The Lupine System-Chapter 144: Fulgur Lightning

Fulgur Lightning

One might ask, why did Kris always get so much attention?

To that, many might say, well, why wouldn’t he? He’s the last descendant of a Ability Family, it only makes sense for him to observed closely, right?

And, to a degree, that makes sense. However, what Kris experiences isn’t just being noticed or observed. No, instead, numerous families are either trying to put him under their wing or build close ties to him.

Why is that?

What’s so unique about him that even Apex families tell their children not to provoke him and instead befriend him?

Well, it’s quite simple, really.

The Fulgur family was not simple. Not in the slightest. One might think that they were on the same level as other top families like the Umbra of Agni families, but that simply was not the case.

You see, the Fulgur Family was known for their lightning based abilities, putting them in the elemental camp. However, what set them apart was the unique property this lightning possessed.

It still had the speed and destructive capacity lightning usually held. But what made it special was how it interacted with other abilities.

Fulgur Lightning could burn away other abilities.

Of all the miraculous abilities found around humanity, this one was especially lethal as it essentially meant that fighting someone from the Fulgur family was a terrible idea. It was so lethal that even the Apex families were wary of them, and the fact that they weren’t an Apex family themselves was simply due to they small numbers and relatively young age compared to other families.

Still, with that said, if they possessed such a miraculous ability, how were they wiped out.

Well, like all families, there was the issue of talent. While all members had the lightning and its unique effect, it was rare for it to be truly significant. At best, a member would have lightning that could resist the effects of other abilities easier, not outright burn them.

Only a scarce few could well and truly do this effectively.

And not only was Kris one of these scarce few, he was the best at it since the family was formed, some even speculating that he surpassed their progenitor in that aspect.

So when his family fell and he miraculously survived, he was under so much scrutiny because he possessed a level of expression of an ability no one had ever been able to contend with before.

This scared and intrigued many.

But... if that was the case, why doesn’t Kris ever use this powerful lightning? Why doesn’t he ever just suppress his foes? Render their abilities useless in front of him?

Well, how likely is one to use the tool that made everyone they grew up with targeted and murdered?

***

The sight was magnificent.

Like judgement from the heavens, a pillar of golden-yellow electricity descended from the clouds and completely engulfed Kris and Mike.

The earth beneath them shattered, and remnant electricity slithered across the ground like snakes which burnt everything in their path.

But, strangely, despite the sheer magnificence of the attack, the damage to the surrounding area paled in comparison. And that’s because Kris had truly understood what energy control was. Almost perfectly funneling all the energy output from this attack into his target.

Mike

ROAR

A roar of agony barely sounded through the terrifying sound of the lightning as Mike was hit with unholy amounts of electricity.

"Ngh!" Kris gritted his teeth. His chest felt tight, and his eyes stung as he raised the output as much as possible, but those feelings weren’t from the strain he was under from using so much lightning at once.

Scenes flashed in his mind. Scenes that he desperately tried to forget, and at that moment, he felt like fall over and curling up.

If not for the lightning evaporating all moisture instantly, his face would be wet with tears right now.

’Ig... nore.. it...’ He tried to tell himself, but it was hard. God, it was hard.

One would think the pain from his injuries and the situation as a whole would capture all his attention, but that was hardly the case.

All of a sudden, it felt like he was 9 again.

The smell of ash, blood, burning flesh. The screams of pain and for him to run. It was all so vivid, reliving every scene like it was just yesterday.

He hated it.

He hated that he lost so much because people feared them. And he hated that the thing they feared so much flowed into his veins so thickly, so prominently.

’Not... Yet...’ But despite this. Despite the agony he felt, the scene of Theresa’s arrow moving to give him this opening rang clearly in his mind.

One Chance.

He’d be damned if he folded and betrayed Theresa’s trust, betrayed Mike’s trust in them stopping him.

Below him, Mike was still struggling. But on closer inspection, not only was his aura no longer active, his wounds weren’t healing either, the two abilities having been suppressed by the lightning. And so...

’Why is he still moving!?’ Kris yelled inwardly, his disbelief palpable. The amount of electricity going through Mike’s body wasn’t just a lot, it was horrifying.

Granted, even though Kris was great at energy control, his output had dropped below what it should have been.

It couldn’t be helped. In a way, abilities were like muscles. If one didn’t use them for a long time, if they eventually did, they wouldn’t be as strong as they should be, and Kris was way out of practice with his lightning.

But even then, with how Mike was straining against his chains and writhing, it became clear that even if Kris managed to fully suppress his trauma, he’d still be thrown off before he could knock him out.

So, he changed tactics.

His eyes widened as he stared down at Mike, and all of a sudden, his nervous system was laid bare before him.

Kris couldn’t help but marvel when he saw it

He could always view the nervous systems of living creatures by observing the electrical signals within them, it allowed him to predict attacks like how Mike did with Predator’s insight. Still, Mike’s nervous system was complex. Far more complex than any human had any right to be.

But, seeing him in his current form, such complexity only made sense.

And right now, such complexity would help Kris perfectly.

Current, the lightning was running through every part of Mike’s body, but not a lot actually entered his body due to the strange properties of his fur. So, Kris controlled the lightning that did enter...

And attacked Mike’s nervous system viciously.

It took about 1 to 4 amps to make a normal person’s heart stop. That threshold increased significantly with ability users.

But for Mike right now?

Kris estimated he was enduring enough electricity to power a mid-sized city.

However, no matter how resistant he was, he still couldn’t disobey the rules of biology fully, and it was a known fact that if one’s nervous system was overloaded, they either died or got paralyzed.

Kris didn’t have the luxury to achieve one effect over the other, so he just put his all into attacking Mike’s nervous system.

The effect was immediate, Mike stopped roaring as his body started to convulse violently and involuntarily, froth forming from his mouth and promptly getting evaporated.

His eyes rolled back, but Kris still didn’t let go.

’Come... on!’ He roared himself and focused all the electricity at once.

Mike tried to struggle. His instincts tried to retaliate, his aura tried to defend, but the situation was well and truly against his favor.

And so, the result was clear.

Slowly, the pillar of lightning reduced in power until it vanished entirely, and what remained was a deep crater in the ground where it had hit, smoke wafting from the heated earth.

Inside this crater, Mike and Kris lay next to each other, the former completely unconscious and spasming while the latter was gasping from breath, his body battered.

By some miracle, Theresa managed to drag herself to the edge of the crater. Her boosting skill had been deactivated, leaving her previously vibrant red hair pale and dirty.

The bleeding from her wounds had stopped, but they still looked ghastly, but her insides were probably in the worst state.

Majority of her organs were covered in terrible burns, and a normal person would have died by now, but she wasn’t normal.

Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, though.

She wanted nothing more than to collapse at that moment, but, she knew... 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’Such a commotion... won’t go unnoticed by the other students... we have to get out of here.’ She thought as she slid into the crater and stumbled to a stop.

She glanced at the spasming Mike before turning to Kris.

"Can... you... move...?" Her voice was raw from her throat being burned.

However, Kris didn’t respond.

This made Theresa frown. Had that final attack been too much for him?

But when she got closer, her eyes widened.

He was crying.

Curled up in the fetal position, soft sobs wracked his entire frame, and he seemed like he wasn’t even aware of his surroundings.

"... Shit." Theresa ran a hand through her face.

This was truly a problematic situation.

That said, she didn’t hesitate.

Ignoring the pain she was currently going through, she grit her teeth, grabbed the two boys by their legs, and started to drag them away before they were discovered.

And good on her, as numerous figured started to arrive at the scene not long after.