The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 141

Chapter 141: Attacking The Nest 3: The Awakened Voidspawn
Reid continued forward and weirdly enough, even though this place was closer to the mother, he hadn’t encountered any Voidspawns.

His answer came in an instant—his body moved on instinct, sword rising just in time to block an incoming strike.

“You blocked that,” a voice murmured from the shadows “that’s unexpected.”

Reid didn’t even get a chance to identify the direction in which the voice came from before another attack slammed into him, this time with a lot more force.

The force hurled him back, sending him crashing into one of the cave walls.

“Papa!” Beel’s panicked voice came.

Reid gritted his teeth as pain shot through his body. He had seen none of the attacks, only managing to block due to his instincts.

The attacker finally revealed itself and like expected, it was a Voidspawn-possessed officer.

This one looked almost completely human, even its skin wasn’t ashen like the others, but the black veins were still present.

“Impressive,” the Voidspawn-possessed officer continued, “most don’t even see it coming, let alone react in time. You’re different.”

Reid let out a groan as he stood up with Beel by his side.

“Evo?” He muttered under his breath.

[On it] Evo replied and soon displayed the stats of the creature.

[Primal successfully scanned

Species: Voidspawn

Rank: Awakened Platinum-tier

Abilities: All primal species abilities, Void Slash, camouflage.]

Reid frowned as he analyzed the creature’s stats. Its abilities were dangerous enough, but what caught his attention was its rank—Awakened Platinum-tier.

“What does that mean?” he muttered under his breath.

[It has somehow caused its host to form a core,] Evo explained. [So, essentially, it has two now.]

Reid barely had time to process that before his instincts flared again. Without hesitation, he raised his sword just in time to block another attack.

A sharp, grating sound rang out as the force behind the strike pushed him back slightly.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to ignore an opponent standing right in front of you?” The possessed officer said with a chuckle.

Reid exhaled, rolling his shoulders to lessen the strain caused by the attack, “Yeah? Well, it’s also rude to attack someone mid-thought.”

The Voidspawn grinned, its yellow eyes gleaming. “Then I suppose we’re both a little impolite.”

Beel buzzed anxiously at his side. “Papa, I don’t like this one.”

“Neither do I,” Reid muttered.

He knew he couldn’t take the creature on without using synchronize but that would leave him defenseless and unable to face the mother Voidspawn.

“I guess I’ll have to bring out the whole crew to play” he immediately summoned Nyx, Rusty and Atlas to his side.

“You can take that many forged beasts?” The Voidspawn said with intrigue in its voice “you really are interesting, no wonder father wants you.”

“I’m guessing you won’t tell me who this father your kind keeps mentioning is?” Reid asked not really hoping for an answer.

“You’ll find out soon enough” as expected, the voidspawn chose to remain mysterious.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Reid said with a sigh before adding”alright then, let’s wrap this up fast.”

“With pleasure ” the voidspawn immediately disappeared

Reid’s instincts warned again, ‘Left!’

He twisted just in time, barely managing to raise his sword as the Voidspawn’s strike came from his blind spot. A sharp clang echoed through the cave. The force behind the attack still sent him skidding backward.

As soon as its position was known, Nyx activated [Collapse] hoping to crush it and the space around it.

The creature casually shrugged off the effects, moving out of the affected area just in time for the space to fold in itself.

But Reid and his forged beasts were far from done. An immense pressure suddenly fell on the Voidspawn-possessed officer.

Atlas had shifted gravity, increasing its effect on the Voidspawn multiple times over. This was enough to stumble it for a moment, and that was all Reid needed.

Rushing in with his sword, he aimed a slash at the creature’s head, but the Voidspawn moved at the last second, causing the blade to graze its shoulder instead.

Before it could free itself from the effects of Atlas’ gravity, Rusty followed up with a pause, freezing it in time.

Reid sent another attack, this one aimed at its chest and his blade sank deep into the Voidspawn’s chest, black gooey blood spraying as the creature’s frozen form remained helpless.

But just as Reid was about to twist the sword for a fatal blow, a pulse of energy erupted from the Voidspawn’s body.

The energy violently blasted outwards, sending Reid and his forged beasts skidding backwards.

Reid gritted his teeth as he dug his sword into the ground, stopping his momentum before he could crash into another cave wall and his forged beasts recovered just as quickly.

The Voidspawn-possessed officer slowly straightened, its wounds already sealing with unnatural speed.

The visible black veins on its skin seemed to be glowing as some form of purple energy circulated within them.

“Incredible,” the creature rasped, its yellow eyes gleaming. “You actually wounded me even after my awakening. That’s… rare.”

“But this is as far as you go,” the Voidspawn declared.

The aura it emitted was a lot terrifying than it previously was. If before Reid thought he couldn’t beat this thing without synchronize, now he knew he couldn’t.

“Evo?” He called out for another scan.

[The Voidspawn just evolved, all your previous attacks won’t work on it] Evo informed.

“F*ck” Reid cursed out loud.

“F*ck indeed,” the voidspawn said with a chuckle “do you want to know what makes me different from my brothers?”

It didn’t wait for Reid’s reply before answering his own question.

“That’s because, unlike the others who foolishly bond with a human host and use their Forged Beasts as mere sustenance,” it paused briefly, a hint of amusement in its tone, “I chose a different path—I merged the host with its own Forged Beast. And the results?”

The Voidspawn spread it’s arms out wide, “you’re looking at it.”

Reid didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he quickly formulated a plan ‘I need to land ttacks that leave lasting effects. Status effects. Damage that can’t be healed easily.’

‘Atlas, increase gravity again, make him as heavy as possible, ‘ he commanded in his mind ‘Nyx, try your Rift. Rusty, prep a Time Gate, just in case.’

His forged beasts responded instantly.

Atlas amplified the gravity around the Voidspawn, making the cave floor crack under the sheer force.

Nyx created a swirling vortex that attempted to pull the Voidspawn in.

Rusty stayed behind to create a time gate, a potential escape route if things went south.

But the Voidspawn only grinned.

“Clever.”

Then, it vanished, whether it used camouflage or just teleported was unknown, but the next second,

BOOM!

A crushing impact slammed into Reid’s side before he could react, sending him flying across the cave. He barely managed to twist midair, landing in a rough roll instead of crashing headfirst into stone.

“You’re too predictable,” it mocked, tilting its head. “Your beasts? They work well together. But in the end, you’re all thinking too small.”

Reid spat blood onto the cave floor, eyes cold. Think bigger, then.

He exhaled. “Fine. You want unpredictable?”

A glint of excitement flickered in the Voidspawn’s eyes, but it faded when Reid suddenly dismissed all his forged beasts at once….. almost all.

The cave fell into complete silence.

The Voidspawn blinked. “..Huh?”

Then, Reid activated [Synchronize].