Once the cavernous room came into view, stalactite chandeliers bathed the lake in a bloody crimson glow. Ace's team dropped into formation: Alex and the other tank up front, Ace and Chaewon behind them, healers in the rear.
No monster lurked in sight, but everyone knew creatures rose from the crimson water. With the lake now scarlet, they expected a fresh breed of Black Umi to appear at any moment.
Then something strange happened.
"Eh?!"
Ace's revealing thought echoed across the lake, blending with the others in a terrible chorus. Alex, Chaewon, and Mercer traded looks to confirm this wasn't a hallucination.
To test it, they answered back in thought.
Just as Ace finished the thought, the Crimson Lake rippled. In true Black Umi fashion, a huge undead lumbered ashore, towering over even Alex. Bloated muscles bulged like a bodybuilder pumped full of chemical enhancements. A shrunken face, misshapen skull, and hairless scalp left him unrecognizable.
But his thoughts rang clear.
"Sean," Ace said. "You went way off the rails."
"I can't," Ace admitted. "So listen to my thoughts."
Silence blanketed the cavern. Only Ace's mind spoke.
Veins bulged along Sean's temple, each pulsing like a worm. His head jerked in rage before he slammed swollen fists onto the stone floor, shaking the cave and rattling the crimson‑lit stalactites.
Sean was truly strong now.
Ace added.
The others nodded, their thoughts echoing his.
Sean's howl drowned them out.
He bolted for Ace. Despite his bulk he moved fast, but Alex was faster. Planting his feet, shield raised, Alex used his provoke skill to glue the monster's attention to him.
Each punch slammed Alex's shield like a sledgehammer, yet the grin never left his face. He loved watching hope die in an enemy's eyes.
Though Sean's eyes were gone, his thoughts were clear and loud.
"Is this how all monsters feel? Heh." Alex snorted.
Two shadows streaked past him—Ace on the left, Chaewon on the right. Their weapons sank into Sean's swollen flesh, bursting it like overfilled balloons. Dark blood sprayed, but neither slowed even after breaking Alex's taunt. With two threats now, Sean's monster instincts faltered. His last shred of humanity locked on Don Capo. He reached out and caught nothing.
Ace and Chaewon had already retreated. Alex seized the opening, smashing his shield into Sean's face and toppling him.
Sean rolled. Ace and Chaewon struck again, reducing him to a regular undead shape. Blood fountained while they carved without mercy. Seeing Chaewon's calm grin, her usual kindness gone, broke the final thread holding Sean together.
His hatred poisoned his blood. It sizzled, steaming hot. The spray on Ace and Chaewon burned, melting cloth and searing skin. They sprinted to the healers.
Mercer raised his staff. "Rejuvenation Flux!"
Boiling blood evaporated from Ace's skin, flesh knitting clean. "Thanks," Ace said.
"Anytime, big bro," Mercer beamed.
Marko healed Chaewon. She peeled off her ruined hoodie, leaving a T‑shirt and dolphin shorts. She glanced at Ace for a plan.
He tossed his shredded hoodie aside and nodded. "Let's just be faster."
Meanwhile, Sean sat in a pool of his own sizzling blood, head hanging low. He already looked beaten, like he had no way left to fight Ace and the others. He had never matched them, and the brute strength he'd gained was useless in his hands. No one listened to him now. Everyone sided with Don Capo.
Sean's head snapped up at her voice, his grin twisting his face into something even more grotesque. Ace and the others heard the Priestess too and watched him with fresh wariness.
Behind Sean, a whirlpool spiraled up from the lake, rose like a crimson tornado, and crashed over him. The water knit his muscles and restored his swollen body to its warped prime. He straightened, smile widening.
She laughed at his stupidity. He was so foolish she chose to step in deeper than she'd planned.
For now, Sean threw himself forward. As before, Alex caught him with his provoke skill, and the undead only grinned wider. Sean hammered his fists faster, wild as a rookie swinging blind. Each blow hurt him more than it hurt Alex.
Sean's blood was the most dangerous. It splattered onto Alex's shield, eating at its surface. Then, sizzling drops slipped past the rim, burning Alex's cheek.
Ace and Chaewon slashed at Sean, yet he ignored them and kept pounding on Alex, spilling more blood like a lunatic.