"Trash," the beast hissed.

Its voice was deep, layered with a harsh, grating touch, like two heavy grinding stones. It pointed its dark bone spear directly at Hide. "You dare interfere with my master’s plans?"

Hide froze. Elara, who was rushing over to check on Evelyn, stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth hanging wide open in pure shock.

Beasts didn’t speak. It was a universal fact.

The only exception were the Calamity Lords.

"Who... what are you?" Hide demanded, wiping the blood from his chin, his grip tightening on his sword. The humanoid beast tilted its head, its red slit glowing brighter.

"I am a servant," the beast declared. "A loyal blade to the Higher Lord who has claimed this domain. My Master is one of the Seven Rulers of Estopia, and he will soon ascend."

Hide’s mind raced.

’Higher Lord.’ A B-Rank beast? That would mean a Higher Calamity Lord!

And what the hell was Estopia?

But before he could ask, his glowing blue eyes snapped focus back to the holographic system window hovering right in front of his face.

[Adaptive Override — Analysis Active]

Muscle Authority

Location: Stomach

Source: C-Rank Calamity Beast (Slaughter Doll)

Severity: High

System Query: Initiate adaptation sequence for this specific attack type?

[Awaiting command.]

When the humanoid beast had violently elbowed him in the ribs earlier, it had cracked his dark scales and dealt massive internal damage. And fair enough, it was because of an ability.

’Evolve,’ Hide commanded mentally.

[Adapting - 10%]

[Adapting - 20%]

The system window flashed in front of him, the adaptation speed was higher now that the risk was high.

He just needed to stall for time till then. He pushed his body up, but before he could completely stand, he saw the beast bend forward and then suddenly it pushed its body against thin air.

It came like a missile with the spear aimed straight ahead... Hide jumped out of the way, but he was not fast enough, he did get out of the spear’s way... but his shoulder met the beasts shoulder and whole body spun like a top before he fell in the tall grass.

"Ugh!" Agonizing pain was produced at the point of contact... even though there was an outer layer of abyssal carapace, there was no doubt about it, his shoulder bone had broken.

’Fucking hell.’ Hide ground his teeth in anger, his veins around the neck tightening. ’Zenith!’

Initially he didn’t want to call him out, having lost hooter not much time ago. But Zenith was made from the core of a Lesser Calamity lord itself, so it should be able to stand against it.

Dark mana seeped out of Hide’s body and Zenith’s towering figure appeared just in time, seemingly indifferent from the dark surroundings.

The Slaughter doll had recovered from its earlier attack rather too fast and was already close to Hide when Zenith intercepted its attack.

At first the Lesser Calamity Lord was stunned and jumped back, even for him it took a second to find where Zenith was in this dark environment.

Zenith took the advantage and pressed on the beast, it used his second ability,

He merged with the surrounding mana and appeared just behind the beast. The lesser Calamity lord’s red slit glowed brother, having this as his equivalent of eyes widening.

The beast raised its spear in time.

CLANG!

Zenith’s sword scrapped against the black spear, both, Zenith and the Beast were of almost same height, striping Zenith of one of its advantage.

Hide took his chance and drank a bottle of the Recovery potion, feeling the liquid move into his body to reach the damaged parts.

Zenith raised his long leg and kicked, but the kick stopped mid air before reaching the beast, as if there was an invisible barrier. Taking this moment of imbalance, the beast removed one hand from the spear, tilting it down and letting the sword slid down.

Then it raised its hand and imitated the action of grabbing Zenith’s neck. To Hide’s surprise... Zenith froze and then was lifted into air, there was something invisible chocking him!

’What the, Is this the second ability of the Beast. Goddamn it!’ Seeing that Zenith was in trouble, hide called him back.

The towering figure immediately dispersed into dark mana and returned to Hide’s body.

Hide too had recovered by far and the thing he had stalled the time for until now had arrived as well.

The system window glowed in front of his eyes.

[Adaptive Override — Adaptation Complete]

Counter Skill Generated.

[Damage Inversion - B (Active)]

Allows the Host to coat their body or weapon in an inverted mana field.

Incoming physical strikes are absorbed and redirected through the body to solid surface in form of shockwave.

Hide’s eyes narrowed. That was one weird skill and why was it active, something like this should be passive. But now was not the time to worry about that.

He had to work with what it was. He looked up and froze.

Before Hide could test it, the Slaughter Doll vanished.

Hide’s True Sight tracked the blur of dark, bio-mechanical armor as the C-Rank beast launched itself forward, but instead of charging across the ruined street, it leaped directly into the empty air.

And then, it didn’t come down.

CRACK!

A sharp sound, like glass fracturing, echoed in the empty space above the street. The beast stepped onto absolutely nothing, its heavy boot finding traction in thin air, and used it to violently change its trajectory mid-jump.

Hide’s eyes widened.

This was the beast’s, terrifying second ability. It could solidify the atmosphere around it, instantly compressing the air into dense, invisible platforms and walls.

The Slaughter Doll ricocheted off a second invisible foothold in the sky, completely bypassing Hide’s frontal guard, and descended upon him from his blind spot with the force of a falling meteor.

Hide reacted purely on survival instinct and activated his new skill. Raising the Night singer to counter the attack.

As hide’s body didn’t store normal mana, the short sword instantly turned dark, tainted with the dark mana that ingulfed it.