CHAPTER 416: BAD BUTTERFLY

The rodent was gone. The rhino and serpent didn’t move. Their bodies trembled, eyes wide and frozen, locked in place by fear. It was as if even the air around them dared not move.

I lifted my hand slowly, pointing toward the rhino. I wanted to test another power I had improved.

"Polarity," I whispered.

Immediately, I felt the threads of the world shift, bending and stretching at my command. The law of attraction responded instantly, pulling the massive creature upward as if the air itself obeyed my will.

The rhino shuddered violently, claws scraping the dirt, its massive armored body shaking as invisible forces yanked it upward.

Its legs kicked helplessly, hooves smashing stone, its breath ragged and uneven. I held it there for a heartbeat, letting it hover in the air.

Then, carefully, I shifted it sideways, guiding its massive bulk above the serpent. The rhino’s tail swung, tusks scraping empty air, armor rattling with every motion, as if the sky itself resisted its movement.

I clenched my fist and thrust it downward with every ounce of force I could summon.

The rhino plummeted like a collapsing mountain, smashing into the serpent with a deafening impact—bone against scale, armor against flesh.

BOOM!!

The serpent writhed, twisting in slow motion, tongue flicking, jaws snapping, but the invisible chains I’d placed held it firmly. Every muscle flinched, every scale strained, yet it could not escape.

I lifted the rhino again, feeling the weight of it stretch the air. Its head swung violently, tusks scraping nothing but open sky.

Its limbs thrashed in despair, each movement sending a shudder through my senses. I let it drop again.

BOOM!!

The serpent’s body bent, twisted, nearly crumpling under the assault. Dust and broken scales sprayed like rain.

Third time. The rhino rose, suspended, its chest heaving, armor rattling. The serpent’s coils tightened around themselves, fear etched into every motion, but still it could not escape.

I dropped it again.

BOOM!!

Fourth time. The rhino screamed—a deep, guttural sound, muffled and raw. Its legs kicked helplessly against the pull, yet it hovered, rising higher, then crashing down with perfect precision. The serpent’s body bent unnaturally, ribs cracking as it twisted, struggling, but terror held it firm.

BOOM!!

Fifth time. I let the rhino hover longer, watching every muscle quiver, every scale flex under the strain. And then, I let it drop one last time. The serpent shuddered, trembling, its body barely holding together. The rhino twitched, exhausted, bleeding, and broken.

I exhaled slowly and lifted both hands. Essence surged outward in a cold wave.

"Frost Storm."

The wind froze instantly, swirling around the shattered beasts. Mist turned to blades of ice, wrapping them in unyielding frost. The rhino’s head thrashed weakly, the serpent’s body stiffened, frozen mid-struggle. Every broken scale, every crack, every shard of bone encased in ice.

I focused, Essence flaring, and the frost tightened further. Cracks ran across their frozen forms. Then, snap, crack—ice shattered, the two abominations breaking into countless shards that scattered across the battlefield like splintered glass.

[Level Up!]

[Level 211 - Level 226]

Instantly, I felt my stats surge, like a dam had burst inside me. My Psynapse flared the most, perception expanding, seeing deeper into the threads of the laws than ever before. I closed my eyes, letting my mind process the flood of information rushing toward me.

A loud bang echoed inside my head, like some boundary had shattered. I stayed still for a few seconds, then opened my eyes.

[Psynapse: Alpha + (3079)]

"Ohh... that’s nice," I muttered. "So it’s still Alpha +."

I’d had my doubts, but even so, I could feel massive improvements in how fast I could process information and comprehend laws.

I dusted off my hand, deactivated my domain, and turned to look at Cassian.

"So, that’s done. Let’s finish the butterfly too."

Cassian blinked, his mouth opening and closing as he stammered, clearly struggling to get his words out.

"Umm... yeah. Let’s go," he finally managed, nodding stiffly.

Right then, Silver swooped in, carrying Lyrate on his back.

’Wow, that was so cool, Billion,’ I heard Silver’s voice echo clearly in my head.

I chuckled and mentally asked the three of them, "Do you think I should make the butterfly your new companion?"

’NOOOOO!’ they all shouted together in my mind, almost as if it was the loudest sound in the world.

"Hey, what’s wrong with making it a new summon?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lyrate was the first to respond.

’It’s too stupid, too slow, too ugly, and just... disgusting,’ she said, her voice full of exaggerated horror.

I blinked, staring at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, if you say so," I said, letting a small smile curl at the corner of my lips.

I wanted to make the butterfly my summon just to tease the three of them, but I held back.

With that, we flew straight toward the Beta Zone, where the butterfly hovered lazily.

When we arrived in front of it, I noticed my passive skill didn’t affect this one as much. It let out a high-pitched scream, sharp and grating to the ear.

"Be careful. She can use sound, illusion, and space laws," Cassian shouted at us.

I nodded, raising my hand and pointing a single finger at the butterfly. I let my Psynapse flow into the motion, connecting my will directly to the target.

"[Lightning Rend]."

This time, the skill was different. Level 4. Controlled. Calm.

I raised my hand and pointed a single finger at the butterfly. At the tip of my finger, a white-blue glow flared, bright and steady.

I moved my finger in a smooth, vertical motion, tracing a straight line across the butterfly’s body, like drawing a blade in the sky. The air itself seemed to follow the motion, bending subtly along the path.

The moment I finished the line, space around it rippled, charged with lightning that centered perfectly on the trace I had drawn.

Sparks crackled along the butterfly’s body, wrapping it in a controlled storm of lightning. It froze, stunned, muscles stiffening, wings trembling, completely shocked by the strike.

Then the line I had drawn surged forward, cutting straight through space itself toward the butterfly. The lightning remained bound to the trail, precise and focused, crackling but contained, no stray arcs flying out.

When it hit, the energy cleaved the butterfly cleanly from the center. Space itself seemed to part as the body split in two. The butterfly’s wings flopped uselessly, its essence dissipating instantly into nothing, leaving only silence in its wake.

I lowered my finger and exhaled, feeling the skill’s power settle.