A jet of thin steam escaped Zexus’ lips as he faced his new opponent. The egghead he had defeated previously descended the steps towards him, her hooves clicking against the concrete. It seemed that her transformation had added considerable weight to her build. As she walked, the five long appendages that sprouted from her lower back fanned out in a protective shield around her. Her hands, now with thin, needle-like claws, clicked against one another as she flexed her fingers menacingly.

“One on one then…” From the corners of his peripheral vision, Zexus saw that the Orange Block group were still fighting the other egghead.

It would have been too much to expect a victory from them, given how ineffective their hits were and that all of them, with the exception of the blonde-haired human, was beginning to get winded. If that was not bad enough, even outmatched, the male-looking monster was managing to get some good slashes in on them. The man with a massive gut and legs for arms had the most gashes. Having suffered such damages combined with the fear in his heart, he in particular seemed ready to flee. Once that occurred, the rest would soon follow.

“Ninety percent chance they’ll attempt to escape by the next minute and I’ll be stuck in here alone.” Zexus’ gaze turned back to his approaching foe. His right fist tightened. “If I kill this thing here, the leeches may recover the body and evolve it again. I’ll just test the waters then retreat. Lavenna’s Spiritfire is probably the best option for clearing this place...”

Objective clear, Zexus shifted his feet and dashed forward. Closing the distance of ten metres before one could blink, he was almost on top of the evolved egghead when it lashed out in retaliation.

All five appendages struck at him, each one from a different angle. Quick and precise, they were aimed at his chest and head.

Zexus sidestepped, narrowly dodging the attack that still managed to graze his cheek. Without a break in his momentum, he charged onward.

With her tendrils overextended, the evolved monster struck out with its claws. She swiped at him, but the man had grown accustomed to their monotonous attacks.

“If you can read your opponent like a book, then half the battle’s already won.” The voice of Juno rang in his mind like a mantra. “Kill the attack before it can start.”

Matching his foe, Zexus shot out his own hand. Unlike the creature’s wide arc of a swipe, his was direct, focusing more on speed than power as his grip found the monster’s forearm. The swing of her arm was cut short.

“Instinct or intelligence, what will it be?”

The Abyssal monster did not relent in her aggression. With her other hand, she attempted to strike again while her overreached appendages recovered. Zexus was ahead of her however, his free hand stopping her other arm in the same way.

Under normal circumstances, one would have thought he had the upper hand, free to press the advantage with his greater strength. Unfortunately, the egghead was no normal person, as the tips of her tendrils turned and looked to strike him in the back.

Zexus reacted by instinct, releasing his grip and ducking under at the same time. The lengths of muscle shot past his head, cutting his hair before they hit their owner’s chest.

Zexus backstepped then, as he noted the tendrils bouncing off the evolved egghead’s chest armour without leaving so much as a scratch. Given the cut he received earlier, it was not that the appendages were soft. Rather, it could be that her torso was just that reinforced.

“A frontal assault may not be worth the effort.” Zexus remarked inwardly as dodged and weaved between the pursuing tendrils. As opposed to before, the monster appeared to be getting better at controlling her extra limbs. That said, her own body was now stationary, as if a single action would kill her concentration.

“Limited ability to multi-task?” The amber-eyed man continued backpedalling, but the egghead’s striking limbs would not let on. “Extreme extension, and it’s beginning to use them like whips with different windows of attack to cover more area.”

Stolen story; please report.

Narrowly dodging out of the way of one tendril, the muscle length struck into the ground hard. Surprisingly, it was the concrete that gave way, crushed into dust and pebbles by the flesh vine that arose unscathed.

Blocking another two with his arms while narrowly hopping over the remaining pair, Zexus sighed. His gaze darted to the other ongoing battle for a split second.

His prediction had come true, it seemed. The men were fleeing, with only the blonde trying to continue the fight but quickly losing steam.

“This thing is hard to deal with, and I don’t want to fight both at the same time.” Turning himself, Zexus landed and immediately ran in the opposing direction from his opponent. “I’ll come back after I’ve prepared a few things.”

Whether it was the Hands of Fate or coincidence at play, in his retreat, the amber-eyed man just so happened to see the body of the dark-skinned woman still by the podium. As it seemed, the Sorkosi had ceased in her spasms, her spirit no longer bound to the world.

His thoughts flickered to his Kitsune, then back to the corpse.

“That could be useful.”

Seeing the body in his path to the exit, Zexus grabbed the deceased woman and slung her over his shoulder in one swift move. The body weighed little, at least compared to his overall strength. Thus, he was able to maintain, and even pick up his pace towards the same doorway he entered through.

Running through familiar corridors, the amber-eyed man would glance back every so often, wary of pursuit. He even stopped for a while halfway through the maze, just to see if the monsters would leave their ‘abode’.

None would appear however.

“It’s likely they must remain within a certain proximity of their ‘parents’.” Zexus hypothesised as he continued on his path, now slowed to a brisk jog. His mind wandered, recounting all that he observed. His enemies movements, behaviours, physical attributes, even that of the Orange Block group’s members.

Eventually, his thoughts settled on a particular object in the corrupted room. The giant mass at the centre. It unnerved him, not because of its appearance, although most would have been disgusted by it. Instead, what piqued his curiosity was what likely lay within.

A leech not even half its size spat out the evolved egghead. He could only assume that whatever came out of the centrepiece would be many times more powerful. Of course, that may not come to pass if Lavenna chooses to accompany him on his next venture.

Hard to find any mortal organism that could withstand her Ego that burns through the physical and spiritual. Then again, Abyssal creatures were…different, like the Rot, Rift and Void.

“Niggurath…” Zexus thought of the name he knew to be incomplete. “ How do I know this… ‘word’?”

----------------------------------------

Faith is strength. Faith is purpose. Faith is life itself.

That was what John Wright had believed throughout his entire life. Born into the wealthy Wright family of northern Wisteris with close ties to various religious orders, he had devoted his life to the Goddess Ataraxia long before he joined her church at the age of sixteen. From then till the current age of twenty six, a full decade, he had remained devoted, championing her light as a paladin at the vanguard. He had fought orcish tribes, defeated Ghorak warbands, and even driven away an ogre with the help of some mercenaries and soldiers.

He was accomplished, with experience rivalling that of high-rank adventurers. He obeyed the church’s code, which he followed to the point of fanaticism. He had everything going for him, and yet he wavered.

Soon after John entered Black Box, intent on becoming an even greater tool for his Goddess, he had met Sally. She came from the Upper Heights of the southern continent. Optimistic, enthusiastic, cheerful and charming - even without any faith in her heart, to him, she was the perfect woman. Locks of curled, silky dark hair, skin like caramel, and eyes purple like amethysts. Too often he had found himself captivated by just her lilac scent, yet even with all his oaths of purity, he had never once tried to resist.

They had become close in their two weeks together, bonding as they trained and learned within Black Box. Even after suffering defeat in the first team match, the two managed to get back up by leaning on each other.

When the special event came, they felt prepared. Their teamwork was solid, and they had expected to face monsters stronger than any they had faced before. Even with a team full of people they had barely interacted with before, they were certain that they could make it through.

However, that hope had died the moment they entered that room.

Departed from the empty space that was their starting area, they had moved to a larger room. There, curiosity lit a fire in their hearts, and Sally in particular had gone too close to the pulsing sacks of flesh. Before John could react, his close friend who he felt as if he had known for a lifetime was swallowed whole. He was helpless to stop it, too preoccupied with the other humanoid monsters that appeared from within the lengths of the other charcoaled masses.

Fighting with all he had to try and reach Sally, hoping that she was still alive, his heart broke when she was spat out, but no longer herself. Instead, the pulsing sack had delivered a monster, one whose mana he sensed was similar to Sally, but suppressed, altered and corrupted by whatever had transformed her.

Now…she was lost. Her body was unrecovered, but with any hope, her Soul had ascended to be with the God of Water that she and her people believed in so much.

However, despite trying to remain optimistic, John could not help but break down as he leaned against the cold walls. Head down and a shadow cast over his noble face, he looked like a slum dweller who had just lost his life’s earnings on a minute gamble.

Beside him, his compatriots were in similar states. Exhausted, beaten and dispirited, all of them breathed heavily as they tried their best to recover. No one said a word, for anything said would only make things worse.

“Fuck…” The paladin of Ataraxia cursed, running a hand through his hair as he glared at the ground. His dark eyes blazed with hatred as his heart raced. “I’m going to get her back, no matter what.”

Little did he know, this unspoken oath would pit him against monsters incomparable to the one he had just faced.