The atmosphere was thick with an almost palpable sense of impending doom, and the stillness of the animals in the forest made the situation even more frightening.
Elena gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, looking left and right. "We need to retreat immediately!"
Everyone felt and thought the same.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Marcus said, tightening his grip on his hammer.
"I agree. I'm feeling drowsy too," Samara added.
Suddenly, Elena shouted, "Watch out!"
A creature appeared in front of Samara out of nowhere, and she barely dodged it. "for the saints sake, where did that come from?"
Samara stepped back several paces to ready her bow, while Elena rushed towards the creature.
"Swish... Swish... Swish..." Elena swung her sword at the creature several times, but it easily deflected all her strikes with its hands.
The creature stood at least two meters tall, unnaturally thin and gaunt.
Its face was extremely grotesque, everything about it contrary to nature.
The creature's eyes were located at the bottom of its head, while its wide mouth was at the front, bearing a truly ominous smile.
Its hands were long, nearly a meter each, ending in three long claws.
Even its legs were strange—this grotesque creature had three of them!
Marcus looked at the abomination and gripped his hammer tightly. "I'll push it back; attack together after that."
"Alright, stay focused," Elena ordered Marcus.
Marcus charged towards the creature and swung his hammer with great force at its head, but the creature stopped the hammer easily with its hand.
"Tch, it's strong," Marcus muttered, pulling back his hammer and stepping away.
The creature stood still, its grotesque smile directed at the group.
An arrow suddenly pierced its right shoulder forcefully. "Hahah, take that, you ugly thing!" Samara cackled, her aim true.
The creature didn't flinch and easily pulled the arrow out of its shoulder.
Then, everyone's expressions turned to shock... the wound began to heal at an astonishing speed.
"Impossible! It can heal itself quickly!" Samara exclaimed in disbelief.
At that moment, Sullivan and Jet moved swiftly.
Sullivan stabbed the creature multiple times with his sword "Swish... Swish... Swish... "
" Damn, it's healing fast!" Sullivan shouted
"Get away from it!" Jet shouted, hurling a fireball at the creature's face.
But the creature remained unaffected, standing still with its ghastly smile.
"Why won't this thing go down?" Marcus roared, frustrated.
Suddenly, the corrupted leader lunged at Jet with terrifying speed, aiming a clawed hand at Jet's head.
Elena was there in an instant, blocking the strike with the edge of her sword. "Be careful; it attacks quickly!"
She stepped back slightly, preparing to attack the creature again.
The creature rushed at Elena with insane speed, striking her sword with brutal force.
"Ching!... Ching!... Ching!..." Elena struggled to block the sharp claws of the creature.
Until her hand faltered, and the creature aimed its claws at her head. "Damn it!" Elena shouted.
In that moment, Sullivan appeared in her place, thanks to his unique teleportation ability.
He crouched low, swung his sword precisely, and severed the creature's arm in one smooth motion.
"I did it! I cut off its hand!" Sullivan rejoiced.
But his joy was short-lived...
As he moved for another strike, the creature's severed arm regenerated at a crazy speed, thrusting into Sullivan's chest and shattering his insides.
Sullivan gasped, spitting blood, screaming in pain, "Aaaaargh!"
"No! No, no, Sulllivaaaan!" Jet and Pedro shouted together, rushing to help him.
But the monster moved with terrifying speed, severing their heads from their bodies in the blink of an eye.
"You son of the bitch !" Marcus threw himself at the monster, his eyes blazing with anger.
He swung his hammer with force toward the creature, but Marcus failed once more...
The creature effortlessly grabbed the hammer while looking at him with a sinister grin.
"No, no, damn it!" Marcus cried out in despair.
The creature's claws moved swiftly, tearing open Marcus's abdomen and spilling his innards.
Marcus fell to the ground, writhing in pain and dying slowly.
Samara screamed with all her might, hurling her spears wildly. "I will kill you, I will kill you, I will kill you!"
The creature charged at Samara with speed, but Elena got in its way.
But it was too late... Samara's head was already flying through the air beside her.
"Ching!... Ching!... Ching!..." Elena struggled to fend off the creature's sharp claws.
Every second felt like an eternity for Elena as she fought the creature alone.
Elena's movements became slower as the battle wore on.
The creature tore through Elena's armor and inflicted fatal wounds. "Ugh, you fucking monster!" Elena spat blood from her mouth.
Writhing in pain, Elena tried to avoid the creature's swift claws.
But this time, she couldn't evade them quickly enough... At that moment, the creature severed Elena's hand that was holding the sword.
Elena screamed, "Ugh, ahh!" clutching her severed hand in agony.
Elena realized her end was near, so she grabbed her severed hand then she used her last bit of strength to fly away and escape!
The creature pursued her relentlessly, sometimes faster than her, but somehow she managed to evade it...
Later, Elena woke up in the medical complex in Anvil.
She recounted the terrifying encounter from her bed in the military complex's medical room to those around her.
Commander Morgan was sitting in a chair with a dark and troubling expression.
Next to him was Saint Park from the Golden Saint faction, listening attentively with his back resting against the wall.
Meanwhile, Saint Lamar was playing with her hair, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, seemingly indifferent to what Elena had told them.
Morgan's voice cut through the tense air, "Damn this nonsense. Why is there a corrupt leader in the Northern Coastal Plains?"
Park adjusted his stance and looked at Lamar, "It's interesting. It's rare that such corruption escapes our notice."
"I think it's time for revenge for our fallen fighters. Don't you agree, Lamar?"
Lamar sighed indifferently, "Let's get this over with quickly. I have more important things to attend to than wasting my time on this nonsense."
Elena looked at her with disdain, "What do you mean by nonsense? Five members of your faction have just been killed, and you say there's something more important than that? Shame on you, Saint!"
With a cold, sarcastic smile, Lamar approached Elena.
She placed her hand under Elena's chin to lift her head slightly. "I don't care who was killed. It's not my duty to share your anger, little leader."
Elena bit her lip angrily, "You truly are a despicable whore."
Lamar withdrew her hand, laughing. "Anyway, let's go, Park. I already have things to do."
Park sighed heavily and looked at Morgan, "It seems I'll have to rely on you again, Morgan."
Morgan replied, "What do you want?"
Park scratched his head, "As you know, make sure that news of this corrupt leader doesn't spread around."
Morgan nodded, "Ah, you're right. I'll make sure of it."
Elena shouted at everyone, "What's wrong with you all? Don't you have any feelings for those who were killed?"
Lamar glanced back as she was leaving, her eyes devoid of empathy. "There's no room for feelings when fighting chaos, girl. Remember that well."
When Lamar and Park left, Morgan placed his hand on Elena's shoulder. "We will avenge them, Elena. I promise you that."
Elena nodded, wiping tears from her cheek. "Thank you, Morgan."
Morgan nodded in return and added, "There's something you need to know."
She asked, "What is it?"
"We have pinpointed the source of the corrupt leader. It's deeper than we thought," he replied.
Elena clenched her fist on her bed. "Where?"
Morgan sighed with concern. "In the heart of the Deepwood Forest, where that old man used to live."
He sighed deeply before continuing, "I really hate that old man."
Elena looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Who do you mean?"
Morgan sighed again, "The fool, Adrian."
Her eyes widened. "Do you mean the former Saint Adrian?"
"Yes," Morgan confirmed.
"Park and Lamar will head there to deal with the corrupt leader."
Elena's expression darkened as she glanced at her own body. "Do you think they can handle it?"
Morgan laughed and replied, "Of course. They are Saints, don't you know that?"
"They are both incredibly powerful. Especially Lamar—she's a demon, to say the least."
Elena nodded. "Well, that's good..."
"Haah… haah… haah…" Jin gasped for breath, terrified.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Adrian's severed leg in front of him.
Tears began streaming from his eyes as he looked at his grandfather, leaning on his sword as a crutch after losing his leg.
Adrian, his grandfather, was engaged in a desperate battle with a grotesque monster unlike anything Jin had ever seen.
"Grrr… Run, Jin! Don't stop! Just go!" Adrian yelled, his voice mixed with pain and panic.
Blood was flowing from Adrian's stump like a fountain as he barely propped himself up on the sword.
Suddenly, the creature lunged toward Adrian with frenzied speed, its claws aimed at his head.
Adrian adjusted his sword and braced himself on his remaining leg to fend off the creature's claws.
"...Ting…! Ting…! Ting!" Adrian skillfully deflected all of the creature's attacks despite standing on one leg!
In a moment, Adrian lunged to swing his sword horizontally, severing the creature's arm before stepping back, balancing on his remaining leg.
But the creature's hand was already regenerating.
"You damn stubborn ugly monster!" Adrian cursed the creature as blood spilled from his mouth.
Jin watched in stunned silence, his mind struggling to keep up with the ferocity of the battle.
Jin was awestruck by his grandfather's deadly power. Despite losing his leg, Adrian moved with agility and speed!
The creature charged at Adrian again, but Adrian leapt into the air, positioning himself above the creature.
In mid-air, Adrian tilted his body so his remaining leg was above and his torso below.
He grabbed the creature's shoulder firmly. "Gotcha, heh heh!"
Adrian's other hand wielded a massive sword, swinging it with devastating force.
"Swoosh!" Adrian plunged his sword with force into the creature's back and quickly pulled it out, stepping back a few paces while supporting himself with his hand on the ground.
Adrian panted heavily, looking at the creature, which was already healing its wounds.
"Grandpa, are you okay?" Jin shouted, his voice heavy with worry and fear.
The creature heard Jin's voice and, with its usual hideous grin, turned its gaze toward him!
"Run, Jin! Run now!" Adrian yelled with all his might.
But the creature was faster than Adrian's shout…
The creature stood before Jin, looking at him with a sinister gaze and a frightening smile.
Jin's world slowed in terror… He could see every detail of the creature's face and the malevolent gleam in its eyes. Time seemed to stretch indefinitely as he stared at the creature's face.
Jin's instincts screamed at him to move, but his body was frozen in place.
The creature's clawed hand swung toward Jin's throat, the air hissing as it sliced through the space between them.
Suddenly, a flash of light erupted between them, and the creature's hand was severed, falling to the ground.
"Get up, you clumsy one!" Adrian charged forcefully toward Jin.
Despite his severe wounds, Adrian intercepted the attack, placing himself between Jin and the creature.
"Jin, go, go now!" Adrian shouted into Jin's face.
Before Jin could respond, he froze in horror as the creature's body twisted with unnatural agility.
It contorted its body backward, and in an inhumanly swift motion, its severed hand healed instantly.
The creature's claws sank into Adrian's chest, with the hand extending past Jin's head.
Adrian screamed in agony as his flesh was torn apart, while Jin was left shocked and speechless…