Chapter 380: Defiance
Silk webs could be seen shooting towards Trisha with such speed and force that even the ice behind the Queen was being sliced apart as though it were mere paper.
It seemed as though the webs were made out of steel instead of silk as they rushed towards the Ice Queen.
Snapping her head upward to look at the incoming webs, her eyes widened.
’To-Too fast.’
BANG!
A streak of lightning flashed as Ray closed the distance between himself and the attack.
He didn’t have the chance to actually pull the girl out of the way.
So he simply wrapped himself around her, making sure that no part of her body was visible at all.
"....?!"
Trisha was stunned by the sudden act.
The next second, a cloak settled over them almost like a blanket.
Except for the fact that it wasn’t as long as a blanket, it still covered the boy’s back while he, in turn, shielded Trisha completely.
’Activate the cloak’s Durability now!’
[Done.]
In a flash, the cloak, which was made out of black fabric, suddenly hardened like a shield in the nick of time.
Clang! Bang! Tsshhk!
The steel web slammed into the cloak.
Sparks flew into the air as the force of the impact sent Ray and Trisha sliding forward for several seconds while the cloak struggled to withstand the web.
Finally!
Like a knife through water, the web managed to split the cloak open, but by then, it had already lost the majority of its sharpness and momentum.
[Your item; Cloak of Durability has been destroyed.]
Nevertheless, it struck Ray’s exposed back.
Tchaaak—!
Crimson droplets burst into the air.
Ray tightened his grip around Trisha while letting out a pained grunt.
The Ice Queen didn’t know how to react as the whole situation had unfolded far too quickly for her to process properly.
The web dissipated the next moment.
It had done its work by shattering the ice around the beast’s legs and also injuring one of the annoying pests.
"Ugh...."
Letting go of Trisha, Ray spun around to face Nebula for fear of a follow-up attack.
He kept his gaze fixed on the Spider Queen as she slowly rose back to her full imposing height.
Trisha gazed at the deep gash across Ray’s back with a hint of an emotion in her eyes that she had never experienced before.
Finally finding her voice, she asked,
"Why? Why did you do that just now?"
Still panting from having his energy drained by healing his abdomen, Ray didn’t act as though he had heard her.
But he still gave a reply.
"I can heal. You can’t."
"Aaaaaah! For goodness’ sake! Why don’t you all just die?! How are you all al—"
"Ah... that was a nice snack," Felix could be heard saying as he rose from the midst of the dead spiders he had been hurled into.
His legs had fully regenerated, and even his missing arm could be seen regenerating in real time.
Nebula stared in both shock and fury as she locked eyes on the regeneration.
"Aaaaaah! DIE!" She bellowed into their minds.
Bracing himself, Ray grabbed Trisha by the arm and yanked her to her feet.
And just in time,
TSSHHK!
Like a machine gun, Nebula began firing razor-thin strands from her mandibles at the Aspirants.
Without delay, Ray began zipping around the chamber with Trisha held tightly in his grasp.
Chunks of shattered marble exploded beneath his feet each time he changed direction, lightning crackling wildly around his legs as he pushed Thunder Step to its limit.
Felix too—with the speed of a werewolf—began darting around the chamber, leaving afterimages in his wake as he narrowly avoided each deadly strand.
Kai, with the last of his meta-force, conjured a small dome of crystal around himself that absorbed the impact of the attacks pouring from the beast’s mandibles.
The relentless barrage echoed throughout the chamber as webs shredded stone pillars, carved deep trenches into the marble floor, and sent clouds of dust billowing into the air. Every passing second made it increasingly clear that Nebula was no longer playing with them.
Chloe dove into the midst of a dozen dead Carapace Spiders.
She was even lucky that the attacks weren’t really aimed at her.
Those they were aimed at were moving with such grace and speed.
The strands were like bullets as they missed their targets—smashing holes into the ground, pillars, walls, and even some of the dead spiders lying around.
If they caught a human, they would leave a bullet-like hole in their head, and they would consequently lose their life in the process.
Bending his head to evade a strand, a memory flashed through Ray’s mind.
Him running and dodging laser beams fired by a huge spaceship.
Gritting his teeth, he yanked Trisha, pulling her towards his body.
Without hesitation, he grabbed her by the waist and then spun her around, sending the flustered girl spinning until she reached a huge pillar that concealed her form.
Then, diving away, Ray’s hands immediately shifted into razor-sharp claws.
Instead of running away, he whirled around and began dashing towards the source of the danger.
He moved with intense focus and speed.
Sliding from left to right, he was able to dodge the strands.
His focus and perception were razor-sharp, allowing him to evade every single attack.
His claws slashed through the ground whenever he needed to abruptly halt his dash or make a sudden turn.
Digging his claws into the marble floor, he came to a stop and saw a volley of razor-thin strands shooting towards him.
"Aaaaaah!" Ray let out a determined battle cry as he ripped chunks of the marble flooring into the air, sending dust billowing around him and concealing his position for a brief moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impacts rang through the chamber as the attacks smashed into the ground and empty air without finding their target.
Ray was gone—moving through the dust like a phantom.
Nebula’s numerous eyes rolled around, searching for him with intense focus.
"...."
The very next second, half of her eyes rolled upward to see Ray descending with a furious look in his eyes.
And in his hands were two streaks of lightning crackling with an intense glow.
[Sparkshot Activated]
With a loud battle cry, Ray hurled the streaks of lightning towards Nebula with all his might.
Bang! BOOOM!