Chapter 572: Rain of Blood

Chapter 570

"Oi, cripple. How’s it now? Shall we continue?"

Ray didn’t give the Aberrant time to reply before launching forward like a streak of lightning.

He sliced through the air and flashed before the creature with a thunderous BANG! Lightning crawled around his hand, gathering until it formed a spear.

He wasted no time hurling the lightning spear at the creature beneath him.

Despite having lost one leg, the Aberrant refused to give up. It slammed both hands into the ground with all its might before launching itself into the air.

The lightning spear ripped past it like a missed javelin, tearing through the earth as though the ground offered no resistance.

Arcs of lightning crackled across the shattered terrain as Ray snapped his head upward, spotting the Aberrant hovering above him.

The rain was visibly beginning to ease, as though it had done its best and could no longer wash away humanity’s sins. It was only a matter of time before the downpour retreated completely, but until then...

The Three-Spined descended like an unmovable pillar of flesh, intent on smashing Ray into the ground.

To nobody’s surprise, Ray had already vanished from sight by the time the Aberrant struck. Its knee slammed into the earth, shattering the ground and reducing the surrounding soil to fine dust.

The creature lifted its head, only to find the Tribrid standing before it once again.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" the Aberrant howled, its voice thick with pain and fury.

Its fists shot through the air, crashing towards the boy, who immediately leapt backwards.

BOOM!

The punches pulverised the air where Ray had stood, their force producing a reverberating shockwave.

The creature gritted its teeth against the pain. It could barely move, yet it refused to surrender. Planting both hands against the ground, it gathered whatever strength remained in its battered body and hurled itself forward, cutting through the air as though launched from a trampoline.

In a flash, the Aberrant was upon Ray, its fist hurtling towards him like a meteor.

Ray calmly ducked beneath the punch.

*Its balance is off.*

The fist swept past his head, leaving the creature’s side exposed. Ray twisted his body, coiling his muscles tightly as they bulged beneath his skin.

His fur bristled as lightning rumbled across his arms.

Then, in a fraction of a second, his fist connected with the Aberrant’s side.

BOOOOOOM!

The world detonated.

The ground collapsed beneath them, forming a gigantic crater as a tremendous shockwave burst outward. The remaining One-Spined Aberrants were swept off their feet and hurled away like leaves caught in a violent gale.

Even the rain seemed to recoil from the impact, its steady patter momentarily lost beneath the deafening blast.

Puddles exploded across the ground, their water scattering in every direction as though an invisible force had cleaved the surface apart.

The Aberrant’s eyes widened incredulously.

A torrent of blue blood erupted from its throat, enough to fill a pouch, as its ribs shattered beneath the devastating blow.

Its battered body shot into the air, beyond its control.

Before it could travel too far, Ray extended his hand.

[Skill: Tribrid’s Hand Activated]

To the naked eye, nothing seemed to happen. Yet a deep grey glow enveloped Ray’s outstretched hand, and the same strange radiance appeared around the Aberrant’s remaining leg.

Ray clenched his jaws so tightly that his teeth felt as though they might give way.

Then he yanked his hand backwards.

An extraordinary force seized the leg, pulling against the inertia carrying the Aberrant away from him. The opposing forces strained against each other for a brief moment, but Ray’s pull proved too much.

With a brutal tearing force, the creature’s second leg ripped free.

The Aberrant continued hurtling backwards, its momentum carrying it into multiple buildings in the distance. Each collision sent more rubble tumbling around its battered body.

Two bloody stumps remained where its legs had once been, blood gushing from the wounds.

The sudden severing of his connection to the leg sent Ray lurching backwards. His arm flung to the side, and the torn-off limb crashed onto the ground nearby.

Yet even after suffering such devastating injuries, the Three-Spined Aberrant was still moving.

Despite the blood pouring from its wounds, it planted both hands against the ground...

Blood trickled from the Aberrant’s mouth as it looked into the distance, only to find a frown etched across the boy’s face.

"Your attack a year ago crushed my mum’s legs, leaving her incapable of moving when you grabbed her."

The viewers could now hear their conversation clearly, as the rain had finally ceased.

The Three-Spined Aberrant panted heavily, pressing harder against its hands until the ground beneath them began to splinter.

Then, placing all its weight on its hands, it pushed off the ground and launched itself towards Ray.

"Cut off my legs, and I’ll use my hands to take you out! Cut those off, and I’ll use my teeth, my spines... whatever I have to make sure you pay!" the Aberrant roared, its voice rumbling as it rapidly closed the distance.

Ray kept his head lowered, seemingly counting the specks of dust beneath his feet.

Then, he extended his hand once more.

The Aberrant’s body glowed grey.

Its forward momentum abruptly halted, leaving it suspended in place, unable to advance another inch.

"I did promise to crush you, didn’t I?"

The Aberrant’s eyes widened as an immense pressure descended upon its body, squeezing it from every direction.

Its bones, flesh, and blood were compressed together as though a heavy truck had been placed on top of it.

CRACK!

The sound of breaking bones echoed across the battlefield as the Aberrant felt its body approaching the point of bursting under the tremendous force.

"Isn’t this what you did to my mum? Crushing her with those massive hands of yours? I didn’t lose two family members that day. I lost three."

As he spoke, Ray continued tightening his fist.

His claws had long since pierced his palm, drawing blood that streamed down his arm, yet he showed no sign of stopping.

"...Your Mothership killed my sister beneath those rocks, crushing her face. I lost my mum, and even my uncle had to risk his life to get me away from you. You motherfuckers killed all my relatives! ARGHHH!"

Ray’s anguished cry rang out as the Aberrant’s hands were crushed beneath the overwhelming pressure.

They fell limply to its sides, swaying in the wind like pieces of paper.

Tears and blood streamed from the creature’s eyes as it struggled desperately to move.

At first, its body managed only a few feeble twitches, as though it were pouring every last ounce of its willpower into breaking free from Ray’s grasp.

And somehow, it was working.

Even Ray noticed the change.

"Sigh..."

With an upward swing of his hand, he hurled the Aberrant’s body into the air with tremendous force, tossing it skyward as casually as throwing a dice.

The creature shot higher and higher, its body cutting through the air as the pressure compressing it diminished at an alarming rate.

Until, finally, it was gone.

Down below, Ray shifted one leg behind his body.

His arms transformed into massive werewolf hands, the claws extending as lightning danced wildly from his shoulders to their very tips.

The ground rumbled and shuddered beneath him with such force that it seemed an earthquake could erupt at any moment.

Ray’s aura was now on full display.

It spread far and wide, washing over everything in its path until even his friends felt its overwhelming presence, no matter where they stood.

At that same moment, Layla and Raze had finished dealing with the remaining Two-Spined Aberrants when the aura slammed into them.

A killing intent unlike anything they had felt before.

But Ray wasn’t finished.

Taking control of the lightning surrounding him, he began compressing it.

Again.

And again.

He forced the wild energy into an increasingly concentrated mass until the space around his fist began to collapse beneath the pressure.

{Oi, Host, what are you doing? Your body can’t take—}

Ray wasn’t even listening.

A brilliant light began forming around his arms, twisting and burning with an intense radiance.

A swirling orb of light started to take shape.

At the same time, Ray’s mind blazed. His brain spun as he seized control of the swirling orb’s concept, gathering the wild lightning and concentrating it around his fists.

The world around him darkened.

Arcs of lightning crackled violently around his body, repeatedly striking the earth as though the energy could no longer be contained.

Veins bulged beneath Ray’s skin, some appearing ready to burst as blood seeped from his eyes and nose.

Gravity had already taken hold of the Aberrant, sending it plummeting towards the earth at a terrifying speed. At this rate, it would collide with the ground within a second.

Ray’s thighs swelled, his muscles bulging with the strain of what he was attempting.

His arms trembled as he struggled to control his three different bloodlines and merge them into one.

At his current level—as a Tribrid Master—controlling and merging two bloodlines was no problem.

But what he was attempting now was something else entirely.

It was so absurd that even his System had begun screaming warnings inside his mind.

Warning alarms blared.

His interface continued flashing red, but Ray paid it no attention. Instead, he exploded from the earth like a blazing rocket.

The ground beneath his feet folded outward, crumbling as though it were nothing more than loose sand rather than solid earth.

A powerful blast of air erupted from his launch point, striking everything within a twenty-metre radius.

Feeling the sudden change in the air, the others had already rushed towards the disturbance. Fortunately, the location was only a few dozen metres away, and with Layla’s shadow travel, they managed to arrive in time.

Layla was especially eager to see what was happening—and, perhaps, witness Ray’s power firsthand.

One after another, they emerged from the shadows.

Every pair of eyes turned towards the sky.

Ray was shooting forward like a meteorite, while the Aberrant plummeted towards him, its shattered limbs flapping helplessly beside its body.

The drones weren’t left behind. They quickly adjusted their positions, ensuring the viewers wouldn’t miss a second of the spectacle unfolding before them.

Around Ray’s fist, space folded and collapsed, the distortion growing so intense that it looked as though a black hole were beginning to form.

"Whe-when you get to the afterlife, tell my mum, sister, and uncle that I said hi."

Ray cocked his fist behind his back.

The Aberrant’s eyes widened as it anticipated the pain about to descend upon it.

It wanted to move. To dodge. To counterattack.

But what could it possibly use?

Its legs were gone, and its hands had been crushed.

Then—

Its tail!

As though struck by an epiphany, the Aberrant seized control of its tail and whipped it forward. The appendage lashed through the air like a heavenly whip, aiming straight for Ray’s face.

A second before the two collided, Ray’s fist seemed to vanish from behind him, only to reappear directly before the Aberrant.

"Tell them I sent you."

BAM! BOOOOM! BANG!

The tail slammed into Ray’s face, sending his body hurtling downwards.

But not before his fist connected with the Aberrant’s body.

The impact launched the creature skyward, sending it tearing through the clouds within a second and scattering them in every direction.

A shockwave of unimaginable magnitude erupted from the collision, blasting outward in all directions. Dust, debris, and rubble were hurled through the air, flying past the surrounding group.

Everyone instinctively ducked as fragments shot over their heads and disappeared into the distance.

The ground erupted, sending mud soaring metres into the air.

Even where the group stood, the earth shuddered violently, throwing their balance off as the world seemed ready to collapse in on itself.

Half of Johnny’s drones went out of control and crashed into the earth, prompting the cameraman to scream in dismay.

[Warning: Host has taken critical damage.]

*Oh.*

Ray’s hands had become limp, almost like wet noodles, flapping helplessly beside his head as blood sprayed from his mouth. He continued falling, his gaze fixed on the sky above.

Meanwhile, the Aberrant’s body swelled grotesquely, as though it were being inflated from within.

Before it could travel any farther, it suddenly erupted like a burst balloon.

"RAY!" Trisha screamed at the sight of the falling Tribrid.

Yet, despite the apparent destruction of his blood vessels, Ray managed to twist his body around before reaching the ground.

He landed with his knees slightly bent.

The earth beneath him cratered under the impact, and he staggered as he struggled to remain upright.

His head felt as light as a feather.

Then, the sky above suddenly darkened.

Every eye turned upwards.

Something was raining down.

THUD!

An internal organ crashed into the ground.

Then came an eye.

Followed by a massive hand.

One after another, the Aberrant’s organs and severed limbs began falling from the sky, raining down like a grotesque giveaway from an airplane.

Ray slowly straightened after regaining control of his body.

The moment he stood upright, the rain began.

A rain of blood.

Blue blood poured furiously from above, bathing the Tribrid and soaking him from head to toe.

Fortunately, the others remained untouched. The gruesome downpour was confined to an area of roughly five metres around Ray.

After a minute, the rain of blood and gore finally stopped.

Ray remained where he stood, unmoving.

His silver hair had turned blue beneath the coating of blood, which rolled down his body and dripped onto the earth beneath his feet.

And then, as though impressed by what it had witnessed, the heavens seemed to smile upon him.

The gloomy clouds parted, allowing a brilliant ray of sunlight to shine down from behind him. The sun emerged from its hiding place, illuminating the Tribrid as though the sky itself had chosen to acknowledge his victory.

Every eye remained fixed on him.

Wall Rose had been successfully retaken.

[DING!]

[Quest 1 Completed!]

[Enemies Defeated: 150/150]