CHAPTER 71: LEVEL 2 ABNORMAL HIGH EATER: THE TANKER — PART 2.

Johnquis was fighting with everything he had.

But the truth was clear—this thing wasn’t just out of his league. It was built to crush his kind.

A Tanker. A high-class Abnormal. Bigger than most. Tougher than all. And worst of all...smart.

Its last attack left cracks spiderwebbing through the stone floor. The pool behind Johnquis erupted, water spraying into the air, steam hissing from contact with its core heat.

The whole chamber trembled. The sound of the blow echoed like thunder inside a sealed cathedral—loud, suffocating, impossible to think through.

Johnquis landed in a crouch, gasping for breath, vision swimming.

His heart slammed in his ribs.

"That thing’s not just strong..."

He muttered, eyes tracking its slow, deliberate movement. "It’s shifting the air with every move. That’s what’s screwing me up..."

The chain coiled loosely in his hand, still warm from his grip. His breath fogged slightly, the air growing thicker again. Oppressive. Like the tomb was waking up with the beast.

"Alright, granite-for-brains..."

He stood, flicking the water from his coat. "Let’s test your reach."

He ran.

Straight at it.

The monster raised a jagged arm, pulling it back for a wide horizontal swipe. Johnquis didn’t dodge early—he waited. Five steps. Four. Three—

The swing came.

He dropped to a slide, feet first across the slick glowing floor, skimming just under the wide arc of the arm. He grinned.

"Too slow—!"

Then the aftershock hit.

WHHRRRAAAAAMM!!!

A pulse of wind, like a sonic boom wrapped in pressure, slammed into him mid-slide. It sent him twisting midair again, chain spiraling loose as he flipped.

His back hit the stone hard.

CRACK!

Pain lanced through his ribs—white hot. He gasped, curling slightly, vision blurring.

And that was when the monster struck again.

Not with a swing but a stomp.

Its massive foot came down just beside him, the impact detonating the floor like a meteor strike. The ground erupted, throwing Johnquis upward.

THUD!!

He crashed down flat on his back, coughing, limbs twitching.

A sharp, searing ache throbbed through his side. He felt something give—maybe a rib. Maybe two.

The world spun above him. The glowing dome lights blurred like fireflies through fog.

He grit his teeth, dragging in a breath.

Then laughed.

He coughed, hoarse and hurting. "Okay... okay. So you’ve got some tricks. Big bastard."

He pushed up on one elbow, spit laced with blood hitting the radiant stone floor with a wet splatter.

"But I’ve fought hungrier things than you."

The Tanker stepped closer, massive and slow. Its hulking frame blocked out the light, casting a shadow that swallowed half the dome. Its eyes burned brighter now—intelligent, locked on him.

Johnquis reached for his chain. His fingers, cut and slick with blood, wrapped around the weapon.

"And that thing?"

He muttered, gaze locked on the beast. "It’s my partner now..."

He stood, barely, eyes narrowing as he stared up at the grotesque, pulsating mass that was the Tanker’s body.

"...And soon, you will be too."

A smirk tugged at his split lip.

"Damn. You’re gonna be mine."

He rolled his shoulders, blood dripping from his fingertips.

"But first... I need you weak. Restrained."

A breath. A bitter laugh. "How the hell am I gonna pull that off, huh?"

Johnquis staggered to his feet, swaying a little. His lungs burned. His ribs throbbed.

His body screamed in pain, but his mind stayed sharp.

Enslaving it.

That was the only path forward. He couldn’t kill this thing—not alone. But if he could break it, restrain it just long enough...

"Only way to use Chain Slave is if it’s locked in place—at least for a second. Just long enough to trigger the skill."

The Tanker moved again, its massive body groaning like collapsing cliffs as it dragged one arm into a backhand swing.

Johnquis rolled to his feet.

"Move, move—!"

The ground exploded where he had been lying. Shards of radiant stone rained down like glass. The force of the shockwave chased him in every direction.

He ducked, rotated, slid under one falling slab, then hooked his chain around a jagged crystal root and used it to whip himself up and over a broken ledge.

The air screamed behind him.

BOOM!!

The Tanker’s fist shattered a boulder the size of a wagon.

Johnquis gritted his teeth. "You don’t get tired, do you? Big dumb bastard."

The chain coiled tight around his arm as he landed, then snapped forward like a whip. Not for damage, he needed space. Timing. Control.

He found a gap in the footwork of the tanker. Just barely. It stepped to adjust its weight—

"NOW."

Johnquis slammed both hands to the floor. Chains flared out like a hungry mouth.

[Skill: HELL’S SNARE – Blood Cost: 10%]

f.(r)eew ebnov\ll.com

Activating...

"HELL’S SNARE!"

Dozens of spectral chain threads burst from his body in a flash of dark red light—slicing through the air, racing along the glowing floor in all directions like serpents seeking prey.

They struck true.

The threads lashed around the Tanker’s arms and legs, wrist, ankle, elbow. Curling and locking in a blur of crimson light.

The entire room flickered as the skill took hold.

For a heartbeat, the monster froze.

Its limbs twitched against the chains. The air tensed.

"Three seconds..." Johnquis muttered through clenched teeth. "That’s all I need—"

CRACK!!!

The sound came like thunder.

The chains shattered.

Not just snapped—obliterated. The raw force from the Tanker’s limbs blew them apart like string caught in a jet engine.

The spectral light faded instantly.

It hadn’t been restrained. Not for even a second.

Johnquis’ eyes widened. "...What!?"

The Tanker roared not like before. This time, it was angry.

Its arm shot forward in a brutal hammer-punch, faster than its last swings. Much faster.

Johnquis tried to dodge.

He couldn’t.

WHAAAAMMM!!

The strike connected straight into his side. It didn’t just hit...it launched him.

He spiraled through the air, limbs ragdolling as he crashed through one pillar, then another—stone shattering around him before slamming hard into the far side of the chamber.

He hit the ground and rolled, blood spraying in a trail behind him.

His body twisted. He coughed violently. Blood spilled from his mouth in thick globs.

"—AGHK—!"