Whoosh!
The shadow monster lunged at Ash with terrifying velocity, the sound of displaced air screaming in its wake.
It was no longer a mere pursuit; it was a lethal blur of motion.
'Too fast!'
Ash's brain barely had time to process the threat before his body acted on pure, primal instinct.
He jerked his head to the side, feeling the cold kiss of death as the creature's claws whistled past his temple.
SLASH—! BOOM—!
The monster's momentum was so gargantuan that it couldn't stop.
It barreled past Ash, crashing through a row of ancient stone houses behind him, reducing them to piles of jagged rubble.
Despite his narrow escape, Ash felt a warm sting across his cheek. A shallow gash had been carved into his skin, a crimson reminder of how close he had come to decapitation.
'I'm still alive... barely.'
"How is a Velth still roaming these halls?"
A voice, laced with genuine surprise, echoed from the shadows of a nearby ruin. Cranel stepped out from the debris, looking remarkably unscathed.
The punch Ash had landed earlier had bruised his pride more than his ethereal form.
He watched the shadow monster—the Velth—struggle out of the ruins, his eyeless gaze flickering with intrigue.
"I was certain Alberto had slaughtered the remaining two,"
Cranel mused, a dark chuckle vibrating in his chest.
"It seems you've attracted a particularly persistent stalker, boy. You should know that the Velth are renowned for their spite. Once they mark a target, they do not cease until they are feasting on its marrow."
He tilted his head, watching the Velth recover.
"Furthermore, they despise third-party interferences. I have no desire to be the collateral damage of a Predator-class beast right now. So... I shall take my leave. Good luck, little cockroach."
With a casual wave, Cranel's pet, Crea, shimmered into existence.
Cranel vaulted onto the lizard's back, and in a blink, both master and beast vanished into the gloom.
Ash didn't waste a second. He ignored the stinging in his cheek and bolted toward the city center.
"KEEEEEE—!"
The Velth was already back on its feet.
The air behind Ash rippled as the creature launched itself again. It was faster now, driven by a frenzied hunger.
Ash threw his body backward, the claws raking the air inches from his chest.
Using the momentum, he rolled and slammed his feet into the ground, propelling himself forward with every ounce of strength he had left.
Zip!
The Velth mirrored his movements, a dark streak of malice clinging to his shadow.
From the safety of the upper rafters of a distant building, Cranel watched the two streaks of motion blur across the city.
"To think another Velth existed... though this one appears weakened. A runt with only one arm," Cranel whispered to himself, his mind calculating.
"Even a crippled Velth is a marvel among Predators. Their ability to phase into shadow makes them nearly untouchable, and their command over darkness—no matter how rudimentary—is a nightmare for any Opener. But they aren't invincible. They can only phase two parts of their body at once. If someone were to strike fast enough, with enough frequency, they would eventually bleed."
A sinister light sparked within the swirling mist of his face. "If the boy can weaken it enough, I can move in for the kill.
The essence of a Velth would be the perfect catalyst for my Crea to undergo its 'Step Beyond.'"
He leaned forward, his voice a low, mocking hiss.
"Go on then, little boy. Exhaust yourself. Break that monster for me."
On the crumbling streets below, Ash was a dying star, burning his life force for a few more seconds of motion.
He had downed a third vial of the medicine during the sprint.
His heart felt like it was trying to punch through his ribs, and his muscles were vibrating at a frequency that threatened to tear them from the bone.
He was beyond the realm of an Opener now, hovering on the precipice of a Semi-Descendent, but the cost was catastrophic.
His old wounds had reopened, and new ones were pouring blood into his rags. He was no longer running with his legs; he was running on pure, unadulterated willpower.
Whoosh—! SLASH—!
"Kuh..."
A fresh gash opened across his back.
Ash gritted his teeth so hard he felt them crack. He didn't scream. Screaming was a waste of oxygen.
Swish!!--Swish!!--Swish!!--
A flurry of strikes descended upon him. Ash moved like a broken marionette, twisting and jerking to avoid the lethal blows.
Then, a claw flickered directly in front of his face. He jerked his head, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.
The talon ripped upward, slicing across his right eye.
"Ahh...!"
Ash's hand flew to his face, hot blood gushing between his fingers. The world on his right side went pitch black, replaced by a searing, throbbing agony.
He stumbled, but he didn't stop. He knew with absolute certainty that if his feet touched the ground for more than a second, the Velth would tear his spine out.
'Don't stop. Move. MOVE!'
With one hand clutching his bleeding eye and the other white-knuckled around his silver spear, he surged forward.
He was a lopsided, bloody mess, but he was still moving.
Watching from a distance, Cranel's mockery began to turn into a cold, clinical respect.
Even among his old comrades, few had possessed such a terrifying will to live.
Not even some of the Ascendants he had known could have endured this level of physical desecration while maintaining their focus.
Fear, cold and sharp, began to prickle at Cranel's mind.
'If this boy lives... if he ever reaches the same level as me... he will be my ruin.'
Cranel's decision was instantaneous.
He couldn't leave this to the Velth anymore. He signaled to Crea.
The giant lizard understood immediately, its skin rippling as it became a phantom of the wind, racing toward the wounded human.
Ash's vision was a blur of gray and red.
The world was spinning, and the effects of the three vials were beginning to turn toxic.
His nervous system was on the verge of a total shutdown.
But then, through the haze, a structure emerged from the darkness.
'There... the castle!'
The dark, majestic fortress stood before him.
Ash let go of his eye, his bloody face contorted in a snarl of desperation.
He dug his heels into the stone, entering a final, frantic sprint.
"KEEEE—!"
The Velth, sensing its prey was about to reach sanctuary, let out a piercing shriek and accelerated to its absolute limit.
They became two streaks of darkness tearing through the ancient ruins—one human, one monster.
One prey, one hunter.
Logic dictated that a Predator-class entity should have ended this minutes ago.
But Ash was like a cockroach that refused to be crushed, a parasite clinging to the very thread of life with blood-soaked fingers.
The Velth's pride was wounded; its instinct demanded the total erasure of this defiant creature.
"KEEEEEEEEEEEEE—!"
Both of them broke 100km/h, their body becoming a shadow-lance.
They reached the perimeter of the Great Castle. Despite the ravages of time and the scars of an ancient war, the fortress remained a titan.
It stood over 300 meters tall, surrounded by a ring of defensive towers that formed a perfect, silent circle.
A ten-meter-wide moat, now filled with stagnant, black water, guarded its entrance.
Narrow stone bridges spanned the moat, leading to the towering gates.
Once, this place had been the crown jewel of a civilization. Now, it was a slaughterhouse.
The stage was set: a monster born from the corpse of its mother, a faceless deceiver woven from shadow, and an ordinary man walking the razor's edge between life and oblivion.
The final hunt had reached the throne room of the dead.