The faces depicted animals that Khan had seen in the reports connected to that pack. They seemed to represent the creatures that the monsters had defeated before reaching the woods, but he didn't let his mind linger on those thoughts.
Khan and Ilman had identified the monster with sound abilities, so they didn't hesitate to converge toward it. The creature was even closer to the shores, so they both decided to take care of their main target before thinking about the specimen with the mysterious skill.
All the creatures in the area were already barking. Even the Tainted animals busy patrolling the lake had started to echo their leaders' warnings. The venomous monster had died quickly, and Khan and Ilman were even insanely fast, but they didn't manage to reach their target before the activation of its ability.
Some of the barks became heavier for the duo's ears. Khan and Ilman even sensed a faint pressure on their chest as their steps pierced the lake's surface and brought them closer to their target. They prepared their attacks when they were only one second away from the monster, but an invisible force suddenly landed on their right sides and pushed them away.
Khan and Ilman slid on the muddy terrain inside the lake and failed to perform their attacks. The Niqols even risked falling, but Khan made sure to stop him.
The event had been as strange as the reports described it. The sound attacks were invisible, unstoppable, and it was almost impossible to predict their arrival. Khan and Ilman could use the faint pressure that landed on their chest to learn about the activation of that ability, but everything felt pointless since they would remain unaware of the blow's trajectory.
Luckily for the two students, the sound attacks weren't too powerful. Khan and Ilman felt that their insides were vaguely off, but they remained able to stand and move easily. They didn't suffer any troublesome injury. It simply was as if a series of punches had landed on their sides.
The two monsters fixed their angry eyes on the two students, but the latter shot backward to bait their opponents out of the lake. Khan and Ilman didn't mind the water as long as it failed to reach their knees, but they preferred to leave that unfavorable environment, especially since their fighting styles heavily relied on speed.
Something seemed to land on Khan and Ilman's previous spots as they retreated to return to the shores. They couldn't see anything there, but they heard a faint booming noise. Still, even that detail failed to tell them more about the sound ability since the previous attack didn't release anything similar.
The stable and dry ground soon reappeared under their feet. Khan and Ilman kept track of the environment with their senses as their eyes remained on the two monsters. Some Tainted animals had arrived in the area, but Ezinet was more than enough to handle them. Kozh and Vakha had also managed to land a few blows on the telekinetic creature during that time, so their battle seemed to go well.
Khan and Ilman could use the entirety of their concentration on their target in that situation. Still, the second monster soon claimed part of their attention. The ominous animal faces among its dark halo had become too strange to ignore after that short exchange.
"[Can you keep the other busy]?" Khan asked as the two monsters charged at them.
"[Can you kill the other on your own]?" Ilman asked in a serious tone.
Khan drew the first-grade knife and spun it in his hand before sealing his grip on its handle. "[I should be okay]."
Ilman limited himself to nod at that gesture. The dramatic aspects of his personality made him silent and driven during a battle. Khan was the squad leader, so the Niqols would follow his orders without voicing useless questions.
The two monsters left the lake but stopped on its shores. Khan and Ilman felt pressure accumulating on their chest again while the various animal faces on the second monster turned toward them. The two students didn't remain still, and booming noises resounded behind them as they split to approach their opponents from opposite sides.
Khan sprinted in a curved trajectory until he found himself in front of the sound monster's right head. His left arm shot ahead as an azure glow covered his knife and allowed it to open a deep hole in the creature's skull. The weapon's tip almost came out of the other side.
A blow landed at the center of Khan's torso and vanquished the faint satisfaction he had felt after the correct execution of his technique. The attack made his feet separate from the shore's muddy ground and flung him back by a few meters.
Khan didn't lose his grip on the knife. He had long since promised himself that he wouldn't commit that mistake again. The monster's attack had made his insides churn and had filled his mouth with a metallic taste, but his palm never left his weapon.
The sound monster barked in anger after Khan landed on the ground. Its right head hung lifelessly from its torso, and its sole sight was enough to make it livid.
The pressure on Khan's chest returned, and a series of blows landed on his body before he could perform another sprint. Impacts with the invisible energy happened on his belly, face, arms, knees, and thighs. The monster seemed able to attack him from multiple directions and on various spots at the same time.
The relentless offensive continued as the monster's barks kept echoing in the area. Khan's sensitivity to mana failed to sense the trajectory of the blows. Only pain could tell him where the attacks happened.
Khan felt unable to move, but he knew that he had to get out of that situation before his injuries became too severe. The pain wasn't the problem there. He simply couldn't move while that invisible force pushed him left and right.
A resolute expression appeared on Khan's face as he struggled to bend forward. Three impacts happened on his chest during the process. He spat blood, but he didn't stop.
Khan didn't need much. The [Blood Shield] moved on his left thigh before waiting for him to find the right opportunity. Invisible attacks continued to land on his body, but he remained still and endured until one blow hit the spot protected by his technique.
The left leg finally gained a window to move freely, and Khan didn't hesitate to muster the entirety of his strength to push himself forward. Booming noises resounded behind him as he left the area targeted by the monster's ability. The restrictions on his body vanished and allowed him to stomp his right foot on the ground to accelerate even further.
Khan reached the monster in an instant. Booming noises had followed his sprint and were about to catch up with him, but his rotating kick put an end to the creature's barks.
Khan's foot slammed the monster's left head on the ground. His knife glowed as he removed his leg to open a path, but a clanging noise resounded when his weapon pierced the fur and hit the skull.
The monster used that chance to raise its head and open its mouth, but Khan promptly kicked it close. His knife was still on its head, so he used it to keep the monster still as his feet landed non-stop on his opponent.
The knife dug deeper into the skull as Khan's kicks continued to fall. The innate sharpness of his magic weapon and the incredible force created by his powerful martial arts eventually made the sharp tip pierce the bone and reach the brain. Only a few more attacks had to follow before life abandoned the creature's eyes.
Khan spat the blood that had accumulated in his mouth before pulling out his knife and straightening his back. The troublesome sound monster was dead, but his body was sore everywhere. He felt as if he had just received a violent beating, and a sense of weakness even tried to spread inside his mind.
However, his senses warned him about the massive discharge of mana that was happening near him. Khan turned to his right and saw Ilman retreating as a series of shadows flew toward him.
'What the fuck?' Khan cursed in his mind.
The monsters didn't seem to have limits to the abilities that they could develop. They could go from simple physical enhancements to troublesome skills like that hypnotic power of the grasshopper.
It was generally easy to guess what each ability did after seeing it in action, but those shadows left Khan completely clueless. His confusion even intensified when he noticed the animal faces with their mouths open in front of those dark masses of energy.
Khan couldn't remain still for too long since some of the shadows stopped chasing Ilman and turned toward him. He didn't know what those things did, but he had no intention of finding out. He quickly jumped back and sprinted toward their source.
A dark halo continued to cover the monster that had released the shadows. At times, some faces managed to leave that ethereal membrane with some of its darkness. Yet, the creature seemed to suffer during the process. Its heads pointed at the ground, and its eyes were closed as the ability remained active.
Khan felt curious, but that feeling didn't make him forget his priorities. His speed brought him to the monster's side in no time, and his knife glowed as he swung it toward the left neck.
A clean cut severed the head from the rest of the body and made the monster howl in pain. The sudden injury made it retract all the shadows released in the environment, and Ilman finally gained some time to catch his breath. Yet, his eyes widened when he saw Khan standing so close to the creature.
"[Its aura absorbs mana]!" Ilman shouted in a desperate attempt to warn Khan, but his voice arrived one second too late.
Khan turned to shoot a confused glance toward Ilman, but the dark aura under him suddenly expanded and flung him away. Multiple animal faces passed through his body while bringing part of the darkness with them. An intense sense of weakness quickly filled him and made him unable to land properly.
Khan fell on the ground before spinning on himself until a tree stopped him. He was awake and could feel the knife in his grasp, but his body didn't answer his orders.
The shadows left Khan and returned to the monster. The dark halo that covered its figure intensified as its eyes moved on him. All the animal faces in its aura also fixed their gazes on Khan as they prepared themselves to come out again.
Khan inspected his body during those seconds. The parts of his flesh that had fused with mana seemed to have dried up. They didn't lose their improvements, but they were devoid of energy now.
His focus quickly went on his nape to force his mana core to release more energy and refill his body. The organ didn't hesitate to follow his orders, but the monster charged ahead at that point.
The faces on the dark aura started to come out as the monster ran. Blood fell from the severed neck, but the creature didn't seem to care about its injury. It only wanted to kill its prey.
Ilman wanted to help Khan, but he hesitated to get near the monster. The dark aura covered the entirety of its figure, meaning that it would drain his mana as soon as he touched it. Khan had the knife, but he would need to come into contact with the dangerous halo, which would put him in the same state as his companion.
Ilman couldn't save Khan when that dangerous ability was active, but he got ready to shoot ahead once the halo dimmed. Meanwhile, Khan focused the entirety of his efforts on giving power to his body, especially his left arm.
The monster eventually got so close that it could jump on Khan. He could see the many animal faces surrounding its relatively small figure, and his arm shot ahead as soon as its sharp teeth entered his range.
The azure glow shone in the area for only a second. The creature's brain hid it after Khan stabbed the knife inside its mouth.
****
Author's notes: This chapter covers yesterday's release, so you can expect two more chapters. I don't know if I'll be quick enough not to affect Demonic Sword with the second, but another one will definitely arrive in the next hours. I'll keep you all updated anyway.
Just one thing. I hate being unable to warn you beforehand, but I can't do much on the site without publishing a chapter. I usually use my discord for these unexpected announcements, so do join it if you want to remain updated. You can find the link in the book's synopsis.