NOVPUB'Two A-Rankers… Good thing I didn’t bring Amber.'
Sol was relieved that he had asked Amber to stay behind and take care of the remaining Thunder Wolf Kings. He wasn’t confident in his ability to protect her while also fighting against two A-Rankers. Though she was extremely capable, there was only so much she could do against opponents of that caliber, and she would likely become a target if she had tagged along.
Now, Sol faced the challenge alone, but that didn’t concern him much.
'From what I saw in the Thunder Wolf King's memories, he’s a beast tamer. They specialize in commanding and enhancing beasts, so his individual combat ability shouldn’t be too high…'
He didn’t bother using [Analysis] to learn more, knowing it would likely be blocked. Instead, by observing their tethers, he quickly identified that Varek possessed two law techniques. Neither seemed offensive; both were related to beasts—one for subjugation and the other for enhancement.
As for the Raijin…
'Even though it was just born, it already has a law technique...'
Sol found it rather unfair that a newly revived ancient beast could wield such power so soon, but complaining wouldn't solve anything. From what he could tell, its law technique was related to lightning. Before he could analyze further, the Raijin struck.
Its body crackled with powerful white lightning as it zigzagged across the ruined chamber with terrifying speed, using its law technique, [Descent of White Lightning]. Sol’s eyes widened slightly in surprise; its acceleration was far beyond his expectations. But surprise didn’t mean inaction.
With a swift motion, shadows burst forth from Sol’s right hand as he activated [Umbral Domain]. Though not a law technique, it was infused with a frightening amount of mana, and the Raijin specialized in speed, not defense, making it a lethal attack. A thick wave of darkness surged forward, forcing the beast to roll to the side at the last second, narrowly avoiding the flood of shadows.
The Raijin landed, its claws skidding across the cracked stone, but Sol was already moving. He activated [Ethereal Traversal], his form flickering into mist before reappearing beside the beast in an instant. Without hesitation, he grabbed it by the neck and, with immense strength, hurled it toward Varek.
"Tch!" Varek grunted, catching the Raijin just in time. But before he could send it back into battle, all seven of Sol’s floating hands finished charging their attack.
The six chromas—red, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple—rotated rapidly around the seventh, orange, combining into a blindingly powerful beam that shot toward the two.
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"Move, you idiot!" Varek sneered, tossing the Raijin aside and dodging the incoming chroma beam himself.
However, just as he moved out of its way, the beam suddenly curved midair, twisting unnaturally and homing in on him.
"What the—?" Varek cursed under his breath as he dashed away, barely evading the pursuing beam. But Sol wasn’t done yet. The beam split into multiple smaller beams, attacking from different angles and forcing Varek to weave through the ruins in a desperate attempt to avoid being hit. Each explosion that followed sent debris flying in all directions.
Sol watched him struggle and decided to end things. With a flick of his wrist, stone fragments gathered around his hand, condensing into a slim sword with a razor-sharp edge. Channeling his law technique, [Swift End], he coated the blade with Slayer Aura, causing it to emanate a faint, chilling aura of death.
He was about to leap into the fray and seal Varek’s fate when a sudden bolt of lightning shot toward him from the side.
The Raijin, having recovered from the earlier throw, unleashed a crackling surge of electricity straight at him.
Without breaking stride, Sol sliced through the lightning bolt with his stone sword, splitting it cleanly in half. His eyes remained locked on Varek—he didn’t see the Raijin as a major threat.
‘It’s just been born. It may have a law technique, but it lacks the battle experience to use it properly.’
Handling it was easy for Sol; he didn’t even have to use his other law technique, [Lesser Channel Control], to suppress its power. While the Raijin had great speed and control over lightning, it couldn't yet utilize its full potential. That was good for him—he had a better use for the law technique.
As Sol closed in on Varek, the beast tamer smirked and sneered, "So you think I’m an easy target just because I’m a tamer?! Think again!"
In that moment, Varek activated his second law technique, [Beast Ascension]. It was a technique that drastically enhanced the attributes and abilities of his tamed beasts. When used on B-Rank beasts, they gained the power to rival A-Rankers, so using it on an A-Rank beast should have made it unstoppable.
But when he tried to activate it, nothing happened.
"What the—?"
"Forgot something?"
In his confusion, Sol had already arrived. With his stone sword, imbued with Slayer Aura, he sliced through the air with lethal precision, aimed directly at Varek.
The mad beast tamer's eyes widened in panic. At this range, dodging was impossible, but he tried anyway.
He twisted his body with everything he had, barely avoiding a fatal blow. However, his right arm wasn’t as fortunate.
Varek let out a bloodcurdling scream as his severed arm fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood gushed from the wound, but his horror only deepened when he realized the bleeding wouldn’t stop—the Slayer Aura prevented any natural or skill-based regeneration.
"Y-you bastard!" Varek staggered back, clutching the stump where his arm had been. His face contorted in pain and rage, but Sol was already closing in to finish him off.
With cold determination, Sol raised his sword for the killing blow. Shadows swirled around him, his figure blending into the dim surroundings like death itself. But just as the blade was about to fall, he leaped back.
Boom!
The Raijin lunged with a powerful lightning strike at the spot where Sol had stood a moment ago, forming a deep crater. Varek, inches away from being caught up in the attack, glared at the beast and yelled, “Watch it! You almost killed me!”
