Chapter 1434: Tethered Destruction
There was a key reason why Gary had been able to grow so rapidly in both power and strength.
Some would say it was because of the system, a tool that gave him an edge, abilities that others didn’t have. Others might argue that it was pure hard work, the result of never backing down no matter how brutal the fight.
Then there were those who dismissed it all entirely.
They’d point to his bloodline.
They’d say: He’s a Dem. Of course he was destined for greatness.
But that wasn’t the full story.
If being a Dem guaranteed power, then what about Gary’s father? What about his sister? Or all the others who had carried the Dem name before him and achieved nothing of note?
Yes, the Dem family had history. Yes, they were linked to the legacy of werewolves. But it wasn’t the name that created strength, it was the individual.
And now, this war was no longer just about territory or survival. This was a war between two Dems.
So what made them different?
Lupus had lived longer, much longer. He had years of experience under his belt. But in the short time Gary had been a werewolf, he had faced countless near-death situations. He had fallen from cliffs so steep that others would never have climbed again.
He had taken risks no sane person would take, yet had no choice but to take them anyway.
And that was why Gary had grown. That was why he had evolved, faster and stronger than anyone had expected.
He had fought, and consumed, some of the highest-level Altered in existence. Their power had become part of him.
Lupus, on the other hand, had walked a different path.
He had forged his strength through raw combat. Through pain. Through dominance. He had barely consumed anything compared to Gary. Almost all of his strength came from within.
But now, standing before him were two powerful beings. One, a Mythical Altered. The other, a dual-element user, one with ice and lightning fused into his veins.
If he were to consume even one of them… he could become something even greater.
His red eyes glowed intensely, wild with hunger.
With a stomp of his foot, a massive amount of water shot upward from the lake. The droplets hovered in the air before rapidly freezing, transforming into heavy spheres, each one like a massive ball of ice.
Then, charging lightning into his fist, Apollo punched the air.
The frozen balls were launched at incredible speed, surging with electricity, all of them zeroing in on Lupus’s position.
At the same time, Ice added his own long-range attacks.
Normally, both of them preferred close-quarters combat. It was where they shined. But they knew that getting too close to Lupus could mean instant defeat.
Against this enemy, distance was survival.
A barrage of attacks closed in on Lupus from multiple angles, giant ice spears, lightning-infused orbs, freezing blades.
Yet Lupus didn’t retreat. He moved.
With blinding speed, he began leaping from side to side. At first, it looked similar to Gary’s Lethal Pounce, but it was different, less offensive, more evasive.
Apollo’s eyes narrowed. He noticed something strange.
One of the spears had seemingly hit Lupus dead-on, but instead of piercing him, it passed through. An ice ball followed, hitting the same spot… with the same result. Nothing.
‘Are those… afterimages?’ Apollo thought. ‘But even with high-speed movement, they shouldn’t look that solid… It’s got to be more than just speed. He’s leaving behind aura echoes, phantoms, by timing his movements precisely at the moment of impact.’
The technique Lupus was using was part of his Prefaclaw Ascendant class. It was called Phantom Pounce, a rare defensive maneuver that combined high-speed repositioning with aura manipulation to leave misleading afterimages.
A perfect counter to ranged elemental users.
Eventually, the onslaught of attacks stopped. Ice and Apollo lowered their hands slightly, trying to reassess the battlefield.
Then… Lupus moved again.
He extended his arm, pointing it directly at Apollo. From his palm, a glowing thread of energy extended across the space between them, connecting the two by an invisible link.
Apollo’s muscles tensed. He didn’t know what it was, but his instincts screamed danger.
Then, suddenly, Lupus pulled.
For a split second, Apollo thought he was about to be yanked forward, dragged across the field like prey on a leash.
But what happened was the opposite.
Lupus launched himself forward, using the tether like a slingshot.
He soared through the air like a bullet, accelerating faster than any of them could react.
In the blink of an eye, he had crashed into Apollo’s chest with thunderous force.
And in the very next moment… Lupus was standing where Apollo once stood.
Apollo’s body was nowhere to be seen, until it came flying out of the lake, skidding across the muddy ground on the opposite side.
The move Lupus had used was another part of Predator’s Tether, a two-phase class ability.
The skill required the user to physically tag an enemy with energy. Earlier, when he was close to Apollo, Lupus had done just that, marked him.
Once the link was made, the user could break the tether at any time to slingshot themselves directly toward the target at incredible speed, carrying a momentum that could destroy almost anything in its path.
It was a hard skill to execute, risky and demanding, but the reward… was devastating.
Apollo’s body wasn’t moving. Whether he was alive or not, it was impossible to tell. But one thing was certain.
He was no longer able to fight.
Lupus stood tall in the center of the battlefield, electricity still sparking across his fur, water dripping down his limbs. He licked his lips slowly, like a beast that had just tasted blood for the first time in days.
“Well…” he growled, eyes shifting to Ice. “Are you going to let me enjoy this peaceful meal…”
His fangs gleamed under the moonlight.
“Or are you going to get in my way?”
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