Chapter 14: Adventurer (5)

The silver figure ignored the taunt, staring at the retreating figure. Did they think they could escape from it? It stared at Arnold, the sole figure that remained. It didn't know whether to congratulate him for his bravery or laugh at him for his stupidity. The orange aura radiating from him intensified. The silver figure felt a foreign influence trying to make it attack him.

So this is what they used on the feline creature, it thought.

From the back of the silver figure, eight silver tendrils emerged, each standing at a length of 10 meters, ending in a pointed tip. The figure also grew bulkier, its previous build for speed abandoned.

From its side, two new arms sprouted, each armed with a laser blaster, sleek and silver, their barrels glowing red, primed to fire at a moment's notice. It used two of its tendrils to hoist itself up, towering over poor Arnold.

Arnold looked at the creature's transformation. Horror clouded his mind. What kind of sick, twisted fuck would create such a thing? he thought as he raised his shield. No matter, I must hold out until they escape. He raised his shield, circulating mana into it.

"SHIELD BASH!" he screamed as he rushed forward.

The silver figure watched as Arnold rushed, his shield raised high. It could sense a large amount of his energy being directed toward the shield. It responded in kind, sending out a tendril to stop his mad dash.

The two connected, but Arnold had lost in the trade. He was sent crashing back against the wall, his shield turned to splinters. Meanwhile, the tendril remained as pristine as it was before. He rose up, clutching his ribs. He could feel it—one of his ribs had punctured his lung. He coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with bone fragments.

The silver figure approached slowly, sending two tendrils aiming to impale Arnold, but he reacted faster. He dodge-rolled to the side, avoiding impalement. He unsheathed his sword.

"BERSERK!" he shouted once more.

He roared as his frame became bigger, veins bulged on his body, and his skin turned a light shade of red. His eyes became bloodshot as blood began leaking from his ears. This would kill him, but he aimed to take the monster down with him. He jumped high in the air, his sword following behind him. He would kill this monster. But right as the attack was going to connect, a sickening squelch was heard. He froze midair. He looked down to find his chest impaled by a silver tendril. He looked at the monster, and it looked back. And it was then that Arnold understood—he was never a challenge. To the silver figure, he was akin to a bug, parading around.

The silver figure stared at the corpse hanging on its tendril. It brought Arnold closer to its face and placed its fingers on the forehead. The fingers turned into tendrils and burrowed into the corpse's brain. On the silver figure's eye, images began to rapidly flash by—no, not images. They were Arnold's memories, starting from his birth to his death. It took ten seconds for the silver figure to gain all of Arnold's memories. It then flung Arnold's corpse to a nearby wall.

It began to analyze the information, separating the useless from the useful. Delete all useless information.

The silver figure nodded in approval. It would go through the information in detail at a later time. It had prey it needed to catch—since they saw it, they couldn't live. Its eyes glowed a bright red as it moved forward, following after the two people who had escaped.

Anny and Sona ran through the forest. Tears welled up in their eyes. They had just watched their entire team die battling that monster. Their captain had just sacrificed his life to ensure they lived.

"We need to go and inform the guild. They'll need to send stronger adventurers to fight that thing," Anny said.

"What… do… you… think that thing was?" Sona asked between labored breaths.

"I don't know, but we need to keep moving," Anny replied.

Suddenly, the bushes behind them began rustling. Anny turned, sword drawn, awaiting danger. Sona stood behind her, staff raised. She was a healer, but she did have some offensive spells in her arsenal. The top of her staff began glowing a sickly green light.

Out from the bushes, a figure stumbled forward, coughing blood. Arnold. His figure, once filled with strength, was now battered and wounded. Gashes covered his body, blood pouring out. One of his eyes was gouged out, and an arm was completely ripped off.

"Arnold…" Sona said, surprised.

She rushed to him, propping him up.

"How did you escape?" she asked.

"I didn't," he said.

Sona looked up at his face, surprised at his answer. That's when she saw it. Arnold's face began to shift. His figure morphing and changing. His limbs lengthened, turning a silver color. His eyes shifted, changing to a deep shade of red. This wasn't Arnold.

She tried running, but a silver tendril rushed out and wrapped around her neck. Anny rushed at the figure, trying to free Sona, sword raised.

"SIX-STAR SWORD ART: THIRD STAR: STAR PI—"

Anny looked down toward her abdomen—a silver tendril pierced through her, interrupting her spellcasting. She looked toward Sona, seeing tendrils of silver piercing her head, burrowing into her brain. With a cough of blood, she fell to the ground, dead.