[Would you like to add this form to your library?]
[The Dungeon Eater Authority skill allows you to take the form of the individual you have devoured.]
'Oh. I did get a useless skill for killing him, but this one might work best. Sure, activate it.'
Kai uttered the command internally, immediately watching as his misty body began to glow with a faint, eerie blue light.
...
Meanwhile, outside the swirling wind, the rest of the party was still waiting to see if their leader had won the battle.
They had been standing there for more than five minutes, their nerves frayed, waiting to see what the outcome of the battle could have been.
Since the gray tornado had completely hidden Ligard's form, they could not see his health bar in the party interface.
It simply showed a "disconnected" icon, which didn't help to ease their minds at all.
If that wasn't bad enough, they noticed Lyra.
The horned woman had been standing there without uttering a single word, but all through the time, she had a smile on her face. A serene, confident, terrifying smile.
It was unsettling, and it made them truly question the position they were in.
As though mocking them, Lyra turned to face them for a brief moment, widening her smile just enough to show the tips of her fangs.
"Dammit, that woman gives me the creeps. And she is pretty as fuck too," the Archer whispered, his bowstring drawn taut, aiming at nothing in particular.
"How can you even make a joke at this point? What if Ligard is fighting for his life right now?" the Healer hissed back, making sure to hide behind the tank-less formation.
Of everyone speaking, only the Rogue didn't speak. His "Danger Sense" passive skill was flickering wildly in his peripheral vision, warning him of imminent death.
Suddenly, he noticed something.
The swirling wind that had been blowing vigorously was now slowly settling down. The roar of the gale faded to a whisper, and the shadow of a single figure could already be seen walking out of the dissipating mist.
"Shush, someone is coming," the Rogue immediately alerted the rest as he pointed at the wall of wind.
But just as quickly as he managed to get their attention, it was snatched away.
They all noticed the horned woman, Lyra, and the rows of Skeleton Knights flanking the room, suddenly falling to one knee.
Clang.
The sound of armor hitting the floor echoed in unison. They bowed their heads in deep reverence.
When compared to Lyra smiling at them, this display of absolute submission was by far more unsettling and scary.
Finally, the wind cleared completely.
The team all turned their gaze towards the center of the room, only to see their leader, Ligard, walking out of the dead wind.
A huge smile grew on their faces.
Seeing that it was their leader who walked out of the mist and not the dungeon boss made them happy and relieved. The tension in their shoulders dropped instantly.
They could not help but laugh at the thought, almost urging their bodies to run forward and give Ligard a hug.
At least, that was until Lyra spoke.
"My Lord, I never doubted your victory. That said, why have you chosen to take the form of a lowly human?"
Immediately, the party members paused mid-step. They froze.
They turned their gaze towards Lyra, then back at Ligard.
What was she talking about?
Why was she suddenly calling Ligard her master?
Before they could fully formulate their thoughts, Ligard—or rather, Kai—spoke back.
"Do I look that weird? Just as I thought, doesn't really fit my look. Hmm, I should be able to fix that."
Ligard's voice was wrong. It wasn't his usual rough tone; it was deep, resonant, and echoed with a strange distortion.
A bright blue light shone around him, and once again, Kai changed his form.
The skin of the "Ligard" avatar rippled and tore away like wet paper.
Along with the dark mist that danced around some parts of his body to cover his modesty, Kai was able to tweak the form he had stolen from Ligard. He didn't just copy it; he molded it.
He shifted into his original body from his former world.
He stood tall, his physique lean but muscular. He had semi-long, silky black hair that cascaded down his back, and red eyes that glowed every time he blinked or glared at something.
He was naked, wearing nothing but the dark, swirling mist that clung to his waist and shoulders like a royal cloak.
Seeing his new form, Lyra could not help but smile, lowering her head back in content. This was a form befitting a ruler.
On the other hand, the remaining players could only stare in shock at the sight.
They knew what had happened. Their gamer instincts told them the truth, but their minds did not want to believe a thing.
"What have you done to Ligard?!" the female Mage screamed, panic taking over as she pointed her staff, conjuring a large fireball at Kai.
Kai, who had been examining his new hands to make sure they were perfect, paused. He looked directly at the female Mage.
Then he glanced at the other players who seemed like they were more than ready for a fight, though their trembling knees betrayed them.
"Right. Ligard. I do believe he is dead, if that is the only term I have to use."
Hearing what the boss had said so casually, their faces twisted in shock and anger.
"How dare you?!" The Archer yelled next, stepping forward. "You are nothing but a dungeon boss, yet..."
"Yet I am communicating with you," Kai interrupted, his voice bored. "I swear, every single one of you that enters my domain is an idiot."
Kai seemed almost disappointed as he slowly strode back to his throne.
The mist trailed behind him like a cape. Once he was there, he sat down, crossing his legs, and watched them a little while longer.
"One would have guessed by now the smartest of you would have logged out of the game. Your strongest just died by my hands, and yet, that one is stupid enough to point a fireball at me."
He pointed a lazy finger at the Mage girl, making her immediately rethink her steps up until that point. The fireball in her hand flickered uncertainly.
Kai sighed.
"Honestly, it makes me wonder what type of people even play this game. Did you guys even bother to read the template, or even learn from all your other raids?"
As he spoke, Lyra wondered what he meant by "game" and "logged out." Most of what he was saying made no sense to her lore-bound mind, but knowing Kai, it most definitely had to mean something. It was something she vowed to research on her own later.
"How the hell do you know so much about our world? Is the developer messing with us or something?" the Mage fired back, her voice shrill.
Kai stared for a while again, tilting his head.
"You can ask them when you die. As agreed, I do believe you will not be leaving here alive. No?"
Kai's eyes glowed slightly brighter.
The Rogue, whose danger sense had been screaming at him since the moment the wind died down, made a split-second decision.
He knew they couldn't win. Log out. That was the only way.
He opened his system menu with a thought.
Before he could confirm the "Log Out" button, a flicker of movement caught his eye.
Lyra, who had been standing motionlessly beside Kai's throne after making her way there, hadn't even turned her head. She merely twitched her index finger—a small, almost imperceptible movement.
Zip!
A line of dark, shimmering energy shot out from her fingertip, invisible to the others until it connected.
The Rogue stumbled back, a choked gasp escaping his lips.
His arm, which had just been reaching up to confirm the log-out prompt in his vision, was now dangling uselessly.
Blood welled up instantly, staining the dirt floor crimson.
His hand, severed cleanly at the wrist, dropped to the ground beside him. It was still faintly shimmering with the blue light of the log-out interface hovering over the dead fingers.
The Rogue stared at the stump of his arm, then at his detached hand. His eyes went wide with a terror that transcended the fear of death in a game.
This wasn't supposed to happen. You can't be injured while interacting with the system menu. That was a safe zone mechanic.
The Archer and the Healer both screamed, their resolve completely shattered.
Kai leaned forward slightly on his throne, observing the carnage with detached curiosity.
"Well, that was rather pathetic," he commented, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Trying to run from my domain, even when you knew the risks? It's a closed raid, meaning if you die, your character is locked for a week, and your equipment is forfeit. Didn't you read the fine print?"
He sighed, shaking his head.
"Lyra, if they insist on being dull, at least make the show entertaining. Finish him off."
Lyra bowed her head slightly, her black gothic dress rustling. "As you command, my Lord."
She finally turned to face the terrified Rogue, her smile completely gone. In its place was the expression of a cold, professional executioner.
She didn't move from her spot. She didn't draw a weapon. She simply raised her remaining hand, palm open, and aimed it at the Rogue.
The dark mist that clung to her hand intensified, swirling rapidly around her fingers, coalescing into a sphere of pure, inky shadow.
The Rogue couldn't even try to run; the shock of the amputation and the pain had rooted him to the spot.
"No, wait—" the Mage stammered, dropping her fireball as she finally tried to open her own menu, but it was already too late.
Whoosh!
Lyra's shadow sphere launched forward.
It struck the Rogue's chest. Instead of exploding, it sank in, engulfing him whole.
His body seemed to collapse in on itself, not like a physical object, but like a vacuum was sucking the light and life out of him.
A single, muffled, gurgling scream was all that escaped before the dark sphere dissolved.
It left behind nothing but the bloodied, severed hand and a faint, lingering patch of shadow on the ground where the Rogue had stood.
The system notification that popped up simultaneously for the remaining players was brutally clear:
[Player 'ShadowStep' has been permanently defeated in the raid 'The Sunken Crypt'. All items lost. Character locked for 7 days.]
The remaining three players—the Mage, the Archer, and the Healer—were frozen. Their faces were pale with dawning horror.
The reality of their situation had just shifted from a challenging game raid to a genuine, terrifying life-or-death scenario, even if only in the virtual sense.
"Now," Kai said, resting his chin on his hand, his red eyes fixed on the rest of the party members.
"Who is next to entertain me?"