Chapter 554: Bad to Worse (2)

Chapter 552

Lifting his battle axe and resting it on his shoulder, Captain Raze landed on one of the raised pillars with a nonchalant expression. His tired eyes swept across the battlefield, taking in the Aberrants surrounding him from every direction.

Everywhere he turned, all he could see were Aberrants. Their enormous bodies crowded the surrounding pillars and ground, blocking his view until he could no longer see a single member of his squad.

Raze merely swirled the candy in his mouth.

An Aberrant lunged at him from the front, another charged from behind, while several more attacked from the sides, their massive fists and claws tearing through the air as they closed in on him simultaneously.

Yet, Captain Raze remained unfazed.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced upward at the drone hovering above him, capturing every moment of what the Spine Reaper was about to do to escape this predicament.

A massive knuckle tore through the air, hurtling toward the Captain’s face with astonishing speed.

Raze casually turned his gaze toward the incoming fist before tilting his head slightly to the side, allowing the enormous knuckle to whistle past him.

The next instant, the Aberrant’s entire arm slid away from its shoulder.

Raze hadn’t even moved a muscle.

The creature froze, its eyebrows arching as it struggled to comprehend what had just happened. A heartbeat later, blood erupted from the severed wound, spraying through the air as the Aberrant staggered backward, clutching the stump where its arm had been.

Even Johnny, watching through the drone footage, found himself struggling to process what he had just witnessed.

He immediately rewound the footage and played it again. This time, he pushed his ability to its limits, slowing the recording to an almost unbelievable degree for both himself and the millions watching at home. His attention remained fixed on the Aberrant’s severed arm.

What the footage revealed caused countless human eyes to widen in disbelief.

One moment, Raze was staring at the fist speeding toward him. The next, his hand twitched for a fraction of a second.

That was all.

With a subtle swing from below, an incredibly dense earth sword shot upward from the pillar beneath his feet and flew directly into his waiting grasp.

And in that same breath, the Captain swung.

The blade severed the Aberrant’s arm cleanly before the creature could even comprehend what had happened. Immediately afterward, the earth sword sank back into the pillar from which it had emerged, leaving Raze standing in the same relaxed posture as before.

"...."

"....!!!"

The footage left the viewers speechless.

"Now," Raze began with a small yawn.

The Two-Spined Aberrant clutched its severed arm, blood pouring profusely from the stump as it stared at the man before it.

Raze ran a hand through his hair and glanced around with narrowed eyes. For a moment, the surrounding Aberrants shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze, their earlier confidence faltering as they witnessed the effortless manner in which he had disarmed one of their own.

Then, seemingly remembering their numerical advantage, they steadied themselves once more.

"....I have been killing your kind for years now, for fun. I want to see what you can offer again. But unfortunately, I don’t have that time. My squad needs me."

The moment he finished speaking, Raze’s legs twitched.

And then he vanished.

The next instant, he reappeared directly behind the disarmed Aberrant, his war axe crackling as he swung it down toward the creature’s nape with all his might.

BANG!

A deafening explosion cracked through the air as the axe struck. The sheer force tore through the creature’s torso, its spine cracking like a fallen tree beneath the devastating blow.

Blood erupted like a fountain, splashing across the surrounding rubble as the Aberrant’s massive body buckled.

Before the corpse could even collapse completely, an earth pillar surged upward behind the Captain.

Raze kicked off it.

The entire pillar shattered beneath his foot, its fragments scattering as he shot through the air like an arrow, hurtling toward his next target.

One of the Aberrants’ eyes widened.

But as though remembering the species to which it belonged, the creature quickly forced itself into a fighting stance, its claws sweeping toward the approaching Captain.

Raze’s lazy eyes settled on the incoming claws.

For a brief moment, he seemed almost uninterested.

Then his body began to spin.

He didn’t evade the attack.

He charged straight toward it, rotating with tremendous force as a violent current of wind gathered around him. The air twisted and compressed behind his spinning body, growing more turbulent with every revolution.

And then, before the eyes of humanity, the man tore through the Aberrant’s arm.

Beginning at the claws, his spinning assault shredded through the entire limb, ripping it apart as he advanced toward the creature’s neck without losing momentum.

His axe followed.

The blade kissed the Aberrant’s neck before biting deep into its flesh.

Blood sprayed across Raze’s face, but his expression remained unchanged.

With one fluid rotation of his body and weapon, he completed the swing.

The Aberrant’s head came off.

Raze immediately ducked as another massive fist crashed through the space above him with a resounding BOOM! The punch sent a violent gust sweeping across the battlefield, but the Captain was already moving.

His VMS boots ignited, releasing a burst of gas that propelled him forward.

Before he could gain much distance, a gigantic foot rushed toward him from below.

Raze deactivated his boots almost immediately, allowing gravity to pull him down toward the ground. The incoming foot swept past overhead, missing his body by a narrow margin as he dropped beneath it.

His boots activated again the moment he regained his footing.

Lifting his axe behind him, Raze drew upon his earth ability. Earth surged toward the weapon, rushing over its surface and coating the blade in a dense layer of hardened material.

He tightened his grip.

Then he hurled the axe forward with his entire strength.

BOOOOM!

The sound barrier shattered as the weapon tore through the air, its immense speed sending a violent shockwave rippling across the battlefield.

The axe struck another Aberrant squarely in the chest.

The impact caved its chest inward, crushing the surrounding flesh and bone as the weapon tore through its body.

A gaping hole remained in its torso.

THUD!

The decapitated head from earlier struck the ground, followed shortly afterward by the Aberrant with its chest caved inward. Both landed among the rubble, their massive bodies adding to the destruction scattered across the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Raze’s axe continued flying through the air until the man stretched out his hand. The weapon abruptly halted mid-flight before spinning around and shooting back toward him, flashing into his grasp.

Clutching his fingers around the handle, Raze’s gaze sharpened with focus. The earth coating the head of his weapon glowed brighter as he surveyed the Aberrants surrounding him, his expression betraying none of the pressure of being outnumbered.

He didn’t move.

Instead, the earth beneath his feet surged upward, launching him into the air and propelling him toward another creature. His figure blurred as he closed the distance, his axe trailing behind him.

The Aberrant reacted quickly, taking a step backward while leaning its head away from the incoming blade. It watched as the axe sliced past its face, missing by a narrow margin.

Its heart pounded with excitement.

The creature immediately counterattacked, its massive claw raking through the air as it attempted to tear Raze apart.

However, the Captain twisted his wrist and yanked the axe backward with precise control.

CLANG!

His weapon struck the incoming claw, parrying it away in one fluid motion. Before the Aberrant could recover, Raze redirected the momentum of his swing and hurled the axe downward.

The blade buried itself deep in the creature’s head.

Raze’s eyes darted from left to right. Two more Aberrants were already closing in, attempting to flank him while his weapon remained embedded in their companion’s skull.

’Hmph.’

The creatures moved to attack, their hands beginning to rise toward him.

Raze twisted the axe handle.

BOOM!

A low explosion detonated deep within the Aberrant’s skull. He immediately dragged the weapon downward, splitting the creature’s head open as blue blood burst into the air.

But he didn’t stop there.

In the same fluid motion, Raze spun around and swept his weapon through the air. Blood and earth surged outward from the axe, scattering across the battlefield as the surrounding soil twisted and reshaped itself.

Before the first flanking Aberrant could react, the earth transformed into a spear and shot toward its face.

SHNK!

The earthen spear tore straight through its eye.

At the same time, Raze lifted his axe behind him and caught the second creature’s attack, deflecting the incoming blow with a forceful swing.

Rather than remain in place, he spun around and kicked off an earth pillar that had risen nearby. The pillar propelled him forward, sending him flashing behind the Aberrant before it could turn to follow his movement.

His axe came down on its spine.

CRACK!

The blade ripped through the creature’s back, tearing open its spine with effortless precision.

Raze’s expression remained unchanged.

He bit down hard, and the candy in his mouth shattered into fragments. With a small puff of air escaping his lips, he landed on a raised platform with feline grace, his boots touching down without disturbing his balance.

Swinging his axe to the side, he flung the blood clinging to its blade away in a red-and-blue spray.

Behind him, the Aberrant whose spine had been torn open collapsed to its knees, its enormous body struggling to remain upright.

The other Aberrants stared at the Captain.

For the first time, several of them took fearful steps backward, their confidence shaken by the ease with which he had dismantled their companions.

Yet, the battle continued to rage around them.