Chapter 1422: The Collapse Gambit
“The Collapse Gambit”
The entire building was trembling violently, and it was clear this wasn’t just a case of one floor giving out, it was the whole structure. It was rapidly collapsing in on itself, floor after floor folding like dominos.
What Innu had just done was reminiscent of what he’d pulled off when he took down the cabin with Ylva. But this time, the stakes, and the structure, were much larger. He had to adjust his plan accordingly.
Destroying a few pillars or compromising the structure of a single floor wouldn’t have been enough. Most buildings of this size were specially reinforced. It might take months for a damaged ceiling to finally give way, but that wasn’t the outcome he needed. He needed immediate collapse.
And at the same time, he had to keep Luzen completely in the dark about what he was planning.
Using Luzen’s own relentless attacks to his advantage, Innu had carefully manipulated the battle, leading his opponent through floor after floor, allowing the damage to spread, while one of his axes flew through the air, targeting critical support beams. He destroyed nearly all of them, except for one side of the building.
He’d continued this process systematically, descending through the structure until they’d reached the apartment levels. That was when he struck.
Using a massive amount of Qi, he delivered one focused, devastating blow with his axe to the untouched corner of the building, the only section he had deliberately left intact.
He funneled the force of the attack in several directions, blasting downward toward the foundation and upward through the structure, completely eliminating the last structural support on that side.
The result was immediate.
The building began to give way under the sheer pressure of the strike. The collapse had begun.
‘At first, I thought I could outrun this guy, maybe get all the way to the park,’ Innu thought. ‘But I see now… that’s impossible. I can’t beat someone like him in a straight-up fight, not even if I used everything I had. This… this is the only way someone like me can win!’
He strapped both axes to his back and raised his hands as the building came down around him.
From the street below, residents and bystanders watched in stunned silence as the building crumbled into itself. A massive wave of dust surged outward like a grey tsunami, enveloping nearby structures.
Some debris collided with the surrounding buildings, but the damage was minimal. Fortunately, the fire alarm had done its job. People had already evacuated and were clearing out of the area in anticipation of a possible fire or worse.
Still, the total collapse of the building was a terrifying sight. To the witnesses, it seemed impossible that anyone could have survived that kind of devastation.
But when the dust began to settle…
Someone stood at the peak of the rubble.
Innu, on one knee, panting, with blood dripping slowly from his nose.
‘Is this… because I pushed my power too far?’ he wondered, swaying slightly. He’d never felt this kind of strain before. Then again, he had never used his telekinesis on this scale either.
During the collapse, he’d been using his power to push aside falling debris in real time, redirecting rubble and concrete so it wouldn’t crush him. That was how he’d managed to survive and end up at the top.
But the effort had drained everything from him.
His power had started to dwindle halfway through the collapse. Still, he had forced himself to keep going. If he had stopped even for a second… the entire building would’ve buried him alive.
He wiped the blood from his face and pushed himself to his feet, stumbling slightly. Then, he started walking through the wreckage, step by heavy step.
‘I hope no one got hurt… Enough time passed, right?’
The fire alarm hadn’t just been a distraction for Luzen. It was part of Innu’s plan from the start. He knew there would be residents inside. Triggering the alarm was the only way he could make sure they had a chance to evacuate before everything came down.
Now, finally off the rubble, Innu stepped onto the street.
‘I don’t know if Luzen’s still alive in there,’ he thought. ‘Knowing werewolves… probably. But hopefully he’s hurt enough that it’ll take him a while to recover. I need to get to the park and help the others.’
Even as he thought this, Innu knew he was in no shape to fight. His body was aching, his Qi reserves were nearly empty. But maybe… just maybe, if he had his axe and faced another werewolf, he could do something.
‘At this speed, though… if I walk there, it’s going to be a huge problem. It’ll take forever.’
Just then, a voice called out from across the street.
“Hey, kid! You’re with the Howlers, right?!”
Innu turned, surprised to see a man running toward him. He looked like a civilian, just one of the many who had evacuated earlier.
“You were fighting one of the attackers just now, right? You need to get to the park?”
Innu blinked. How did this guy know all that? But then he remembered, the Howlers had been upfront with the public. They didn’t hide who they were. And Innu still wore his black and gold uniform.
Without another word, the man tossed a set of keys into the air.
Innu barely managed to catch them.
“Take my car,” the man said. “Go help your friends. You Howlers have done so much for our city already. And hey, if we all make it out of this, you can buy me a new car.”
A tired smile spread across Innu’s face. He gave the man a nod of gratitude, then turned toward the road.
He didn’t waste another second.
With one less threat behind him, Innu sped off, on his way to rejoin the others.
But just how were the rest of the Howlers holding up?
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