Myles slipped back into the ruined apartment where Victor, Nadine, and Kade crouched in the shadows. His chest rose and fell with quick breaths. He had just returned from luring the wandering mutated humans and animals outside straight into the monster's territory.
It had been a reckless plan but it worked. Even though the lesser monsters feared this place, their instincts were weak. Once they spotted Myles darting through the ruins of the city they chased him as if he were prey.
His speed was the only reason he survived the run. With the highest agility among them, Myles alone could pull it off.
Now, pressed against the broken wall, the four of them watched. Their eyes fixed on the nightmare descending from the upper floor.
The monster revealed itself fully at last.
Its grotesque body came into view under the pale shafts of moonlight piercing the ruined street.
Skin stretched thin and splitting in places, leaking blood and dark fluid. Muscles bulged and pulsed beneath the fragile layer of flesh, veins crawling like worms under its surface.
Its entire body shimmered with a sickly hue of black and bruised blue.
Then came the face. That was the worst.
It still carried the structure of a human like cheeks, nose, eyes, and brows, but warped beyond comfort.
The mouth itself stretched too wide, lined with far too many human teeth packed unnaturally tight.
The cheeks bulged round beside the gaping maw and the nose jutted sharp and swollen. It was human but uncanny in the worst way.
A thick and nauseating foul stench rolled across the air. Myles and the others gagged, their faces contorting in disgust.
The putrid smell of blood and rotting flesh pressed into their throats, almost forcing them to vomit. But none of them dared make a sound.
Then, before their eyes, the monster moved.
With a guttural roar, it tore into the horde of creatures that had followed Myles here.
Mutated humans shrieked as its massive arms swung down, bones snapping like twigs.
A twisted beast with canine features lunged at its leg only to be caught in its hands and crushed until its spine shattered with a sickening crunch.
Every movement was brutal. The monster's wide mouth snapped shut on a screeching crawler, biting its torso in half and letting the blood spray across the pavement.
The horde that had seemed terrifying before was nothing more than fodder now, shredded apart like weak animals before the apex predator.
In the darkness of their hiding place, Nadine's hand shook as she gripped her crowbar tighter.
"…How are we supposed to kill that?" Her voice was a whisper, almost trembling.
They could only stare, paralyzed by the sight.
Myles' breathing slowed as his senses sharpened. His Perception stat was higher than the rest of them and he started measuring the creature's strength. The result made his stomach sink.
"That thing is beyond Rank A monster!" he realized. Not just a monster, but something far worse. Its power was overwhelming and suffocating. If they tried to fight now, they would be crushed in an instant.
"We have to go," Myles whispered, his voice tight but certain. "I'm positive now. We can't kill it."
Victor, Nadine, and Kade all nodded without hesitation. None of them questioned him. His words carried the weight of truth they could feel in their bones as well when they looked at the creature.
Slowly and carefully, they began slipping away, retracing the path they had taken to enter. Their bodies pressed close to the walls.
But then the world froze.
The monster's head jerked toward their hiding place. From its warped throat came a hoarse and deep voice.
"Who's there?"
All four of them stiffened in horror, eyes widening as the meaning sank in. Not only did the monster sense them, it could speak!
The air grew heavier as its gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness. Then it bellowed, louder this time.
"Hey! The four of you. Who do you think you are!"
The weight of its voice hammered into them, shaking their bones. Nadine nearly dropped her crowbar, her fingers slick with sweat.
"Run!" Myles hissed.
They didn't need to be told twice. Nadine, Victor, and Kade bolted immediately into the ruined street.
Myles stayed just a step behind, forcing himself to cover the rear.
And then the ground shook.
DUM! DUM! DUM!
The monster moved. Its body blurred into motion with terrifying speed, each step slamming into the earth like a thunderclap.
For something so massive, its speed was unreal.
Myles' eyes widened as the gap between them closed in an instant. The monster was chasing them.
Myles gritted his teeth. They couldn't outrun this thing. If someone didn't stall it, all four of them would die together.
"It has to be me!"
He forced his legs to stop, spun on his heels, and flung out his hand. Shadows exploded from beneath his feet, stretching and curling like living chains. The skill devoured his MP in chunks, but he didn't care.
He uses Shadow Bind skill.
Black tendrils shot forward, coiling around the monster's legs. The abomination roared as its run faltered then with a thunderous crash, its massive frame slammed into the cracked pavement.
The ground shook like an earthquake.
Myles didn't waste the opening. His hand moved to his waist and drew the Umbravore Fangblade in a single motion.
Steel carved across corrupted flesh. He slash and slash again in quick succession.
The Fangblade's edge cut shallow, and his passive skill surged to life. With every successful wound the bleeding effect stacked higher, crimson spilling freely from the monster's disgusting body.
But the monster wasn't so easily defeated just like he thought. With a guttural snarl its grotesque long arm lashed out. The swipe was wide and fast.
Myles barely saw it in time. He threw himself into a forward roll as the monstrous hand hit the space where he had stood.
The beast's roar split the night. Muscles bulged, veins writhing beneath its skin as it tore apart the shadows binding its legs.
With one violent motion, it hauled itself upright, rising to its full towering three meters height once more.
Its eyes locked onto Myles. Fury burned within them, a rage far too human for the monster it had become.
"Motherfucker…" the monster growled.
—