NOVEL WEB Chapter 1279: Disgusted
[What did he just say?] Screamira mentally asked her fellow kaijin.
[He said, "report", as if he wasn't able to communicate with the other Kaijin or his lord via telepathy,] Springerdermain answered.
[That can't be right,] Razorstella commented. [We might have a busted connection right now, but we're still somewhat able to feel the director.]
[Maybe he meant something else?] Nepeherage proposed. [That...or this guy is actually like most mortals and isn't able to relay information on real time like we can.]
[Then that means...]
...
'Yeah, I don't know who the heck this other Kaijin Lord is exactly. But I can already tell through the memories of that trio I just spat out, that we're definitely not gonna get along in the slightest,' Zhen Liu thought to himself. 'Might as well cement the fact to the others though. '
...
"Oh...shit," Zhen Tai cursed as soon as he saw the jaguar kaijin roll up and stop short of attacking the others. "That is definitely not a good—"
^Move, man, move!^
"Eh?"
Before Zhen Tai could finish his though, the Bloodliner antelope girl that he and Antonio were original watching over had gotten back to her feet and started running away from the scene.
The two aformentioned young men looked at each other for a brief moment before shrugging and following suit. Coincidentally, they were running off in the same direction Zhen Xing was when he had brought in that jaguar kaijin.
Regardless, now that they had cleared the immediate battlefield, Zhen Liu and his other kaijin were now able to confront Mauler on a more...intimate level.
Well, once Zhen Liu finished coughing up what he left was either one of his lungs or one of the lungs of the kaijin he just spat out.
[Hold up, tall, dark and creepy,] Zhen Liu managed to say after finishing coughing and gesturing for the other kaijin to not go on the offensive yet. [Aren't you more worried about the fact that your allies here are injured and on the ground?]
[Allies?] The jaguar kaijin repeated in a strange tone of voice. [I have no allies. Only those who have yet to become fuel for my glorious evolution.]
[Well...that's disturbing,] Zhen Liu retorted while rolling his eyes at the obvious edginess of the Kaijin before him. [You mean to tell me you don't feel their pain in this moment? Their genuine cries for assistance?]
As if to emphasize his point, the two Kaijin that were partially melted on the ground began to cry out in pain.
[Help...]
[Somebody...]
However, the kaijin known as Constrictor let out a very different cry.
[Give them back...put them back...]
[What the fuck?]
[I stole their lives, fair and square,] Constrictor continued as he began to reach out towards the other two Kaijin, crawling towards them like a beggar searching for food. [Their power is mine by right of conquest. Right of blood. Right of power!]
[...]
Zhen Liu's Kaijin didn't even attempt to hide their disgust over these statements as they watched the snake Kaijin formerly known as Constrictor continue to crawl towards his former victims.
Whether this disgust originated from their creator's innate desire of wanting them to stick together through thick and thin, or from their innate nature as Kaijin of being connected to one another was unclear. All the kaijin knew for certain, though, was that there was absolutely no way for them to get along with these other "Kaijin".
[Oh poor little snake, unable to slither,] the jaguar kaijin growled in a sadistic manner. [Let Mauler help you get back into the hole that you were supposed to end up in.]
After making his declaration, Mauler proceeded to pump [Chaos] into the cloak of quills that was growing out of his body and released a torrent of them that caused the kaijin and Zhen Liu to instinctually jump away.
An instinct that was justified as the quills exploded upon impact and knocked the three partially melted kaijin off of the ground and into the air.
In this moment of temporary weightlessness, Mauler proceeded to move in and attack each of the partially melted kaijin.
He didn't need their bodies after all, just their [Cores].
"Everyone, shield your eyes!" Zhen Liu ordered the kaijin, as he knew that what was about to happen was going to send them over the edge.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Unfortunately, his command came too late.
Before the eyes of the Kaijin and Zhen Liu, Mauler had torn out the cores of the three airborne Kaijin in rapid succession.
Without their cores, the bodies of Constrictor and the other two Kaijin began to disappear, dissolving into [Chaos].
The moment the Kaijin saw this action taken place, Zhen Liu could feel their bloodlust skyrocket to absurd levels.
[Did this bastard just—?!]
[He broke the taboo. He broke the taboo!]
[No wonder you wanted that Constrictor guy dead!]
[Fratricide!]
[Down the hatch!]
Uncaring of the words of the other Kaijin, Mauler proceeded to swallow the cores of Constrictor and the other two Kaijin, one after the other like they were the most delectable pieces of fruit in existence.
[Ah! That's the stuff!]
Once those cores went down his gullet, Mauler's form began to mutant once more.
On the shoulder opposite of the porcupine-line pauldron on his right, the face of a lizard suddenly manifested and scales began to develop up and down his body.
Around his waist, a frog-shaped belt buckle formed while his legs became more muscular than before.
Last, but certainly not least, the burning torch if metallic bone that was sticking out of his torso suddenly began to wiggle and shake until it had morphed into a massive snake wrapped in flames.
[Now with that out of the way,] Mauler growled while flicking about his new head. [Why don't you lot surrender now before I—]
[Star Cutting Kick!]
[Python Cannon Fist!]
Before Mauler could even finish his [stupid] threat, Razorstella and Springerdermain were already jumping his ass like he has personally offended them.
[Which he had!]
Razorstella attempted to lob off Mauler's snake head with a sweeping kick of her sword legs, her body resembling a nebula in motion.
At the same time, Springerdermain tapped into his old pugilistic approach to fighting and launched a phantasmal punch that resembled a striking python.
[Whoa there!]
To Mauler's (unfortunate) credit, he had surprisingly good instincts when it came to avoiding attacks.
Despite having just developed these new extremities, Mauler managed to swing his head out of Razorstella's path while using his arms to block Springerdermain's punch.
While he wasn't forced to take any steps back to steady his footing, he was sent sliding backwards.
[Bahahaha! I guess surrendering is out the window! Fine by me, I'll just—]
[Shut up!]
In the span of time that Mauler was sliding, Nepeherage and Screamira had repositioned themselves to be situated at the chimeric bastard's left and right in order to unleash a two-prong strike.
[Volcanic Palm!]
[Death Howl!]
Nepeherage had condensed her aether into the palm of her hand before firing a giant hand made of molten rock hurtling towards Mauler's right.
Meanwhile, on Mauler's left, Screamira had unleashed a death aether laced scream that caused any who heard it to grow woozy and weak.
In response to this two-prong attack, Mauler decided that now was the perfect time to go on the offensive.
[Might as well try one of those new moves that were installed into my skull. Hateful Tornado!]
Channeling [Chaos] into his claws, Mauler began to twist in place and kick up a twister that tore apart Nepeherage's magma hand and dispersed Screamira's howl.
Unfortunately, it didn't do jackshit in keeping opponents from striking above or below.
"Alright, fuck it. Maximum effort, no survivors!"
As Mauler kept spinning in place, Zhen Liu took this as an opportunity to leap into the air, transform his [Veteran's Bone Club] into a massive spike and slam it downward with his [Hammer of the Dearly Departed.]
Mauler didn't even have time to react or scream as the massive boney spike impaled him to the cursed ground.
"Direct hit!"
[Gah! You bastards!]
Unfortunately, the attack was just a little bit off, so it didn't pierce through Mauler's [Core]. It did, however, left him in excruciating pain.
Mauler tried his best to rip out the bone stake keeping him pinned, but Zhen Liu had sure to make the tip barbed so that it would be damn near impossible to tear out without the wounds getting exacerbated.
As he struggled though, Nepeherage and the other Kaijin began to surround Mauler like wolves around a dying bison. Although, their eyes were significantly more bloodthirsty.
As they closed in, Zhen Liu landed a few feet behind the Kaijin.
[Milord, I know you're probably wanting us to spare him so that we can interrogate them. But—]
"Didn't you hear me earlier? I said, 'no survivors', for a reason. I already learned enough about these blokes from Constrictor to not like them or their creator in the slightest."
[Very well then.]