Chapter 169:Attempted murder.
The tiger remained unnaturally still. Its burning eyes moved from contractor to contractor, lingering on each of them for only a heartbeat before shifting again. It wasn’t searching for the strongest opponent anymore. It was searching for the weakest moment.
Silver could feel it. His Spatial Sense continued feeding him tiny fluctuations in the battlefield. The skill couldn’t predict the future, but it allowed him to read the flow of battle with frightening clarity.
"...It’s planning something," he warned.
Dillian tightened his grip on his sword.
"Everyone, don’t chase it. We need to hold our positions."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the tiger sprang into motion again; instead of charging directly, it darted around the outer edge of the corridor.
Its enormous body bounced effortlessly off broken pillars and walls, using them like stepping stones.
"Too fast!" Iris exclaimed as she thrust her spear toward it.
The tiger twisted its body in midair, and the spear missed completely. Its tail lashed out instead, the heavy impact throwing Iris several meters backward into an overturned desk.
"Iris!" Maya shouted.
"I’m alright!"
She forced herself back to her feet, rubbing her aching ribs. Before anyone could regroup, the tiger lunged again. This time it targeted Selene.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
She fired repeatedly while retreating. One bullet struck its shoulder, another grazed its neck, and the remaining shots shattered against the thick scales covering its chest.
The tiger ignored them, but just before its claws reached her, a blade of ice intercepted it. Dillian arrived with explosive speed. His strength-enhanced swing collided with the beast’s foreleg. The impact echoed throughout the hallway.
For the first time since the battle began... the tiger was forced backward. It growled deeply. Frost spread across its claws before the surrounding flames evaporated it almost instantly.
"Damn..."
Dillian clicked his tongue.
"My ice isn’t lasting."
"It’s suppressing the fire," Silver replied. "And that’s enough."
Ravenna seized the opportunity. She dashed forward, flames coating her blade. Her sword danced through the air in a series of clean, precise strikes.
Unlike before, she wasn’t trying to overpower the tiger with fire. She focused purely on technique. Sword clashed against claw after claw, each impact producing showers of sparks.
The tiger attempted to bite, but Ravenna slipped to one side. Its jaws snapped shut barely inches from her shoulder.
Silver smiled inwardly.
’She’s adapting.’
She had already realized elemental attacks alone wouldn’t be enough. Now she was treating the flames simply as reinforcement.
The tiger abruptly disengaged. It kicked off the wall again. Silver’s Spatial Sense pulsed violently.
"Above!"
Everyone instinctively scattered. The mutated beast crashed through a rusted ventilation duct before landing behind the group. It had deliberately split them apart.
"No!"
Silver immediately realized the problem. Dillian’s team now stood on one side while Silver and Ravenna stood on the other. The tiger occupied the middle.
Its eyes gleamed; this... Had been its objective all along.
"Cruella!"
Dillian shouted.
"Wind!"
She reacted immediately. A powerful gust burst from her sword, forcing the tiger sideways just enough to create an opening.
"Move!"
Both groups rushed toward each other, but the tiger wouldn’t allow it. With terrifying speed, it swiped at Ravenna. She raised her sword just in time, and the impact threw her sideways. She rolled across the dusty floor before regaining her footing.
Silver appeared beside the tiger.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated]
His sword slashed toward its exposed neck. The beast twisted unnaturally; instead of retreating, it stepped into Silver’s attack, reducing the power behind the swing before retaliating with its shoulder.
Silver grunted as the collision forced him backward. It was learning through every exchange and becoming slightly more difficult to catch.
"It really is adapting..." Silver muttered.
Another Space Slash flashed through the corridor. The invisible blade sliced across the tiger’s flank and a fresh wound opened.
The beast snarled angrily, yet instead of charging Silver, it looked toward Ravenna, its eyes narrowing.
Silver’s instincts screamed.
"Ravenna!"
She immediately understood. She retreated toward the others while keeping her guard raised. Cruella happened to be the closest person beside her.
For several moments... The two women fought almost shoulder to shoulder. Ravenna blocked another sweeping claw while Cruella’s wind diverted a burst of flames released by the tiger’s maw.
From the outside, they appeared to be working together perfectly. Silver, however, never stopped watching the battlefield.
His Spatial Sense observed every movement, then... He saw it. It was so subtle that nobody else noticed. As Ravenna adjusted her footing after blocking another attack, Cruella’s left hand moved. Not enough to be obvious, just... a quick shove against Ravenna’s shoulder as though she had simply lost her balance.
But Silver saw the direction. She wasn’t pushing Ravenna away from danger but toward the tiger. Time seemed to slow.
Ravenna stumbled one step forward, and the tiger’s eyes instantly locked onto her. Its muscles exploded into motion. It had been waiting for this kind of opening.
"RAVENNA!"
Silver disappeared.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]
Space distorted around him and the world blurred. He reappeared directly between Ravenna and the charging beast. Without hesitation, he wrapped one arm around Ravenna’s waist.
The tiger’s claws swept downward, and Silver twisted. The claws missed Ravenna’s chest by less than an inch; instead, they tore through the sleeve of Silver’s jacket.
The force of the near miss sent both of them tumbling across the concrete floor. They rolled several times before Silver finally planted his boots against the ground and stopped their momentum.
"You alright?"
Ravenna blinked in confusion.
"...I think so."
She looked down at herself, not a single wound. Only then did she realize how close the claws had come.
"That was close."
Silver didn’t answer immediately; instead, he slowly lifted his head. Across the battlefield, his eyes met Cruella’s. For the briefest instant, panic flashed across her face, then it disappeared. Replaced by perfectly acted concern.
"Ravenna!"
She hurried over a step.
"Are you okay?"
Silver stared at her. His expression remained completely calm, but inside, something grew cold.
’I really saw it, you pushed her’
There had been no accident. His Spatial Sense had perceived every tiny movement. Cruella had deliberately created that opening. If he hadn’t reacted when he did, Ravenna would have taken the full force of the tiger’s attack.
The realization settled heavily in his chest. Fragments of the novel resurfaced. Cruella had been responsible for Ravenna’s death. At the time, he’d lacked proof; now, he had witnessed it with his own eyes. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the place nor the time.
The tiger roared again, interrupting his thoughts. It charged once more, refusing to give them even a moment to recover. Silver slowly stood, placing himself in front of Ravenna once again. His grip tightened around his sword.
He tore his gaze away from Cruella and fixed it on the mutated beast. One enemy at a time, the tiger came first. After that, he would remember exactly what he had seen.