Free Web NovelChapter 138: Bait and Switch (2)
"Both of you. Drink it all right now, and stay back near the horses."
Nadia caught the glass clumsily, staring at the glowing liquid with blatant suspicion.
"What is it?"
"A defence potion," Kane answered, already unhooking Mjoldr from his back.
"It will keep your bones from snapping if that thing decides to spit a rock at you. Down the hatch, rebel. I don’t have time to play nurse if you get careless."
Trusting his wife’s serene nod, Kane watched Misha uncork her vial and drink the silver liquid gracefully.
Seeing the delicate oracle consume it without fear, Nadia finally pulled her stopper and chugged the elixir.
She gagged slightly at the bitter, chalky taste, but her skin immediately took on a faint, metallic sheen before fading back to normal.
"Alright," Kane murmured, stepping closer to the muddy shoreline while keeping his boots firmly planted.
"Find it for me, Misha."
Closing her eyes, Misha took a slow breath.
When her eyelids fluttered open, her pupils had vanished completely, leaving her eyes glowing a pure white.
The seraphic blessing was activated, allowing her to see the invisible currents of magic flowing through the environment.
Silence hung over the stagnant lake. Kane waited, his grip tightening around the haft of his crimson axe.
"There," Misha whispered, her dual-tone voice carrying an eerie resonance across the shore.
She raised a slender finger, pointing toward a clustered patch of rotting cypress trees near the far eastern edge.
"Deep below the roots. A large, concentrated mass of foul mana is resting."
Focusing his gaze exactly where she pointed, Kane watched the ink-like surface carefully.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then, far in the corner of the reservoir, a single, deliberate ripple broke the unnerving stillness.
Kane did not wait for the creature to make a formal introduction.
"Get back," Kane ordered, never taking his eyes off the unnatural ripples forming near the centre of the reservoir.
"Take cover behind those cypress roots right now. Do not step out until I say so."
Nadia hesitated for a fraction of a second, completely unaccustomed to running away from her own territory.
"You cannot fight that alone! You do not even know what you are looking for yet!"
"Watch me," Kane replied smoothly, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Move, Nadia."
Grabbing the rebel’s sleeve, Misha pulled her firmly toward the tree line, trusting her husband’s command implicitly.
"Do not argue with him when he draws his weapon. Just step back and watch."
Drawing Mjoldr from his back, Kane rolled his shoulders to loosen the joints.
The familiar weight of the crimson axe grounded his focus, narrowing the entire world down to the muddy shoreline and the hidden target.
[System Skill Activated: Berserker’s Rage]
[Effect: Physical strength, speed, and pain tolerance increased by 100% for three minutes.]
Crimson energy flared around his forearms, pulsing in time with his racing heartbeat. Power flooded his veins, sharpening his senses.
Pulling his arm back, Kane launched the axe with everything he had.
Spinning rapidly, the weapon tore a path straight through the water, parting the surface through pure momentum.
Hitting something submerged, a dull thud echoed across the shore.
Waiting a brief second, Kane simply raised his right hand.
Mjoldr tore out of the depths, flying backwards until the leather grip slapped perfectly into his palm.
Checking the curved blade, Kane noticed the edge remained completely clean.
Not a single drop of blood stained the metal.
’It escaped the strike,’ Kane analysed, tapping the handle against his thigh.
’Something that large should not possess that kind of agility underwater. I need to force it out of its element. If it stays hidden in the depths, this fight will drag on too long.’
"Is it dead?" Nadia called out from the trees, trying to peer through the gloom.
"Not even close," Kane answered, keeping his voice steady.
"Stay quiet. It is hunting."
Staring at the still surface, Kane waited for another sign.
The reservoir remained unnervingly calm, hiding the monster lurking below.
"Husband! To the left!" Misha shouted, her glowing white eyes tracking the invisible currents of mana swirling beneath the lake.
"It is circling your flank! Gathering speed!"
Turning his head sharply, Kane spotted a sudden surge in the water level.
A rushing wave crested rapidly, barreling straight toward his position on the shoreline like a submerged battering ram.
Instead of retreating to safer ground, Kane pushed off the muddy bank.
Vaulting directly toward the incoming wave, he raised his crimson axe high above his head and brought it crashing down right onto the swelling surface.
A fierce red shockwave exploded from the point of impact.
Water blasted outward in all directions, momentarily pushing the lake back and exposing the hidden predator underneath.
Standing right in the centre of the displaced crater, the beast glared up at him.
’Ugly bastard,’ Kane remarked internally, taking in the mutated nightmare.
It possessed the bloated, rounded torso of a hippopotamus, yet its snout elongated into jagged, crocodile-like jaws lined with serrated teeth.
Six glowing yellow eyes blinked erratically along the sides of its scaly skull, tracking Kane’s mid-air descent.
[Target Identified: Mutated River Behemoth]
[Threat Level: 100]
Opening jaws wide enough to swallow a grown stallion, the behemoth lunged upward.
Gravity finally reclaimed the displaced lake, sending tons of crashing water right back over the creature and swallowing the beast from sight once more.
Landing cleanly back on the solid bank, Kane swung Mjoldr horizontally, sending a crescent arc of red energy slicing toward the last known coordinates.
Slipping smoothly beneath the returning wave, the creature evaded the slash entirely.
"Where did it go?!" Nadia screamed, watching the water boil near the edge of the reeds.
Rising abruptly just a few feet away, the creature hacked loudly from its throat.
A stream of vile green sludge shot from its jaws, splashing directly across Kane’s face.
Vision vanished instantly.
Burning pain flared across his eyes, forcing him to squeeze them shut.
’Poison? No, just a chemical irritant meant to blind prey before the kill,’ Kane calculated, refusing to let panic cloud his judgment.
’Wiping it right now will only rub it deeper into my eyes. Keep breathing. Rely on sound.’
"Kane! Your eyes!" Misha yelled, her usual serene composure breaking slightly at the sight of him being blinded.
