Chapter 180:Death.
The laboratory fell deathly silent. No one moved or even dared to breathe too loudly. Every flashlight was aimed toward the darkness beyond the corridor, their beams cutting through the thick dust suspended in the air.
Silver slowly swept his gaze from one side of the passage to the other. His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. The second hiss had been much closer; whatever was stalking them... It wasn’t far away.
"...Stay together," Dillian said quietly.
Everyone instinctively closed the gaps between one another.
Maya and Iris raised their rifles while Selene stood slightly behind them, ready to support. Cruella remained close to Dillian, though the confidence she usually carried had long since vanished.
James carefully adjusted his stance near the center of the formation. His flashlight slowly scanned the ceiling, then the walls, and then the floor. There was nothing.
Silver narrowed his eyes.
Something wasn’t right; his instincts were screaming at him. Without speaking, he activated his skill once more.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
The familiar ripple spread silently through the corridor. Silver focused but couldn’t find anything.
His brows knitted together.
How could something make noise... Yet leave absolutely no trace? Then, a faint drip echoed somewhere ahead. Everyone’s flashlights immediately turned toward the sound.
Water slowly dripped from a cracked pipe onto the concrete floor.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Silver stared for several seconds before shaking his head.
"No..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "That’s not it."
The next instant, something green flashed across the ceiling.
"So...!"
Before Silver could finish speaking, a blur shot downward. A loud hiss exploded through the corridor before the creature opened its mouth.
Fssshhh!
A stream of emerald-blue liquid sprayed toward the group.
"Down!"
Silver threw himself sideways, Ravenna rolled behind a fallen cabinet, and Dillian tackled Cruella to the ground. The venom struck the concrete wall behind them.
SSSSSSSS!
The corridor filled with a horrifying sizzling sound. Everyone watched in stunned silence as the reinforced concrete began dissolving before their eyes.
Smoke rose immediately. Within seconds, fist-sized holes had melted straight through the wall.
James’ face turned pale.
"...Acid?"
Silver shook his head.
"Worse, that seems to be venom."
The smoke carried an acrid smell that burned their noses. No one wanted to imagine what would happen if that substance touched human skin.
Their answer came quickly. A single droplet landed on an abandoned leather bag lying nearby; the leather blackened instantly, then liquefied. Within moments, nothing remained.
"...Don’t let it touch you," Ravenna said quietly.
Nobody needed telling twice. The hiss echoed again, this time... Above them. Everyone instinctively looked upward, but only darkness greeted them.
The creature had already vanished.
"What was that?" Maya whispered.
Silver’s eyes swept across the ceiling.
"I only caught a glimpse; it looked like... A snake."
Another hiss came from the left. Everyone spun, but nothing; then, to the right and again, nothing. The sound seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Silver activated his skill again.
[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]
His expression darkened, still... Nothing.
"It’s avoiding detection," he muttered.
Ravenna looked at him.
"Even your skill?"
Silver nodded once.
"I can’t find it."
Dillian slowly raised his sword.
"So we’re fighting something invisible. Wonderful."
Before anyone could respond, the snake attacked again. It dropped from the ceiling directly toward Iris. Silver only saw it because a droplet of water flew from its scales as it moved.
"Above you!"
Iris reacted instantly and threw herself backward. The massive serpent slammed into the floor where she had been standing. For the briefest moment... Everyone saw it clearly.
It was nearly four meters long. Its scales shimmered between deep emerald and blue. Its body looked strangely translucent. Its narrow golden eyes regarded the group with unsettling intelligence.
The next heartbeat, its body blurred, the colors shifting. It disappeared completely. Only a few droplets of water splashed onto the floor where it had stood.
Silver frowned.
"It’s changing color..."
"No." Ravenna corrected immediately. "It’s becoming invisible."
James swallowed hard.
"...A camouflage ability."
Silver slowly nodded.
"More advanced than camouflage, it completely disappears."
The group tightened their formation. Nobody dared chase it. That was exactly what the snake wanted.
The corridor became silent once more, then... A metallic clang echoed behind them. Everyone turned instinctively, but it was too late.
The invisible snake shot forward like an arrow, its fangs aimed directly at Cruella’s exposed neck.
"Cruella!"
Dillian lunged.
At almost the exact same moment, James instinctively stepped between them while raising his rifle. He hadn’t even realized what he was doing. His sudden movement changed the snake’s trajectory.
Instead of biting Cruella, it struck James; its fangs pierced deeply into his left shoulder.
James screamed.
"AAAGH!"
The snake immediately released him before vanishing once more.
"No!"
Dillian caught James before he collapsed. Silver rushed over. James’ face had already turned deathly pale; two puncture wounds bled through his uniform. Then, the flesh around them began dissolving.
Ravenna’s pupils contracted.
"...The venom."
Black veins spread rapidly across James’ neck, his skin bubbling grotesquely. He tried to speak, but only blood escaped his mouth.
Silver immediately cut away the damaged fabric. The wound was horrifying. The flesh had already begun melting. There was nothing they could do.
James looked weakly toward everyone; his breathing became ragged.
"...Run..."
"No..."
Silver clenched his fists. James gave a faint, bitter smile.
"...Report... everything..."
His voice faded. Seconds later... His body went limp.
Complete silence filled the room. No one looked away. The Association contractor who had survived the tiger had fallen to something none of them could even see.
Ravenna slowly closed James’ eyes.
"We’ll bring him home."
Silver lowered his head for a brief moment, then... Another hiss echoed through the corridor. His eyes snapped open.
The grief disappeared, and cold focus replaced it. The snake wasn’t finished; neither were they.
Silver slowly stood. His sword slid from its sheath with a clear metallic ring.
At that exact moment, familiar blue text appeared before his eyes.
[Advanced Swordsmanship Fragment fully integrated.]
{Combat Insight Increased.
Proficiency Increased.
5/5
Fragments Complete.}
Another notification appeared immediately afterward.
[Advanced Swordsmanship]
Unlocked.
Current Level: Lv1
Silver exhaled slowly. He could feel it, better than the time he had gotten in his room. It felt as if the fragments had finally acknowledged his need to use the sword, not just show him steps theoretically.
His mind suddenly interpreted angles, timing, and distance with a clarity he had never experienced before. His grip on his sword adjusted naturally and his stance shifted by only a few centimeters. Yet it felt... Perfect.
The invisible snake hissed once again somewhere within the darkness. This time, Silver didn’t panic; his eyes slowly scanned the wet footprints scattered across the dusty concrete floor.
The creature could hide its body; it could hide from Spatial Sense, but it had left behind something else: tiny droplets of water.
They were barely visible, but it was still a trail.
Silver’s gaze sharpened.
"I think..." He said quietly. "I know how we’re going to find it."