The room was no longer a room.
It was a wreck.
Walls shattered.
Ceiling cracked.
Debris everywhere.
And in the center
Chaos.
Sam moved like a flicker of lightning, but now… it wasn't clean anymore.
Not precise.
Not effortless.
It was violent.
Brutal.
One of the blue-skinned shapeshifters lunged
Sam met it head-on.
Their fists collided
BOOM
The shockwave cracked the floor beneath them.
The creature grinned
Sam didn't.
Lightning surged through his arm
He twisted
And drove his blade straight through its chest.
The creature shrieked
But another slammed into Sam's side mid-strike.
CRACK
He was sent skidding across the ground, smashing through a broken pillar.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
"…tch. Fuck... ... !"
He rolled up just in time to avoid claws ripping through the space where his head had been.
They weren't slowing down.
Not even a little.
Three of them attacked together
Perfect coordination.
Sam activated Static Field again with more output
Electricity surged outward
Slowing them but barely.
He stepped in.
Lightning Enhancement surged.
He ducked one swipe
Parried another
Then unleashed a point-blank lightning burst into the third.
CRACK!
The creature convulsed violently
Sam didn't stop.
He spun
Blade flashing
SLASH
Its head came clean off.
Second kill.
But he paid for it.
A claw tore across his back.
Deep.
Blood sprayed.
Sam staggered
Another fist slammed into his stomach
He coughed, forced backward
A third strike caught his leg
CRACK
He dropped to one knee.
"…damn this guy's are intense... "
They didn't give him time.
The creatures circled.
Closing in.
One of them laughed.
"You're slowing down."
Sam wiped blood from his mouth.
"…you're still ugly... especially with that forehead..... Out here looking like you know the future ."
It rushed him
Sam exploded upward
Using lightning propulsion
He flipped over it
Grabbed its head mid-air
Activated Blood Siphon
The creature screamed
Its body shriveled
Drained.
Sam landed, dropping the husk.
His wounds began closing... slowly.
Not enough.
Not fast enough.
More came.
Relentless.
Sam gritted his teeth.
"…fine… come on…"
He moved again.
Faster.
More reckless.
A lightning lance shot through one creature's chest
He followed with a sword strike
Another kill.
But two slammed into him at once
He was driven into the ground
The floor shattered beneath him
Dust exploded upward.
A claw plunged toward his throat
Sam caught it with his good arm
Barely
His muscles strained
The creature pushed harder
"…die already!"
Sam's eyes flashed.
Lightning surged violently through his body
He released it all at once
CRACK.... BOOM
The explosion blasted them off him.
He rolled, gasping.
Pain everywhere.
Cuts.
Bruises.
Internal damage.
But
Half of them were down.
Bodies scattered.
Still.
Not regenerating.
Dead.
The remaining ones stood back.
Breathing heavier now.
Their confidence… shaken.
Even the leader's grin faded slightly.
"…you killed half," he said slowly.
Sam stood.
Unsteady.
Bleeding.
Lightning flickering wildly now... less controlled.
More instinctive.
"…you talk too much," Sam replied.
The leader stepped forward.
"…then let's finish it."
The remaining creatures spread out.
Slower now.
More cautious.
Sam adjusted his stance.
Sword raised.
Lightning roaring.
His body screamed for rest
But his will didn't.
This wasn't over.
Not yet.
The atmosphere had changed...
The air felt heavier.
Thicker.
Like the building itself knew it was about to collapse.
Sam stood in the center of the ruined base.. bleeding, breathing hard, lightning flickering uncontrollably across his body.
Only a few of the blue-skinned shapeshifters remained.
And their leader.
They didn't rush this time.
They circled.
Careful.
Wounded.
But still dangerous.
The leader tilted his head.
"…you're breaking."
Sam smirked faintly.
"…and you're still an ugly blue wrinkle with a continent sized forehead.. How do you even walk around with that thing..... Bet you got neck problems ."
The creature's grin sharpened.
"Kill this talkative shit wizard ."
They moved.
Faster than before.
More desperate.
One came low
Another high
The leader straight ahead.
Sam reacted on instinct.
Lightning surged
He ducked
Parried
Countered
His blade carved across one creature's torso
Deep
But not enough
Another slammed into his side
CRACK
Something inside him shifted.
His balance broke.
The leader saw it.
Opportunity.
He lunged.
Too fast.
Too close.
Sam raised his sword
But a second creature grabbed his arm
Held it
Pinned
The leader's clawed hand came down
A blur
A flash
Pain.
Blinding.
Absolute.
RIP
Sam's right arm was torn clean off.
For a split second
Silence.
Then
Blood.
A spray of red across broken concrete.
Sam staggered backward, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat.
His arm
Gone.
The creature holding it grinned wildly..
"I Got you... I got you.. Hahahahaha !" the creature laughed.
The leader laughed too..
"Now you're finished"
They were wrong.
Sam's head lowered.
His body trembled.
Not from fear.
From something else.
Lightning exploded.
Violent.
Unstable.
Uncontrolled.
The room lit up in a blinding storm of blue-white arcs.
"…you…"
His voice was low.
Cold.
"…really messed up."
He moved.
Faster than before.
Faster than he should be able to.
Pain ignored.
Body screaming.
He slammed into the nearest creature
Point-blank discharge
CRACK!
It didn't even scream... its body collapsed instantly.
He turned
Kicked another into a wall
Before it could recover
Lightning Lance through the skull
Dead.
The leader stepped back now.
"…what. "
Sam appeared in front of him.
Eyes glowing faintly with stormlight.
He grabbed the leader by the throat
Left hand only.
Activated Blood Siphon.
The creature thrashed
Screamed
Its body shriveled
Drained
Sam didn't stop.
Didn't blink.
Didn't hesitate.
Until it went still.
He dropped it.
Silence.
Only one remained.
The one holding his arm.
It stared at him
Then at the arm
Then back at Sam.
Fear.
Real fear.
"…monster…"
It turned
Ran.
Bursting through a side wall.
Sam moved to follow
But his body failed him.
He staggered
Fell to one knee.
"…damn, I lost a lot of blood... …"
Outside..
The escaping creature sprinted across the ruins..
Still clutching Sam's severed arm..
The true Bounty.
Behind it
The building began to collapse.
The fight had destroyed too much.
The structure groaned
Cracked
Then gave way.
BOOOOOM
The entire base collapsed inward.
Dust.
Fire.
Debris.
Everything buried.
Inside the Ruins
Silence.
Heavy.
Still.
Then
Movement.
Rubble shifted.
A hand
Left hand
Pushed through broken concrete.
Sam dragged himself out slowly.
Covered in dust.
Blood still pouring from his missing arm.
But
He was alive.
Barely.
His breathing was rough.
Uneven.
His vision blurred slightly.
But his body…
Was already trying to adapt.
Trying to survive.
"…the little shit got away with my arm... …"
He looked at the empty space where his arm had been.
Then at the horizon.
"…I have bad feeling about this... …"
His voice was hoarse.
Lightning flickered weakly around him.
The storm hadn't ended.
It had just… changed...
Far from the collapsing ruins…
The lone survivor ran.
Its breathing was ragged, body trembling... not from exhaustion alone, but from fear.
Clutched tightly in its clawed hand…
Sam's severed arm.
Even now, faint sparks of lightning flickered across the skin, refusing to fully fade.
"…the wizard guy is a monster…" the creature muttered again, voice shaking.
It didn't stop.
Through wastelands.
Through broken highways.
Through shifting sands.
Days blurred together as it pushed forward, driven by two things ..
Survival and the bounty
...
Wizard City
The chaotic, glowing streets welcomed it back.
Magic pulsed everywhere.
Noise.
Life.
Crowds.
It blended in quickly, pulling a tattered cloak over its unnatural form. In this city, strangeness wasn't unusual but fear still lingered in its movements.
It didn't head to the markets.
Or taverns.
Or open streets.
Instead
It slipped into the shadows.
Down narrow alleys.
Through hidden doors.
Into the lower levels.
Beneath the City
The cult chamber was quiet when it arrived.
Candles flickered.
Runes glowed faintly.
The cult member... the same one who had first encountered Sam in the dungeon.. stood waiting.
He didn't look surprised.
"…you lived."
The creature dropped to one knee, holding up the arm.
"…barely but.... ."
"I completed the secondary objective."
The cultist stepped forward slowly.
His eyes locked onto the arm.
Lightning still danced faintly across the dark skin.
Alive.
Even severed.
"…remarkable…" he whispered.
He took it carefully, almost reverently.
"Proof."
The creature swallowed.
"…he killed everyone else."
A pause.
"…he wasn't human."
The cultist smiled faintly.
"…we know."
He waved a hand.
A pouch appeared... heavy, filled with glowing crystals and enchanted coins.
"Your payment."
The creature grabbed it quickly.
No hesitation.
No gratitude.
Only relief.
It stood.
"…I'm done with this hunting shit.. I'm retiring early.. ."
The cultist chuckled softly.
"…wise choice, shape changer ."
Without another word, the creature turned and disappeared into the shadows... vanishing back into the chaotic streets above, eager to forget what it had faced.
Silence returned.
The cultist looked down at the arm again.
Lightning sparked weakly across his fingers as he touched it.
He didn't flinch.
Instead
He laughed.
Low.
Dark.
"…it grows stronger…"
He turned toward the ritual circle behind him.
Now more complete than before.
Runes layered upon runes.
A cube-shaped structure forming at its center... half material, half magical construct.
The stasis seal.
"…perfect…"
He raised the arm slightly.
"…we don't need to kill the storm…"
"…we only need to understand it…"
His smile widened.
"…and then bury it."
Behind him, other cultists continued their work.
Etching symbols.
Channeling mana.
Building something meant to last centuries.
Something meant to hold even a storm.
And far away…
Sam was still alive.
Still moving.
Still fighting.
Unaware
That part of him had already reached his enemies.
And that the trap being built…
Was meant specifically for him.