SWNOVELXO Chapter 51: Cracks in the Sky
Location: Edge of the Stampede Zone
Time: July 17th, 3:40 PM
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The battlefield was shaking. Not from numbers—but from something far worse.
A monstrous roar thundered across the plain, sending birds scattering from blackened trees. Buildings in the distance trembled. Dust spiraled into the air like rising smoke from a dying world.
Kael stood at the front, chest heaving, daggers glinting, eyes narrowing.
> "That thing… it's not just strong. It's a living catastrophe."
What emerged wasn't a creature. It was a calamity.
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3:42 PM – Behemoth Unleashed
Towering over fifteen meters tall, it stood like a titan wrapped in plated bone, each limb thick as a tree trunk. Its skin was layered with overlapping scale-armor, glowing faintly with red and gold hues. Its head, a brutal fusion of insect and beast, carried tusks the size of cars. And worse—on its back? Clusters of eyes that blinked independently, scanning in all directions.
The monster stomped forward. Each step left craters.
> "We can't stop that thing with just weapons," Dain muttered, sweat pouring from his face. "This thing's at least twenty times stronger than a human."
> "More like fifty," Armin grunted, tightening the wrap on his injured ribs.
Kael stared. His daggers… they felt like needles against a wall.
But retreat? Not a word he acknowledged.
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3:44 PM – First Engagement
The team struck as one.
Dain launched high-velocity kinetic rounds to its joints, trying to disrupt its movement. Armin charged from the flank, using sheer mass to force it back. Elle hurled her burning spear with a war cry.
> CLANG!
The spear bounced off its armor. Armin's shoulder charge did nothing. Dain's rounds barely left a scratch.
> "Its skin… it's absorbing shock!" Elle shouted.
The monster responded by sweeping a clawed arm wide.
> BOOM!
It sent a shockwave that threw all three aside like toys.
Kael moved in. Low. Silent. Fast. He ducked beneath the claws, scaling its back with each step precise. He jabbed a dagger into one of its spine joints—
> CRACK!
The blade snapped.
Kael jumped off, rolling across the ground.
> "My weapons can't pierce it... not yet."
The mimic appeared beside him, echoing his stance.
> "Then we adapt," it whispered.
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3:47 PM – Coordinated Counter
They restructured.
Kael and his mimic drew its attention from opposite sides. When Kael moved in for a feint, the mimic stabbed into the leg, drawing sparks. When Elle fired lightning-infused javelins, Armin took the hit opportunity.
But the beast was learning.
It let itself be struck, only to suddenly swipe its tail and smash Dain into a broken wall.
> "We need pressure!" Kael shouted.
Armin nodded and took a breath. Then he sprinted at full speed toward the creature.
Kael followed.
As the monster raised a claw to crush Armin, Kael dashed forward—using his cloak's invisibility for a split-second window. He leapt—
And drove his last remaining dagger straight into the side of the beast's face.
This time, it pierced.
> ROAAAAARRR! The creature staggered.
Blood—not red, but molten gold—spilled from the wound.
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3:50 PM – Temporary Victory?
The team regrouped. Wounded, exhausted. But so was the beast.
It bellowed again, but this time… it limped.
> "Now's the time," Kael growled. "We push."
The team gave it everything. Kinetic explosions. Flame spears. Bare fists. Kael darted under the monster's legs, slicing tendons with whatever blade fragments remained. The mimic lunged high, striking the bleeding eye cluster.
The monster dropped to one knee.
Then the sky turned red.
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3:55 PM – Cliffhanger
Everyone froze.
From the southern horizon, more figures appeared. Not as large as the monster—but dozens. Maybe hundreds.
A second stampede.
Kael's chest tightened.
> "We're not done yet."
Behind him, the mimic turned toward the battlefield, voice low:
> "You must grow stronger."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
> "Then let's evolve."
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TO BE CONTINUED....