CHAPTER 270: MUTATION - XENO TYPE

A slow, rasping scrape, like claws dragging across glass.

The plates of black chitin creaked as they shifted over one another, sealing his body in an unbroken carapace. Every surface was smooth and seamless, absorbing the light until he was little more than a silhouette carved from the shadow itself.

His head elongated into a predatory dome, the smooth chitin broken only by a vertical slit of pale yellow light. Below it, rows of pure white teeth pressed together in a grin that was too wide, too sharp, glistening with saliva that hissed where it splattered against the stone, eating tiny pits into it.

The tendrils writhed once... then twined together into a single, massive appendage—a tail lined with serrated edges, swaying behind him like a living guillotine.

He was at least seven feet tall now, his erriely elongated arms ended in clawed hands with hooked talons that clicked softly as they curled and uncurled.

The way he moved made my skin crawl.

No heavy stomp. No lunging snarl.

He tilted his head slowly, as if studying us, then took a single step forward with the casual grace of a man strolling through a garden. The tail swept in a lazy arc, testing the air, the slit of yellow light never blinking.

No hatred or emotion remained.

Only an eerie cold gaze filled with curiosity and the tingle of danger remained in my spine.

"We’re going to need a bigger gun..."

My voice caused the monster, which resembled the alien from one of my favourite films... thus I decided to attach the nickname Xeno-Type to this strange evolution.

The blue screen flashed, and the unknown title changed.

[Species Affirmed.....

Classification Type: Xeno]

However, the moment I spoke, the glossy black head snapped towards me, deep yellow eyes locked onto my figure, unmoving. The Xeno-Type’s tail shifted slowly, curling and flicking behind it as if irritated.

The silence stretched like a rubber band about to snap.

My grip tightened around the bastard sword, the elemental qi inside me sharpening into a razor’s edge. Around me, Mu Qinglan shifted her footing, Endless Night at her hip as she clutched it with lowered hips, prepared to attack at any moment. Li Ya and Shen Yifei both looked nervous, but held their weapons on either side of the monster.

The Xeno-Type didn’t roar or make noise.

It just vanished.

"Don’t lose focus!" I screamed.

One blink and it was gone from where it had stood a moment before. A blur of black cut between Yifei and Li Ya, the long tail arcing before it shot out with a whip-like snap.

They reacted instantly.

Yifei vaulted back, spear deflecting the tail’s edge with a metallic screech, Li Ya’s halberd crashing down to parry the follow-up slash. Sparks exploded between steel and chitin, scattering like fireflies.

I stepped forward, aiming to catch it mid-recoil, but the Xeno-Type’s claws shot out faster than I’d anticipated. It hit my sword full on, the impact jolting up my arm like a hammer smashing my forearm. Its strength was far beyond the previous form, a short clash sending vibrations through the wall beneath our feet.

"What the tail!" I barked, barely ducking the serrated blades which cut through the air where my head had lingered a moment before, slicing a deep gash into the wall behind me.

Mu Qinglan rushed in from the side, drawing Endless Night like a shard of moonlight flashing through the air. She aimed for the slit of yellow light, the only part of its head that wasn’t covered in chitin.

The Xeno twisted unnaturally, spine bending in ways no human body could, letting the blade pass inches from its face before catching it on its forearm. The claws screeched along her blade before they locked, the two straining against each other.

"Freak.....!"

Mu Qinglan cursed before jumping back desperately.

The Xeno’s tail stabbed the air where she stood rapidly with a series of howling thrusts.

Li Ya capitalised on the opening, her halberd bursting with fire as she swung for its midsection. The Xeno’s tail whipped around to block as flame splashed across the chitin, hissing but not penetrating. Still, the impact was enough to stagger it a half-step.

Yifei attacked, her spear striking like a bolt of lightning, the point sinking into a joint at the monster’s knee. The chitin cracked, and a spray of black ichor hissed on the ground.

The Xeno’s reaction wasn’t quite a scream.

It released a deep, layered growl that vibrated in my chest. Its tail lashed in a wide arc, forcing Yifei back, while its body twisted and moved with extreme flexibility before slamming down both claws in a double strike towards the unprepared Li Ya. "Li Ya!" I rushed in, sword intercepting the blow, sparks and qi sparking between us.

The sheer force drove me to one knee, but I twisted, dragging the blade upward in a rising slash. Ice and flame exploded along the edge, carving a glowing line up its torso.

The monster staggered and looked confused.

"Don’t let up!" I snarled, the dull ache spreading through my arm now throbbing as I lunged forward for the kill.

The Xeno-Type recovered instantly, its tail whipped behind it to grip a broken pillar and yanked itself back in rapid movement. Then, using its long legs, it deflected my follow-up strike. The clash rang like a temple bell, the serrated edges nearly sawing into my blade before I wrenched it free.

It moved with an impossible speed and dexterity for something its size, twisting, bending and striking in the same motion, never giving us an opening.

"Yifei to the left! Li Ya, attack the right!"

My instincts worked faster than my mind and body, orders left my lips as we engaged in a series of rapid blows.

Yifei darted in low, her spear a blur of golden light. She drove the tip toward the cracked joint in its knee again, aiming to worsen the damage. The Xeno shifted to intercept, but Li Ya was already above it, vaulting from the wall’s edge, halberd gripped in both hands. The flaming blade came down like a comet, smashing into its shoulder plate.

The chitin cracked, like an eggshell, fire spreading through the soft, fleshy wound.

A hiss left the monster’s mouth as it tore away.

However, like a shadow, Mu Qinglan appeared behind the monster after she slid between Li Ya and Yifei with Endless Night gliding towards the glowing slit of its head again. This time faster, more focused. Her blade scraped along the edge of the slit before the Xeno-Type could twist away.

Black ichor sprayed across the wall, sizzling where it landed.

The creature reeled, tail whipping wildly, but Yifei hooked it with her spear’s shaft and drove it into the stone.

"Now!" she shouted.

I held my breath, forcing all my qi to my weapon.

My bastard sword roared with elemental qi, the edge flaring in bands of fire, frost, wind and earth as I lunged. I drove the blade under its ribs. The impact created a shockwave of force, lifting the monster half a foot from the ground, elemental energy detonating inside it like a bomb.

"GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The Xeno-Type slammed both claws into my shoulders, the sheer force making my vision dim, but I held it in place, trying to force my blade deeper. Its tail writhed, pinned by Yifei’s strength, while Li Ya’s halberd carved into its back in a shower of sparks.

We can do it....

This monster we can kill it!

Mu Qinglan appeared last, standing atop the wall, elevated just above us as she held her blade high, and then leapt. She dropped with a gleam of black light. Endless Night found the opposite side of the Xeno-Type’s chest. Together, our weapons crossed inside its torso once again, the combined elemental qi ripping through the parasite’s core.

The yellow light in its head flickered.

One bright flicker.

Two flickers...!

Then it roared. A sound so intense it shook the wall beneath us. Its entire body convulsed, throwing us back in a wave of force. The tail tore free from Yifei’s grip, sweeping across the wall like a scythe. She ducked under it, but the stone where she’d stood exploded into shards.

When it straightened, steam poured from the cracks in its chitin.

The yellow slit shimmered brighter, the plates shifting with a grinding noise as the monster coiled itself like a spring.

"John, be careful!" Mu Qinglan shouted with an urgent tone. "Something isn’t right...."

I cracked my neck while rolling my shoulders, feeling the lingering burn from its claws sinking into my flesh.

"Yeah... I know."

The four of us spread out, surrounding it, but panting and tired. My chipped blade hummed with qi once again, while Li Ya and Yifei lowered their bodies, ready to pounce. Qinglan stood beside me, her body straight and prepared to counter.

The Xeno-Type tilted its head, taking in the circle of steel and qi closing around it.

Then it took an action I never expected.

WOOSH!

It fled.

The Xeno Type vanished before I could blink.

There was nothing left in its place but the half-destroyed wall and battlement.

"Where did it go!?"