CHAPTER 74: TAMING THE SHINING TITAN... HIS NEXT SLAVE? PART 2.

Johnquis didn’t back off

He could feel it—the cracks, the hesitation in the Tanker’s movement. It was bleeding. Slower. Sloppy.

"You feel that?" he growled, swinging his chain again. "That’s fear. You’re not used to losing, are you?"

He paced forward, eyes locked. "Tell me... how many Eater Blades have you chewed through? We cleaned this whole place out. Every hole. You and that Digger were the only High Eaters left. I’m betting the squads before us already took care of your crew."

He raised the chain, pointing it straight at the creature’s chest.

"Look at you! Shining like some damn final boss. And you really are, huh? Enslaving you triggers a bonus condition. I can already taste it... six thousand bonus feed count."

He lunged. The chain whistled, striking the beast’s shoulder. Another spray of black ichor. Another grunt of pain.

Johnquis grinned through his own blood. "I can work with this. Bit by bit. I’ll tear you apart."

He ducked a wild punch, rolled to the side, and whipped his chain toward the same weak spot again. A sharp burst of sparks followed.

The Tanker stumbled. But then...it stopped.

Its whole body flexed.

Stone groaned. Crystal creaked.

And with a sudden SNAP, violet energy surged through its limbs—

SHHHRRRAAKKK!

Dozens of long, jagged crystal spikes erupted across its body. Shoulders, arms, chest, even along its spine and legs. Each spike gleamed with glowing ore and dripped faint purple steam.

Johnquis froze mid-step. "...What the hell. You’re still not done?"

The Tanker roared again and the fight flipped.

It charged.

Too fast.

Johnquis dodged, but one of the new spikes sliced across his arm, cutting through coat and flesh like paper.

"Gah—shit!"

He stumbled, blood trailing behind him.

The Tanker spun. I’ts body now a whirling blade of crystal and struck again.

SLASH!

Johnquis’ side tore open. He was thrown into the wall. The impact cracked stone and knocked the breath from his lungs.

He coughed, dropped to a knee, and looked up—

CRACK—!!

A spike-embedded punch slammed him across the face.

The ground flipped. His body skidded, limp, rolling through dust and rubble.

"Can’t—breathe..."

The Tanker didn’t let up.

Slash. Smash. Strike. The air was full of crystal shrieks and the roar of earth being broken. Blood poured from Johnquis’ forehead, his jaw, his thigh—he was getting torn apart.

But his hand still gripped the chain.

Still.

He dragged himself up, legs wobbling. His ribs screamed. One eye was nearly swollen shut.

But he smiled.

"You want me dead so bad..."

He lifted the chain, slow but steady. "Let’s see if you can stop this."

He slammed his palms to the ground.

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

Activating...

"HELL’S SNARE!"

Chains exploded from his body—

Dozens of thin, crimson threads burst from the floor and walls, spiraling out in all directions. They struck the Tanker’s ankles, wrists, joints—binding, pulling, locking.

The air pulsed.

"Got you, bastard," Johnquis growled, blood running from his mouth. "You don’t move unless I say so."

The Tanker froze.

Twitching. Straining.

"Three seconds..." Johnquis whispered, stumbling forward. "Make it count."

He ran.

He leapt.

He lashed the chain directly into the exposed weak spot. Driving another shard deep. Then another. The beast trembled.

"Come on! BREAK!"

He hooked another glowing crystal overhead, yanked it free, and smashed it into the Tanker’s face.

Violet light flared—

The chains began to break.

"Not yet! Not yet!" Johnquis screamed, whipping the chain to bind its leg tighter.

The last few seconds stretched.

The Tanker broke one restraint.

Then two.

It was about to be free.

"I need ONE more hit!"

He swung again, aiming for the cracked core beneath its ribs—

But the Tanker broke free completely.

It lunged forward, arm raised for a killing blow, point blank.

Johnquis couldn’t move in time.

"SHI—!"

SHHHHINK!!!

A streak of light.

A blur of silver.

Dancer.

She burst in out of nowhere, a sharp ballet pirouette on the ball of one foot, heel-blade extended.

[SKILL: Pirouette Slash – Blood Cost: 2%]

Activating...

"Pirouette Slash!"

WHHRR-CRRRRRSHHH!!!

Her blade sliced clean across the Tanker’s incoming arm. Sparks. Blood. Crystal shrapnel.

The beast reeled.

Johnquis fell back, coughing. "You... you actually came."

Dancer didn’t look at him. Her ears twitched once. Then she turned toward the Tanker, blade ready, expression clear as day:

You owe me.

The Tanker was staggering now.

The wound from Dancer’s slash bled deep. Its body overloaded, cracks blooming like veins of fire. It groaned, still standing but barely.

Johnquis stood, swaying. He looked down. The chain around his waist glowed brighter.

Then—a ping.

[SYSTEM NOTICE!]

An Eater has been weakened.

Skill activation possible:

[CHAIN SLAVE - LVL 2]

He smiled. "Finally."

He gripped the chain tight, eyes locked on the Tanker.

"You’re mine now."

No second thoughts. His face was bloodied, his body wrecked—but that grin? Wide and wild, like he’d waited his whole life for this moment.

For the first time in a long while, he let himself say it out loud:

[SKILL: CHAIN SLAVE LVL 2 - BLOOD COST: 0%]

Activating...

"CHAIN SLAVE!"

Johnquis thrust his hand forward.

CRACKLE!

Red sparks snapped across his battered arm, dancing up the coiled chains like wildfire caught in a storm. The links vibrated, shrieking metal against air, fueled by the pain, the blood, and his fury.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: CHAIN SLAVE – LVL 2]

Initiating Willpower Clash...

WHOOOOM—!!!

A shockwave pulsed outward from him, rippling the glowing water that pooled across the shattered chamber. Crystals hanging from the dome flickered, their glow dimming as if even they feared what came next.

Chains exploded from Johnquis’ body—dozens, all glowing red-violet, burning with rage. They shot like spears, dancing through broken pillars and debris-strewn ground, arcing with impossible accuracy.

They struck the Tanker in one savage instant.

CRACK—CRACK—CRRACKKK!!

Chains slammed into its joints—wrists, elbows, knees. Driving deep into the cracks Dancer and Johnquis had carved. A final one ripped through its chest, piercing the molten glow beneath its ribs.

The Tanker froze mid-roar, limbs seizing violently.

Its eyes, once pure violet flared white-hot, then darkened, flickering, as if resisting something ancient and cruel.

Johnquis gripped the main chain with both hands, boots sliding across the wet stone. Blood dripped from his jaw. His coat flapped in the wind of energy that circled them.

The ground shuddered.

[WILLPOWER CLASH INITIATED]

[Tanker Resistance: 100%]