Secret World of Occultists-Chapter 21: Never Back Down

ROAAARRR!!!

The nameless monster let out a blood-curdling scream and dashed towards Luke, radiating unrestrained bloodlust.

Luke instinctively retreated a few steps, his heart gripped by unprecedented fear. His heart beat so fast that he felt like it could burst any second.

But he grit his teeth and steeled his nerves.

Never back down!

He tried his best to put his newfound occult knowledge to good use. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his pupils dilated as he observed the nameless monster's movements and...

Reflected it!

The next moment, Luke bolted toward the anomalous creature.

If the nameless monster stepped forward with his left leg, then Luke mirrored it and stepped forward with his right. If the monster leaned forward and ran fast, so did he.

Within a few moments, the two were right before each other. The monster screamed and swung its right hand, aiming to decapitate the youth with its sharp claws.

Luke mirrored the monster's action and swung his left hand, instinctively shaping it into a claw. At the last moment, he drew spirit energy from his vast reserves and coated his left hand.

BAM!

Their hands collided with a force so intense that a visible shockwave rippled through the air.

The stalemate lasted for only a moment before Luke was hurled into the distance, spurting blood.

He had only just awakened his Hallmark and begun to utilize spirit energy, as such, he was no match for the nameless monster.

Luke rolled miserably on the ground several times before colliding against a boulder and finally coming to a stop.

"Ackk!!" He got the wind knocked out of him and for a few moments, he was unable to breathe.

Moreover, he couldn't even feel his left hand. Even though he was able to nullify the monster's attack, it still proved to be too much for him to handle.

Just as he was struggling to breathe, intense alarm bells started to ring inside his mind!

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

This acute awareness was a result of his spirit energy instinctively enhancing his senses. There was a direct threat to his life at that moment, and if he didn't react fast, he was sure to die.

Luke sensed that the nameless monster was already before him, its claws merely inches away from his heart. It would be too late for him to roll sideways and evade the incoming attack.

In that moment of life and death, he chose to follow his instincts.

BAM!

The nameless monster's attack finally arrived, smashing the boulder into smithereens. However, Luke had once again vanished.

Seeing that its prey was nowhere to be seen, the monster threw its head back and furiously roared to the skies.

Meanwhile, Luke once again found himself floating in that dark space.

His heart pounded wildly and he couldn't help but clutch at his chest. "Fuck! I... I nearly died!"

He took deep breaths to calm himself down, but the adrenaline surging through his veins refused to let him.

Luke looked around at this strange dark space with a newfound sense of familiarity. He now knew what this place was.

Because of the anomalous weather on the mountain, after sunset, everything would be covered in a thick layer of black ice. The surface of his layer of ice was highly reflective.

And this dark space that Luke found himself in... was the mystical world beyond the black ice!

After all, his Hallmark was related to the concept of reflection. As such, he could freely travel to the mystical world beyond any reflective surface.

Furthermore, he could even reflect the movements of his enemies as he if were a mirror!

"I can do it! I can do it!" Luke encouraged himself. Just being able to stand up to the nameless monster immensely boosted his confidence,

Luke raised his head and saw that the space directly above him had been fractured. He knew that could no longer pass through it.

"I see..." He muttered in realization. "The monster must've broken that boulder and severed the connection to this world in that area."

"However." He looked around at the vast expanse of this dark space and realized something.

"Since the entire mountain is covered in a layer of black ice, I am free to travel anywhere!"

But there was one more thing he realized. It's something he instinctively knew. It was that he couldn't bring someone else along with him into the world beyond the reflection.

Otherwise, the first thing he would have done was grab the little girl and hide out here until sunset.

"I have no other option but to fight!"

He swam through this dark space, all the while gazing at the monster through the black ice. It was enraged, to say the least. It frantically looked around, searching for him, destroying anything that came in its way.

Luke tightly gripped the dagger in his hand as he swam closer to the surface, positioning himself right behind the nameless monster.

I can do it! I can do it!

He waited for the right moment, and when it finally came, he took a deep breath and shot through the reflection.

On the surface, the nameless monster looked around, searching for its prey in frustration.

Suddenly, the ground behind him rippled and Luke jumped out of it, aiming the dagger straight at the monster's back!

However, how could the anomalous creature not realize when such unconcealed hostility was being aimed at it?

It clenched his right hand and viciously swung it backward!

Luke, who was confident that he would be able to get a hit on the monster, suddenly saw a gray fist enlarging in his vision. And before he knew it, the monster had smacked him square on the jaw.

The youth miserably crashed to the ground, a few teeth flying loose from the force of the last attack.

"Gahh!!" He grimaced in pain as he coughed out a mouthful of blood.

He didn't even have a second to recover when he sensed that the monster was already upon him again.

Without any delay, he sunk into the reflective surface of the black ice yet again.

The nameless monster's attack ended up hitting nothing but the ground. Once again, it was enraged at not being able to finish its prey.

In his fit of anger, he kept smashing any boulder or tree in his vicinity, all the while angrily roaring at the skies.

Suddenly, the monster's furious roars fell silent in an instant.

It slowly lowered its head and gazed at its right foot, only to see a dagger piercing through it from underneath the ground.

The monster growled menacingly. The next moment, the dagger retreated into the ground, only for it to pierce through its left foot.

Blood gushed out of the nameless monster's feet and it couldn't help but drop to his knees.

Underneath the surface of the black ice, Luke was beyond excited about how things were unfolding. "It's working! It's working!"

When he saw the monster kneel on the ground right above him, his eyes flashed with a determined light.

"Now is my chance!"

He swam toward the surface, positioning himself right beneath the nameless monster. Then, he proceeded to stab the dagger straight through the monster's legs repeatedly.

Above the black ice, the nameless monster let out a bestial cry filled with pain and agony. It had never expected its prey to suddenly turn the tables on it.

"KIIIEEEE—"

However, the next moment, its cries were viciously interrupted when Luke suddenly emerged from the ground underneath it and stabbed the dagger straight through its chin.

"AAHHHH!!!" Luke released a bellow as he pierced the dagger even deeper and pushed the nameless monster to the ground.

Seeing the blood gust out of the monster's maw, Luke stood before it victoriously, his breathing deep and labored.

"I... did it!" He muttered incredulously, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

He then strode toward the place where he'd seen the silver-haired girl last. Needless to say, his body was at the end of its limit after having gone through the brutal fight.

But the sense of victory and the adrenaline pumping through his veins allowed him to move around.

When Luke finally saw the silver-haired little girl, he couldn't help but smile. "You're alright," he said in a low tone.

The girl was incessantly sobbing while Luke was fighting the monster, scared that something would happen to the only person who showed her kindness.

Now that she saw that he was fine, she got to her feet and dashed toward him.

Luke's heart warmed and he got down on his knees, embracing the little girl in a gentle hug. He patted her head and assured her, "Everything's fine now... Don't cry..."

Now that the monster had been taken care of, they no longer needed to worry about spending the night in danger.

Everything was fine now, and all they needed to do was to climb to the peak of the mountain when the sun rose.

"Mmh!" The silver-haired little girl hummed, wiping the tears away from her face.

She slowly raised her head and was about to say something to Luke when suddenly her eyes widened.

A shadow suddenly loomed over the pair!

Before Luke could even do anything, a terrifying claw grabbed his neck from behind. He instantly knew who it was and his heart sank.

He looked at the little girl in horror and screamed, "RUN!"

The nameless monster seized Luke by the neck, lifting him effortlessly. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free from its tight grip.

Luke's gaze locked onto his dagger, still embedded in the monster's lower jaw.

Shit! That didn't kill him?!

Luke desperately tried to reach for it, but before he could grasp the dagger's handle, the anomalous entity's gaping maw stretched wider.

A horrifying suction force erupted from the nameless monster's abyssal mouth, devouring Luke's very identity.

And before he knew it, the blue-eyed youth was hurled to the ground, his once-vibrant eyes now vacant.