Chapter 70: Motherless
The ear-splitting screech from the depths of the prison faded into an eerie, suffocating silence. The walls themselves seemed to hold their breath as if anticipating the horror that had been unleashed. Dust drifted from the cracked ceiling, shaken loose by the force of the unearthly wail.
Niko and Fumito exchanged a grim look, their expressions a mix of unease and determination. They both knew—without speaking—that they’d triggered something ancient and terrible.
“This... this was a mistake,” Fumito muttered, his voice tight as he surveyed the shattered eggs and green ichor seeping into the worn, stone floor.
Niko grimaced, trying to push down the rising sense of dread. “We can’t change that now,” he said, gripping his staff with steady fingers. “We move forward, find what made that sound… and end it.”
His bee spirit hovered ahead, its mechanical wings vibrating with barely contained tension. The ghastly Ratman of Rust lingered in the shadows, his sword already raised defensively. Niko ordered the spirit rats to spread out and scout ahead, though something about the sticky web-filled corridor made his skin crawl.
“Whatever these things were…” Fumito said, nudging a half-crushed egg with his boot, thick fluid oozing from its fractured shell. “They were still... forming.”
Niko nodded slowly, a sinking realization taking root. The eggs weren’t fully developed. They’d destroyed them prematurely, stopping whatever grotesque life they were meant to birth.
They moved cautiously, their footsteps echoing in the cold, hollow darkness. The air grew heavier, foul, and humid, filled with the stench of decay and old, moldy webs.
The corridor stretched deeper into the reinforced section, its walls slick with some kind of organic residue that glistened faintly in the dim torchlight.
Suddenly...
Skitter...
Skitter...
A sharp, metallic scrape echoed from the darkness ahead, followed by another... then another. The sound was inhuman, like claws dragging over stone, sending a chill down Niko’s spine.
Fumito raised his rusted sword, his knuckles white as his eyes darted toward the source of the sound. “You hear that?”
Niko nodded slowly, extending his staff as a glow pulsed from its carved skull-like top. He noticed a silhouette of creatures ahead as he and Fumito took a pause, allowing Niko to activate his skill [Celestial Probe]
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[Motherless Skinners]
Level: 11
Description: Horrific creations of curly nightmares, twisted by malice and hunger. Once bound to an unknown Mother, they are now trapped in eternal hunger, driven by instincts warped beyond comprehension.
Skills:
* [Night Vision].
* [Vicious Slice].
“They're called Motherless Skinners,” Niko whispered darkly. “Level eleven.
Screeeeeeech!
Four massive creatures the size of bears crawled out of the webbed corridor like distorted horrors, their curly-haired bodies rippling with unnatural tension. They were grotesque spiders, with bulbous red eyes that glowed with malicious intelligence.
Their front limbs ended in jagged, crab-like claws, the black chitin gleaming wetly in the flickering light. They moved with unholy speed, skittering like twisted predators hunting cornered prey.
“Gods, they’re horrific…” Fumito hissed, taking a defensive stance.
“They’re hunters,” Niko said coldly, already mentally commanding his spirits. “Get ready.”
The Bee Spirit buzzed threateningly, its stinger shimmering with venomous readiness. The Ratman of Rust snarled silently, gripping his cursed blade tightly, his spectral gaze locked on the advancing monsters.
The Skinners lunged like hungry shadows, scuttling across the walls and ceiling with impossible speed.
“Move!” Niko barked, stepping back as one of the creatures pounced with its crab-like claws aimed deadly low.
Before the claws could connect, a rusty blade flashed through the darkness.
CLANG!
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The Ratman of Rust blocked the strike, his ghastly eyes flaring with fierceness. He pushed back with unexpected force, sending the Skinner staggering, before sending a slash that cut the abomination of a spider in half.
“HRAAH!”
Fumito charged forward, his rusted sword arcing in a downward cleave. He struck true, severing one of the Skinners’ limbs, sending it crashing to the stone floor with a sickening crunch.
Black ichor gushed from the creature's wound, but it didn’t retreat. Instead, its remaining legs twitched, forcing itself up despite the grotesque injury.
Two more Skinners darted in, their claws flashing with lethal intent.
The Bee Spirit fired its venomous stinger, piercing one of the creatures through its lower abdomen. The Skinner twitched violently, but its mad hunger pushed it forward regardless.
Niko’s mind burned as he commanded the Ratman of Rust to intercept, the spirit’s jagged blade clashing savagely against the second spider’s claws. Sending both of them backward.
As Niko dealt with one spider and had an approaching spider trying to take advantage, Fumito moved to finish the job he started, without a claw the spider he had slashed earlier was weakened as it too lunged at Fumito disregarding its weakness. Its claw glowed faintly in a red light as it became faster than usual, causing Fumito to do a last-minute twist on his blade, blocking the strike.
Bang!
Fumito was sent backward from the strike but never lost his footing. He looked back towards the spider with a grin as his arms began to bulk and with a powerful charge, the slash was so vicious that after making contact with the spider it completely obliterated it. A testament to his strength.
“Don’t let them surround us!” Niko ordered, his voice cutting through the chaos.
His Ratman of Rust was locked onto a battle with a spider, as the fast-approaching one skidded its way towards Niko quickly, commanding the bee spirit to attack, the stinger flew but it simply missed the spider as it sent curly hair all over the floor.
The spider jumped and with glowing claws, it slammed it down towards Niko, he could tell that this was its [Vicious Slice] skill, but he already had his trump cards.
CLANG!
The sound echoed as the spider's attack met Niko’s protector. The mantis had fully blocked the attack and with its mechanical yet intelligent movement it threw a flurry of slices back towards the Spider, as chunks of hair and spider parts flew all over the place, killing the spider on the spot.
The air thickened with a stifling stillness as Niko and Fumito surveyed the aftermath of the brutal fight. Their breathing slowed as they processed what had just transpired, the eerie quiet only broken by the soft drip-drip of viscous, inky black blood seeping from the grotesque spider-like creatures they’d slain.
The Motherless Skinners lay in twisted heaps, their segmented bodies contorted at unnatural angles, with the occasional twitch of a leg or two.
Niko’s staff still glimmered faintly with residual spirit energy, its wooden surface humming softly from the intensity of the battle. He was ready to strike with his staff’s skill if he so needed to.
He could still feel the lingering pulse of power from his summoned spirits—each one standing vigilant and ready. His Bee Spirit hovered near the ceiling, its wings thrumming quietly, while the Ratman of Rust stood still, his unblinking eyes fixed on the dark corridor ahead. The Mantis Spirit, its razor-sharp limbs glistening with dark ichor, paced silently beside Niko, its movements smooth and predatory.
Fumito wiped his sweaty brow, letting out a tense breath. “These things... They were... wrong,” he muttered, his voice gravelly with exhaustion. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his rusted blade as if expecting another ambush.
The stench in the air wa undeniable, as whatever that black blood was made of, caused the second floor of the prison to smell foul, causing their eyes to water slightly.
Then something caught Nikos' eye.
Amid the crushed remains of one of the spiders, something shimmered faintly beneath the black ichor. Cautiously, Niko extended his staff and prodded the object loose from the gore. A bundle of matted silk fell away, revealing a strange dark cloak, woven from fibrous, twisted strands of the spiders’ coarse hair.
[Celestial Probe]
[Item: Motherless Cloak]
Rank: F
Description: A cloak made from the twisted hair of the Motherless Skinners. Its dark fibers blend into shadows, aiding in concealment.
Effects:
+1 Agility
Reduced detection by Lesser Beasts.
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Niko grimaced at the rough texture, but functionality mattered far more than comfort. He swung the cloak over his shoulders, the dark material settling around him like a veil of shadows.
Fumito snorted, raising an eyebrow. “Really? You’re just... putting that thing on?”
Niko shrugged, fastening the crude clasp. “We need every advantage we can get... and besides—” His eyes narrowed, scanning the darkened corridor ahead. “—something tells me this isn’t over.”
With the cloak secured, they moved deeper into the ancient prison. The air grew colder, laced with the bitter stench of rot and stagnant water. Their footsteps echoed in the cavernous hall, swallowed by the silence of the abyss.
Then they saw it.
A staircase, ancient and weathered, spiraled downward into the earth—its stone steps worn smooth from countless footsteps over the ages. More webbing was evident around the stairs, signaling that more of these creatures could be just below them.
The two men paused, exchanging uncertain glances.
“This place goes... deeper?” Fumito asked, his voice taut with unease. “What the hell were they keeping down here?”
Niko’s jaw tightened. The dark persistence of this prison felt intentional, like a deliberate cage for something far worse than common criminals.
After a moment’s hesitation, he finally spoke. “We need the others... we can’t do this alone.”
Fumito nodded in reluctant agreement, still gripping his rusted blade tight. “Good call... Whatever screeched earlier... it’s still down there.”
They turned back, receding from the beckoning darkness, though neither could shake the feeling of being watched. The faint, web-covered walls seemed to shift, almost breathing in rhythm with the deep silence.
And behind them... faint clicking sounds echoed from the depths, growing louder with every passing second.