When the sword hilt entered his hand, the tentacle before him began to reshape and become thinner but before he could observe more something slithered from behind the ship, and with speed not normal for any being it tore through the air.

It took all Hildebrant focus to dodge on the side while pushing an unknown thing away with his sword, but even then, residual force made his hand tremble. Glancing at his invisible killer his eyes could not help but widen.

It was a long tail, thin but with a sharp end that was now hovering just some millimeters above the ground and the moment his eyes landed on it another quick shadow threw itself his way, this time it was a tentacle that reshaped itself into a speedy tail with a bony sharp end.

Using momentum left behind by the deflection of the tail he rotated his body and parried the heavy strike that focused on his joints and then took a step back while tail and tentacle together began to twist around him with deathly precision.

Hildebrant turned into a hurricane of strikes that kept deflecting incoming fleshly enemies one after another.

Noticing it, David who still kept pushing back now an immense amount of blood spikes that moved like thousands of snakes he deflected three of them at the same time and then rushed to help him, and without blinking he severed tail letting one end of it fall on the white shore.

The sand under it didn’t move but the flesh of the monster began to turn into white sand until nothing remained.

Having no time to ponder about such a thing Hildebrant didn’t let the opportunity slip and with the veins on his hand turning white he sliced the remaining end of the tail flesh and cut it from the center in half.

Blue blood sprayed out, cowering not just Hildebrant face but also David's entire body.

The sight was blinding, horrifying, and eerie at the same time but what coursed through Hildebrant mind was not the terrific nature of its tail but the blood vessels that spread through its entire flesh.

It was the same blood vessel that drilled deep into his hands and the same he could even now observe on the lonely eye in the distance, growing as he was fighting.

Different from before however now it began to pulse and before he could wake up from his thought the blood vessel burrowed into both halves of the tail pulsed once more and new flesh began to sprout out.

Gazing at it made him furrow his brows and from a close distance, he observed as once cut tail regrowed itself into its original state and now two similar tails attacked him, one from each side.

"Dodge!"

David warned him swinging his sword to deflect the bone end of the tentacle and then numerous bloody snakes that came from behind him but even without him Hildebrant already moved and while dodging one he deflected the other with the side of his blade.

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With ferocity tails twisted in the air and turned their direction back to him even before they could fall, startling him so much he had no time even more before the sharp end of the tail passed through his legs.

With grinded teeth, he rotated his body bringing the tentacle closer and twisting it around his leg before slashing down at it when it had no ability to dodge.

"Stop cutting it!"

Clenching his fist Hildebrant wanted to slap David's face, but he knew their situation was not good. Dodging and paring each and every strike that came his way he began to walk back slowly while rotating himself to deflect the tails and tentacle that came from behind.

"We will retreat."

Said David with a serious expression and together they began to back down step after step while deflecting the tails, bloody spikes, and tentacles.

Some of them got through his swordplay and scratched his armor and some even slightly touched his skin. The place it did began to be infested with blood vessels that quickly spread through his blood into his flesh and skin until yellow flames purged them out.

Clenching his teeth he twisted around and in furry of movements he poured his flames into his sword turning its blade even whiter than before. As this blade met with the sharp end of the tail the spike on its end parted before heat and his sword easily made its way through the flesh.

The tail that pursued them relentlessly for the first time stopped moving and stayed hovering above the ground until it shredded its burned flesh and regrown back.

"Be careful not to be stabbed."

He warned David who nodded while continuing to use his Jian to defend against the tails, blood snakes, fleshly hands, and other things that came his way. Sometimes he would swing up, sometimes strike the sides slightly to make them deviate from their intended position.

Physical power hiding in that one body was phenomenal and almost unreal. But it did not change the situation much other than delaying the inevitable or at least with him here David had no choice but to stand back.

At least that is how Hildebrant felt.

Like burden.

Taking one more step back he was prepared to parry another stab when the sharp end of tail stopped just a centimetre away from the edge of his sword. The other one that grew also stopped coming closer.

David with raged breath then blinked.

"I think this is as far as they can go."

Looking into distance he could say their length was phenomenal but thankfully not infinite. Still, they were far away from being in no danger, and not waiting for David to say more he sprinted to the corridor filled with darkness.

With a tired expression, David looked down at his bloodied body and then ran right behind him.

"Thanks for not running away."

He said after a while of continuously climbing up on sharp rock and Hildebrant glanced at him with mixed feeling.

"No problem."

"Hilllll!!"

The sound wave full of anger and despair filled the air and passed through both of their bodies. Turning his head Hildebrant then watched as the ship and creature in it began to howl and multiple tails and fleshly tentacles began to swing in all directions as if they tried to find something.

Such sight made Hildebrant face turn even paler.

"Let's go quickly."

David muttered and grabbed Hildebrant hand dragging him up to the hole filled with darkness. His face didn’t change but his muscles tensed as they finally walked in and before darkness could submerge them completely Hildebrant summoned a flame ember that floated above his palm and then they both froze.

Grasps and crannies before on walls began to fill themselves with crimson blood that flowed out of them, with crimson flesh following out but what made Hildebrant's heart shake was the crimson blood vessel that followed.

Pushing itself out Hildebrant without waiting for David grasped it and poured his flames out and the moment the blood vessel turned into dust the entire sanctuary shook and a spine-chilling scream echoed from the bright entrance that led to the white shore.