Chapter 44 – Adapt or Die
The Void Fang skidded across the shattered street, claws carving glowing trenches through the ancient stone.
Its six crimson eyes never left Azrael.
Neither moved.
The city around them had become eerily quiet.
Dust drifted through the air.
The wind carried the distant sounds of collapsing buildings and desperate battles.
Azrael slowly extended his right hand.
Astraeus flew back into his grasp.
His breathing remained steady, but his muscles burned.
The previous exchange had cost him more than he wanted to admit.
His forearms ached from absorbing the beast’s monstrous strength.
His left shoulder had a shallow tear where one claw had barely grazed him.
His Celestial Energy had already dropped to seventy-eight percent.
"You’re calculating resources."
Astraeus’ voice carried approval.
"Good."
"A dead hero always has full mana."
"A survivor knows exactly how much he can spend."
The Void Fang growled.
Its crystal armor shifted.
The wound on its shoulder sealed.
New layers of black crystal formed over the damaged area.
Not only had it healed...
It had reinforced itself.
The System responded immediately.
Predator Analysis Updated
Void Fang
Adaptive Evolution Progress:
18%
Notice:
Repeated attack patterns will rapidly lose effectiveness.
"So every successful attack teaches it."
Azrael tightened his grip.
"Then I can’t fight the same way twice."
The wolf lowered its body.
Its hind legs compressed like coiled springs.
Azrael noticed something different this time.
The muscles on its right side tensed slightly earlier than the left.
It favored its injured leg...
Even after adapting.
A flaw.
Small.
But real.
The beast exploded forward.
This time it didn’t charge in a straight line.
Halfway through its leap—
It slammed one claw into a nearby building.
Using the wall as support...
It changed direction in midair.
"It learned from your narrow alley tactic."
Astraeus warned.
Azrael smiled.
"So have I."
Instead of retreating...
He sprinted toward the collapsing wall.
Three quick steps.
One leap.
His left foot landed on a falling chunk of stone.
He pushed off it before gravity could pull it down.
The improvised foothold launched him above the beast’s attack.
The Void Fang’s claws tore through empty air.
Azrael twisted mid-flight.
He didn’t attack.
He threw Astraeus.
The sword spun toward the wolf.
The beast reacted instantly.
Its jaws snapped shut around the blade.
Exactly as planned.
Azrael landed behind it.
His fingers formed a seal.
"Eclipse Resonance."
The mark hidden beneath the wolf’s armor flared.
A pulse of silver-black energy erupted through its body.
The wolf convulsed.
Not because of damage.
Because every muscle contracted at once.
For a fraction of a second...
Its movements lost synchronization.
Azrael recalled Astraeus.
The sword ripped free from the beast’s jaws and returned to his hand.
The wolf staggered.
Only for an instant.
But an instant was enough.
Outside the Tower...
Professor Duran narrowed his eyes.
"He sacrificed his weapon."
Another professor frowned.
"That’s reckless."
Headmaster Orion shook his head.
"No."
"He trusted Astraeus."
"And he trusted his own timing."
The Void Fang roared.
The sound shattered every remaining window nearby.
Suddenly—
Its body expanded.
The black crystals cracked.
Then rearranged themselves.
Massive spikes emerged along its spine.
Its forelegs thickened.
A second tail burst from its lower back.
The pressure around it doubled.
Adaptive Evolution Complete
Void Fang
Current Form:
Crystal Tyrant Variant
Threat Level Increased
Marcus, who was battling two participants several streets away, felt the pressure and nearly stumbled.
"What in the heavens..."
Ryan looked toward the distant skyline.
"...Azrael."
The transformed beast no longer attacked immediately.
Instead...
It walked.
Slowly.
Patiently.
Its instincts had evolved.
It now understood that reckless aggression wouldn’t work.
Azrael noticed something else.
The wolf wasn’t just watching him.
It was watching the environment.
The ruined buildings.
The narrow streets.
The loose debris.
It was planning.
"It’s thinking."
"More than before."
Without warning—
The Void Fang slammed both forelegs into the ground.
The earth fractured.
Not toward Azrael.
Toward the supports of several damaged buildings.
Azrael’s eyes widened.
"It’s collapsing the battlefield."
Towering structures tilted.
Thousands of tons of stone crashed downward.
The wolf wasn’t trying to kill him directly.
It was taking away every advantage he had gained.
"Excellent."
Astraeus murmured.
"It’s adapting strategically now."
Azrael dashed through the falling debris.
A massive pillar crashed where he had stood a heartbeat earlier.
A cloud of dust swallowed the entire street.
Visibility dropped to almost zero.
Most fighters would panic.
Azrael closed his eyes.
Instead of relying on sight...
He expanded Origin Perception.
Not far.
Only thirty meters.
Enough to read movement without exhausting himself.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
There.
A vibration beneath the rubble.
The wolf wasn’t charging.
It was circling through underground tunnels created by the collapse.
Azrael smiled.
"So that’s your next move."
He sheathed Astraeus.
Outside...
The professors blinked.
"He put away his sword?"
Professor Duran frowned.
"Has he given up?"
Headmaster Orion smiled faintly.
"No."
"Watch carefully."
The ground beneath Azrael exploded.
The Void Fang burst upward like a living avalanche.
Its jaws opened wide enough to swallow him whole.
At the very last instant—
Azrael stepped forward.
Not backward.
Not sideways.
Forward.
His body rotated with the beast’s momentum instead of resisting it.
Using one hand, he pushed against the lower jaw.
Using the other, he drew Astraeus in a single fluid motion.
The blade flashed.
Not toward the neck.
Not toward the head.
Toward the inside of the beast’s right foreleg.
The one weakness it had unknowingly protected since the beginning.
The crystal armor had become thicker.
But the movement of its joints had become slightly slower.
That tiny delay...
Was all Azrael needed.
The sword pierced deep into the exposed tendon.
The Void Fang howled in pain.
Its right foreleg buckled.
The beast lost balance for the first time.
Azrael immediately retreated instead of pressing the attack.
He had learned another lesson from the Sword Saint.
Never become greedy.
A wounded enemy was often more dangerous than a healthy one.
The wolf rolled to its feet.
Its breathing had become heavier.
Its crimson eyes no longer showed only predatory instinct.
Now...
They showed respect.
The System chimed.
Combat Analysis
Eclipse Mark Synchronization:
41%
Predator Adaptation Rate:
39%
Current Assessment:
Combat entering Critical Evolution Phase.
At that exact moment, another roar echoed across the ruined city.
This one was different.
Far louder.
Far older.
Even the Void Fang froze.
It slowly turned toward the city center.
For the first time...
Fear appeared in the eyes of an Adaptive Predator.
A colossal shadow rose above the skyline.
It was so massive that it dwarfed the surrounding towers.
Six radiant wings unfurled across the crimson heavens.
Its golden eyes overlooked the entire battlefield.
The Trial Tower’s voice carried an unmistakable trace of solemnity.
World-Class Predator Detected
Designation:
Judicator of the Seventh Floor
Status:
Dormant...
Awakening.
Even the lesser Predators began retreating.
Something far more terrifying had entered the battlefield.
And every remaining participant instinctively understood one thing.
The true ruler of the Monster Floor had finally opened its eyes.