Damien continued pounding his fist against the ancient stone slab.
"Open!"
BANG!
"Open, damn it!"
The stone slab remained completely silent.
No matter how hard he struck it.
Nothing happened. His breathing became heavier. His frustration slowly turned into despair.
Where might be Noah? He was already too tired and I injured.
"Dammit!!"
Then a chill ran down his spine.
His instincts screamed. There was danger. Damien’s entire body froze.
He slowly turned around. And what he saw made his eyes immediately widened.
The giant’s corpse was moving.
"...What?"
The massive body lying across the chamber began to ripple unnaturally. Its black flesh undulated like the surface of disturbed water.
Something was moving beneath its skin.
It pushed outward from within, stretching the flesh into grotesque bulges before disappearing again.
Another bulge appeared. Then another appeared.
Whatever was inside was trying to get out.
Damien instinctively took several steps backward.
"No..."
The corpse convulsed violently. Every muscle twisted in impossible directions.
Dark blood seeped through newly formed cracks.
RIIIPPP!!
The giant’s upper body burst apart.
Black blood exploded throughout the chamber, splattering the pillars, walls, and floor.
Chunks of flesh scattered in every direction.
From the mangled corpse a hand emerged.
It was unnaturally pale. It was almost white. Its oily skin was coated in thick black blood that slowly dripped onto the stone floor.
The strange skin reflected the chamber’s dark-blue light in a way that felt profoundly wrong.
It was too smooth and too glossy. Almost as though it wasn’t skin at all. Long fingers gripped the torn flesh of the corpse.
Each finger ended in a long, curved black claw that scraped across the stone with an ear-piercing screech.
Green veins pulsed visibly beneath the pale skin. They spread like cracks through glass.
Slowly the creature pulled itself free.
First its shoulders. Then its chest. Then the rest of its grotesque body.
It stood nearly eight feet tall. At first glance its silhouette was vaguely humanoid.
It had two arms. And two legs. There was one head. But every other detail mocked the very idea of humanity.
Its proportions were disturbingly wrong. Its limbs were far too long. As it crawled free, it moved on all fours with unnatural flexibility before gradually straightening itself upright.
Damien saw its face.
His blood turned cold. Its mouth dominated nearly half its head. Far too wide. Far too large.
Rows upon rows of jagged teeth overlapped one another in impossible layers, as though countless mouths had been forced together into one.
Its eyes were enormous.
They were round and crimson.
They didn’t glow. Yet something deep within them burned with a cold, lifeless light.
Above the monstrous mouth. Two long black horns curved upward and outward.
Behind them. Five additional horns rose from the crown of its head like a twisted, demonic crown.
There was no nose. Only two narrow holes in the center of its face.
Each heavy breath caused them to flare open before closing again.
Its oily white skin covered its entire body.
Every movement reflected the surrounding light incorrectly, making it appear strangely unreal.
"...No..."
Damien whispered.
Recognition struck him like lightning.
"I know you..."
His pupils contracted.
’No... I have seen monster like it before... It’s...The same type of creature from the dungeon.’
It was the exact same creature. The same horrifying monster he and Noah had encountered during their dungeon exploration.
Only there was no one controlling this one. Before Damien could process the situation.
The wall beside him suddenly trembled.
Rumble a section of stone slowly slid aside.
Behind it a massive metal door was revealed. Ancient runes across its surface glowed with brilliant blue mana.
With a loud mechanical groan the door opened by itself.
Beyond it a passage bathed in bright azure light stretched into the distance.
It was almost as though the labyrinth had been waiting for this exact moment.
Damien didn’t hesitate. He turned and ran. Every step sent agony through his battered body.
His broken muscles screamed. His wounds reopened.
But he ignored everything. He sprinted toward the glowing passage.
Behind him the corpse split open again. Another pale hand emerged.
Then another. And another. The giant’s hollow body had become something else entirely.
As if it was a living portal. One after another. More of the white-skinned creatures crawled out from within its remains. Dozens.Then more.
It was as though an endless abyss existed inside the giant’s corpse.
The first creature slowly lifted its head. Its crimson eyes locked onto the escaping Damien.
It opened its grotesque mouth.
ROOOOOOAAARRRRRRR!!
Without warning it exploded forward. Its speed was terrifying.
The remaining creatures immediately followed. The entire swarm charged after Damien.
---
Meanwhile.
Far above the labyrinth...
At the same location where Damien and Noah had first entered the ancient ruins.
Where countless jagged rocks and massive boulders were scattered across the ground
Space suddenly distorted. A gigantic portal resembling a stone gate materialized in midair.
A moment later Damien was violently thrown out of it. He rolled across the rocky ground before crashing onto his knees.
Fresh blood spilled from his mouth.
He looked back. The portal behind him vanished almost instantly.
"...Haa..."
"...Haa..."
Ignoring the pain coursing through his body...
Damien forced himself to stand.
He had no time to rest.
He immediately pulled the dark-purple communication crystal from his storage ring.
With trembling hands...
He poured mana into it once again. This time the crystal lit up brilliantly. A pulse of purple light shot into the sky.
Damien’s exhausted face filled with relief.
"It... worked..."
He nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
"Master...Please...Hurry..."
He pushed himself up.
"Noah... is he out as well? Did he come out?" He looked around tired and run in random direction.
"Noah!!"
He screamed. He was trying to see if Noah was also here.
But just then from the portal opened in midair. Those creatures started to pour out.
Damien looked at them and cursed.
It was becoming total mess.
"Noah is not here...then where did he go."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter