Bent low, its back at an unnatural curve, long arms over knobby knees. Sitting still at first—like a statue. Then it moved again, too fluid, too off. Its joints moving at odd angles, like its limbs weren't designed to bend like a human's.
Another drip.
Then more ripping. Another fracture.
Asthia's hand went automatically to her blade.
She leaned in close to Reth, speaking softly beside his ear,
"We leave. Now. Silently."
He nodded once.
They stood at the fork—two tunnels, both narrow and vanishing into deeper shadows. The thing was huddled right between them, still feeding on whatever it had grabbed.
"Left or right?" Reth whispered.
Asthia paused, then pointed left. "It curves faster. We'll lose sight of it sooner."
Reth glanced back at the thing. It hadn't turned, but it twitched now and then—like it was sniffing the air, listening.
Asthia tapped his arm. "Now. Slow."
They crept, step by slow step, hugging the wall. Reth kept his hand on his sword. Asthia's grip on her hilt was knuckles white but didn't draw. Not yet.
Behind, the crunching ceased.
Reth stood still.
The creature did not move.
Then—snap.
Its head twisted to one side. Listening.
Asthia yanked him into the shelter of a shattered pipe jutting from the wall. They huddled into the shadows.
The beast started to stand. Not as a man stood, but as something unrolling. It was taller than they had anticipated. Its back was twisted at a grotesque bend, arms hanging like chains—long, thin, and wrong.
It jerked its head in the direction of the left tunnel.
Asthia held her breath.
It stepped.
Then again.
It was coming toward them.
Reth's breath stuck in his throat. Neither he nor Asthia moved.
The monster moved in closer—quiet, but each movement seemed to cut through the air. Its stride was spasmodic, flowing in absence of rhythm. Its hide—or whatever covered its body—glittered with slime and something darker.
It halted at the fork.
The quietness was overwhelming.
Asthia's fingers locked his arm. She was not breathing. Neither was he.
The beast cocked its head sharply, a predator catching a distant sound. Then it sniffed—wet and rasping, like a creature trying to breathe through a broken throat.
It crouched once more, sniffing the stones.
Reth's [Threat Perception] flashed in warning—danger, close, immediate.
The creature fell to fours, huddled like an insect. Sniffed again.
Then turned—not towards the tunnel, but towards the pipe they were hiding behind.
Asthia's eyes went wide.
It knows.
It charged.
Asthia pushed Reth aside just in time as claws scored the wall beyond them. The pipe burst with a scream of rending metal as the beast crashed into it, spewing rust, water, and scraps into the air.
Reth fell to the ground, rolled over, and rose up sword in hand.
Asthia was already standing, blade raised, teeth gritted.
The thing turned to face them completely now—its face at last revealed in the dim, fitful light.
It had no eyes.
Only a stretched-out, featureless face, ripped open down the center into a gaping maw filled with pointed, uneven fangs.
Its glistening gray skin pulsed with every twitch, as though something was held together by little more than thread and glue.
Black ichor oozed from its claws and mouth, hissing as it struck stone.
Reth's hold on his sword grew tighter.
[Threat Perception Lv. 2] pounded in his head like a second pulse.
[Threat Level: Severe. Lethality: High. Maneuverability: High.]
And then it struck.
Reth dodged to the side just in time, steel shrieking as claws raked down the stone wall where he had been.
Asthia was slower—her bad ankle almost failed her as she leapt back, barely avoiding a swipe that tore a rusted pipe to shreds.
Shards erupted around them.
"Front line's yours," she growled through gritted teeth, pushing herself back against the wall. "Don't force me to clean up after you."
Reth stepped in front of her and the monster.
It screamed—like bone on metal—and charged again, moving much more quickly than something that large should be able to.
Reth met the first swing with his blade—steel against claw. The second blow came low and quick, slashing across his upper arm. His sleeve ripped. Searing pain shot down his side as blood mingled with sewer water.
"Gah—!"
The creature spat and then let out a foul blast of gas. A thick wave of heat and foul odor billowed outward, warping the air between them.
Reth reeled back, vision blurring.
[Toxic Pulse detected. Reflex Impairment: 22%. Threat Perception compromised.]
He lunged into a crouch, coughing furiously.
A blue flash of light burst behind him, driving through the fog. Cool. Accurate.
Asthia shot her hand out, magic curling into a tight helix that dissipated the fog.
"Breathe in nothing, fool," she snapped. "It's attempting to numb your reflexes."
The air had cleared slightly. She remained upright, though her hands shook.
Reth heaved himself back to his feet. There was still blood dripping from his arm. The creature moved like a stalking spider—low and jerking, its legs twitching at unnatural angles.
"Knees," Asthia snapped. "Destroy its joints."
Reth didn't think. He ran in, crossed left, rolled under a wild swing, then cut behind its leg.
Steel bit.
The creature howled. Black ichor sprayed from the cut, sizzling when it hit the stone.
It staggered—but wasn't defeated.
It whirled, slamming its mass into Asthia and sending her crashing against the wall. She gagged, air driven from her lungs. Her knife dropped and clattered on the ground.
"Hey!" Reth bellowed, rage igniting his eyes.
The monster swiveled back to him—just in time for a second blade to sink into its forehead.
Asthia, battered but determined, had hurled her reserve dagger without pause.
"Finish it!" she snapped.
And then Reth saw it. Underneath the thing's ribs, barely hidden under stretched, thin skin—something beating. A black, beating core.
His legs hurt. His lungs wailed. But he did not cease.
He burst ahead.
[Refined Sword Technique Lv. 1 – Executed.]