"Well, Leech guy," Stephen said with a crooked grin, eyes locked on the beast.
"You'd better come at me with everything you've got…
Because I'm not going easy on you either."
The Abyssal Wretch let out a guttural snarl, the sound vibrating through the sewer walls like a death rattle. Its tendrils twitched. Its fanged maw split wider.
Then it struck.
A blur. A scream of wind. A missile of scale, bone, and hatred. Stephen held his ground, eyes narrowing, body coiled.
The Wretch lunged, but he was ready. He twisted at the last second, stepping into the dodge with razor precision, the beast just missing him by inches as it streaked past like a spectral torpedo.
But it wasn't done.
Mid-air, it twisted.
Its long, armored body bent unnaturally, coiling with a snap of serpentine force, and its barbed tail cracked through the air like a whip, reversing its momentum in a blur of motion.
CRACK!
Stephen's forearm shot up in defense, but too late.
The tail slammed into his arm with bone-breaking speed, the impact flinging him sideways across the tunnel. He smashed against the sewer wall with a grunt, boots scraping across rusted metal.
Pain flared instantly....hot, sharp, and deep.
Blood splattered across the wall. The cut was brutal.
He dropped to one knee, breathing hard, clutching his arm as the corrupted energy in the blow pulsed like acid beneath his skin.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[DAMAGE REGISTERED: 15%]
[SOUL ENERGY LEVEL: 75%]
[STATUS: Deep Laceration – Right Forearm]
[Warning: Spiritual Corrosion Active. Cleanse within 8 minutes to avoid long-term affliction.]
Stephen's vision flickered at the edges, but he stayed crouched, teeth gritted.
The Wretch hovered above him, tail swaying lazily like it enjoyed the pain.
He wiped blood from his mouth, dagger still in hand, his breath ragged but steady.
"Okay…" he muttered darkly, rising to his feet, eyes glowing with defiance.
"Now I'm mad."
This time, Stephen didn't wait. He moved first. He dropped into a crouch, muscles tightening like drawn wires, then launched himself forward like a spring released.
The sewer flashed past in a blur. He ran at a curve, fast and low, forming a wide semi-circle around the Abyssal Wretch, his footsteps splashing through the filth with rapid rhythm.
The Wretch snarled, twisting to follow him. Its tail coiled and lifted, sensing the pattern....waiting to strike.
Stephen closed the distance in seconds, the glow of his soul-energy flaring with each step.
Then, WHIP!
The Abyssal Wretch lashed out, its barbed tail slicing through the air like a guillotine.
But Stephen was faster.
At the last possible second, he dropped low.....both knees skidding across the slimy ground, the tail screaming over his head by inches, stirring wind and grit in its wake.
He was under it.
With one clean motion, Stephen slashed upward, his blade carving beneath the Wretch's exposed underbelly.
SHHHHHK!
A burst of black ichor sprayed into the air as the blade bit deep, but not deep enough. The cut was shallow, glancing off thick armor.
The creature howled in pain, a high-pitched shriek like twisted metal, and whipped its tail downward in instinctual retaliation.
Stephen didn't wait to see it land.
He flipped back hard, pushing off with one hand, body spinning through the damp air. The tail slammed down where he'd just been, cracking the stone beneath.
He landed in a crouch near the sewer wall, breathing hard, one hand braced against the bricks.
He looked up at the creature. Its glowing eyes locked on his, tail twitching with rage. The shallow wound dripped corrupted ichor, but it wasn't enough to slow it down.
Stephen wiped blood from his cheek, eyes narrowing.
"Tsk… too shallow," he muttered.
"I need to go for the head next time."
Then the system blipped to life again, casting a sharp, cold-blue glow across his face.
[COMBAT ANALYSIS: ABYSSAL WRETCH Threat Level: Low–Mid]
[Speed: Moderate]
[Attack Pattern: Lunging strike with tail (approx. 80km/h)]
[Weak Spot: Ventral Shadow Core (visible only after 3 strikes)]
[Suggested Counter: Evade left, strike when tail resets]
Stephen's eyes lit up.
He smirked, tightening his grip on the dagger.
"Well, Lucidas is finally coming in handy."
He rose to his feet slowly, ignoring the ache in his shoulder.
"I won't lose here," he muttered under his breath. "Not in the sewers."
The Wretch circled again, drifting midair like a serpent stalking prey through pitch-black water.
Stephen narrowed his eyes, watching for the pattern. Waiting.
One strike... two...
It lunged again, tail whipping sideways.He moved left. Just as the system predicted. The tail screamed past him. Then, in one fluid motion, he twisted low and struck, his blade humming with pale-blue energy as it lashed upward toward the belly.
And then he saw it.
Just beneath the armored layers, in the faint outline of spectral flesh, a pulsing core of black shadow, barely the size of a coin, flickering like a dying star.
His eyes widened.
"Got you...!"
CRACK!
He never saw the counter coming.
The Abyssal Wretch twisted with impossible speed, spinning its massive tail midair like a wrecking arm, and slammed it straight into his chest.
WHAM!
The impact hit like a truck. Stephen flew. His body crashed into the sewer wall, shattering old stone, then tumbled helplessly into the rancid, waist-deep water below with a sickening splash.
For a moment… everything went silent underwater, dull, muffled, dizzying.
Then the screen reappeared in front of him, blinking red:
...
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Damage Registered: 62%]
[Status: Fractured Ribs | Internal Trauma Detected]
[Soul Energy: 45%]
[Warning: Critical Health Threshold Approaching]
Stephen gasped underwater, lungs burning, eyes stinging from the sewage and murk. Darkness clouded everything, and his limbs felt like lead.
Then...a sudden splash.The Abyssal Wretch dived in after him.
Its sleek, monstrous form cut through the water , tail slicing left and right with terrifying speed, a submerged predator, moving like a crocodile on blood scent.
"Fuck…"
"I need to get out of here."
But there was no exit. Not down here.
It circled him.Fast. Silent. A blur in the gloom.Then....
WHACK!
Its tail smashed into his shoulder, sending him spinning violently through the water. The pain was instant and deep, like his bones were trying to scream.
Before he could recover...
CRACK!
Another hit, this time to his right thigh, and he felt something tear. Blood bloomed in a red haze, vanishing into the filthy dark like spilled ink.
He clenched his jaw, struggling to keep his mouth shut, lungs begging for air, muscles twitching.
His vision blurred.Then the system flickered in front of him in watery distortion:
...
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Damage Registered: 77%]
Status: Deep Tissue Trauma | Fractured [Shoulder | Internal Bleeding]
[Soul Energy: 30%]
[Warning: Survival Threshold Critical]
He was going to die. Not from combat, but from drowning in this sewer tomb.
Unless…
He gritted his teeth, forcing his failing limbs to respond, fingers tightening around the bone dagger.
No. Not like this.
"You died like scum."
Lucidas's voice echoed through Stephen's mind, sharp, cold, merciless.
The words dug deep like poison, like truth.
Was he really about to die here?
Again? Drowned like a rat in a sewer?
Torn apart by some overgrown parasite?
No. Not this time.
He hadn't been reborn to die forgotten.
Not as some washed-up graphic designer or some punching bag for monsters.
He was different now.He was a Reaper. A god of death. And gods don't die in the dark.
Stephen's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly beneath the water, locked on the swirling shadow of the Abyssal Wretch.
Then....a chime.
.....
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Soul Threshold Breached]
[Survival Instincts Triggered]
[New Ability Unlocked: RAGE]
[Type: Combat Surge]
[Effect: Temporarily enhances speed, reflexes, and power based on emotional drive.]
[Cost: -15% Soul Energy per minute]
[Risk: Unstable. Prolonged use may affect mental state.]
[Activate RAGE Mode?]
[YES] / [NO]
.....
Stephen smiled.
His fingers twitched. The water around him started to ripple from unseen pressure.
"You picked the wrong sewer to drown me in."