"What?"
For the first time since entering this abyss, Ash could not suppress his shock.
His eyes widened as he stared at the swirling mist that called itself Cranel.
He had expected a strange biological entity or a mutated guardian, but he never imagined a monster with such a chilling identity.
"Oh? So you're not as cold-hearted as you look, are you?"
Cranel, the creature of shadow and violet haze, seemed to delight in Ash's reaction.
He tilted his featureless head, his voice dripping with amusement.
"That's right. I was one of the original hundred. One of the desperate souls who wandered into the Forbidden Zone and was cast away onto this 'No Name' island. I was there, human. I was one of the architects who laid the first stones of that village above."
"But that is all buried in the past now."
Cranel looked upward, his posture mimicking a man lost in nostalgia.
To Ash, however, the gesture felt sickeningly hollow. It was a theatrical performance of a humanity that the creature had long since discarded.
"And you... you seem to know quite a bit about that history, don't you?"
Ash took a deep breath, forcing the shock down.
He tightened his grip on the silver spear, his expression returning to its usual icy calm.
He remained silent, refusing to give Cranel the satisfaction of a verbal confirmation.
But Cranel didn't need an answer. He continued to peel back the layers of Ash's journey.
"It was Alberto's notebook, wasn't it? I noticed it when I finished him off. I didn't think much of it at the time—I never imagined another living soul would possess the sheer stubbornness to read those ramblings and actually make it down here."
"You... you were the one who killed Alberto?" Ash asked, his voice low and dangerous.
The final piece of the puzzle clicked into place.
He now knew why Alberto's body had been found in that state, and who had draped that shroud over the corpse.
It was the "Ancestor" standing before him.
Though the creature had no mouth, Ash could feel a twisted grin spreading across that faceless mask.
"Correct. I found him while he was taking his final, ragged breaths. As a founding father of his lineage, I decided to grant him a merciful end. A peaceful death."
The words felt like needles under Ash's skin.
The arrogance of this creature was suffocating. Then, a darker realization dawned on Ash. His face clouded over, and his voice turned into a freezing blade.
"The rats... the two Aberrations that attacked the village... that was your doing too, wasn't it?"
Clap—Clap—Clap—
Cranel began to applaud, the sound echoing sharply through the ruined street.
"Bravo! Remarkable intuition. You really are a sharp one."
"You guessed right. I was the one who ferried those vermin to the surface. And I am the one who orchestrated the extermination of that entire village."
"What's the matter? Are you angry now~~?"
Cranel's voice was playful, lighthearted.
He spoke of murdering an entire village—the descendants of his own comrades—as if it were nothing more than a casual afternoon chore.
Ash's face remained a mask of indifference.
He didn't ask why. He knew it was useless. To a creature that had discarded its humanity to become... this, reasons were irrelevant.
A monster didn't need a motive to destroy; it only needed a target.
"Hah... what a pity. I finally meet a living human after all these centuries, and he turns out to be such a bore."
"I suppose we have nothing left to discuss, then?"
Ash shifted his weight, his eyes tracking Cranel's every micro-movement.
His senses were dialed to the absolute maximum.
Cranel slowly raised his left hand to shoulder height.
"Therefore..."
Snap—
"Just die."
Whoosh—!
DANGER—!
The warning didn't come from the front. It screamed from behind.
Ash's instincts, honed by the medication and the brutal survival of the last few hours, forced his body to react before his mind could. He lunged upward, kicking off the stone pavement with explosive force.
BOOM—!
A massive impact shattered the ground where he had stood a split second ago. A thick cloud of dust erupted into the air.
Ash landed several meters away, immediately sliding back to maintain distance from Cranel.
As the dust settled, a massive, scaly green tail was revealed, twitching amidst the rubble.
"Oh? You survived that? To dodge an attack from Crea... you really do have some talent."
The dust cleared completely, revealing the nightmare named Crea. It was a gargantuan lizard, over five meters long, with skin the color of bruised emeralds and midnight.
It possessed six powerful legs, each ending in claws that could rend steel.
A line of jagged, obsidian-like spikes ran from its head down to the tip of its massive tail.
Cranel drifted over to the lizard, patting its cold, scaly side affectionately.
"Allow me to introduce my pet. After my rats and those two Aberrations failed me, I needed something a bit more... substantial. I raised this one myself."
"Well? Don't you think I'm a magnificent trainer~~?"
Cranel's faceless gaze locked onto Ash.
"By the way, just so you know... Crea is a Semi-Predator class. And she has the ability to turn invisible."
His voice was mocking, a playful taunt.
"So... try not to die too quickly~~!"
Before the sentence even finished, the lizard had vanished.
Ash's eyes darted around, but the creature was gone from sight. Suddenly, the air to his right rippled.
A massive claw swung down with the force of a falling building.
Ash twisted his body to the left, the wind from the strike whistling past his ear.
BOOM—!
Crea's foot slammed into the stone, pulverizing it into fine powder.
Then, the creature faded back into nothingness, beginning its hunt.
Ash didn't hesitate. He turned and sprinted toward the city center.
While running, he reached into his spatial bag, pulled out a vial of Alberto's medicine, and downed it in one gulp.
The liquid felt like molten lead sliding down his throat.
Immediately, his heart hammered against his ribs, and his muscles bulged with artificial strength. His perception sharpened, the world slowing down just enough for him to see the faint distortions in the air where Crea was moving.
He accelerated, his boots blurring against the stone.
Cranel watched from behind, walking at a leisurely pace.
He wasn't worried. He had known Ash was here the moment the artificial sun was activated.
He had stayed in the shadows, observing, measuring Ash's strength from a distance.
There was one thing Cranel didn't know, however.
He had lived here for centuries, but he had never discovered the secret chamber beneath the cathedral.
He had assumed Ash was simply resting inside. He hadn't dared to get too close to check, fearing he might alert the human.
When Ash finally emerged, Cranel had sent Crea to circle him, testing the human's awareness.
He was surprised to find that Ash seemed like an ordinary human—not even an "Opener."
"But he'll die here nonetheless."
'I won't let a mere human ruin a plan a thousand years in the making.'
...
BOOM—! BOOM—! BOOM—!
The already ruined houses were reduced to splinters and dust as the chase tore through the streets.
Crea was a phantom, flickering in and out of existence, her claws swiping at Ash's heels.
Ash was a blur of motion, weaving through the debris. He lunged and parried with his spear, but every time he thrust toward a distortion in the air, the lizard vanished, leaving his blade to bite only empty air.
They moved across the rooftops, jumping from one crumbling tower to the next.
CRASH—!
Crea's tail caught a small spire, snapping it like a twig. The structure collapsed in a roar of stone.
Ash dodged the falling debris and threw a heavy punch toward the air where he sensed the beast.
His fist met a hard, scaly surface, but Crea slipped away before he could follow up.
Ash gritted his teeth, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
'This is bad. Even if it's weaker than that shadow monster on the surface, its rank is still far higher than mine.'
'Alberto's medicine only boosts me to the level of an Opener, and it only lasts for five minutes. I have to kill this thing or find the Core and get out of this hellhole before the clock runs out.'
Whoosh—!
CLANG—!
Crea's claws collided with the shaft of Ash's spear. The impact was like being hit by a freight train. The force sent Ash flying backward, his boots skidding across the stone.
BOOM— BOOM— BOOM—!
He was thrown through three consecutive buildings, his body smashing through rotted wood and ancient stone.
He landed in a heap, the world spinning.
'Everything hurts... Kuh... and my left shoulder is screaming.'
He couldn't afford a prolonged battle.
The medicine was burning through his system, and the pain in his shoulder was a constant, throbbing reminder of his mortality.
He forced himself up, ignoring the blood trickling down his forehead, and bolted toward the city center once more. Crea was right behind him, a silent, invisible predator.
...
BOOM—!
Meanwhile, back at the entrance of the tunnels.
The shadow monster from the surface had finally dug its way through.
It landed in the underground passage, its single arm twitching with anticipation.
"KEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
The true hunt had begun.