Chapter 57: The Colossal Beast on the Clearing
Chapter 57: The Colossal Beast on the Clearing
No matter what happens, panicking is never useful. Liam took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then his mind began to work rapidly.
Suddenly, he noticed a lot of rocks scattered near the surrounding cliffs, likely eroded by the glacier's movement. These rocks were numerous, varied in size, and had sharp edges. Seeing these rocks, an idea quickly formed in his mind.
"Wingardium Leviosa", Liam cast the Levitation Charm on a rock that was about half his height. He then floated the rock above the Altar and canceled the spell.
The rock plummeted from a three-story height, striking a Mummy and causing it to stagger, its eerie howl abruptly cut off. This also disrupted the rhythmic, breathing-like flicker of the Altar's light.
Seeing that this tactic was effective, Liam used his wand to gather more rocks from around the area and hurled them at the Altar. The Altar likely had no spare energy to resist, so the monsters could only endure the bombardment. As a result, the Blood Orb, which had been growing brighter, began to dim.
The Mummies on the Altar noticed this but couldn't command the other monsters to attack Liam because the ritual was still in progress.
As the ritual seemed to be failing, the four Mummies on the Altar suddenly plunged their clawed hands into their own chests, and wisps of blackish-red smoke began to rise and drift toward the baseball-sized Blood Orb floating above.
Following the Mummies' actions, the monsters at the base of the Altar began to change. They quickly disintegrated, transforming into a Flesh Flood that flowed up the steps surrounding the Altar.
This was clearly an extremely evil sacrifice, and Liam tried to interrupt the process. However, as soon as the sacrifice began, a transparent Blood Barrier rose from the Altar, deflecting all the rocks he threw.
Seeing no other option, Liam retreated to the entrance of the clearing, gripping his wand in one hand and a spare grappling hook in the other. After all, he couldn't withstand the smaller monsters, let alone whatever massive creature might emerge. Thus, using the mountain path for a guerrilla-style battle became Liam's only choice.
Time slowly passed, and the Blood Mist around him grew thicker. The monsters on the Altar began to change: the Chimeras' flesh wrapped around the Blood Orb, forming a massive Blood Cocoon, while the blackish-red smoke from the Mummies' chests drifted toward this cocoon.
As the smoke continued to flow from the Mummies' chests, they rapidly withered and turned to ash. The Blood Cocoon then emitted a blinding light, forcing Liam to close his eyes.
When the light faded, Liam saw that almost everything on the Altar had vanished, leaving only a Blood-Red Wolf standing upright. It was nearly two stories tall, with sharp teeth that dripped saliva, eroding small pits into the stone Altar.
The Giant Wolf let out a long, ear-splitting howl, then turned its unmasked malevolent gaze toward Liam's hiding place. Liam's pupils constricted; his newly acquired Sixth Sense detected the intense killing intent directed at him.
This was a fight to the death. Liam gave a bitter smile. It was clear to him what had happened. His actions near the Altar had likely awakened this long-dormant ritual. The Altar had been preparing to summon a monster, but Liam's interference had disrupted the awakening ritual. As a result, the monster had not awakened as planned and now saw Liam as its mortal enemy.
“I was just taking a vacation, how did I end up in this mess?” Seeing the Giant Wolf prepare to pounce, Liam quickly swung around on the mountain cliffs using a rope and Grapple Hook to evade the wolf's attacks.
This Giant Wolf was surprisingly agile for its size, capable of using its claws to cling to the rocky walls and move on nearly vertical cliffs.
While dodging, Liam also tried various counterattacks, but they had little effect. Magic spells seemed to dissipate harmlessly on the wolf's fur, like mud sinking into the sea. Only Dragonfire Weed Flame and Sunlight Crystals managed to inflict any damage, leaving shallow burn marks on the wolf's fur, which healed within a few breaths.
However, the wolf had one significant weakness: it seemed to lack even the basic intelligence of a normal wolf. In some places, it could have easily avoided obstacles, but it stubbornly crashed through rocks to continue its pursuit. This allowed Liam to shake off the wolf's attacks by making multiple turns while fleeing.
Seeing the wolf smash through at least seven or eight stone walls without giving up, Liam wondered if every moderately skilled evil force had the same mindset when faced with unexpected changes in their plans.
Eliminate the obstacle.
Whether it was Tom Riddle during the Triwizard Tournament or the monster that left this trap at the Altar, the priority was always to take out the unexpected intruder first.
Even though this Giant Wolf had clearly lost its intelligence due to a ritual error, it remained fixated on Liam, as if its sole purpose in life was to kill him.
The loss of intelligence also rendered all of Liam's disruption tactics ineffective; the wolf ignored everything else and focused solely on attacking him.
Liam realized that this situation couldn't continue. He was human, not a robot, and couldn't keep up the high-intensity evasion indefinitely. The wolf's muscular build made it clear that in a endurance contest, Liam would be no match.
At this point, he had to take a risk. Through his observations, Liam noticed that while the wolf continuously swiped with its front claws, not every swipe was a full-strength attack. On average, only one in five swipes left a mark on the rocks, and Liam believed his Armor Charm could withstand the others.
He had to take a chance, as he couldn't afford to keep running. The plan had a decent chance of success, and even if it failed, there was an 80% chance he wouldn't be instantly killed. Although Liam was almost certain he was in some kind of lucid dream, he knew that in the magical world, dreams could sometimes be lethal, and he didn't want to become a victim of such a peculiar nightmare.
With this in mind, Liam slowed down, and an object slid into his right hand. The Giant Wolf, noticing Liam's reduced speed, immediately launched an attack without hesitation.
Liam hung suspended in mid-air by the rope, unable to avoid the narrow range of the wolf's claws. So, he cast an Armor Charm on himself, released the rope, and plummeted to the ground.
The wolf's instincts were quick, and upon seeing its attack miss, it didn't retract its claws but instead swept them downward.
This downward swipe exhausted the wolf's accumulated momentum. Liam's Armor Charm deflected the blow, but as they closed the distance, the wolf opened its jaws and lunged at Liam.
(End of Chapter)
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