Chapter 41: Anticipation
"*#!%*@_($#(>@)(&#{}|{?<"
The Canzer muttered out unintelligible sounds. It was a combination of gurgling and knocking sounds, completely different from the standard human language.
Neumann's eyes went wide when he heard this. This Canzer was sapient!
If it had the mental capacity to talk, then it could communicate with other Canzers. This was a large leap of intelligence compared to the Deiztruphia Canzer. It was like comparing a monkey to a human.
Before Neumann could even react, the Canzer appeared right in front of the Scout and kicked him into the wall. Everyone heard his back break.
The scout vomited blood before falling into unconsciousness.
The pugilist, alarmed, immediately activated his LifeSkill, twisting his fist into a drill toward the monster.
Yet the Canzer simply tilted its head to the side and dodged the attack, leaving the pugilist very vulnerable.
The tank wanted to protect the pugilist. But he was too exhausted to activate his LifeSkill.
He had to save his teammate. He put himself between the Canzer and the pugilist, holding his shield in both hands.
Suddenly, the tank felt tremendous force and his metal shield suddenly deformed with a fist-shaped hole piercing through the middle.
The force was too much for him to bear as he fell back, taking the pugilist with him to the other side of the wall. They couldn't keep their consciousness.
With three down, the Canzer looked towards its next victim.
The Archer's hands trembled as he failed to notch an arrow in his bow. He was helpless as the Canzer took the bow right from his very hands.
The Canzer used the bow to slap the Archer down. The wooden bow splintered into a million pieces, some lodged directly into the Archer's chest. His ribs shattered, blood dripping down his battle suit.
It was clear. This was not a Canzer that no 1st stage Student team could ever hope to beat.
Neumann couldn't believe the situation they were in. They had no hope of ever overcoming this ordeal. It was an impossible situation.
"(\*%?>@&|}"
The sapient Canzer kept talking to the scout, berating him with a smile on its face.
The Canzer knew it was the strongest out of everyone here. It knew that it was superior to everyone.
It approached the stun wizard and she fell into a fetal position.
"{#{#{#{#{#" the Canzer laughed. It found the stun wizard's cowardice amusing.
Neumann gritted his teeth and shouted towards the Canzer.
"Begone you monster!"
Even if his words and actions were ineffective against the Canzer, he still had a responsibility to these youths. If he had to sacrifice himself to save them, then he would.
But instead of getting angry at him, the Canzer simply looked at him with indifference. It knew that Neumann could do nothing to it.
Neumann was only a tank and he was far too weak to stand a chance against the Canzer. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to do anything about it.
He raised his arm and created a concentrated bubble around his fist. He concentrated it to the point that his bubble turned opaque.
The Canzer stayed still and let him prepare his strongest attack.
Neumann knew that he was being underestimated, but he didn't care. His whole fist was now covered in a white pearly bubble made out of the strongest material he could muster.
He punched the Canzer, putting all of his weight on his fist. He didn't care if he was vulnerable to a counter-attack. He only wanted to induce the strongest attack possible.
The Canzer smiled and let the punch hit its chest.
The bubbled fist hit the strong light brown bio armor of the Canzer. But nothing happened.
Neumann's face twisted when he realized that his strongest attack didn't even make a dent in the spikes on its armor. His strength was wholly inadequate to save themselves from this new threat.
The Canzer then showed its back on Neumann and continued to walk towards the newbies.
He couldn't let that happen. Neumann wanted the Canzer's attention all to himself. He couldn't let those newbies suffer.
"You ugly beast! Torment me instead!"
"Bastard! Stop ignoring me or are you too weak to even destroy my defenses?"
"Just wait, you monstrosity! The strongest Saviors are just minutes away from bursting into this place and killing you into smithereens!"
Neumann was throwing all kinds of insults towards the Canzer in the hopes of getting its fury directed towards him. And surprisingly, that last one seemed to garner a reaction from the Canzer.
It looked back at him with a curious expression.
"That's right!" bluffed Neumann. "Saviors are coming! And they'll kill you with no mercy!"
For a second, the Canzer seemed to recognize the word 'Savior'.
Neumann thought that the Canzer would get angry. But then it started to laugh out loud, with its wings flapping in excitement.
"{#{#{#{#{#"
The Canzer looked at the humans in front of it. It looked up beyond them, but no matter how much it tried to find what it was looking for, it simply could not find it.
The Canzer could not see the winged creatures with halos on their head.
Those beings used to stand behind each human that came to the Remedium and protect them from harm.
Those beings were the only things that prevented humans from meeting their dooms. They were the only things that prevented total Canzer domination.
But now, they're gone. These humans no longer had those 'Angels' protecting them. They were finally vulnerable.
Without those angels, Canzers were finally free to do whatever they wanted. This excited the Canzer so much that it couldn't hide its euphoria.
The Canzer's wings flapped in a rhythmic pattern, creating soundwaves that reverberated through the ground.
DUM…DUM DUM…DUM
Neumann didn't know what was happening. He didn't know how he evoked this kind of reaction from the Canzer. He wanted to infuriate it, but instead, it looked exhilarated!
He then watched as the Canzer showed its hands toward him.
It opened its fists, showing all five fingers on its left hand. Then, it showed two fingers on the other.
Neumann was confused.
The Canzer suddenly pointed towards Neumann, then it folded one of its fingers.
It pointed at the Stun Wizard, and it folded the next finger.
It pointed at the Archer and folded the next.
This continued until the Canzer counted down to all six of them in the room.
The Canzer only had one finger left still standing.
Neumann furrowed his brows trying to understand what the Canzer was trying to say to him.
Wait…
It was then that he realized something. There was still one more person missing from their group. Atlan was still somewhere out there!
The Canzer saw Neumann realize this fact. It smiled and finally folded its last finger.
It knew that Neumann was trying to protect the newbies. And it wanted to see the suffering in his eyes as he killed all of them one by one.
Its goal was clear. It was going to kill Atlan.
Neumann rushed towards the Canzer in his anger. Atlan was the only person in their group who couldn't protect himself. He stood no chance to fight against this sapient Canzer who could even destroy his protective bubble.
Unfortunately, the Canzer was far too fast for Neumann to react.
A hand suddenly pierced through his stomach.
"Guhhh" Neumann spat out blood as his knees weakened and he fell to the ground.
He was helpless. He watched with hazy eyes as the Canzer floated in the air and went back down the well it came from.
The smile on its face indicated its anticipation of torturing another helpless human.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone