It didn’t have just two eyes.
A single horizontal slit ran across the upper half of its face, stretching from the left temple to the right. A dark red light glowed within the crevice, as if something were burning beneath the skin, creating an incredibly eerie sight.
The second cannon’s barrel was crushed by its palm.
Lake and the Great Ascendant lunged forward almost simultaneously.
Lake’s Swarming Worms pounced toward it, the dark red meat-worms wrapping into a ball in an attempt to entangle its body. The Great Ascendant’s mechanical legs fired as he propelled himself forward, his silver fist roaring with the power of steam and gears as it slammed toward the creature’s side.
But it was faster.
After destroying the second cannon, it didn’t turn to face Lake or the Great Ascendant. Instead, it suddenly lunged sideways, diving into the group of Nightwatchers near the artillery crew.
Two Nightwatchers were targeted.
One was in the middle of transporting a mithril crate, while the other had just set down a cooling bucket and was turning around.
The figure passed between them, moving so quickly that neither had time to react.
The first Nightwatcher’s chest was pierced.
A hand plunged directly into his body, sinking through skin and flesh alike. The moment those hooked fingers entered his chest cavity, the Nightwatcher’s body shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye. His skin collapsed and his muscles withered, as if he were being sucked dry from within.
In less than two breaths, a desiccated corpse was tossed onto the ground.
The second Nightwatcher was only halfway through his turn when his neck was seized by the creature’s other hand. With the same speed and the same process, that young face became parched, grey, and wrinkled within seconds. The entire man was reduced to something resembling a piece of kiln-dried wood.
The corpse was discarded onto the floor.
Immediately after, something happened to the two corpses that sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
Grey-green filaments began to sprout beneath the shriveled skin, spreading outward from the wounds as if something were rapidly growing inside the bodies.
The corpses had been polluted.
The Nightwatchers killed by that entity were already being contaminated and mutated.
“What the hell is that?” one Nightwatcher growled, his voice thick with suppressed terror.
The silent attendant suddenly emitted an extremely dangerous aura. A purple glow spread from his body, the pressure so intense it seemed to warp the surrounding air.
But the figure had already vanished.
It retreated into the surging tide of ghouls, melting away like a drop of blood into a river, disappearing from sight in an instant.
Almost simultaneously, the ghouls on the bronze pillars and near the void seemed to be driven by a command, swarming out with renewed frenzy.
There were several times more than before.
Hundreds upon hundreds of Forest Seed-polluted greater ghouls poured from dozens of openings like a tidal wave. Their collective roars merged into a single sound that made the rock walls of the void tremble.
Lake’s gaze fell upon the two mutating Nightwatcher corpses on the ground.
His Swarming Worms surged forward, the dark red meat-worms pouncing on the two bodies with frantic hunger. Within breaths, they had devoured the mutating corpses entirely, leaving not even a fragment of bone behind.
The grey-green filaments were swallowed by the worms before they could spread.
Lake’s expression darkened.
He turned to look at the people behind him, his voice low and laced with a hint of fury.
“Slaughter everything here and find it.”
The group nodded.
Everyone realized something was wrong; they hadn’t expected such a powerful individual to exist among the ghouls.
If this thing were allowed to reach the surface of the Bronze City, the resulting losses would be utterly unacceptable.
Without another word, everyone moved at once.
Agnes and the Church nuns behind her formed a defensive line. The blessing light on her body suddenly expanded its range, and a brilliant white holy light poured from her hands. As it fell upon the swarming ghouls, their crusts cracked and their scavenger fungus withered. The ghouls covered by the holy light slowed down noticeably, as if suppressed by a great weight.
The Nightwatchers continuously hurled mithril into the surrounding holes and tunnels. The silvery-white metal sheets drew dense arcs through the darkness, exploding upon impact. One ball of alchemical fire after another erupted, turning the emerging ghouls into living torches.
Lake’s Swarming Worms did not disperse. The main body of the swarm continued to flow around the group as a protective field, with only small streams of insects venturing into the horde to feed and kill. It wasn't the most efficient method, but it ensured the ghouls never got close to the core personnel.
The attendant made his move.
Purple light surged from his hands, shaping into crescent-shaped light blades that swept toward the densest clusters of ghouls.
Wherever the purple light passed, ghouls were sliced in half. Their upper torsos continued to roar while their lower halves collapsed. There was no blood at the site of the cuts; the flesh had been scorched into charred carbon by the purple light.
His killing efficiency was staggering.
The Great Ascendant also revealed his strength. His mechanical exoskeleton rotated at high speeds, and his steam gears emitted a piercing shriek. Every punch carried the weight of a thousand pounds, flipping over swathes of ghouls. Wherever his fists passed, shredded meat and severed limbs flew in all directions.
The hooded Nightwatcher at the very back finally moved.
He had been standing at the rear, silent from beginning to end, until the ghouls began to flank them from behind. Only then did he slowly raise his hand.
His face remained hidden beneath the hood.
But on his arm, the flesh began to peel away.
He was stripping it off himself.
The skin split, and the muscle separated from the bone. The detached flesh didn't fall; instead, it rapidly reshaped in the air, elongating, flattening, and branching at the tips into serrated blades.
It was as if weapons were growing directly out of his body.
These flesh-blades hovered around his arm for a moment before shooting violently into the swarming ghouls behind them.
The serrated blades sliced through the ghouls effortlessly, each piece piercing through three or four bodies before stopping.
Afterward, the blades retracted, pressing back onto his arm and melting back into his flesh.
The entire process was eerily silent.
Each of the six parties had their own methods. Six different styles of destruction overlapped, creating a one-sided slaughter within the void.
The ghoul corpses piled into small mountains, while charred meat and ash covered the entire floor. A pungent, sickly sweet smoke filled the air.
Yet the ghouls seemed to know no fear, continuing to pour out in a frenzy.
Wave after wave emerged from the dozens of openings, as if there were a bottomless nest below.
While clearing the area, the team vigilantly scanned every corner.
That thing was still here.
It hid within the tide of corpses and had not shown itself again, but everyone knew it was there. That extremely strong aura of pollution flickered in and out of their perception like a venomous snake lurking beneath the water, ready to strike at any moment.
They were waiting for it to appear.
And it was waiting for its opportunity.
The wait was not long.
The second attack came without warning.
The attendant was sweeping a group of ghouls with his purple light blades when his peripheral vision caught a blood-red afterimage.
It had emerged from beneath the pile of corpses.
It had been hiding in the middle of the mountain of ghoul bodies right beneath their feet.
A massive amount of flesh and blood surged around its body, forming a dark red pool of blood that lunged toward the attendant’s face.
The attendant’s reaction was lightning-fast.
Purple light flared as a thick purple light wall solidified in front of him, forcefully blocking the lunging blood mist.
The blood mist slammed into the purple light, producing a hissing sound of corrosion. The edges of the purple light began to dissipate at a visible rate, but the attendant gritted his teeth and held firm, keeping the light wall from shattering.
Immediately after, he threw a punch.
His fist, wreathed in dense purple light, struck the figure directly in the chest.
The blow landed solidly.
But the moment physical contact was made, the attendant’s expression changed drastically.
An unspeakable power of pollution seeped from the surface of that flesh-and-blood body, traveling up his fist and wrist with extreme speed.
The attendant spat out a mouthful of blood.
He didn't retreat; instead, he grew even more ruthless. Purple light wreathed his entire body as he ignored his injuries and lunged to grab the creature. His fingers dug into its shoulder, attempting to lock it in place.
The destructive purple light coiled around its body, causing the muscles beneath its skin to curl and char, emitting a pungent, burnt stench.
But the creature twisted away at an impossible angle.
Its entire body seemed boneless as it slid out from beneath the attendant’s palm—a contortion that no living thing should be capable of.
The attendant’s hand grasped nothing but air.
In the next instant, a silver fist flashed toward the creature’s back.
It was the Great Ascendant.
He had clearly been waiting for the thing to reappear. The moment it surfaced, he had maneuvered behind it. His steam gears roared as his mechanical right fist descended with full force, aiming straight for the creature’s spine.
The punch landed.
But there was no expected explosion or penetration.
The Great Ascendant’s right fist felt as if it had plunged into a pool of blood. His fist sank in, but it couldn't punch through. The layer of raw flesh acted like an elastic quagmire, completely enveloping his fist and absorbing all the force of the impact.
The Great Ascendant’s mechanical eyeball flickered with disbelief.
At the same time, he felt it.
A type of corrosion he had never experienced before was traveling up his right fist, dismantling the metal structure from its very foundation. His silver-alloy fist began to crumble the instant it made contact.
The Great Ascendant did not hesitate.
He lunged backward, and the latches on his right arm clicked open. His entire mechanical right fist detached from the wrist and was cast aside.
The discarded mechanical fist rolled twice on the ground. Its silver-alloy surface was already unrecognizable, riddled with honeycomb-like corrosion pits, the edges collapsing inward as if being eaten from within.
The Great Ascendant looked down at the stump of his right wrist, where gears and conduits were exposed, steam hissing from the break.
The attendant, meanwhile, had retreated two steps, his right hand clenched tightly. Purple light wreathed his entire right arm frantically, as if he were wrestling with something. His face was pale, veins bulging on his forehead, and a trace of blood still stained the corner of his mouth.
“This thing carries pollution,” the attendant’s voice squeezed through his teeth. “Extremely strong pollution. I can’t block it.”
Rate on N.U.
