Chapter 426: Dirge

Chapter 426: Dirge

The lizard monsters tail flicked. Strands of black shot out from it like streamers and hurtled for Noah, extending to wrap around him. He repositioned himself with a blast of wind and the black tendrils slammed into the ground with a series of thuds, punching deep into it. The monster ripped them free with a hiss, turning to follow his movements even without its eyes.

Noah didnt wait for it to attack again. He drew deeply on Natural Disaster. Lightning crackled between his hands in thick arcs. The lizard charged toward him and he released the magic.

A loud crack split the air as a yellow bolt flashed out from his palms. It slammed into the monsters forehead and knocked it forward. The creature tripped over its own feet and hit the ground in a tumble, rolling until it skidded to a stop several feet away from Noah with smoke rising up from its head.

Huh. That was easy. Is it

A tendril lashed out for Noah. His eyes went wide and he threw himself to the side and narrowly missing the appendage as it howled overhead. He rolled to his feet and drew more power from Natural Disaster, unleashing another bolt of lightning into the lizards face.

It let out a pained scream and staggered to its feet. The scales on its head had absorbed the magic again, but he could tell that it was in pain. It lurched toward him again and tried to bite at his head.

Noah released a blast of wind from his palms, hurling the large monster back before it could close the distance between them. More black streamers shot out of its tail and reached for him even as it fell. He drew more on Natural Disaster and sent a scythe of wind crashing down, severing them.

The monster screamed in pain. Its claws dug into the ground and saliva flew from its mouth as it drew in ragged breaths. Noahs lips curled in disgust and he drew power from Natural Disaster once more.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

The monster tensed, bracing for a bolt of lightning and was entirely unprepared for the spikes of rock that Noah called up from the ground. They drove into the creatures stomach with several sharp cracks that marked scales shattering.

Noahs spikes lifted the monster off the ground. It screamed and hissed in surprise, then shimmered a dull purple. It vanished. The back of Noahs neck tingled as his senses screamed a warning.

He hurled himself forward as a tendril snapped past his head. Noah spun, releasing another bolt of lightning even as the monster tried to dematerialize again. It caught the creature right in its open mouth.

The air filled with the scent of burnt meat as the lizard staggered and lost its concentration, releasing the magic it had gathered. Noah followed up with another stone spike, this time driving it straight up into the lizards chin and impaling its head.

It let out one final hiss, then fell still. Noah took a moment to catch his breath, then let Natural Disaster fade so he could replace its power with Sunder. He approached the monster, waiting for the familiar tingle of its soul leaving its body.

The instant the sensation prickled against Noahs mind, he swept his hand down. Sunder carved a black line through the air and the monsters soul shattered. Motes of light swirled forth above its body, forming into runes. Five of them were unreadable Monster Runes, but the others were within his abilities to comprehend.

Shifting Warp Rank 2

Simulcasting used a lot of energy, but its results were incredibly useful, especially against multiple opponents. Two bolts of lighting ripped free of the violin and slammed into each of the monsters, forcing them to stagger and regain their balance.

Noah didnt wait around for them to recover. He landed on the ground, using the violin to summon more wind to cushion his fall while sending out another blast of lightning at the same time.

One of the lizards screamed in pain and the other vanished in a flicker of purple. Noah leaned back, dodging out of the way as several streamers shot past his head, and continued to play. Two bolts of lightning ripped from the violin in rapid succession, slamming into the monster that had just reformed behind him.

It stumbled and hissed, smoke rising up from its head. It tried to shake itself off and draw on its magic, but Noah sent another two bolts of lighting ripping free. The lizard stumbled and collapsed, limbs twitching with remnants of life.

Noahs senses tingled once more and he released two blades of wind behind himself, spinning just in time to see them carve through several of the tail-streamers and slam into the lizard behind them.

The monsters scales cracked and its pained cry was cut short by two thick bolts of lightning that drove into its head. Noah played the final notes to his song, then released the magic and let it fade from the violin.

He then drew on Natural Disaster once more and inserted it into the violin. He played two sharp, final notes, driving a spike through both of the monsters heads at the exact same time. Energy gathered around both of them as their souls peeled away from their bodies.

Doesnt seem like theres a Great Monster controlling these things. They fight in similar ways, but Im not picking up on a specific pattern. Probably for the best. Otto would probably be fucking pissed if he had a Great Monster in his special hunting ground and I chomped the thing.

Noah Sundered the closest one and turned to the other but before he could call on his Master Rune again, his Body Imbuements screamed a warning as they picked up vibrations in the air beside him.

An arc of purple light materialized from nothing and shot out toward Noah. He dove forward and the air behind him thrummed as the energy passed by him. It drove into the ground and carved into it without a sound.

Noah rolled to his feet, spinning toward the source of the magic. Lines of purple rippled and bulged outward as the head of a turtle pushed into reality. Its body followed after it, emerging out onto the purple grass with one lumbering step at a time. It was nearly as large as the lizards which meant it was huge in comparison to Noah.

Spines covered the monsters grey skin and ran up along its shell, glistening in the dull light. Its mouth worked as beady black eyes bored into Noahs head. Motes of purple energy gathered around the spines covering it.

A tongue of paper flicked out from behind Noahs shoulder, arcing over to the dead lizard hed sundered and plucking a rune from the air. He didnt have time to see which one it was, and he had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

Noah launched himself into the air with a blast of wind just an instant before several beams of purple energy streaked out beneath him and carved furrows through the ground. He landed back on the ground just in time to see two more ripples pass through the air. A second turtle and a lizard materialized.

Three at once, huh? Noah asked as he landed, placing his bow against the strings of his violin once more and letting a smile crawl across his face. That just means three times the runes. Come on, then.

They obliged him, and Noahs song rang through the strange plains once more, a funeral dirge for all who heard it.