After a while, I opened my eyes and began to prepare for my descent onto the second floor of the dungeon.
I performed basic maintenance on my jikdo and checked the battle-readiness of my other equipment.
"Sword is fine and my equipment is still good to go." I picked up my storage unit and after depositing its contents into the guild repository, I began to climb down the stairs.
The dungeon was as gloomy and as scary as ever. It seemed to continue on and on forever. While there is some form of natural lighting, it was still relatively nerve-wracking even for prana-users who have a certain degree of night-vision capabilities.
The biggest hurdle in the dungeon are not the monsters. You can still run away from an encounter nine times out of ten but the psychological toll of being inside the dungeon is extremely dangerous.
Physical and mental exhaustion might seem like a trivial problem to superpowered individuals but prana-users are human beings, too. While we are more resilient than regular people, we are also inevitably only human – but me, not really.
One of the advantages of having a vampiric-physique is that I perform significantly better than normal people.
"Huff." I exhaled as I climbed down a short cliff. The floors are a bit slippery so I took extra care in my steps.
I am faster, stronger and significantly more efficient when it comes to energy consumption compared to normal prana-users so even now I felt fine.
I drew my blade and reaped the life of a monkey-like creature who was creeping up from behind me.
"Flash step!"
I stamped hard on the ground and instantly reappeared behind the monkey-like creature's companion.
I grabbed its head and after a momentary struggle, I ripped it off from its body. "EEK!"
Blood spattered all over my face and my clothes – it was a disgusting sight.
Casually picking up the spoils of war from the carcasses of the dead monkeys, I pierced their chest with my hands and took out their hearts with ease.
It was funny to think that chest plates were meant to protect the internal organs above the stomach but I was making holes through them like nothing.
I forced a laugh through my frustrations.
"I'm probably the real monster here, aren't I."
Moving on from the site of the battle, I quickened my pace to a light jog.
The paths have started to diverge and the usual labyrinth-esque design of the dungeon appeared before my eyes once again.
I still couldn't understand how the dungeon could have a 30 feet gap between floors and yet house a floor as big as a small city such as this. It was truly mind-boggling.
After dispatching a few more small fries, I came upon a strange scene. It seemed to be an everyday occurrence in some impoverished areas in the world more so during the old order when resources were monopolized by the rich.
It was something that people in the slums were used to but seeing it happen right inside a dungeon was perplexing.
It was a group of masked prana-users holding up the three men I met earlier on the first floor.
The three men were obviously hurt. They were badly beaten and their bodies show signs of torture.
Shit. They might die at this rate!
Wait. I need to calm down. I might make things worse so it would be better to wait for a chance to attack.
I wonder how unni would act in this situation? She'd probably just kill them without batting an eye, right?
Remembering her unnatural combat prowess, I involuntarily shuddered. She can afford to be lofty because of her power. She is she and I am me. Let's do this my way.
I clenched my fist to psyche myself up as I played with the scabbard of my jikdo; my mind was going into overdrive.
I was calculating every single angle and possible scenario that could happen in a manner of seconds.
No good. I might be faster than they are but there's too many.
One, two, three….eighteen. There are eighteen men against three injured men and then there's me.
I could probably barely make it if I pushed my body to its absolute limits but I would only have 5 seconds to do so and then I'm done. I'll pass out and drop dead like a kite.
Even with my vampiric body, pushing myself to my absolute limits would still take an extremely heavy toll on me. After all, borrowing money that you can't afford to pay back would simply leave you as something that would have been better off dead.
I couldn't listen in on their conversation as the men's laughter and taunting was just too loud.
They were carrying weapons while some of the men closer to the injured trio were beating them with sticks and scabbards.
The sound of flesh being pounded like cake was sickening to listen to but I had no choice.
"Mmm."
I bit down on my lip in frustration. Fine. I'll have to risk it.
Inhaling deeply, I placed my right hand upon my heart. I activated my prana furnace, which was essentially my heart, and forced it into a near state of cardiac arrest.
"Uggh" I grimaced in pain. Despite my enhanced resistance to pain and diseases, I still felt agony beyond compare.
My heart felt like it was gripped in a vice but the pain soon dissipated as an overwhelming sense of bloodlust and power enveloped my body.
[LIMIT BREAK!]
I unshackled my mortal flesh and ascended into a higher state of existence.
Vampire.
It was the name for a mythical count who took countless lives and corrupted himself with the powers of evil.
It was the greatest darkness to rival the brightest of lights.
It was an irony in its greatest comedic form. I who was supposed to be the light for unni am now the personification of darkness.
I gripped my sword and with my prana-enhanced senses, I prepared myself for a fight.
"It's time to start the carnage."
I launched my body in a speed that could not be seen by human eyes. There were three men right in front of me.
[5 Seconds.]
Without hesitation, I drew my blade as I ran past them and slashed. One cut, one life.
I felt their blood splatter on my face as I felt the creepy sensation of steel cutting into flesh. It was way different from cutting into a monster.
This was a human life, nurtured from childhood to adulthood. It was a person with a story, no matter how messed up they were – but that stopped mattering as soon as they infringed upon my sense of justice.
[4 Seconds.]
"What the fuck!?"
"George!"
"Who is that?
I stopped in place while gripping the severed head of one of their companions.
I must have looked like a monster to them as I glared at them while I was covered in blood and gore.
"Attack! Stop daydreaming and kill her! We've still got 15 men!"
"Roger!"
"Surround her! Use our numbers against her!"
[3 Seconds.]
I looked at them with contempt. Sure, pitting your superior numbers against a lone enemy is the smart thing to do.
It would also be smart to trap me in with a pincer maneuver but can you even keep up with my top speed?
[Godspeed] – Pushing my body even beyond its limits, I resumed the symphony of carnage.
I immediately teleported toward the cluster of enemies in front of me.
[Crescent Slash] – I unleashed a flurry of slashes in an arc and in an instant, the four men in front of me were reduced to clean slabs of meat.
[2 Seconds.]
I used one of the falling members who I bisected from the waist as a springboard and instantly appeared in front of the second cluster of enemies.
[Sky Piercer] – Making use of the sudden propulsion of my body, I held my sword up and stabbed a hundred times in that very moment.
The three enemies in front of me were ground into minced meat as my body started to feel heavier.
[1 Second.]
I once again dashed and immediately reappeared behind another cluster of enemies. I used my sword to decapitate three of them while crushing the last person's skull with my bare hands.
[Limit Restored]
Shit. There's one more guy but I ran out of time.
As if on cue, my body just stopped functioning. I fell over and an indescribable sensation of pain enveloped my body as I started crying tears of blood.
I couldn't even moan out in discomfort as my body was quite literally braindead but I was still conscious. After performing one impossible miracle after another, my mind shut down due to the overwhelming pain and wear and tear it suffered in short order.
I was helpless as the final man stared at me in disbelief.
He slowly walked towards me as he cautiously watched every single breath I took – as if he was scared that I'd suddenly rise from my state of near-death and kill him with my bare hands.
After a short while, he arrived in front of me.
[Spit!]
He spat at me as he kicked at my torso hard.
"Fucking bitch!" He continued barraging my body with fists and kicks. "What the fuck are you!?"
He kicked at my head with enough force to crack my skull. It hurts! Unni, save me. It hurts!
More tears flowed from my eyes as the pain was multiplied several dozen times over due to the aftereffects of overdrive.
"Eat shit you stupid bitch!"
[Whack!]
He hit my face with his fist until my nose cracked.
Shit. Am I going to die like this?
After beating me until I was bloodied and broken, he sneered at me while wheezing.
"I'm going to fuck you." He slowly unzipped his pants. "I'm going to fuck you until I break you."
He took out his thing as he stared menacingly at me.
"You only get what you deserve."
[Crkk]
He stamped on my chest and I could hear something small crack.
He turned me over and started to take off my pants.
"That's a nice ass you have there. I'll be sure to savor it and pound it repeatedly."
He licked his lips and as I felt that tip of his penis on my skin, I closed my eyes in resignation. I mustered all of the strength that I had left as I prepared to bite my tongue.
"I…I'm sorry…unni….father…dad..daddy I'm sorry!" I cried tears of blood.
It was a short life but it was pretty fulfilling. At least I grew up a good girl for my father. Unni, It seems I can't fulfill my promise to you.
I prepared myself for death and just before the man penetrated me from behind, cold laughter could be heard from the surroundings.
The man stopped and hurriedly put on his pants. "What the fuck was that!?"
A deep and seductive voice responded with indifference, "Event Horizon".
Before I could even process what was happening, time literally came to a stop – but I was still conscious.
I saw the owner of the seductive voice as he smiled at me with a troubled expression on his face. "I did tell you to crush the stone in when you get yourself in trouble but couldn't you have done so before you ended up like that?"
He caressed my head as he gave me a light pat.
I grimaced in pain and shocked, he looked at my head. "He fucking crushed your skull?"
I could only look at him with my teary eyes as I saw an expression of anger cloud his perfectly handsome face. His dark and indifferent eyes were clouded by anger but he still looked sexy.
He merely glanced at the man who tried to rape me and lazily punched once. The handsome man soon deactivated his ability and time resumed.
The surroundings started to become filled with life once again and the man who was punched suddenly exploded into a red mist.
Sensing my confusion, the man looked at me. "I merely stopped time. Don't be so surprised."
He came closer to me as he started to apply first-aid on me. "Unfortunately I'm not Sylvia but I can at least perform first aid."
He gently cleaned my wounds as he uttered under his breath. "Artesia..."
He shook his head and glanced at me. "There. That should do it for now." He took out a phone from his pocket and fiddled with it. "There's no signal. It seems we can't call for help, err. What was your name again?"
Unable to speak, I only stared at him but I could feel my consciousness fading. Before everything turned to black, I heard him introduce himself.
"Oh right. Can't talk. I'm Arthur. Arthur Almasy – you're safe now, kid."
The Limit - End.