Spirit Nest Disaster (3)

"Ahh!"

As the massive figure emerged, screams could be heard from underground. Shui had thought that it would have cleaned out the people who had entered the cave by now, but maybe it was being picky.

"Wha-wha-what is that?"

Shui didn't care about the man who had escaped death by chasing after him, but he also wanted to know what had shown itself. It stood on four legs like a lion, but had the wings of a bat, the fangs of a sabretooth tiger and six tails that looked like vipers. Furthermore, though its body was covered by a jet-black fur, the top of its back also had shiny blue scales. And finally, its eight eyes seemed to see through everything. It wouldn't be hard to consider it an evolved beast or a gremlin, but there was something sinister about its aura that Shui had never sensed before.

As Shui wondered what was this monster he was seeing, the answer was whispered to him.

"One of the fallen."

"Miss Spirit?"

"I can't help you fight it but I thought I should at least tell you what I know."

"Thanks."

"The fallen are creatures that inadvertently mutated due to the powerful fluctuations and aftereffects caused by the constant battles during the Divine Uprising. In a sense you could call them the ancestors of evolved beasts. While most of them were killed during the war, a few had to be sealed due to various circumstances."

As the red spirit told Shui about the fallen, he also remembered bits of information that he had read in the Primordial Library.

"Wait, aren't all fallen at least comparable to mortal Kings by the time they fully mature?"

"That's right. But the seal on this guy hasn't been completely removed so its strength shouldn't be much higher than a human in the True Master realm."

'Hmm, if I could draw out the full power of my body then this wouldn't be too much of a problem but...'

"Got it. I'll try to hold it back for as long as I can."

Shui steadied his breathing before taking a step towards the massive fallen.

"Huh? Are you crazy or something? Why are you getting closer to that monster?!"

The one who had been trying to kill him a moment before, shouted in bewilderment. Shui didn't know whether this was due to the sudden emergence of concern or if he was just shocked, but either way it was annoying.

"Shut up and get out of here if you want to live."

After saying this, Shui didn't care whether or not he listened and kept walking towards the fallen with his hand at his chest.

"Come, Sui."

When the red spirit saw the unusual blade that Shui pulled from his chest, she was very surprised.

"That's quite the interesting weapon you got there. I'm surprised you could find it."

"All I can say is that I was lucky."

"So, are you nervous?"

As Miss Spirit pointed it out, Shui noticed that he couldn't stop the minor tremors of his hands and the rapid beating of his heart. However, this reaction put a smile on his face.

"I'm fine. It's just been a while since I didn't have to worry about holding back. I'm excited."

"Hoh. Well getting excited is fine but, don't forget that you're only supposed to keep it occupied. If you get the rug dragged out from under you, you won't be the only one in danger."

"...I know."

Shui turned Sui parallel to the ground and tightened his grip as he prepared to make his move.

'First, I have to make it recognise me as a threat.'

"Speed Form, First Stance: Instant."

When Shui used the only stance of his Unorthodox Blade Method with the intent of squeezing out all of his power, not even a blur was left as he seemingly teleported to the space above the fallen's head. If it wasn't for the presence of a newly formed crater and the sudden gust that appeared, it would have looked as if he truly did manipulate space to transport himself. However, despite how impressive his speed was, his blade could only leave a faintly red mark on the fallen's neck.

'Tch, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. At least I achieved my objective.'

As he hovered in the air above its head, the fallen glared in his direction and three of its snake tails lunged at him. Shui was shocked to see that its tails were comparable to him in speed, but he still had enough room to dodge and safely land on its back. Almost.

"What!"

A moment after he made his landing, Shui struggled to maintain his footing. The fallen wasn't even trying to shake him off so that wasn't the reason why. The cause was how slippery its scaly back was and the claws that rose from its back to grab Shui.

"Oh, I forgot to mention but you shouldn't get too focused on how it looks as the fallen can freely change their bodies."

"You could have told me that earlier you know!"

Shui could also sprout new limbs with Mutation Control, but he wouldn't be able to properly control them unlike the fallen who was expertly cornering Shui on its back. Of course he tried to cut them off, but the claws regenerated so fast he wondered if his blade had only passed through them.

"Tch, how about this!"

Upset by the fact that he was being toyed with by the fallen, Shui summoned his spiritual flame to his blade and stabbed it into the fallen's back.

"Krr."

The blue flame that slowly spread over its body proved to be a threat even to the fallen, as it finally started to see Shui as more than a simple pest. This was in line with Shui's plan, but he knew that he had to be much more careful since the fallen would be earnestly trying to kill him.

The instant he sensed something off about where his feet were, Shui immediately jumped to the side, allowing him to escape the row of teeth that appeared on the fallen's back. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg as Shui sensed himself sink into the fallen's flesh. But before he got stuck, Shui decided to jump off the fallen's back.

'If I stay on its back it'll have complete control over the terrain. It'll be hard to fight it head-on but I have to do it.'

Shui had started to understand that no matter which of his cards he pulled out, he wouldn't be able to beat this creature, and so he completely devoted himself to trapping it in place.

With the fallen glaring at the bug daring to stand in front of it, Shui stabbed Sui into the ground and released his heart flame through the blade. The fallen quickly found itself trapped in a ring of blue fire that singed its fur.

"Kirrrr!!!"

The fallen released an ear-ripping screech that left some curious spectators with bleeding ears, but Shui had already cut off his hearing and protected himself from the sound with a barrier. It was distraught and its wings had been damaged during its time sealed, but Shui knew that this ring of fire wouldn't keep the creature trapped for very long so he immediately took out a certain dagger to move on to the next step.