Floor ??? - Labyrinth Of The Deathly Embrace
The Knights stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.
Without hesitation, Adonis stepped in front of Ghislain and delivered a powerful uppercut with his left hand. The blow lifted Ghislain off the ground and sent him flying into the air. At the same moment, Gray charged forward, spinning his lance drill rapidly as he aimed to pierce Adonis's head. But Adonis calmly caught the whirling drill between two fingers of his left hand—still wearing the gauntlet—stopping it completely. Gray's eyes widened in shock.
In an instant, Adonis teleported behind Gray, grabbed his shoulder with his left hand, and hurled him aside like a rag doll. Then Adonis leaped upward toward the airborne Ghislain, grabbed him, and slammed him back down to the earth with crushing force. The impact created a deep crater in the ground. As Adonis descended, he brought his left fist down in a devastating punch.
Ghislain, battered but quick, rolled out of the way just in time. Adonis's fist smashed into the ground, triggering a massive explosion of dirt, smoke, and debris. When the dust finally cleared, Adonis emerged from the crater. His skin had grown noticeably paler, almost ghostly. He dashed toward Ghislain with terrifying speed.
Ghislain quickly wrapped himself in a thick layer of red aura from head to toe, forming a protective barrier. Adonis threw another punch with his left hand. The fist shattered the red aura like fragile glass and landed squarely on Ghislain's face.
"What?" Ghislain thought in disbelief as the punch connected.
The force sent Ghislain crashing backward, breaking through tree after tree until he finally stopped. Adonis walked slowly toward him, calm and unrelenting. Gray recovered and blocked Adonis's path, activating his lance drill once more. The drill spun even faster this time as Gray charged again, determined to pierce through Adonis.
Adonis spun gracefully to dodge the attack. As he finished his twirl, he struck Gray across the face with the back of his left hand, sending him flying a short distance. Then, strangely, the skin on Adonis's left hand began to peel away and decay in an unnatural way. Ignoring it, Adonis continued toward Ghislain.
Ghislain pushed himself to his feet, furious. "Why… why won't you just DIE?" he shouted.
He summoned dozens of red weapons made of pure aura—swords, spears, axes—and launched them all at Adonis. But Adonis teleported right in front of him, cutting through the attack effortlessly. He drove a punch into Ghislain's chest. The blow cracked and shattered the armor there, exposing Ghislain's shoulder.
Ghislain held his ground and swung back with a powerful punch to Adonis's cheek. Adonis's head turned slightly from the impact. When he turned his face back, the skin on his cheek had peeled away, revealing the bone underneath. Yet he showed no sign of pain—he didn't even flinch. Ghislain felt a chill of fear creep over him.
Adonis struck again, then grabbed Ghislain by the neck with his left hand. He pulled Ghislain close and bit deeply into his shoulder. Ghislain screamed in agony, desperately punching Adonis's body over and over to break free. But Adonis felt nothing. With a savage pull, he tore off a large chunk of flesh. Blood poured from the wound as Ghislain stumbled backward, begging Adonis to stop.
Adonis advanced slowly, relentless. Suddenly, Gray appeared from behind and kicked Adonis hard in the head, cracking his skull. Gray grabbed the damaged body and, with brutal strength, ripped Adonis's upper half from his lower half. Muscles tore, organs spilled onto the ground, and blood pooled everywhere. Yet even then, Adonis showed no pain.
The two separated halves fell to the earth. Shockingly, the upper half remained alive. Using his left arm, it began dragging itself toward Ghislain.
Ghislain and Gray stared in horror. They had never witnessed anything like this—a body that refused to die.
Terrified, Ghislain began stomping on Adonis's head repeatedly. "Why. Won't. You. Die," he growled with each crushing blow. Cracks spread across the skull.
Just as Ghislain raised his foot again, Adonis's left hand shot up and grabbed his leg in a vise-like grip. Ghislain's eyes widened in panic as he tried to shake it off.
"Let me go, you monster!" he yelled, stomping harder with his other foot.
With his remaining strength, Adonis squeezed. The grip crushed Ghislain's leg—armor and bone alike—making a sickening crunch. Ghislain screamed as sharp pieces of his own armor pierced into his flesh.
Gray rushed in, grabbed Adonis's arm, dislocated it, and tore it clean off. Then he lifted the upper torso, seized the neck, and ripped the head free. Finally, Adonis stopped moving. Gray tossed the head and body aside.
Both knights panted heavily, exhausted and shaken. It was over. Ghislain collapsed to the ground, the severed hand still wearing the gauntlet clamped tightly around his ruined leg. He tried to pry it off, but the grip was too strong—every attempt only caused more pain.
In a fit of rage, Ghislain stood on his good leg and kicked the lifeless body again and again and again, over and over, venting his anger and fear. Gray eventually told him to stop—the boy was already dead—but Ghislain kept going until sharp pain shot through his injured leg.
"Fuck," Ghislain said angrily, sitting back down.
Gray examined the wounded leg. "It's best if we leave now and get you to the young master. Hang on until then," he said, helping Ghislain stand.
"Come on, let's go," Gray added as they turned to leave.
"How unfortunate," a soft, feminine voice said from behind them.
The two knights spun around. Their bodies froze in place. Only their minds remained active.
Standing there was a small girl, about eight years old, wearing a light pink dress with lace sleeves and bodice. Her skin was red, and long slightly curved red horns grew from her head.
The knights couldn't move a muscle.
"Even with just a fraction of the half-halo's power absorbed into him," the girl said calmly, "he still couldn't finish you two—especially you." She pointed at Ghislain.
As she spoke, her body began to change. She grew taller and larger, her hands lengthening, her childish clothes tearing away. Soon she stood as a full-grown humanoid woman—naked, red-skinned, with the same curved horns, bright orange eyes with black sclera, a long tail, large breasts, and a strikingly beautiful face.
"Who… is that?" Ghislain thought.
"Why can't I move?" Gray wondered in his mind.
"Because I made it so," the woman answered telepathically.
"What? She can read our minds?" both knights thought at once.
"Yes," she replied in their heads. "Now shut up—I'm trying to speak."
With a thought, she silenced their minds completely. They could only watch and listen.
"As I was saying," she continued aloud, "you helped release something that had been locked inside him for years. Though it was already starting to break free, you sped things up. That could be useful to us. For that, you deserve a reward."
She smiled coldly. "A quick death."
She snapped her fingers.
Ghislain's head exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter that splattered across Gray's face and body. Gray remained frozen, unable to react.
The woman casually picked up Adonis's severed head and upper body.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way," she said.
A swirling portal opened beside her.
"Ah, before I forget," she added, looking at Gray. "The moment I step through this portal and it closes, kill yourself."
She walked through the portal. As it sealed shut, Gray's body moved on its own, like a puppet. He formed a sharp stake from his red aura and, without hesitation, drove it into his own head with tremendous force. The stake pierced his skull and brain. He collapsed to the ground, dead.