive would not be any greater than 0. His death- was bound to happen.

He sheathed back his sword and blasted off towards the West. As for his comrades- he had to give up; his own life came first.

About thirty steps into his dash, that traversed him through a hundred meters in not any more than five seconds, he suddenly stopped- standing at that very same spot. He had no choice.

Two of the trees, one on his left and the other on his right, that were just a few steps ahead of was cut into half, longitudinally- from top to bottom.

There was even a cut mark that reached from the base of the tree to his left to the tree to his right.

*Creak. Creak*

The four haves began to slowly fall down until-

*Slam.*

All four of them crashed on the ground. Two fell on his side, while the other two fell on the other side of that clean cut line.

A wry smile formed on his face. He knew what that line meant. ‘Cross it, and you will die.’

He turned back. He had no other choice- crossing that line meant direct death. He turned Eastwards and looked up.

There was a figure, floating fifty meters above the ground, just below the eye of the man made storm- woman made to be precise.

Even though he was a hundred meter away, his high level enabled him to see everything quite easily. He readied his mind, trying to keep him sane from the heavenly scene ahead.

A woman, who looked not any older than early thirties was hovering gracefully- as if she were an wingless angel. Her slitted silver dress fluttered with the storm, revealing her smooth and crystalline, long and slender bare legs. She was barefooted, not wearing any sort of footwear.

Her dress was sleeveless, showcasing her perfect pair of opened arms. Her fingers were graceful and long, prompting any man to feel their touch at least once before he died.

Just her body which was the incarnation of perfection itself- big breasts, slim waist, and motherly hips- would give someone an instant erection.

But a glance at her face, would kill it down. ‘We are not worthy of her. She is a divine being, meant to be untouched by lower ones such as us.’- would what they think.

Her smooth black hair swayed with the wind. She looked as if she were the goddess of wind. Her perfectly symmetrical face, and small cherry lips were portraying utter nonchalance. But the trait that made her stand out even amongst the most outstanding of ones was her silver eyes that looked down upon the world, akin to those of a deity’s looking down on mere ants.

She slowly floated towards him- getting closer and closer every second.

He stayed on his spot, not daring to move an inch- his life was already in her hands.

Soon, a mere ten meter distance remained between them. She dropped to an altitude of five meters. But it was still more than enough for her to comfortably look down on him.

He forced a smile underneath his hoods. It was always a wish of her to witness the most beautiful woman living in the Confederation. But he did not dare to considering her monstrous power.

Now, his wish was fulfilled. And his time- had come.

“Greetings.” The man bowed. “It is an honour to have an audience with you.”

Her countenance remained the same. “Speak.” Her voice was bewitching- enough to give even the sturdiest of men goosebumps, but authoritative- enough to make anyone with lower position than her to subconsciously bow. “You had the audacity to hurt my son. Any last words?”

“Pardon my felony.” He bowed again as he brought out a vial containing a blood red potion. Her eyes fixed on that peculiar and eerie potion. But her face remained the same- emotionless.

He opened the cork and spilled everything into his mouth before throwing the apparatus away. She remained still, letting him do what he wanted to do.

“Aaaoooooooo!”

He shed off his body hair one by one. They fell onto the ground through the opening off his clothes. What replaced his body hairs were red furs that grew from his skin.

His muscles began to bulge as his stature grew by a hundred percent, doubling his original size. All of his black clothes were ripped. An inhuman red genital dangled between his legs. Blood spurted out from the fingertips of both of his hands and ghastly blood covered claws sprouted out from the gaping holes which began to subside at a visible pace.

Four sharp teeth fell down on the ground and even sharper fangs sprouted out from the bloody gaps on his now red gums.

His skull began to take the shape of a canine. Red furs covered his head while mane replaced his hairs. It’s whole eyes- be it the pupils, or the whites- turned red. It was impossible to differentiate the orb from the others anymore.

“Aaaaaaaaoooooooooooo!” It’s chilling howled resounded through the surroundings, silencing the sound of the storm for a moment. A wave crashed against the nearby trees- felling them down.

But it could Harold move the floating wind goddess above by an inch. Her face was still indifferent at the sight of this peculiar event.

She was a veteran who fought countless times against the Empire and magical beasts. Though she had not seen anything like this before, it was far from being the most horrifying existence she ever faced.

The being stood on its two legs, but it was not completely standing upright. It’s back from the waist above was arching forward.

It’s blood eyes were locked upon the divine existence hovering above the ground.

“Grrr!” The creature took a step back.

It had lost every bit of its past ‘humanity’ and intelligence. All it now was a beast, a crazed one at that- a being that was driven solely by instincts.

And its instinct told it- that the human before it was ‘dangerous’, and terrifyingly so.

It took another step back, and finally stopped.

“Grrrrrr!” It growled. Even without any form of intelligence- it knew for sure that it was done for. It had no chance of surviving.

So, it decided to do what its instinct told it to do- attack!

“Aaaaaaaooooooo!”

It howled as it leapt, charging at the woman with every ounce of its power. It even subconsciously used its life force.

It did not even take a moment to close the ten odd meters gap.

It brandished all ten of the deadly claws and swung at her with full might.

*Whistle*

The supersonic speed of the attack caused the uneven claws to make whistling sounds.

The attack- did not connect.

The red creature passed through where the lady was at, as if she was not even there. It halted the moment it touched the ground and looked back. The canine and furry face grimaced.

The lady was still up there, looking westwards. She calmly turned around- without any sense of urgency.

“My turn.” She said as she waved her right hand.

Nothing happened.

But soon, it’s red eyes dimmed down as blood splattered everywhere where.

The creature slowly fell down as its divided into a dozen or so pieces, spilling all of its oversized innards with the gushing blood. The poor creatures was sliced by invisible blades of winds and it did not even know.

The storm began to subside, and in a few moments, it was completely gone. Only the broken trees down there remained as evidence.

The lady gave the pile of gore one last glance before turning to a certain direction.

A bright smile formed on her blank face.