Chapter 10: Unique Revenant

[Combat Mode:

A feature specifically designed within the system for Lance, tailored to increase his chances of survival. In this mode, the system analyzes opponents, breaks down their movements, and predicts their actions, providing real-time guidance to aid Lance in battle.]

The system popped up again, though I didn't exactly get the time to properly read it.

I staggered back, gasping for air as the lifeless body of Leon crumpled at my feet. Blood smeared the floor, the stench of death thick in the air. My muscles screamed with every movement, and my breaths came out in ragged gasps. But I couldn't relax, not yet. The fight wasn't over.

A low, guttural growl sent a shiver down my spine.

I turned to Lily, her small, frail-looking frame trembling as though she were crying. Her tiny hands were clenched into fists, her shoulders shaking. For a moment, she looked like a scared child mourning her parents.

And then she laughed.

It wasn't a child's laugh. It was cold, guttural, and wrong. Her head tilted unnaturally, her glowing eyes locking onto mine. "Of all the Runners that have passed through, only one other managed to defeat two of us and escaped."

Does this mean there were others like me who went through this? And out of all of them, only one managed to escape? The chances of my friends surviving are almost nonexistent. Does that mean they're gone? That everything I sacrificed all those years ago—all the pain and the choices I made—was for nothing?

My body tensed, and my fists clenched instinctively. "You're just a kid, right? Maybe you should run along before you regret it." My voice was steady, but deep down, I knew something was off.

She tilted her head further, her neck cracking loudly. "Kid? You think I'm a kid?" Her voice twisted into a shriek, her small frame trembling violently. "This is just a mask, I've lived for hundreds of years, haunting down any Runners I come by!"

Her limbs twisted, elongating unnaturally. Black veins pulsed under her pale skin, and her jaw stretched wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth. Her tiny hands mutated into razor-sharp claws, and her body stretched grotesquely. Her laughter filled the room, echoing off the walls as if the house itself were mocking me.

[Alert: Unique Revenant Detected.]

[Warning: Hostile Entity Displaying Advanced Mutation Abilities.]

"Unique Revenant?" I muttered, wiping the sweat from my brow. "This world is just bringing thing after thing into the system."

[Recommendation: Evade. Do not engage directly.]

"Gee, thanks," I spat, just as Lily lunged.

Her speed was unbelievable. She disappeared from sight, and before I could react, her claws raked across my chest. Pain exploded through my body as I stumbled back, blood soaking through my shirt.

She clung to the wall like a spider, her head twisting unnaturally to glare at me. "Your pretty fast, for a human," she taunted. Then, with an inhuman shriek, she pounced again.

I barely dodged, rolling to the side as her claws tore through the air, missing my head by inches. My back slammed into the wall, and I gasped for air.

[Alert: Hostile Entity's Speed Increased.]

[Recommendation: Maintain Distance. Avoid Contact.]

"Distance? She's everywhere!" I barked, ducking just in time to avoid another swipe.

Back in my old world, exercise was the one thing I could rely on—day in and day out, it was all I had. I became the strongest human alive—granted, I was the only human alive—but still, the Revenants there didn't stand a chance against me. Now, though, this Revenant feels like something else entirely, something far beyond me—stronger, faster, deadlier.

Lily's laughter echoed through the room. She clung to the ceiling now, her elongated limbs twisting grotesquely as she circled me like a predator stalking its prey. "Do you like my little tricks?" she sneered. "Let me show you something better."

Before I could react, she dropped to the floor and reached out with one deformed hand. Her fingers grazed a broken chair leg, and within seconds, the wood began to twist and mutate, growing into jagged, blackened spikes. She hurled it at me, and I barely dodged, the mutated shards embedding themselves in the wall behind me.

[Warning: Entity's Mutation Ability Can Alter Surroundings. Avoid Contact at All Costs.]

I gritted my teeth, my mind racing. "Avoid contact? How am I supposed to avoid contact when she's—"

Her elongated limb shot out like a whip, slamming into my side and sending me flying through the air. I crashed through the wall of the house, landing hard in the next room. My ribs screamed in protest, and my vision blurred.

[Alert: Critical Damage Sustained. Health Levels Dangerously Low.]

[Recommendation: Retreat Immediately.]

I coughed, spitting blood onto the floor. Retreat? Where the hell was I supposed to go?

Before I could move, Lily slithered through the hole in the wall like a serpent, her elongated limbs pulling her body forward with eerie grace. Her glowing eyes locked onto mine, and her jagged smile stretched wider.

"You're fun," she said, her voice dripping with malice. "But you're not going to last much longer."

She pounced again, her mutated claws slashing toward me. I rolled to the side, but not fast enough. Her claws raked across my arm, tearing through flesh and muscle. I screamed, the pain blinding.

[Warning: Hostile Entity Preparing Fatal Strike.]

I struggled to my feet, my body trembling. Lily was faster, stronger, and smarter than anything I'd faced before. I couldn't beat her—not like this.

As she closed in, her twisted form towering over me, I braced for the end. My eyes darted around the room, desperate for anything to use, anything that could give me a fighting chance.

That's when I saw it.

Lying just a few feet away, glinting faintly in the dim light, was my spear.

My heart skipped a beat. It felt like a lifeline, the one thing that could turn the tide. But Lily was already raising her mutated limb, preparing to strike.

[Alert: Weapon Detected.]

[Recommendation: Retrieve Spear Immediately.]

Easier said than done.

Lily's claws shot toward me, and I barely managed to roll out of the way. Pain radiated through my body as I crawled toward the spear, every movement agony. She laughed behind me, her footsteps slow and deliberate as she followed.

"You're just dragging this out," she said, her voice mocking. "It's pathetic, really."

I reached out, my fingers brushing the shaft of the spear just as her claws came down.