Jin barreled toward the ground like a raging meteor.
The demonic qi in his dantian surged ferociously, resonating across his entire body. His muscles swelled, and his bones groaned as he made a crash landing. Dust rose in the sky as broken rocks and cracked pieces of pincer chitin flew in every direction, assaulting any beast in the nearest vicinity.
Before the pincers could even react, a sharp pincer leg blew the dust cloud apart.
Crack.
It pierced a pincer and lodged itself inside what used to be its right eye. The pincer wavered subtly and then toppled to its side.
Screech!
In an instant, dozens of pincers darted in Jin's direction. Loose stones bounced across the ground as the countless pincers pushed each other to reach their prey first. Even the ones that were hidden in the shadows appeared out of nowhere, making their way to the disturbance.
But Jin had different plans for them.
He moved past the crowd like a fish in a pond, fluidly dodging the claws that threatened to snap him in two. A pincer tried to pierce a hole through his chest, but he was already gone by the time it reached the ground and got stuck. As he barely dodged a giant claw, another claw was already closing in on him.
Regardless, no attack reached him. To be precise, he couldn't get hit. After all, even a single hit from the gigantic claw of a mature pincer was enough to crush his bones. A small mistake meant getting pierced by countless lances. A misread in movements, and his spine would be snapped in half by some nameless pincer.
He never stayed in one place, darting from one pincer to another.
His task was simple—to cause as much mayhem as he could. Yet, all he could do was garner the attention of a few dozen pincers.
The strain on his senses was incredible. Evading the consistent series of attacks, he had to push all his senses past their limits. The subtle change in the air, a faint movement at the corner of his sight, the sound of a pincer's leg aimed at him—he had to process all this information at once.
Even this much was a heavy toll on both his mind and body. Having to process all that information and then to find the most optimal way to evade the strike was exhausting beyond measure.
He clenched his jaw, cold sweat clinging to his chest.
'Damnation…'
Only a few seconds had passed, yet it felt as if he had been stuck here for an eternity. The demonic qi was certainly much more potent and efficient than normal qi, and yet, he could feel his reserves draining at an alarming rate.
'If it goes like this—'
A gigantic claw appeared out of nowhere. The sheer momentum of the claw threw him across the battlefield. His limp body met the ground, rolling forward for a few meters before coming to a stop.
Jin tried lifting himself using his left hand, only to fall again. The impact was massive.
'Curses…'
It hadn't even been a whole minute, and he was already on the ground. Strange aches and throbbing pain enveloped his entire body. His mind was on the verge of melting away.
Right before the attack could connect, Jin had lifted his arms to shield him. Unfortunately, the only thing that changed was that his arms were screaming instead of his insides.
'I don't know… if that's any better.'
He turned to his side.
The horde was already closing in on him. Time had slowed down to a crawl, passing according to his heartbeats. The trembling ground felt like the ringing of a death knell.
Past that endless horde, Sam and Dean were supposed to make their way across the nest. With Jin down, even if for just a second, the pincers around them must have diverted in their direction, putting more pressure on Conrad.
A few hundred meters away to his right, Evelin must have entered the heart of the nest. He was certain that even the queen was giving her a similar beating, if not worse. Some of the pincers must have heard her call, waddling in her direction as if their life depended on it.
On the other hand, Jin was simply lying on the ground, waiting for his imminent death, the pincers no more than a few feet away from him.
Nevertheless, a completely useless thought bothered him instead.
'I hope I get paid for this.'
Breathing through his teeth, he pushed himself off the ground.
Looking around, he found the carcass of the pincer he had thrown the leg at.
'That's… disappointing.'
His wobbly legs hardly had the strength to keep him standing. The pain was still there, reminding him of the blow he had taken a few seconds ago. His chest ached strangely as his heartbeat retained its pace.
He glanced at the limp pincer's legs beside him with a tired glint in his eyes.
Grabbing the leg tightly, he pulled it with all the strength he could muster. The leg came off surprisingly easily. It was almost as big as his arm, its end sharp enough to pierce through the pincer's chitin.
Cough.
Tiny drops of blood trickled down his lips. Even after having guarded the strike, the damage was done. He couldn't tell whether it was serious, though. Not like it mattered.
His lips twisted into a bloody grin.
"About time I fulfilled my promise."
The next moment, dozens of pincers were upon him.