Chapter 133: The Whispering Horror
The ground split apart beneath them.
And from the abyss crawled something that should not exist.
Its flesh was twisted, like an amalgamation of nightmares stitched together. Too many arms. Too many mouths. Too many eyes—except none of them saw.
It was a thing that had never belonged to this world.
And yet, here it was.
Crawling.
Hissing.
Whispering.
"You… should not… have come…"
A voice that slithered through their minds, bypassing flesh and burrowing into the soul.
Kael gritted his teeth, forcing the intrusion out of his head.
This thing wasn't a demon.
It was something else.
Something far older.
Something far worse.
The First Strike
Raithon was the first to move.
His elven sword ignited in silver light, and with a speed only the High Elves could achieve, he lunged.
His blade slashed through the creature's flesh—
And the wound sealed instantly.
Raithon barely dodged the retaliatory strike as a mass of limbs lashed out, aiming to crush him.
Saria grabbed her brother's cloak, pulling him back before he was impaled. "Idiot!"
Vasaria clicked her tongue. "So, it regenerates."
Kael's mind raced. It didn't react to normal attacks.
That meant—
"Ilyra," he commanded.
The former princess was already moving.
She vanished into the shadows, appearing behind the creature in an instant.
A dagger flashed.
Blood—if it could be called that—spilled from the wound.
The creature screamed.
A sound that made the very air shudder.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
It wasn't immune to all damage.
Just certain kinds.
Vasaria stepped forward, an amused smirk tugging at her lips.
"Oh, I see now," she murmured.
Kael turned to her. "What?"
The vampire princess's eyes gleamed. "That thing? It doesn't belong in this world, but neither do I."
Her fingertips dripped with cursed mana.
She lifted her hand—
And the creature recoiled.
It feared her.
Kael exhaled sharply. "Then you kill it."
Vasaria grinned. "With pleasure."
She moved in a blur, her form flickering like a phantom.
Her nails lengthened into claws, coated in a dark red glow, and she tore into the creature's body.
Where Raithon's sword failed—
Where Thalric's steel did nothing—
Vasaria's attacks burned the monster's flesh.
Saria lunged in next, striking at its limbs while Vasaria ripped through it.
Ilyra vanished and reappeared, cutting at its weaker points with precise movements.
And Kael?
Kael activated his Arcane Chains—binding it in place.
The creature shrieked.
Twisted.
Struggled.
But it was weakening.
Dying.
Vasaria grinned as she placed her hand against its core.
"Goodbye, little horror."
And with a final surge of cursed energy—
The creature collapsed into dust.
Silence followed.
Only their ragged breaths remained.
Thalric ran a hand through his hair. "That was… horrifying."
Raithon wiped his blade. "It was an abomination."
Saria exhaled. "And we killed it."
Kael stared at the spot where the creature had fallen.
It wasn't just a demon.
It was something older.
Something that shouldn't exist.
And yet, it had been here.
Waiting.
Watching.
Kael exhaled. "We keep moving."
Vasaria stretched. "And if we meet another?"
Kael's crimson eyes gleamed.
"Then we kill it again."
And with that, the squad pressed forward—deeper into the ruins.
Whatever secrets were hidden here—
They would uncover them all.
No matter what.