Chapter Forty-Seven: The Unknown Monster

Blackfeather lowered his head, using the faint glow on his staff to illuminate the ground beneath his feet, and abruptly awakened. Only then did he see clearly: what he had kicked was a cluster of rice bowls! Clear water and food spilled across the floor, and, astonishingly, the meal was fresh!

A surge of alarm shot through his mind: living creatures dwelled here!

By the time he realized the danger, it was already too late. He was about to turn and flee, hoping to keep his distance from whatever unknown monster awaited. Suddenly, several chain-like tendrils coiled around his ankles like snakes. He hastily braced himself against the wall, spun around, and unleashed a "Magic Light Slash" at the chains, but instead toppled forward, dragged by the chains behind him, sliding into the darkness.

His desperate strikes against the chains produced sharp metallic clangs before vanishing; the chains binding him grew even thicker and tougher.

Blackfeather’s combat instinct awakened. He broke the first seal and raised his staff.

"Magic Light Impact!"

A jet-black beam shot toward the end of the chains, where the monster might lurk. The creature hidden in darkness reeled from the attack, and the chains suddenly slackened.

Seizing the moment, Blackfeather scrambled free and rushed toward the stairway. The gloom here was suffocating, and the enemy invisible—hardly ideal for battle.

Overhead, a sound like a thousand-legged insect scuttling sent chills down his spine. The monster was rapidly closing the gap, moving effortlessly along the ceiling and side walls!

"What on earth is this thing?" Blackfeather cursed inwardly.

Suddenly, the monster launched an attack: razor-sharp spikes stabbed in from all sides! Blackfeather leapt and twisted in midair, relying on his demon’s eye for night vision and his intuition, but the spikes were too dense and quick. Even with enhanced sight, he could track their trajectory, but there was no escaping!

Just as a spike hurtled toward his heart, he dodged—only to be pierced straight through the shoulder.

"Damn it!"

He gritted his teeth against the pain. The spike had penetrated his left shoulder, shattering bone, then withdrew instantly, leaving his entire left arm throbbing.

"This monster is stronger than any I've seen before! I have to get out of here!"

The stairway was just ahead. He fixed his gaze on the patch of light and sprinted with all his might.

But he underestimated the creature’s speed. A gust swept overhead, and suddenly, the monster blocked his path! In the darkness, he saw it—a spider-like beast, brandishing rope-like tentacles, barring his way.

"Another experiment, perhaps," Blackfeather thought. "If I can’t go forward, I’ll break through above."

He glanced upward.

"Dark Storm!"

Just as the spider-shaped monster raised all its tentacles, spikes bristling, poised to strike, Blackfeather acted. A howling black wind surged from beneath his feet, exploding through both ends of the corridor. The ceiling was blasted open, and riding the updraft, Blackfeather leapt through the massive hole.

Landing, he kept running through the first-floor corridor, weaving through labyrinthine passages.

"Where am I? ... Damn, I think I'm lost."

Panic robbed him of direction.

The monster’s footsteps echoed close behind; the Dark Storm had failed to slow it at all. That was his strongest move since breaking the first seal. Amid chaos, he continued to run, not daring to pause for a moment.

He reached the end of the corridor, where a sealed door blocked the way. He shoved it open to find a vast, empty room.

"This place... could it be—!"

A wave of unsettling familiarity crashed over him, horrifying memories creeping through every nerve.

He remembered: every time he entered this room, ten test subjects would be chained around the perimeter, and the researchers would inject them one by one with ogre serum.

"This is the experiment chamber!"

The stench was unchanged—an appalling blend of rot and disinfectant, nauseatingly thick. Blackfeather recalled how the test subjects’ bodies would burst apart, blood splattering everywhere.

No time to dwell on the past—the monster was closing in, its tentacles scraping the walls with a piercing, grating sound behind him. Blackfeather ran into the room, spun around, and braced himself for a desperate battle.

"Magic Light Slash!"

As the monster entered, Blackfeather unleashed a precise strike at the doorway. Suddenly, a shadow streaked past his side, evading the slash, hugging the ground and circling around him.

Here, in the wide-open space, the battle could unfold in earnest. Though its form remained unclear, the monster's outline was that of a small humanoid, dozens of tentacles sprouting from its back, each tipped with a spike and able to extend or retract at will.

The shadow flashed quickly around the room. Without Blackfeather’s enhanced vision, a normal eye could never track its movements.

"Its speed and the power of those spikes are incredible—and it can bind, too."

He thought of Lingxiao Tear’s dark elf spells: first immobilize, then deliver a fatal blow.

"I must not let it entangle me..."

Blackfeather resolved to strike first. He tracked the monster’s movement, anticipated its path, and unleashed a series of black light slashes where it would soon dart.

"Magic Light Slash!"

But the monster’s speed increased again, shifting its trajectory in a blink. Every slash missed, and it deftly evaded while maintaining its rapid movement, launching a counterattack.

Tentacles above stabbed down; those below lashed like whips. One careless hit would mean instant entanglement. Blackfeather dodged with all his strength.

The creature’s attacks and recoveries were lightning-fast. Worse yet, the sheer number of tentacles meant every assault from above was a storm of spikes, forcing Blackfeather into a desperate defense. Blood seeped from countless grazes and punctures, and only with repeated "Waltz Slashes" did he barely withstand each onslaught.

As his wounds multiplied, droplets of blood spun around him, whirling at high speed, the blood loss intensifying his fighting spirit and painting his eyes crimson.

"My Magic Light Slash can't keep up with its speed—only a Magic Light Waltz Slash can cover a wide area, but that drains my mana. I can’t afford to drag this out. I must finish this quickly!"

He steeled himself, no longer dodging blindly. Holding his breath, he searched for the perfect moment, ready to deliver a fatal blow.