Chapter 323: An S rank? Easy!
Shattered stone littered the passage as Naevora carried Brandon effortlessly on her back.
Brandon’s eyes lowered instinctively, following the rhythm of her breasts with each sway.
He smiled to himself before leaning closer, rubbing his cheek softly against hers and the warmth of his skin brushed along the edge of her jaw.
Naevora’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Brandon. Are you watching where we’re going... or something else?"
He let out a chuckle, "Both."
She just shook her head helplessly and continued walking.
His chin now rested against her shoulder as his eyes wandered openly, following the subtle rise and fall of her cleavage as if hypnotized.
"Besides," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear, "how am I supposed to ignore this view? Front-row tickets to every bounce."
Naevora exhaled sharply "You’re annoying."
Brandon’s fingers crept up from where they clung around her shoulders, his hand brushing along Naevora’s cheek.
He pinched lightly, stretching the corner of her lips with a mischievous grin "Mm, Naevora, you should smile more. You look less scary and more... cute."
Naevora’s eyebrow twitched in irritation "Cute?"
He squeezed her cheek again, "Yeah. Cute. Adorable, actually. The kind of master you just want to cuddle forever."
She let out a long and tired sigh, though a faint pink blus bloomed across her ears. "Brandon, you’re lucky I’m patient... and that my hands are busy carrying you."
He chuckled, nuzzling against her jaw like a spoiled cat. "That’s why this is the perfect time to play with you."
But just as she was about to snap back at him-
BOOOOOM
The ground shook violently beneath them.
Crumbling stone and broken cars were tossed aside like toys as an ear-splitting roar tore through the ruined street.
Naevora froze mid-step and her grip on Brandon’s thighs tightened instinctively as she looked ahead.
Through the dust and collapsing debris, an enormous aberrant emerged, taller than a three-story building.
Muscles bulged grotesquely under torn flesh, and its jaw snapped open with another thunderous roar.
Its aura slammed into them like a crashing wave... an S-rank.
Brandon’s smile vanished instantly, his eyes narrowing. "...Tch. Bad timing."
Hm? She raised an eyebrow "No, I would say perfect timing. An S rank..."
He slid off her back, landing on the cracked pavement as ether surged around him.
The beast bellowed, slamming its claw into a building and reducing it to rubble as it charged straight toward them, with its every step making the earth quake.
Brandon’s lips curved into a wry grin "Guess it’s time to earn that thigh pillow, huh?"
Naevora turned to look at him "Go on."
The aberrant’s body pulsed with sickly green light and two pairs of burning red eyes glared down at Brandon and Naevora.
With a guttural roar, the beast charged.
BOOOOM
Each step cracked the pavement, sending shockwaves rolling through the debris.
Naevora only folded her arms beneath her chest and leaned against the broken husk of a tilted bus.
A silver glint passed through Brandon’s eyes as fire appeared along his forearms.
WHOOSH!
In the next instant, his body burst forward in a trail of silver flames.
The beast swung its massive claw, aiming to cleave him in half.
Brandon ducked, dodging the attack, and his palms flared as silver fire erupted outward in an arc.
FWOOM!
The flames cut across the monster’s forearm, searing its flesh.
"RAARGH!" The aberrant howled, jerking back but Brandon didn’t give it time.
From beneath the broken buildings, jagged red chains of ether burst upward, crackling as they coiled around the beast’s leg.
CLANG! CLANG!
The creature snarled and thrashed, trying to rip free, but the chains only dug deeper, searing into its skin as silver fire bled into them.
Naevora’s gaze narrowed "...So he’s fusing that researcher Ravene’s chains with Yve’s flames. Huh? When did he copy her skill?"
Then she remembered the condom incident and her gaze narrowed further "Need intimate contact to copy... did they kiss or go further?"
Brandon pulled his arm and the chains responded, yanking the monster off balance.
CRASH!
The aberrant toppled sideways, smashing through a half-standing wall as dust and rubble exploded outward.
Before it could rise, Brandon vaulted into the air, his fists wreathed in fire.
He twisted mid-spin, his knee slamming down toward the beast’s skull.
THOOM!
The impact dented the creature’s skull into the ground.
"RAARR!" It bellowed in fury, flailing its arms wildly, sending broken concrete flying like cannonballs.
Brandon sprang back, and ether discs appeared mid-air below his feet.
Using the discs, he dodged back and stumbled a bit, but managed to stand on the disc, floating in the air.
Seeing this, a faint blush crossed Naevora’s cheeks "He is close to mastering it..."
The aberrant roared and unleashed a blast of ether as green energy exploded from its mouth, surging like a tidal wave.
VVVRRRM!
Brandon’s eyes narrowed and he slammed his fists together.
Silver fire burst outward in spiraling arcs, wrapping him in a blazing sphere.
The ether wave crashed against it-
BOOOOM!
The explosion tore apart several blocks of ruins, shaking the very foundations of the dungeon.
When the dust cleared, Brandon stood unscathed, fire crackling around him.
Looking at this, Naevora was impressed "Yve didn’t have these abilities. Hmm... he is taking her power and adding his own flavor to it."
SWOOSH!
Chains erupted again... this time not just from the ground, but from every direction, stabbing out of walls, rubble, and even the sky above like falling spears.
They pierced the aberrant’s flesh, binding its arms and torso.
The beast shrieked, thrashing violently, tearing chunks of its own muscle as the chains tightened.
Floating in the disc, Brandon looked down at the beast tied in the crimson chains as the wind brushed his hair.
With a smile on his lips, he snapped his fingers.
*snap*
And in the next second, the creature’s whole body ignited in silver flames.
FWOOM!
"WRRRAAARGHHHH!!!!!" It howled as fire devoured its flesh.
Naevora had a thoughtful look, seeing the way he fights and uses his skills "Damn brat, you have the chance to become the strongest in the world."
With a scream, its muscles bulged, and it tore one arm free, swinging wildly.
The strike carved through an entire building, sending rubble cascading down toward Brandon.
Naevora’s voice carried lazily across the chaos "If you get flattened by rocks, I’ll laugh."
"Like I’d let that happen!"
Brandon leapt upward from the disc, easily dodging the rain of rubble and jumped high in the air.
In midair, he clenched his palm into a fist, and silver flames flared across his fist.
With that, he lunged straight toward the beast, which was chained by the crimson chains.
THOOOOOM!
His flaming fist crashed into the aberrant’s chest, detonating in a massive explosion.
The ground shattered, shockwaves blasting outward in a fiery dome.
The beast reeled as charred wounds spread across its body.
Brandon landed, panting slightly as silver fire still licked across his skin. "C’mon... you’re not done, are you?"
The aberrant staggered, then charged once more as green ether flared violently.
Brandon’s eyes narrowed and dozens of crimson chains erupted from the ground, from the walls, and from the skies above, blazing with silver fire.
The battlefield became a cage of burning chains.
The aberrant crashed into them and the chains pierced deep, wrapping its limbs, its neck, and its torso.
"GREEEEERRRGHHHHH!!’
A flicker of red energy passed through Brandon’s eyes and the chains around the aberrant tightened.
CRUNCH!
The aberrant’s body convulsed as the fiery chains crushed it from all sides.
For a moment, the chains glowed faintly and then-.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The entire district shook as the aberrant’s body detonated in a storm of ash, fire, and ether.
The shockwave ripped outward, toppling already-ruined buildings.
The heat shimmered in the air.
At the center of the destruction, Brandon stepped down from the disc, his boots crunching against cracked pavement.
"Huff..." His chest rose and fell with each heavy breath.
A single bead of sweat slid down the line of his jaw before dripping onto the scorched ground.
’Fuck... my weak B-rank tempered body is not used to handling this A-rank ether. The backlash of skipping ranks without proper body training.’
Behind him, the last of the crimson chains dissolved into glowing sparks, scattering like fireflies into the smoky air.
"...You damn monster," Naevora murmured under her breath, though a small smile tugged at her lips.
’Taking a mid-tier S rank aberrant while being an A rank...’
Her gaze flickered to the enormous crater and charred embers ’Very few in A rank could stand against you if you used your full power.’
’And the scary part is, this is not his full potential...’
Brandon ran a hand back through his damp hair and exhaled a laugh "Phew... that one had some bite. But it wasn’t too bad."
He sat down on a debris, and Naevora raised an eyebrow. "Not too bad? You leveled half a district, idiot."
He shrugged, "Who cares? This is a destroyed dungeon anyway."
Naevora stood over him, looking down with her shadow falling across his chest. "...Rest for a minute. Then we move."
He tilted his head toward her, smiling despite his exhaustion. "You know, Naevora, you’re really sexy when you look down on me like that."
She didn’t even blink "Try that line again when you can stand without wobbling, idiot."
"Hahaha."