Dimly lit corridors with heights easily surpassing 10 meters and a width which is double the height. It gave off a dwarfiion to the people who traversed the eerie aitive path.
As Grey tread along the corridors, he couldn't help but think how much work it had taken to create such humongous tunnels. It was clear that it was designed in such a way that even rge beasts would have no problem running freely.
Along the way, Grey and Kurt have killed tless more members of Iblis. Whether it be beasts or people, ood a ce whewo brandished their ons. Swing after swing, lives were lost.
While guilt has tried to creep inside Grey's heart, his hatred for them was much stronger. Even if he were to have a ce to choose another path, he would once again walk a bloody one and dirty his hands just as he did before.
Thud Thud Rumble
A heavy sound permeated the ground and echoed throughout the walls as if rge elephants dug a stampede. It was vivid enough that Grey and Kurt had to halt their steps a on guard.
Guraaaakkkkkkk
Following the rumbling, a loud screech echoed throughout the stagnant air. They were like trumpets whinouhe advent of destru and ruin. A cry of intimidation which ate away the ce of those who heard them.
The owner of the screech was not one nor two, but three rge and gruesome beasts which Grey had to words to describe as. If there was one word fitting for them, then it would be "abomination". It will only take a single gnce for a normal person to shake in fear from their presence.
A fad body posed of multiple creatures stitched together. Limbs which clearly came from different owners. Some were that of a wolf's, some were from a bovine, and there were even scaled ones. Lastly, it had the wing of a bird and a bat. Truly a disturbing sight to behold.
Not only in appearaheir sizes were also intimidating. By rough estimate, they were easily 3 meters i and had a wingspan close to 10 meters. It could easily swallow a full-grown man in a sie.
??Appraisal?? ［Grey］
-----------------------------------
[Demonic Beast]
[Species] Daemon
[Status] Healthy, Stable
[Sex] ???
[Age] ???
[Mana Capacity] 3,223 [Mana Quality] C
[bat Power] 1,058 [Threat Level] B
[Attribute] Null
[Intelligence] ???
[Description]
A man-made creature made from bining the body parts of differes into o took tless beasts and tless lives during the process of its creation. Its sole purpose is to serve its master and bring ruin to the obstacles in its way.
-----------------------------------
Demonic Beasts. If monsters are creatures which are born from mana, then demonic beasts are born from beasts who have been corrupted from mana. After being ohe beasts lose their sanity and attaything discriminately. It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say that they be sidered as "monsters".
Simirly, people also turn into demons if they are corrupted by mana, but with the amount of intelligence people have, demons are a very rare case whily happens in grave acts. But demons would be a story for another day.
Like pieces of a puzzle fitting with one anrey finally uood what Iblis was trying to aplish. They were trying to make an army of beasts that would obey all of their biddings.
Grey didn't know if they were doing it solely for research or for world domination or something simir, but Grey could already tell that whatever their true goals were, it wouldn't be any good for anyone.
"What manner of creatures are these..." ［Kurt］
"Lord Kurt, be careful. All of them are B-rank." ［Grey］
"... Uood." ［Kurt］
Hearing Grey's words, Kurt quickly regained his posure and readied his fighting stance. He pced his spear on an offensive, ready to strike at any moment.
Kieeeekkkkk
The beasts' red eyes glowed furiously as the creatures target Grey and Kurt. They struck the ground with their gigantid limbs as they charged forward, leaving rge depressions on the ground.
"Lord Kurt, I'll leave the one in front to you. I'll be taking care of the two behind it." ［Grey］
With Kurt's nodding as a response, Grey dashed past the vanguard beast with a single leap, closing the distaween him and the two beasts in the rear.
Seeing the beasts up close, Grey was once again reminded how disgusting and repulsive the beasts looked. It was to the point that he would have thrown up had he not adapted how Merusia worked.
Grruaaakkkkk
Cws, hooves, tails, wings... The two creatures attacked Grey in a multitude of uable patterns. Some came from the front while the others aimed at the side. The creatures tio attack relentlessly.
The walls and grounds shook with each attack the two creatures delivered trey and missed. Craters formed everywhere where the attack had nded and the ftted ground soon became highly uneven.
'Tsk! The mountain's going to colpse at this rate!' ［Grey］
Like a swirling vortex, mana gathered from Grey's body towards his fist. He pulled bae of his arms and at breakneck speed...
??Phantom Caliber!?? ［Grey］
... his fight fist strue of the creature's head, sending vibrations throughout its body. Soon after, the said creature colpsed to the ground limply with life vanishing from its eyes. It was already dead.
??Phantom Caliber!??［Grey］
The remaining creature wasn't safe either. As soon as Grey's right fist ected to the first one, Grey twisted his body and struck his left fist to the remaining one in just a fra of a sed.
Two loud thuds reverberated throughout the ground as the two beasts fell in succession. Their outside appearance didn't receive much damage, but the same couldn't be said to their ihey were mercilessly crushed to a pulp.
Since Grey used "Phantom Caliber", no damage was doo the surroundings. All the impact was absorbed by the creature's bodies. It was the perfect atta such a fined space which might colpse with a single mistake.
??Pierg Torrent!?? ［Kurt］
A voice echoed from Grey's behind as he finished off his enemies. It was Kurt's and he was currently dealing with his assigned enemy.
Kurt's ruck a barrage of blows towards the creature's body like a relentless storm, leaving behind holes from head to tail. Blood gushed out from those holes as the creature struggled to stand up.
??Howling Cleaver!?? ［Kurt］
Kurt's final strike came from above like unstoppable lightning. The moment it struck the creature's head, it tinued down to the ground, perfectly cutting the creature's body in two.
The two parts of the creature's body theo opposite dires, creating a slightly less heavy thud sound as its blood showered the ground.
Although Kurt was sweating quite a bit from the battle, he sustained no injuries. The creature wasn't able to nd even a scratch from how nimble and agile Kurt moved. He was a bad match towards the creature with such a rge body.
"Here's some water, Lord Kurt." ［Grey］
"Ah... Thank you." ［Kurt］
As he wiped away his sweat, Kurt took Grey's offer and drank the water Grey gave him. In a siime, he was able to drink more than half of the water tainer.
'Hm?' ［Grey］
A few seds after the creature was defeated, a seemingly bck but thin mist emanated from its body as if it was leaving the creature. It was a simir se to how mourn into mana after beied. The only difference was the creature still left its corpse behind rather than disappearing.
'These are...' ［Grey］
But si was a half-beast, half-monster, it also left behind a special crystal which resembled that of mana crystals which were dropped by monsters. It dropped a beast crystal which will be a story for another day.
...
Following the fight at the entrance, Vanessa and Yuna tio navigate the byrinth-like base. They have met other people along the way, but were able to dispose of them without much hassle.
It has been more than half an hour sihe two were together and currently...
"Yuna, do you like sweets?" ［Vanessa］
"U-Un... " ［Yuna］
"Then how about tea?" ［Vanessa］
"Un..." ［Yuna］
"Then how about..." ［Vanessa］
... Vanessa is asking Yuna questions oer another. Some were personal, some were random, while some were just ht weird. She was like an unstoppable force Yuna had no way of defeating.
With Yuna now addressing Vanessa as "Big Sis", Vanessa, out of the blue, decided that it would be best for them to know more about each other. Although it was supposed to be about each other, Vanessa has been the only one asking so far.
Although Yuna is happy that she had acquired a new friend, she still wao get out of the current situation as soon as she . She was afraid the topic would take a straurn at any moment.
"ht... Yuna, I've been meaning to ask this sihe discussion, but... what's your retionship with Grey?" ［Vanessa］
Just as she feared, a strange and difficult question has e out of Vanessa's mouth. It was an embarrassing question to Yuna whily the likes of Helen had been asking her about.
It wasn't just Yuna, Vanessa had now, just retly, started addressing Grey in a very casual and familiar tone. Grey wasn't eve yet she was ag like her and Grey was already close. Her being friendly was an uatement.
"W-We're just partners..." ［Yuna］
Yuna answered with a slightly red fa a slightly crestfallen to was an expression whiyoh a det brain could easily tell the meaning of.
"I see, I see... Then, don't worry! Big Sis here will support you!" ［Vanessa］
"Y-Yes...?" ［Yuna］
Yuna tilted her head in fusion as she didn't know what Vanessa's enthusiastic reply meant. She has yet to notice that Vanessa had already read her like an open book.
The two talked more as they traversed the rge byrinth. They talked about their goals, their likes, and even their pasts, in which, Vanessa cried like a heartbroken woman after hearing Yuna's past and how she met Grey.
After that, Vanessa decred with a triumphant pose that she will do her best to protect Yuna, f her as she embraced her like how a mother would to their g child,
Warm... That's how Yu at that moment, but such a moment didn't st long.
Krrrrrkkkkkk Uguaakkkkkk
As soon as Vanessa and Yuna took a left turn, a loud screech apanied by the presence of three nightmarish beasts broke their happy moment and tur into a serious one.
"Waaa... What horrid creatures. Yuna, please create a wall and trap one of them. That way we each fight ohout getting bothered." ［Vanessa］
"Un!" ［Yuna］
As per Vanessa instru, Yuna quickly casted a spell and created a wall of stone and soil, trapping the creature in the right and leaving one creature for each of them to fight.
"Good job, Yuna! Now the's put these creatures down!" ［Vanessa］
Vanessa decred as she shortehe distaween her and the creature in the front. Following her, Yuna also dashed towards the one on the left as she erased her presence.
Target in lock, Yuna held her daggers in reverse grip as she jumped high up in the air. The creature was still fused where Yuna disappeared to and soon decided to just attack Vanessa, but before it could...
??Swift Guillotine!?? ［Yuna］
A rge arana came down from above, dealing a rge wound towards the creature's ned cutting a portion of its wings in the process.
Anything below B-rank would have instantly been killed by Yuna's attack, but seeing how it could still stand after receiving such a powerful blow, it only showed how tough the creature was, or rather, how tough the neck if the creature was as it had scales running along it which was different from its other body parts.
??Dice!?? ［Yuna］
The creature didn't even have time to react. The moment Yuna nded on the ground, a stream of bdes rained down upon its body, drawing blood and cutting dowhing it struck.
It may be hundreds, or maybe reag more than a thousand, but ohing was sure, the attacks Yuna had unleashed upon the creature was a merciless one.
The moment the torrent of dagger strikes stopped, the creature was o be seen. All that was left of it was a mountain of flesh and ans with blood flowing all over the ground. It was a bloody mess.
??Nova Fre!??［Vanessa］
The moment Yuna turned around, what she witnessed was a strong burst of fmes roasting an already crippled creature.
The creature Vanessa had fought was quite resistant to her bde attacks pared to the one Yuna fought. She had no choice but to use fme magid ie it into ashes.
Guraaakkkー
??Icicle Shotgun!??［Yuna］
Just as Vanessa finished her oppo, the creature Yuna trapped, broke out and screeched loudly. Unfortunately for it, before it could finish its screeg, Yuna had already casted a spell, hurling rge ks of ice towards it and pierg its neck.
The shock from the sudden attack was too much that the creature fell limp to the ground. It tried to get back up but it was already too te.
The creature hasn't even put down one leg, but before it, Vanessa has already appeared, ready to strike at any time. The creature tried to bite her, but she dodged gracefully and nded on top of its head, then...
??Hell Fre!?? ［Vanessa］
... she plunged her sword on the creature's skull, and scorched the creature from the inside. After receiving an attack like that, the creature stopped moving and its life was forfeited.
"Phew... Now, where were we... ht, Yuna～!" ［Vanessa］
As if nothing happened, after all the creatures had bee with, Vanessa rushed towards Yuna with aic smile. She then tihe topic they were talking about before they were interrupted by the beasts.
Vanessa's carefreeness was on another level. It was to the point that Yuna started questioning whether she really was a noble dy or was actually a high-ranking military officer.
...
"What were you thinking losing your patience like that!? What if we were in the guild, would you be beating them up like this too? You should think more before..." ［Aria］
After Kris' unruly rampage in his lion form, Aria gave Kris a long scolding session full of "love". It has been about 20 minutes since Aria started her lecture, and there was still o be seen.
At that moment, Kris was just kneeling to the ground silently as Aria tinued her lecture. Rather than an engaged couple, they looked like a mother and child, with the former scolding the tter for being too naughty.
Thud Thud Thud
The only thing that stopped Aria was the rumbling of the ground which got louder and louder as time passed. It was clear that something roag them at quite a high speed.
"We'll tihis ter, let's deal with this first, and don't look so down, I'm only reprimanding you for the sake of our future.... I wouldn't want to have an overly possessive husband, after all..." ［Aria］
A beet red face. That's what Aira's face looked like as she mumbled the st part of her senten a low voice. It was such a rare expression that Kris' energy came back quickly after seeing it.
Suddenly, Kris didn't miing scolded. If he could see Aria's lovely expression one more time, he would voluntarily do it again.
"Hooh... Then, leave this to me. I'll show you a cool side of me." ［Kris］
Kris decred with a smile which extended from ear to ear. He was clearly motivated from the words Aria had just mumbled a few seds ago.
"I k. You really look cooler when you're calm." ［Aria］
Coupled with what Aria had just said, a smile untrolbly bloomed on Kris's face. Aria was also not so different, she was also smiling as she gazed at the figure of her beloved.
??Pitfall!?? ［Kris］
Even before the enemies showed up, the ground had formed a massive depression spanning dozens of meters, with a bottom more than 10 meters deeper than what it used to be.
The moment the creatures appeared from the byrinth, they weren't able to slow down and fell face-ft towards the huge hole which clearly wasn't there a few moments ago.
??Teic Cemetery!?? ［Kris］
The creatures tried to fly up, but before they could even fp their wings, huge spikes protruded from the ground, pierg their bodies. Not even their wings were spared from the spikes, making them uo fly.
Kris hasn't even moved from his spot yet the creatures were already reduced into such a pitiful state. Kris was pletely different to the rampaging idiot which had just been scolded by Aria.
Kruaaakkkk
All the creatures could do was scree pain and hatred towards Kris. They couldn't even move their limbs freely since all of them were impaled. The victor was already decided.
Kris took a deep breath in and gathered mana up above the air. Soon after, a small stone formed from the dense cloud of mana. The small stone grew rger and rger until it became a boulder rge enough to cover up the pitfall.
??Meteor Crash!?? ［Kris］
With o run, the creatures have no other choice but to accept their iable death, being crushed by a gigantic boulder. They were powerless in front of Kris who didn't even break a sweat,
Three moves. That's only what it took for Kris to defeat, not one, but three terrifyis ihan a minute. He was truly worthy of being called a genius.
But of course, that "genius" was only showing off towards Aria. After all, what kind of man wouldn't want their beloved to see a cool side of them.
...
"Boss, we await your order."
A man stood silently as he admired the rge maeries before him. It gave off a domineering presence which dwarfed those within viity. A mae which looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Ihe mae was a gigantic beast, sleeping peacefully even though it was submerged in some type of strange liquid. A closer look and one could see tubes eg the beast and mae together.
It was one of those experiments where a mad stist was trying to create an absurd creation for the sake of evolution and sce. And truly, the man who stood before the mae could be called one of those mad stists.
"Proceed with the process!" ［Boss］
"Yes, boss! Start the mae!... Increase the input!... Amplify the mana!... Ihe serum!... Increase the heat!"
Huuruwaaaakkkkk Guaaakkkkk
"20%... 34%... 59%... 72%... 96%... 97%... 98%... 99%...!"
The eadily rose as time passed. Soon enough, it reached 100%. The process was pleted.
Silence fell towards the room as there were no signs of life present in the beast ihe mae. The procedure was done perfectly, there shouldn't have been any mistakes, yet there was no movement.
The people ihe room panicked as there was ion from the beast. Their hearts pounded nervously as hoped faded away with the passing of time.
And just when all hope was lost, the beast's rge eyes glowed red as the mae started to shake aggressively. The beast was woken up from its slumber. It was the birth of a terrifying creature.
The nervousness in the hearts of the people were quickly repced with joy as the beast started to move. One man in particur was the happiest, with his smile reag from ear to ear.
"It's alive... The project succeeded... Haha... Hahaha... Hahahaha!! At st, my greatest creation is born!!" ［Boss］
CHAPTER 29 END
