Beyond The Crimson Gate-Chapter 40: Kale’s Odyssey (3)
Kale shifted slightly and held onto his laser blade.
Another hiss resounded from deeper in the forest, making his hair stand on end. Literally.
’Static.’ Kale cursed in his mind. Tier 2 beasts usually had powers according to what he had been taught by Mr. Daniel.
He couldn’t believe that he had somehow found himself close to the territory of a Tier 2 beast.
Kale was getting ready to run when another wave of nausea hit him and more beads of sweat ran down his face.
The lizard tilted its head and ran to Kale’s wound. It curled itself and landed on it.
He was about to shake it off when relief struck him like a freight train.
The sickly, warm, and stuffy feeling that afflicted him drastically reduced.
Kale looked at the lizard in his hand with curiosity. He wouldn’t kill it, yet it seemed to be helpful.
The increasing static in the air reminded Kale of the encroaching Tier 2 beast. He turned around, ready to run off when a bolt of lightning flew by him and destroyed the line of trees behind him.
His breath caught, and he slowly looked back, yet the beast was still out of sight.
Kale moved slightly, still facing where the hisses had come from, and another bolt flew by him. This time closer.
The beast was warning him not to move at all.
’What the fuck? Why is the thing holding me hostage?!’ He screamed in his mind, still looking out for the beast.
Soon, a snake lined with golden scales slithered out of the forest line. Its serpentine body looked to be made of gold.
Under the sunlight, it seemed almost to be worshipped, like the god of a forgotten religion.
It stopped crawling and looked at him with its stormy grey eyes.
A humming closed in quickly, and Kale recognized it as belonging to one of those flesh bees.
He wanted to move but the snake warned him with a hiss.
The bee closed in and Kale could just about make out its figure when the snake vanished amidst sparks.
The bee vanished and the snake reappeared. It hadn’t teleported, it had moved so fast that it appeared like teleportation.
Kale swallowed his saliva as more sweat ran down his head.
A louder, more prominent buzzing came from deeper in the forest. The sound shifted Kale’s perception and affected his vision.
Multiple Tier 1 beasts. Another colony.’ The bees crossed the forest line and went straight for the snake.
The latter’s body got coated with lightning and it vanished.
Using the opportunity, Kale quickly placed his helm on.
[Beast Integrations]
[Wind Step (One-time use)]
[Become a child of the air. Unburdened by the earth, free to soar, and as fast as wind.]
The snake reappeared with black venom dripping off its scales. Its eyes became vertical slits as it saw the helm of Kale’s face.
[Wind Step Activated]
[Duration: 5 minutes]
The snake opened its mouth and lightning fired off.
The world slowed down drastically and Kale shifted his body to avoid the lightning bolt.
A loud hiss drew his attention and he saw the snake with lightning covering its body. It was pissed.
Kale quickly picked up his normal sword.
[Share Power?]
"Yes."
Kale jumped and swung with the energy-augmented blade. It made a bright blue arc as it swung down and collided with the snake.
Upon contact, it shattered! Kale’s eyes widened, and the snake’s mouth opened, building a lightning bolt at point-blank range.
The bolt struck Kale square in the chest and sent him flying through the trees.
[Estimated Battery Life: 1 minute]
[Critical Damage Received]
[Suit’s Efficiency Reduced By 96%]
Kale could barely move. He couldn’t feel the pain because of the sedative he had initially given himself but his muscles still failed to move.
He looked ahead and saw one of the carcasses of the bee.
A loud hiss resounded and Kale looked at the snake. Much to his surprise, the lizard was distracting the snake with the former being unable to hit it.
Kale pulled the corpse and fished through it, searching for a singular item.
He pulled out a beast crystal, opened the slot in his arm, and removed the old crystal.
It no longer had a golden sphere with but Kale couldn’t care less. He inhaled sharply and placed the raw beast crystal inside.
[Estimated Battery Life: 12 days at walking speed]
Pushing himself off the ground, he moved and picked up the laser blade, turning it on.
Black spots started to fill his vision as the poison slowed down his heart, and the broken bones in his body had already caused internal bleeding.
The lizard got hit by a lightning bolt and flew away.
During this, Kale was sure of one thing. Just like the first beast he and Axel had encountered, this snake had intelligence and was toying with him.
Kale charged in and the snake spun its body like a spring and fired at him, mouth wide open.
He simply smiled and increased his speed. When the snake was close, Kale shoved the blade into its open mouth.
The laser blade pushed against the inside of its mouth, burning and scalding the insides.
It dug its way through and stopped mid-way through its head before the mouth snapped shut, tearing his hands off.
The reptile thrashed around wildly. It struck Kale with its tail before slowing down and stopping its erratic movement.
Life left its eyes, and it lay still, dead.
Kale stayed still on the floor.
His swords were gone, his suit damaged beyond repair, and he was still stranded in Dimension Zero, while poisoned, yet a smile stayed on his face.
’My only regret is not saying bye to Axel.’ He chuckled bitterly as his vision darkened and his heart stopped.
The lizard crawled atop his corpse and stayed.
Kale’s body started to convulse, growing tentacles and scales - mutations.
It seemed that after staying in Dimension Zero and using a raw beast crystal, he was finally mutating.
Despite the squelching of his dead flesh, the lizard stayed in silence on top of him.
The corpse of the snake started to rapidly degrade and a crimson glow encased it.
Space rippled and shifted, opening a dimensional gate that sucked Kale’s corpse through.
