Chapter 20: Wings of the Dance
Chapter 20: Wings of the Dance
Lighthouse, Hall of Light and Shadow.
Sunlight streamed onto the Wall of Beings, illuminating a multitude of twisted, grotesque faces—and Charles’s shadowed pupils.
“Mark and the others successfully brought back the medicine the city lord needs. What should we do next?” the Lightbearer asked, lowering his head.
“I heard he plans to use it to make the city lord change his mind and continue his reign. If they succeed, the Light and Shadow Society will be lost,” the Lightbearer’s tone wavered, tinged with reluctance and anger.
Charles looked up at the sky, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Why panic? Mark won’t inherit the city lordship for a few more days, right?”
He turned to the empty hall and laughed. “The Lord of Light and Shadow foresaw all this long ago. Following his orders, I began preparations years ago, waiting for the right moment. That city lord’s seat—he will never sit on it!”
The Lightbearer trembled slightly inside. He knew his master was a strategist of deep calculation and inscrutable depths, but he hadn’t expected him to have anticipated all this years in advance.
It seemed Charles’s jealousy, resentment, and even a trace of envy toward Mark had been building up in his heart for far too long.
“The throne that rightfully belongs to me, no one can take away.”
He gazed at the myriad expressions on the Wall of Beings. His goal was not to become one of the gods or demons depicted there, but to unleash the light that poured down...
...
Night had fallen, with the moon high and stars sparse.
“Boss, is that monster really the same person from before?!” the fair-faced little girl, Xia Dou, widened her eyes in curiosity, peering intently at Roko below the cave entrance.
“Boss, is he friend or foe? Should we intervene?” the hefty Shan Da grunted.
White Moon Kui frowned, a deep doubt flickering in his eyes. “No action for now. Let’s observe.”
The masked man stroked his chin and suddenly shivered. “He can transform into a Devouring Beast—that means he can enter the Crimson Spiral!”
White Moon Kui pondered, then shook his head. “When he transforms and attacks as a Devouring Beast, besides the crimson elements, there is a strong energy foreign to the mana ecosystem radiating from him. This power sets him apart from other Devouring Beasts. The mana ecosystem isn’t foolish. If he doesn’t attack first, perhaps he can evade the eyes of other Devouring Beasts.”
The entire ground team, even White Moon Kui, was deeply shaken by Roko.
“We finally found them.”
Roko quickly regained his composure. The massive Calyx Beast had yet to be dealt with, and the evolving value gained so far couldn’t be wasted mid-fight.
“Roar~”
The Calyx Beast was still fiercely healing its severed arm. After all this time, it had grown less than half a meter—its devouring power was indeed extraordinary, of a very high order.
It flapped and soared into the air, using the aerial advantage to spray an energy pulse. The electric-blue beam, like a chopstick, tore the hall below apart—the floor collapsed, revealing the underground layer piled with flesh and soil.
Clusters of flesh spheres exploded, leaving statuesque heads and torsos scattered everywhere.
This time the Calyx Beast was incredibly tenacious. Roko, dodging repeatedly, was nearly exhausted. With no foothold left on the ground, he climbed the upper levels of the hall and fired a bone arrow.
The Calyx Beast had grown smarter; spotting Roko extending his left arm, it swept its tail wings, causing the arrow to miss the eye and instead pierce the tail.
Seizing this moment, Roko dashed across the ceiling, adjusted his position, and with a springing leap, pounced onto one of the massive tail wings.
More than a dozen bone claws instinctively pierced flesh and gripped tightly like grappling hooks. Then Roko’s hand rose, blade striking.
“I’ll make you fly!”
The bone blade hacked repeatedly on the tail wing, blood gushing fiercely. The Calyx Beast writhed wildly, trembling from the pain.
With the final strike, a tail wing was completely severed!
The beast lost balance, plummeting underground with Roko. The crash sent a thick smoke billowing up, forcing the onlookers to retreat coughing.
Within the smoke, the Calyx Beast crawled frantically, chasing Roko.
Its huge maw opened wide, ready to swallow him whole.
Roko caught a glimpse of a blue light inside its body.
Was that its core?
With a sudden thought, Roko braked sharply and dashed backward!
The beast was caught off guard as Roko charged into its mouth.
It sensed something wrong immediately and snapped down fiercely. Such a proactive big spine parasite must harbor ill intent!
Roko’s dozens of claws and bone blades braced against its jaws and teeth, his right arm wildly sweeping and cutting through every tooth that blocked his path.
Puff! Puff!
Roko’s ability to sustain such high-level combat was thanks to the energy feedback from the bone arrows previously embedded in the beast. The energy was abundant.
He chuckled inwardly: not only did he absorb its energy, but now he was using the beast’s own skills against it—how’s that for irony?
Roko resolved that in future boss fights, he’d shoot a few arrows first to weaken them.
In the end, the Calyx Beast couldn’t stop Roko’s violent intrusion and could only retch repeatedly, hoping to expel him.
“Roar! Roar!”
Roko was restless, his bone claws tearing madly inside, grabbing flesh and slashing bone. Soon the beast rolled on the ground, crushing many sting eels beneath it.
Buzzing...
A fierce energy fluctuation surged as the Calyx Beast opened its mouth to unleash an energy pulse, hoping to obliterate Roko.
Sizzle!
A bone arrow shot in, unleashing devouring power and interrupting the spellcasting, causing the energy to fail to condense.
A blue light blossomed—a huge core appeared right before his eyes.
Sizzle—
Eighteen bone blades pierced simultaneously into the core!
Devouring power swiftly eroded it. The Calyx Beast struggled one last time. When the core shattered, its bulky body stiffened, motionless on the ground.
Roko did not immediately emerge but maintained his beast form, devouring from within with claws extending from mouth, abdomen, and spine, engulfed in black light.
Only the sound of eating filled the quiet space.
Five full minutes passed before the beast was completely consumed.
+120
Evolution Points [238/300]
“Host devoured and transformed Calyx Beast, awakening new ability—Wings of the Dance!”
Roko was momentarily stunned but immediately thought of the little treasure’s huge chrysanthemum. He reached back and touched his own rear, worry creeping in.
He opened his personal interface’s ability panel:
[Self-Healing (Passive, gradually strengthens with host’s evolution)]
[External Bone Blade (Right Arm)]
[Beast Form]
[Devouring Bone Arrow (Left Palm)]
[Wings of the Dance] Details: Wings resembling the tail wings of the Calyx Beast bloom at the center of the back. Through continuous air jet propulsion, they enable flight. The tail wing’s posture during propulsion resembles a dance, hence the name.
“Flight? Flight!” Roko was ecstatic. If he could fly, many troubles would be solved.
Like moving up and down the lighthouse.
After the joy, Roko recalled White Moon Kui and the others were nearby. To avoid being instantly killed by the boss as a Devouring Beast, he deactivated his beast form.
“Wings of the Dance!”
He whispered, feeling a tingling sensation in the middle of his back.
Whoosh—
Five petal-like, black-blue tail wings unfurled, shimmering with dark light. Each wing stretched about a meter, densely covered with intricate light patterns, alluring and resplendent.
The wings contracted and suddenly spread open, jetting air.
Roko took advantage of the power to lift off, landing steadily back on the ground.
The wings were impressive. The air jets required almost no energy, much like walking uses leg strength. As long as his stamina held, theoretically, he could circle the globe several times.
However, just as he retracted the wings, a cold blade hilt pressed against the back of his neck.
“Don’t move. You’ll die,” White Moon Kui said calmly.
(End of chapter)