The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 87: Why am I hesitating?

‘1… 5… 7…’

Lucian’s lips moved faintly as he counted under his breath, looking at each of them, moving his gaze across the monsters, shifting from each of the wolves moving around him.

They didn’t instantly rush at him, silently circling around him, almost like they were doing a ritual before they would prey on him.

“27…” Lucian muttered quietly, finishing the counting.

If there were more, then he didn’t know, and he really hoped there weren’t.

A soft exhale escaped his lips as his shoulders lowered slightly, and he prepared himself for what was about to come.

“Fucking he—”

Even before he could curse properly—

They moved.

All the wolves lunged at him from all directions, their bodies exploding, their jaws wide open, fangs glinting as they aimed to tear him apart.

The silence broke, and chaos surged.

Lucian reacted instantly.

He sidestepped sharply, twisting his body to the right, dodging a wolf’s open jaws.

At the same moment—

Another dagger appeared in his left hand.

Leaping over the body of another wolf that lunged at him from another direction, he stabbed a wolf’s back, plunging it into its body.

The bone blade thrust in with a wet sound as it sank into flesh, cutting through its fur and muscle.

The wolf let out a sharp, pained yelp.

Pulling it out, Lucian moved away, dodging another incoming attack that aimed for his ribs.

His eyes darted rapidly, flickering from one threat to another, tracking each of their movements, before moving away slightly as he suddenly felt a corpse touch his feet.

But he didn’t lose his balance.

It was even more difficult to move with so many corpses lying on the ground.

A single misstep—

And it would be over.

His eyes snapped backward suddenly, as he twisted his body, before thrusting his dagger into the lower jaw of the one that had just tried to attack him from behind.

Another bone dagger appeared in his right hand, as he stabbed the other blade into its neck, before removing it and sidestepping, narrowly dodging the wolf’s claws as it let out a choked whimper.

He clicked his tongue sharply, seeing the dagger embedded in its body.

He tried to move towards it, leaning in that direction in order to grab it—

But the other wolves didn’t allow it.

Multiple of them instantly ambushed him.

He backed away from another attack, but this time—

“Hisss!~~” he hissed sharply, feeling the claw that had grazed onto his left shoulder, tearing through fabric and skin, leaving a burning, stinging wound.

Blood began dripping from the wound, slowly soaking and wetting the sleeve of his black shirt.

It wasn’t a large wound, but it was enough to cause a hindrance right now.

Lucian clenched his teeth, forcing the pain down, refusing to let it affect his movements as his eyes hardened further.

Without hesitation, two more daggers materialised in his hands.

He didn’t wait.

He instantly dashed forward, towards the one who had just attacked him.

Just as he closed up to it, he raised his left arm up, and struck—

The dagger plunged straight into its eye.

The direwolf howled loudly, its body jerking violently, its movements turning erratic.

But the others didn’t stop.

They rushed at him again.

Lucian jumped back, evading their attacks, before he immediately shifted his direction and dashed at the same direwolf, whose one eye had a dagger in it, partially blinding it.

It was still growling, still trying to fight, its body lashing out blindly as it struggled through its pain.

Lucian didn’t give it time.

He jumped forward—

And drove his fist straight into its head.

The force travelled through his arm as his knuckles slammed into its skull, causing the direwolf’s body to stagger.

It stumbled down, as its limbs trembled from the force of his punch.

Before other direwolves could rush at him—

Something changed.

All of their bodies suddenly stiffened.

Their limbs faintly trembled as their movements halted.

And their eyes—

In their sharp, narrowed eyes that were widened—something flickered.

Fear.

Lucian didn’t wait for them.

The moment he used his skill [Suppression Intent], he landed in front of the wolf’s head.

For a split second, he looked at it… as the direwolf whimpered before his eyes, in pain, as well as the sudden weight and fear that had lowered it down.

Then—

Lucian raised his foot and slammed it directly onto the dagger that had already been embedded in its eye.

The force of his kick drove the dagger deeper, piercing inside its head, pushing straight into its brain with a sickening wet sound.

The direwolf’s eyes dulled instantly, before going lifeless.

Its body went still and fell onto the road.

Lucian didn’t have much time to think or breathe as another direwolf came rushing at him, its jaws snapping towards him, narrowly allowing him to jump away.

But then—

His foot slipped again due to the sudden human body he landed on.

Lucian’s eyes flickered downward instinctively, catching a glimpse of the lifeless face beneath him, the hollow, unmoving expression frozen in death.

Then—

His gaze snapped back up.

Toward the wolves.

They were still moving, though their movements had grown sluggish, and their limbs trembled beneath their paws.

But they hadn’t stopped.

‘So they can move, huh?’ Lucian thought, before his eyes narrowed slightly, turning faintly grim.

He had removed his suppression skill the moment he had killed the wolf, so their movements had begun to regain their clarity.

His eyes scanned over each of them for a split second as a grim understanding dawned over him, making his expression harden.

The number of monsters surrounding him was too much.

It was simply too much for him, especially with the sharp pain in his left arm, at the wound that still leaked blood slowly.

It wouldn’t have been a problem if they were in batches.

But with all of them coming at him at the same time—

That would be tough…

Maybe impossible.

“Ha.. ha..”

Lucian’s chest heaved unevenly as he felt the fatigue creeping into his body, settling into his muscles, making every movement a little heavier than before.

He was getting exhausted.

There was no denying it anymore.

It was catching up to him.

But even then—

He didn’t back away.

He didn’t retreat.

Instead—

He dashed at them again.

His body surged forward—despite the resistance tearing through his muscles.

Minutes passed.

Lucian moved swiftly—or at least, he tried to, as he dodged each of the direwolf’s attacks as he avoided being surrounded completely.

Each time an opening appeared—

He took it, stabbing his dagger into their vital areas.

Their bodies were slightly larger than the goblin’s, and their muscles were denser, tougher.

Crack!

Lucian’s eyes widened slightly as the bone dagger in his hand snapped the moment he drove it into another wolf’s neck.

It split apart with a brittle crack, failing to penetrate deep enough to deliver a fatal blow.

“Agh…!” He pulled back instantly, his body shifting away just in time as another direwolf lunged forward.

But—

This time, the attack connected.

Lucian’s body jerked slightly as pain flared, cutting through his focused gaze as the claws tore into his leg, not deep enough to cripple him, but enough to leave a burning, stinging wound that made his muscles tense involuntarily.

His breathing grew heavier, ragged… unsteady.

His legs trembled faintly as he hissed softly through his clenched teeth, enduring the pain of the wound the wolf had just created.

“Ha… Ha… Ha…”

Swear dripped down his face, mixing with the blood that had splattered across his skin during the fight.

His clothes were soaked, drenched in sweat, his shirt clinging to his body.

He didn’t even have the time to wipe the blood on his face that had been splattered.

His movements were slowing, growing more sluggish.

‘I should leave.’

The thought came to him suddenly, cutting through the chaos in his mind, acknowledging the truth of the dire situation before him.

Lucian had already killed over 6 direwolves, and there were still 21 more surrounding him.

It wasn’t that he had been holding back.

It wasn’t that he had chosen to spare them.

He simply didn’t get an opportunity to kill them.

Every time he tried to finish one, the others rushed at him, forcing him to retreat back, trying to save their companion from the human.

They weren’t just a mindless herd who didn’t care about each other.

They were coordinated.

And it was making this fight far more difficult than it should have been.

The wolves weren’t unscathed either.

They were wounded too.

Most of them bore wounds from the hits by Lucian, as they had been stabbed, punched, or kicked by him.

Some limped slightly. Some bled.

They were growing exhausted too.

But unlike him—

They weren’t slowing down.

Rather than their bodies becoming sluggish, their movements were just growing more aggressive.

More desperate. More aggressive.

‘I should leave,’ he repeated inwardly, the thought growing stronger, but—

He didn’t move.

His body remained where it was, side-stepping another assault, as he kicked one of them.

He wanted to leave.

He wanted to turn around and escape, wanted to run while he could, while he was still alive.

At home, his sister—Lia, and his mother—Seraphina, were both waiting for him.

The thought alone made his chest tighten, as he stabbed the dagger into one of the dire wolves—before pulling it out and retreating from another attack.

If anything happened to him, if he died right here…

Then what would happen to them?

How would they survive?

Who would protect them?

Who would stand in his place?

He knew his mother had a higher talent then may others—

That she would grow stronger very quick.

But even then—

Talent meant nothing in the face of sheer strength.

The world wouldn’t wait for them to get stronger.

In his mind, he was more concerned—more worried about their survival if he died right now—than he was about how devastated they would be to hear about his death.

Slowly, his hands, holding the daggers, lowered slightly.

His expression shifted, growing annoyed.

“Why am I hesitating?” he muttered to himself, his voice low and irritated at himself, twisting his body sharply and kicking a wolf approaching from his right, before stabbing the dagger into its eye.

But it didn’t die instantly.

Instead, it rushed at him with its jaws snapped wide open, making Lucian step back quickly, avoiding the bite by a narrow margin.

His body dashed towards it in that direction, as it clamped its maw shut.

Swiftly, he punched with his left, free hand, delivering a sharp uppercut to its jaw.

The force lifted the wolf’s body slightly off the ground, sending it hurtling backward as it crashed into the ground with a heavy thud.

But before he could chase it, more of them rushed in.

“Why am I hesitating…?” he muttered again, using [Suppression Intent] once again, making the wolf’s legs tremble as it faltered slightly.

Lucian looked at the nearest wolf—growling, almost whimpering before him as its body trembled—and used that time to materialize another dagger, before stepping forward, thrusting both the blades into its eyes.

He pulled it out, and stabbed it again.

“Ugh…”

A low groan escaped his lips, feeling the sharp pain pulsing through his head, the strain catching up to him due to the constant use of the suppression intent skill.

It wasn’t just that his mana had depleted to half, but the skill also used a fair amount of his mental strength.

He was feeling a slight headache that throbbed in his temples right now, which he ignored, narrowly avoiding another bite.

Suddenly, his expression twisted in frustration, as a scream tore through his lips.

“Why am I hesitating…?!”

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