Born in Blood

The Sanguine Strings didn't go through the spider's chitin.

It wasn't even a particularly hardened section of its body, either. 

But Liam had expected as much. 

He wanted to see how rigid and powerful the spider's armor really was.

And now he had his answer.

But that wasn't the terrifying part.

Just as Liam used Shadow Blink once more, the Red Fang's entire body creaked towards that direction… before he actually teleported there!

It was the equivalent of someone guessing what you were going to say, before you thought of saying it.

The spider could use its spider-sense to find out where Liam's shadows were heading. 

And its reaction time was unnaturally fast. 

Liam felt the hairs on his skin rise.

Challenging a Rank 5 creature was… a little cocky of him.

It was clear who the predator and the prey was.

There was no more ambiguity left.

But Liam didn't relent. 

Since he was only teleporting short distances, only small percentages of his blood were being used.

Roughly 6% was used for a distance of 180 meters, which was far better than the previous 10%.

Just as the Shadow Blink was completed, the spider grew bigger and bigger in Liam's vision.

Again!

Liam sent a quick barrage of Honed darkness at the spider's eyes and limbs. 

The spider blocked them instantly using a curved claw at the tip of one of its limbs. 

Liam had to use Shadow Blink once more.

A little further this time.

230 meters.

It took 9% of Liam's blood, for a total of 15% of his ichor being depleted.

Liam took out the Zenith's corpse again and took a large bite, before storing it again.

Liam didn't take a bite from his mouth.

He literally formed a mouth from his hand, then swallowed it through that.

But in a fraction of a second, the spider was on him again.

Even faster than before!

Liam groaned in annoyance.

The spider slowly took up more and more of his vision.

Its disgusting mouth was opened wide, dribbling with saliva, while its fangs extended and intended to snap him in half.

WHOOSH!

Just then, Liam threw a crystalized coin of blood in the air.

The spider was an inch away from slicing him into pieces. 

Just then, Liam used Shadow Blink.

Except, he wasn't on the ground.

He had teleported above!

Obviously, the reason Liam threw the coin upwards was to teleport to the shadow it cast.

Shadow Blink was restricted to… well, shadows.

Air didn't cast any, and Liam couldn't materialize mid-air.

Thus, using a medium — like the coin in this case — gave him the indirect ability to do so. 

Another 6% of his ichor was depleted. 

21% of his blood was gone. 

And, well, now he was flying.

And plunging.

And swinging all four swords with as much darkness as he could muster.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

The Red Fang raised its body to the sky, giving Liam another dead look as Honed Slashes, needles, were raining down upon it. 

Time slowed. 

Suddenly, the hairs on the Red Fang's narrow body subtly twitched.

Liam smiled like he expected that.

He saw that coming from a mile away.

He wasn't an idiot.

Flying in the air left him open to thousands of different attacks.

But by now, the spider knew that Liam could teleport.

That's why it was going to shoot its hairs at him.

But in reality, the spider's attention was on where Liam would teleport next!

That's how smart these creatures were.

They were able to adapt to the battle at hand.

In fact…

The spider was actually weaving its crimson threads all over the landscape!

Using Spirit Sight, Liam could see red hair-thin lines streaking across the entire earth.

And he knew exactly what those threads could do to him.

If he stepped foot on them, they'd trigger, explode, and kill him instantly. 

In fact, most strings were already woven before Liam arrived, barely visible even to the keenest eye. 

But these weren't the same as the new threads the spider was forming. 

If Liam didn't have the King's Eye, or his Spirit Sight, he would have already been ensnared like a trapped fly.

But… why hadn't the spider used them till now?

It was for a very, very simple reason. 

…What kind of professional hunter uses an RPG to kill a rabbit?

No matter how fast, annoying or smart the bunny was, no one used explosives to deal with a minor threat. 

That's what Liam was to the Rank 5 beast.

A minor threat. An annoying bunny.

Smiling, Liam dared it to think that after what was going to happen next.

Thousands of little streaks shot at the sky, like a volley of arrows aimed at heaven. 

Similarly, Liam's flurry of attacks rained down at the earth, at a slightly slower speed.

The two sides clashed.

KKKKRSSSHHHH!

The result was one-sided.

The Rank 5's hair attacks absolutely shredded the slashes that Liam shot at it.

No sharpness, technique or speed could overwhelm that sheer power!

But Liam used Shadow Blink one last time.

8% of his blood was used.

A total of 29%.

But one had to remember that Liam teleported several times back to back in order to kill most of the Red Fang colony!

In reality… there was just 20% of his blood left!

Thus, this was the last teleport that Liam would do.

WHOOM!

Abruptly, the spider leapt straight above the air as strongly as it could. 

Liam had teleported beneath it!

The spider felt an eerie danger radiating from underneath itself.

It was in danger!

Finally, Void was complete.

But the hardened chitin was hindering its path. 

Thankfully, Liam had a skill he'd been itching to use.

And the space created by the spider leaping into the air gave him enough space to use it relatively safely.

SHRKH!

Using Transfiguration, Liam severed off a lump of his flesh and hurled it at the point between the spider's thorax and abdomen.

Then, he used Expel.

BOOOOOOM!

It was louder than a thunderclap, and just as fast. 

The spider recoiled as a shockwave echoed through its entire body. 

A subtle smile formed on Liam's face. 

There was barely any damage… except a tiny little dent on its underside.

WHOOOM!

Then, there was a spherical mass of purple light shooting straight at the spider's core. 

What happened immediately after made Liam curse in frustration and pain.