CHAPTER 221: CHAPTER 221- BITE

Leo’s aura exploded outward, distorting the air around them like a heatwave of pure power. The ground cracked, pebbles lifted into the air, and even the clouds above seemed to shudder under the pressure.

"Let’s see how long you can stand, Mortal," Leo hissed, his voice layered with divine echo. He blurred forward, every movement leaving streaks of light and frost behind. His claws struck like lightning, forcing Julian back step by step.

Julian parried, dodged, and countered, but Leo’s onslaught was relentless, each blow heavier than the last. His muscles tensed, his armor cracked, and sparks scattered with every hit. The air hummed with killing intent.

Then, a deafening growl tore through the chaos.

A massive shadow leapt from behind Leo—a black wolf, larger than a truck, its fur shimmering like liquid darkness. It landed between Julian and Leo with a thunderous impact, the ground beneath its paws splintering. Its golden eyes glowed with wild fury.

Leo narrowed his eyes, irritation flashing across his face. "Oh? I don’t recall inviting pets to my little party."

Julian, breathing hard but smirking despite the blood on his lip, rested his sword on his shoulder. "That’s not a pet," he said coldly, lightning crackling in his tone. "That’s the beast that’s going to tear your goddamn head off."

The wolf bared its fangs, growling low—a sound that rumbled through the air like distant thunder.

Julian’s gaze sharpened, his eyes glowing electric blue as he pointed his blade toward Leo. "And after that," he said, voice filled with venomous calm, "I’ll make sure there’s nothing left for even your so-called god to recognize."

Leo chuckled darkly, unfazed. "Perfect," he said, his aura flaring even brighter. "Two corpses for the price of one."

Julian grinned, his lightning syncing with the wolf’s dark energy. "Then let’s start the feast."

The wolf answered with a feral roar that rolled like thunder over broken stone. Zoe’s black fur bristled, her eyes burned red. Julian slid up the wolf’s broad back, one hand settling on the coarse mane while the other kept his sword ready, lightning crawling up the blade’s edge. He murmured once into Zoe’s ear, a small, steadying command and she surged forward, paws hammering the ground, sending shockwaves across the battlefield.

Leo sneered, spreading his wings so they cut out the light. "Bring your dog," he spat, contempt dripping from the word. "It won’t change anything. You’ll die before dawn."

Julian’s grin was razor-thin. "Then make sure you remember the taste," he said, voice low and ice-cold. He tapped Zoe’s flank. The wolf leapt, a black comet aimed straight at Leo’s exposed flank.

Leo met them with a hurricane of frost and venom, talons slashing, veins of green poison spraying outward like a vindictive rain.

The first blast slammed into Zoe full-force, she howled and skidded but didn’t fall. Julian, crouched low on her back, drove his heels into her sides and rode the stagger, using her momentum to weave through a veil of acidic mist. He fired a short, jagged lightning burst from his sword that bit into one of Leo’s wing joints; ice cracked and a plume of steam rose where metal and cold met electricity.

Leo snarled and turned, claws arcing for Julian. Zoe twisted under the strike, jaws snapping, a black blur ripping at the exposed tendons near Leo’s elbow. The beast’s teeth found flesh, and Leo roared in pain and fury. For a breath, the battlefield held its scream.

"You bastard," Leo spat, clawing at the wolf and sending her spinning. He slammed a frozen palm into the ground, and a ring of razor-ice exploded outward to pin Julian and Zoe in place. Shards erupted around them like the teeth of a net.

Julian didn’t panic. He let the shards fall and used the shadow beneath Zoe’s paws with a whispered command he condensed the darkness into a rolling pulse that swallowed the nearest spikes, turning their edges dull. At the same time he flicked his wrist gravity snapped the tiny knives from his inventory into a cutting cyclone that shredded the icy ring from the inside out.

They burst free. Zoe rolled, sprang to her feet, and charged again, this time faster, angrier. Julian rode her with uncanny balance, raining a flurry of short, brutal strikes while keeping his guard for Leo’s counter. Each blade bite, each thunder-crack of his sword, forced Leo to reevaluate distance, to dance back from the single-minded duo. The godlike predator’s face, otherwise a mask of cruel certainty, cracked for the briefest instant with the taste of real resistance.

"Cute," Leo hissed through clenched teeth, blood and steam flecking his mouth. "You bite like a brat."

Julian’s reply was a flash of lightning and a laugh that carried no humor. "Then let’s keep biting."

Together—wolf and shadow, fang and blade—they fell on Leo again, a coordinated storm. Zoe’s jaws tore at tendons and thrummed with primal fury, Julian’s shadow and lightning wove through Leo’s counters, slicing, binding, and breaking rhythm. For the first time in the fight the god had to step back, reassess, and take a real, dangerous hit.

Around them the battlefield held its breath. The tide had not turned yet far from it, but the players had shifted. Where Leo expected a defeated, crumbling enemy, he found a living spear, a wolf’s rage and a swordsman who refused to stop.

The clash only grew more savage. The ground itself seemed to tremble beneath their relentless exchange.

Leo lunged forward, his claws raking the air, each swipe trailing venom and shards of freezing mist. Zoe dodged left, then right, her movements blurring in the haze. Julian stayed low on her back, eyes locked on every twitch of Leo’s wings. Lightning crawled up his sword like living veins, the hum of electricity cutting through the monster’s hiss.

Leo’s grin widened. "Impressive," he said, voice sharp as broken glass. "But speed means nothing if I already know your pattern."

He spun midair, wings slicing downward. A wave of icy pressure slammed toward them. Zoe jumped, but Leo anticipated it, his tail split open like an insect’s stinger, firing a concentrated beam of venom straight at them.

Julian reacted instantly, his shadow barrier flared, thin but dense, absorbing the brunt of the impact. The poison sizzled through it, eating away at the edges. "Persistent bastard," Julian muttered, his eyes flashing blue.

He countered by hurling a set of knives from his inventory, each charged with lightning. They scattered like stars, then bent in midair as Julian twisted gravity’s pull, turning them back toward Leo from every direction. The storm of blades struck but Leo’s crystalline armor expanded just in time, deflecting most of them with a sound like ringing metal.

"Nice trick," Leo smirked, snapping his fingers. A surge of frost burst outward, catching several of Julian’s knives mid-flight and shattering them into glittering dust. "But not good enough."

Zoe snarled and lunged before he could finish. Her fangs met Leo’s forearm, crunching through the icy shell, blood splattered the ground in dark streaks. Leo roared and slammed his knee into her side, throwing the wolf back several meters. Julian flipped off Zoe’s back midair, landing hard but steady, sword up and eyes burning.

Their gazes locked.

Julian dashed forward, lightning exploding beneath his feet. Leo met him head-on, frost coating his claws as he slashed horizontally. Metal clashed with chitin sparks and shards flew. Every strike from Leo carried the weight of a beast blessed by divinity, every counter from Julian laced with mortal cunning and raw defiance.

Julian pivoted, slashing diagonally across Leo’s torso, drawing a deep gash but Leo twisted and counterpunched, his other claw raking across Julian’s shoulder. Pain shot through him, but Julian used it stepping into Leo’s reach instead of back, spinning, and slamming his elbow into Leo’s ribs.

The impact cracked the air.

Leo staggered half a step, his smile curling wider. "That’s it. Show me more," he said, his tone unhinged, almost delighted. "Make me feel alive!"

Zoe leapt again, landing beside Julian, fur bristling and breath heavy. He rested a hand on her head, lightning dancing between his fingers. "You heard him," Julian murmured. "Let’s make the god cry."

Leo spread his wings, the storm of frost and poison swirling around him again. "You’ll die trying," he promised.

"Then let’s see which of us dies first," Julian shot back.