Chapter 8: New power

Nova stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, one slightly forward, knees bent, hands up near his chest holding a knife—steady, balanced, and ready to strike.

Five meters remained between him and the creature.

Fast and precise, the creature attacked. Its arm shot forward, aiming straight for Nova’s neck. In an instant, it stretched to a distance of five meters. Nova’s eyes widened; his mouth clamped shut in shock.

Nova raised his knife and tilted his body on reflex. The outstretched hand struck the knife’s sharp edge, snapping it in two. Undeterred, the attack drove forward, grazing the side of Nova’s neck. Blood spilled from the cut as the creature’s hand retracted in a flash.

Nova no longer made a surprised face or shouted loudly. He had gone numb from shock after everything that had happened. But his face was still pale, and sweat continued to pour down.

Another strike came, aiming for his head. Nova tilted his head to dodge, but this time, the hand didn’t retract. The creature swung its outstretched arm toward his tilted head. Nova leaned back to evade the sudden follow-up—but just a moment too late. The edge of his ear split open, bleeding from the sudden strike. His blood mixed with the splashing swamp water, then vanished into the air.

Nova braced himself to dodge another swing. Light rain trickled across his skin as he tensed, alert and ready. But the attack never came. Instead, the creature pulled its arm back.

It seemed the creature could only maintain its stretched form for about two seconds—and for now, only its arms could extend. However, after it retracted, it could stretch out instantly.

“Even if it’s only two… they’re too fast,” muttered Nova.

Then, as he dodged the next attack, the force of his own evasion pulled him sideways for a moment. Whether by chance or calculated strategy, the creatures struck again from above, cutting off his escape. He couldn’t stand or roll back. Pinned horizontally, Nova’s only options were to move up or down—which was tough to do when you were lying down.

"Okay, I take it back—two is too much."

He leapt, kicking off the ground. Somehow, he survived. However, one of his toes was caught by the attack—stabbed and bleeding.

Nova kept retreating, dodging as he moved backward. Then, once he slipped behind a tree, he turned to check on Cyre.

Cyre appeared in his line of sight—along with another skinny white creature falling from above, just six meters away from her. Cyre hadn’t noticed it.

Nova suddenly realized that despite their glow, the creatures’ light barely reached more than a meter or two. That meant Cyre couldn’t see the one falling toward her.

"Cyre, above!" shouted Nova. His face went pale.

Cyre looked up as she heard Nova shout. The creature was already five meters away, its arms stretched out—one meter away from reaching her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Run!” shouted Nova.

Cyre rolled forward on reflex.

The creature's attack missed, and its body slammed down, crushing the foliage and splashing water everywhere.

‘I can’t run!’ thought Cyre. She remembered how the skinny man who killed her mother had easily caught up to her. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I'll wait for my brother here. I'll dodge all your attacks just like big brother did!" As that thought crossed Cyre's mind, she remembered how her brother had dodged the attacks—and how the creature always needed a moment to strike again.

She plunged forward, swinging the first creature’s head—still clutched in her hand—straight into the new creature. Her plan was simple: land a satisfying hit during its two-second attack interval, then drop the head and run. Maybe the new creature would eat the head first, buying her a few extra seconds before her brothers arrived.

Crunch!

The head in Cyre’s hand crunched into the creature’s belly with its wide, sharp teeth, tearing out a chunk of the body. White blood burst from the wound and poured down like a cascade.

The dead creature collapsed to the ground, splashing water from the clear swamp all around.

Nova’s pale face regained its color as he watched the scene unfold. But the creatures had already circled around the tree and were now closing in on him.

The battle of offense and evasion repeated itself. Nova, retreating step by step to avoid the creature, decided that for now, he had to regroup with Cyre—after all, he had no idea where the creature might appear next. He wanted to protect Cyre… and a little craving to also borrow the head.

Nova hid behind trees whenever he had the chance. After a few moments, he got close—ten meters from Cyre—close enough for her to throw the head.

“Cyre, lend me the monster’s head!” Nova shouted.

Cyre threw the head with all her strength, quaking water around her legs.

Catching the head with one hand raised, Nova slipped sideways to dodge the incoming attack. Then he surged forward—ducking, sidestepping, and rolling—until he arrived in front of the creature. He focused on controlling the energy inside his body, the power he had absorbed previously from the dead aliens.

“Without a doubt, what Cyre did was channel mana through her body, and into the head. Wait… does that mean I can do it to other places too?”

Nova focused, trying to sense the energy he had absorbed. It felt thickest in his heart—where the black creature resided. He channeled that energy into his eyes, limbs, body, knife, and the creature’s head—all at once.

It was resulting on his next step to burst forward with power. His broken knife also slashed through the outstretched arm, slicing it shorter. He could now also see a strange white energy flowing through the monster’s body with his eyes.

‘Wow! This is… extraordinary,’ thought Nova.

He didn’t stop—instead, excitement surged through him. Dashing with all his might, he evaded each attack with quick sidesteps, rolls, and precise slashes from his knife. With one final step, he closed the distance and slipped to the creature’s side, his other hand ready—holding the head, aiming straight for the creature’s belly.

Crack!

The head bit into the creature’s belly with its sharp teeth—but unlike when Cyre had used it, it didn’t tear a chunk out. It only managed to pierce the surface—pierced the belly that seemed tougher than the arms.

In response, the creature swung its arm. Nova couldn’t dodge in time and took a hit across the chest.

Fortunately, after channeling the energy, the blow only left a shallow slash, unlike the deep stab he had suffered before.

After stumbling, he quickly straightened up and changed his strategy. He dashed again, slipping past an attack from the creature, and aimed the head at its chest—right at the heart.

Splash!

The head bit into the creature’s chest. Although it didn’t rip the flesh apart like Cyre had done, its sharp teeth pierced deep—reaching the heart. The creature’s outstretched arms collapsed, and its body went still.

Nova had won his battle.

Knowing that, Cyre ran toward him, smiling and humming, dragging the alien corpse behind her. A line of ripples spread across the swamp water as she moved.

‘Such a cute kid she is,’ Nova thought.

Nova also dragged the alien body and approached Cyre. As he moved, he scanned the area for a place to take shelter.

…

A few moments later, Cyre arrived in front of Nova, who was inside a hollow tree trunk. She ducked into the trunk and pulled the alien's arms inside the shelter they were using to stay out of the rain.

"Hey, Cyre, have you already absorbed a lot of aliens?" asked Nova.

"My father let me absorb a lot of dead creatures on the road—hundreds of them, probably. Maybe even when I sleep too," answered Cyre.

‘I see, it’s one of Cyre’s mother’s future sights. Maybe it’s for her safety or for humanity’s survival, like she mentioned previously. I’m not sure if it’s Cyre herself or if she’ll help another warrior to save humanity later... by the way, Cyre absorbed hundreds, huh. I’ve absorbed less than twenty? I lost count. But that means the black creature inside me is probably worth around fifty creatures, looking at how deeply I can pierce it,’ thought Nova.

The two of them were leisurely talking, even enjoying the time as they pondered many things. But at that moment, unknown to them, a small green oval-shaped creature—hidden on the ceiling inside the hollow of a dark tree trunk—dropped onto Nova’s neck.

Silently, it slipped beneath his skin. The sting didn’t come until the creature had already plunged inside and vanished into Nova’s flesh. He touched the spot where the pain had come from, but found nothing. Even when scanning the area with his energy-enhanced eyes, he couldn’t see a thing. His vision should’ve been able to detect the energy of any nearby creature. In the end, Nova decided to ignore it, assuming it was just his imagination.

Nova then noticed—after glancing around to find the source of the stinging pain—that the arm of the dead creature, which had been pulled inside, was now dried up and shriveled. Checking the one outside, he saw that it hadn’t dried like the one inside. However, the glow of the creature began to fade, both inside the trunk and on the one left outside.

Nova glanced at the head, worried that his only weapon had been broken.

"Hey Cyre, did you draw something on the head's forehead?" asked Nova.

"I did not. Why?" Cyre replied, turning her head toward the head.

"What is that black wavy line?" she asked, noticing something unusual.

Nova didn’t respond. Instead, he walked over, lifted the head, and placed it on the creature’s shoulder. Channeling his energy into the head, he then tore the arm off with the sharp teeth of the head.

"It's not broken, still can be used normally. I’ll try the dried-up arms next." said Nova.

He grabbed the torn arm and channeled his energy into it, aiming the weapon at the shoulder of the creature outside. He tried to slice apart another arm to use as a weapon.

The wrinkled arm in his hand struck the shoulder, but it only pierced it slightly, not as deeply as he had hoped.

“Hmm, I aimed at the shoulder that looked soft though. Maybe we can use it after I remove the wrinkles and sharpen it like a knife with my knife later,” muttered Nova, assessing the arm.

As he watched, the wrinkles on the arm began to revert back to normal after being exposed to the rain for a while. The arm stretched back in an instant, restoring its previous form.

“It’s not like we’ll be at a stage full of water later, so I’ll still sharpen the wrinkles… ah, that’s right, we should collect some water just in case there’s no source in the next stage.”

…

Nova and Cyre walked around the grove, searching for the next set of stairs after collecting supplies and resting for as long as they needed.

“Cyre, like I said when we were resting, we need to defeat as many creatures as we can to get stronger. The power difference between the stages is huge.” Nova said, his expression serious.

“Also, I’m sure the aliens can’t go to places without rain. If you’re in danger and I’m far away fighting a monster, find a tree or something with no water under it and hide there. I'll help you soon—even if I have to fight multiple enemies, including the one in front of me.” Nova added.

“Will you die too, brother? Like my parents?” Cyre asked quietly. “They said we can see the dead later… how can I meet you and my parents right away if you're dead later?”

“Hmm, yes. You can meet them. Be a good kid and… No… sorry, Cyre. You can’t meet the dead. Not yet. Maybe if we die too, we’ll see your parents. But let me ask you—how did you feel when your parents died?”

“I cried,” Cyre answered.

“Then what if you die right away? How would your parents feel?” Nova asked.

“They’d cry.” Cyre said, tears swelling in her eyes.

"That’s why, even if we die later, let’s have as much fun as we can. That way, when you meet your parents again, they won’t be sad. You can tell them all the fun stories and make them laugh, even if they cry. And a little time won’t matter, right? You won’t forget them, will you?"

Cyre nodded, and the tears in her eyes began to fade.

Cyre nodded. Her tears began to fade.

"Yeah, it's just a late meeting. So let’s work hard to survive and try our best to have fun, okay?" Nova said.

Cyre nodded again, smiling.