NOVPUB
Chapter 143: Demon Lord’s Pet
The sunlight blinded him for a second — but then his vision cleared.
The lakeside was in chaos.
Multiple monsters — dozens of them — had emerged from the trees surrounding the clearing.
Some were canine-like, with black fur and glowing green eyes.
Others were taller, with bulky arms and razor-sharp claws.
Their growls were guttural and monstrous, echoing through the clearing like a chorus of hellspawn.
His party was already in the thick of it.
His boots skidded violently against the muddy shore as he landed, a cough erupting from his throat as lake water spilled out of his mouth.
He barely had time to recover before the massive shape slithered up behind him, dragging a wave of water and pressure with it.
The beast — no, Eclipse — was already coiling its massive body, muscles shifting unnaturally beneath obsidian-black scales.
Then, like some cursed evolution, its serpentine form began to twist, joints cracking, wings sprouting as the silhouette contorted into something far more terrifying.
A dragon.
Zayn’s eyes widened.
Eclipse — a shape-shifting pseudo-legendary beast from the old novel he’d read in his past life.
He remembered the entry vividly. It was the goddamn pet of the demon lord.
Why the hell was it here now?
It was too damn early.
Before he could react, the newly-formed dragon roared and launched itself at him, a claw like a slab of stone crashing against his chest.
He felt his ribs scream in protest as the force launched him into the air like a ragdoll.
The wind howled in his ears, his body flipping uncontrollably — until a follow-up wave of purple flames chased after him with eerie precision.
Zayn gritted his teeth midair, ignoring the pain, and drew his sword in a swift arc.
Soul energy surged through the blade, coating it in that pink hue of fear-forged power.
He slashed downward with all his might, cutting through the flames like a knife through silk.
But the force wasn’t neutralized — it transferred.
He was still flying.
The backlash from the explosion threw him higher, tumbling backward through the air like a broken kite.
Eclipse beat its massive wings once, sending a gale of energy that curved through the air and punted him back down like a meteor.
Crash!
He hit the lake like a comet, vanishing beneath the surface with a trail of steam and fire.
The cold hit him like a wall. His body screamed. But so did his instincts.
He spun midwater as a claw lashed past his face, the beast having followed him directly into the lake.
His foot slammed down against the lakebed as he narrowly avoided another strike, then burst toward the serpent with all the force his body could muster.
Underwater fighting was insane.
Even in the water, Zayn was fast — but Eclipse was faster.
And stronger. It was fluid, literally and figuratively.
Every movement of its long tail twisted the currents against him.
Every swipe of its claw sent tidal pressure waves crashing into his guard.
But Zayn didn’t back down.
He couldn’t.
He twisted to the left, evading a tail swipe that would’ve cracked a boulder in two, then slashed upward with a crescent arc of pink soul energy.
The blade connected — finally — cutting across the beast’s shoulder.
Bubbles exploded from the wound, and for a brief second, Zayn felt the momentum shift.
The serpent twisted and shrieked, its glowing purple eyes narrowing in fury. It lunged.
He dodged again, barely. His legs kicked the water like turbines.
Another strike.
Another twist.
He darted forward in an instant and unleashed a flurry of slashes, each laced with soul energy.
The pink arcs shimmered through the lake like neon trails, forcing the creature to retreat — for now.
But Zayn knew the truth.
He was outmatched.
Underwater, he was slower.
His soul energy was harder to maintain.
Even his breathing — he was out of air again.
[Warning: Host is at critical oxygen levels]
’Not now!’
He flipped backward to gain distance, then angled his body up. Time to get the hell out of the water.
But the serpent read him. Its tail snaked around his leg like a whip and yanked.
Zayn spun midair — er, midwater — like a spiral spear and used the momentum to stab down, burying his sword into the coiling muscle around his leg.
It screamed, bubbles flying from its maw, and released him — but not before sending another shockwave of power through the lake.
He blasted upward with a kick of soul-charged legs and finally broke the surface —
Hhaaaa!
He gasped like a drowning man reborn, flipping out of the lake with a hard roll and landing near the tree line.
Water flew everywhere. His body hurt, burned, ached. But he stood.
Behind him, Eclipse burst from the lake with a war cry that shook the ground.
Its wings spread wide, spraying water like a divine hurricane.
"Leave this one to me, help the others," Tobias said firmly, stepping forward as Zayn paused mid-stride, glancing between the dragon and his friend.
Zayn nodded once before dashing back toward the others, sword already crackling with energy.
Tobias adjusted his crooked glasses, the bridge now slightly bent from the earlier impact.
His fingers brushed back a few stray strands of hair as he stared up at the beast that hovered in the air with beating wings. Eclipse.
The air shifted. Something subtle, but tangible.
Like pressure being added to the atmosphere. Even Eclipse stopped roaring for a moment, its golden eyes narrowing, sensing the change in the one standing below.
Tobias inhaled deeply. "It’s time... I go full power."
With that, the wind howled.
No — magic howled.
The area around him shimmered with blue arcane circles, layered runes swirling around his arms and body like enchanted rings.
Tobias’s coat flared upward as if caught in a cyclone, the runes crawling across the cloth like living tattoos.
His eyes gleamed, reflecting mathematical equations, spell circles, and every bit of knowledge he’d absorbed since his reincarnation. 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
This was no longer the calm, sardonic bookworm. This was the Hero of Knowledge, awakened.
Eclipse roared and charged, clawing through the air at blistering speed.
Tobias raised his hand — and a barrier materialized, taking the shape of a crystalline dome just in time to take the blow.
The barrier cracked but held.
"For a beast forged from corrupted arcane soul remnants," Tobias muttered, "you really lack subtlety."
