Boundless Evolution: The Summoning Beast
Chapter 82: Still Standing

Chapter 82: Still Standing

’That thing moved like liquid murder,’ he thought, glancing at the corpse of the Glassmaw, ’Any beast lower than E rank would have been more or less decimated by it...’

He turned his head towards the opening gate, ’And yet there’s more? Of course there is.’

He spat on the stone beside him, tasting iron in his mouth.

The rusted chains above jerked taunt, and a low mechanical rumble rolled through the arena like the growl of some sleeping colossus. The noise echoed off the carved walls, growing louder as the gate began to rise.

Dust and flakes of blackened moss dropped from the ceiling, cascading like Ash. Ash braced himself, crouching low, every muscle coiled tight with anticipation.

Something else was coming.

Another.

His muscles screamed, but his stance didn’t falter. Not yet.

He took a shaky breath, letting the cold air burn his lungs.

The air still hadn’t settled. The stones beneath his feet pulsed faintly, as if the arena itself was hungry for more.

Finally, the gate opened.

From the dark gate slithered a long-limbed horror- taller than Ash and disturbingly silent despite its size.. Its body was laced with twitching serpentine tendrils, pulsing like exposed nerves. Its vertical maw split as it hissed, revealing layered fangs and a tongue that shimmered with unnatural venom.

Then it vanished, letting out a shrill hiss before launching itself forward.

Ash braced. The creature lashed at him with a tail that cracked like a whip, its surface coated in glittering frost that shimmered like broken glass. He ducked the first strike, the air freezing around his cheek. But as he dodged it, he was caught off guard by the speed of the creature as another attack came.

Ash was unable to dodge it fully as the second caught him across the shoulder.

The impact was less physical than it was elemental. As the sharp tail cut straight across his other shoulder, an instant chilling burn spread across his flesh as the strike connected, the frost biting deeper into the wound.

Torn skin hissed with cold, the wound already numbing as pain bloomed.

’It’s infusing its tail strikes with Frost Aether,’ Ash winced through gritted teeth, muscles locking under the sudden drop in temperature. A thin layer of ice began forming on the edges of his fur.

’Faster than the first... way faster. And smarter.’ he hissed through his teeth as blood dripped down his flank.

The Shivercoil moved with unsettling grace- its limbs didn’t strike; they slithered, trailing frost where they touched. Its aether manipulation was subtle but deadly- each twitch of its body a spell woven in motion.

The small injuries and cuts began to increase, leaving an increasing number of marks on Ash’s body. His torn skin hissed with cold, while the wounds as quickly as they arrived, began to numb as pain bloomed.

But through this, Ash caught glimpses of the way its muscles undulated beneath slick, translucent skin.

One of its tendrils whipped near his face, and he barely twisted away, the wind of the strike cutting a trail through the air. When it passed, the air sizzled with sudden cold, freezing the edge of the stone in a thin coat of ice.

Ash gritted his teeth and surged forward, blood roaring in his ears.

’My time to counterattack.’

With a growl, he pressed both his paws down on the floor.

Umbral Bind!

Black tendrils burst from the stone beneath the beast, latching around its limbs and rooting it in place.

The Shivercoil shrieked and thrashed, but the tendrils coiled tighter, glowing with dark energy. Ash didn’t waste a second in that exact moment.

He activated Shadow Sprint, vanishing in a blur of dark motion and reappearing at the Shivercoil’s flank, his fangs now cloaked in pulsating shadow.

Eclipsing Fang!

He dove, driving his bite into the creature’s exposed shoulder with monstrous force. Flesh tore. Bone cracked.

Black ichor exploded across the floor. The Shivercoil screamed as its body spasmed under the devastating blow, pinned and powerless beneath Ash’s fury.

The umbral tendrils appeared once again as Umbral Bind was used once more, anchoring the beast to the stone like a sacrifice laid bare. Ash then thrashed his head, pulling as hard as he could, shredding chunks of corrupted flesh as the creature let out a warped, high-pitched screech.

The beast was immobilised now. It was time for the finishing blow.

But just as he bared his fangs again to strike, another deep rumble shook the arena.

Ash froze.

A new sound- heavier, metallic, primal- echoed through the pit.

The crowd responded in a low growl, like a hive disturbed. The stones beneath Ash’s feet pulsed again.

Behind him, another gate had begun to rise.

Ash’s knees nearly buckled.

’No pause? Not even going to let me finish my current fight?’ he thought, dragging in a breath the whistled through bloodied lips.

He clenched reflexively. His left leg twitched from strain, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears.

He turned his gaze toward the gate, jaw tight, annoyance appearing in his eyes, ’They’re not testing my strength. They’re testing whether I’ll stop getting up.’

Ash had no intention of waiting.

With a final growl, he spun back toward the Shivercoil’s broken body. Though its limbs were now getting weaker and losing strength while being bound by Umbral Bind, it twitched faintly-clinging to life with the same feral tenacity Ash knew too well.

’No more games,’ he rasped. He opened his mouth once again as it began to exude shadow aether. He drove his mouth straight down and bit down, his jaws landing straight through the creature’s throat.

It spasmed once, then finally stilled.

[Ding! Killed a D rank Shivercoil. 360 exp gained. +60AP]

Ash stood over the corpse, chest heaving, eyes already lifting toward the next gate.

’I don’t like playing the role of a toy...’ Ash declared to himself.

He cursed under his breath.

The largest yet emerged.

Ash’s eyes narrowed. This one didn’t walk- it stomped. Each step left behind scorched prints and cracks in the stone. Bipedal, towering, its body was half-flesh and half something else- plates of living metal pulsed with runes that burned like molten brands. Its eyes were hollow, devoid of recognition.

It didn’t snarl. It simply stared , as if calculating the fastest way to erase him.

Ash’s breath came slowly, then sharpened into a snarl. No more games. No more measured strikes.

He surged forward, channeling everything he had.

Shadows of the Pack!

Three shadowy clones burst from his form in flickers of obsidian light, darting to encircle the enemy.

The beast turned, tracking them ,but Ash was already moving.

Shadow Sprint!

He vanished in a blur, reappearing above its head.

Umbral Bind!

Tendrils of darkness erupted from the ground, locking around the beast’s legs and arms. The beast bellowed, twisting violently, but Ash didn’t give it a chance to recover.

He dove with deadly intent.

Eclipsing Fang!

His fangs found the joint between two armoured plates at the neck. The clones struck at the same time, claws lashing across runes glowing on its limbs.

The beast screamed, the sound grinding against the stone like shattered gears.

Ash tore through its neck armour with savage jerks, his claws raking into exposed muscle. The shadows around him deepened as his clones converged again- one anchoring the beast’s arm, another gouging at the back of its knee.

The beast faltered.

Ash pounced.

With claws wreathed in raw shadow, he drove both into the exposed chest, piercing through the armour plates on the beast.

The light in its eyes dimmed.

With a thunderous crash, the beast collapsed.

[Ding! Killed a D+ rank Brimback Juggernaut. 400 exp gained. +80AP]

Ash landed beside it, panting, bloodied, but calm and most of all- victorious.

His claws scraped the stone as he rose to a crouch, breath coming in ragged gasps. He looked down at the fallen monster- its body, now limp.

With blood still dripping from his maw, Ash tilted his head toward the sky and released a primal howl that echoed across the pit.

It wasn’t just a cry of victory.

It was a statement.

The arena froze.

Dozens of beastly eyes locked on him- blinking, disbelieving. Even the most scarred among them, these cloaked in age and silence, didn’t move. Their heads tilted ever so slightly, not in fear, but in stunned confusion.

Ash was standing alone in a pool of blood, framed by the twitching corpse of his foe, shadow energy still pulsing faintly around him.

’That’s right,’ he thought as a smirk appeared on his face, ’I’m still standing and will remain standing no matter what you send in my way.’

Just then, the air in the pit changed as Ash’s view began to vibrate.

’It’s coming now...’ Ash thought as his eyes focused immediately turned to the gate, his face completely serious as his eyes glistened in focus.

It wasn’t just a rumble- it was like the pit exhaled, as if bracing for something sacred and savage to awaken. The shadows recoiled slightly, as though even they recognised what approached. Loose pebbles skittered along the cracked floor, jumping and twitching like prey anticipating a predator.