Chapter 164: Damnit!! [Bonus - ]
The three Awakened blinked, staring ahead in sheer disbelief as the space before them distorted, and a humanoid female creature stepped casually out from the spatial tear, holding a severed human arm in her hand.
She was the exact lookalike of the Forest Queen, but her skin was a brilliant, vivid crimson, and instead of writhing vines, short, bone-like spikes protruded from every joint across her body.
"Wait, I am sure I killed the forest queen, then who are you?!!" Asher yelled at her, his voice tight as his mind raced to comprehend the anomaly.
"Oh, you are right, human; you indeed killed the forest queen." She raised Denise’s severed arm to her lips and took a massive bite, severing three fingers in one crunch, and began chewing slowly, her face expressions devoid of remorse.
".....?!!"
The three grimaced in absolute disgust at her actions, their eyes wide open. Listening to the sickening crushing sound of bones being pulverized, they watched as she swallowed the fingers whole, then looked up at them again with a chilling, predatory smile:
"I am not her... My body was sealed inside hers, and thanks to you, I am finally free. Alright, what do you say—hand over the two snacks behind you, and I will only take your leg." She pointed a bone-spiked finger directly at Asher:
"Isn’t that a great deal? I am offering this mercy simply because you helped me out."
"....?!"
The three blinked, their breath catching as the system interface brought up the terrifying profile right before their eyes.
{Name: Anika.}
{Titles: Life force sucker. Human Hunter. Tenth General Of The Demon God. Bloodthirsty. Merciless. Human Slaughterer.}
{Rank: Ex-Rank.}
{Species: Elite Demon.}
{Class: Special Boss.}
{Agility: 3,000,000.}
{Demonic Energy: 10,000,000.}
{Defense: 20,000,000.}
{Health Points: 100,000,000.}
{Physical Attack: 4,000,000.}
{Magical Attack: 4,000,000.}
{Skills: N/A.}
"You guys saw that—her stats are double that of the Forest Queen, and we don’t even know her abilities... You should exit the dungeon immediately," he whispered harshly to the two behind him.
"Then come with us!" Marianne whispered back, her knuckles white around her sword hilt.
’I would love to... This thing is a General of the Demon God, and simply too powerful... But I need to clear this dungeon. If I can’t even overcome this, how will I face the dungeons containing the cures for my wives?’ Asher clenched his fist until his skin paled.
’My Ex-Rank Cooldown is also almost run out. I don’t have time to get distracted,’ he thought, taking a deep breath and looking over his shoulder at them with an unyielding gaze:
"Get going!! I won’t die, not yet."
"But..."
"I said Get Lost!!" He snapped at her, his voice cutting through the heavy air.
"...??"
Marianne was stunned, seeing the absolute, deadly serious expression on his face. She sighed sadly, realizing there was no changing his mind:
"Alright then! We will wait for you in the wilderness!" She said with a heavy sigh, and tapped her Awakened System interface to initiate the emergency exit protocol.
"Please, don’t die." She pleaded softly.
"I won’t die... Not when my wives are waiting." Asher said, turning his cold gaze back to Anika, who was busy stripping the flesh off the arm.
Marianne tapped the exit button, and with an angry gaze fixed on the crimson monster, Denise tapped his as well.
"Make sure she doesn’t escape," Denise said through gritted teeth, as both his and Marianne’s bodies glowed with a blinding light before vanishing entirely from the subterranean realm.
"What happened?" Anika raised her head from the half-eaten arm, blinking her crimson eyes as she realized Asher, his shadow Knights, and Tempest were now standing alone.
She swept her gaze around the barren ground, a slight frown forming on her sharp features: "Where did those two go?"
"You have me now," Asher said, extending a dagger toward her.
"Only you? Then wait for me to finish eating." She muttered dismissively, turning her attention back to her gruesome meal.
"....?!"
Asher was stunned: ’She is looking down on me!!’
[Flash - Activated.]
In a split second, a shadow Knight manifested directly behind her, swinging his heavy Mythic-Tier sword in a deadly arc straight at her exposed neck.
BAM!!!
The heavy blade struck her skin with the force of a falling meteor, but to Asher’s shock, it didn’t leave so much as a scratch on her red flesh, nor did it reduce a single point from her damage pool.
’The hell?! Is she immune to physical attacks?’ He thought, completely stunned by the absolute nullification.
WHOOSH!!!
Before the Knight could retreat, the bone spikes across her body shot out like deadly projectiles, impaling the construct and digging through it with terrifying ease.
’That Knight was enclosed in my reinforced Shadow armor, and it got pierced through in a single attack! What sort of monster is this?! Is this the true strength of an Ex-Rank?!’ Asher gritted his teeth, re-manifesting the shattered Knight from the shadows beneath his boots.
’She isn’t even the final Boss of this Dungeon... If an auxiliary General sealed inside a monster is this powerful, then how absurd is the actual Boss? It seems I can only mutate this dungeon.’ He thought, his gaze shifting toward the glowing Demon Keys resting in his inventory.
’If I get stunned or blinded for even a single second against an Ex-Rank, I’ll be dead on the spot... If I mutate the dungeon using the key, all the monsters will gain a massive leap in strength, but it will grant me complete immunity to all debuffs... But...’ He gritted his teeth, wrestling with the sheer risk.
Last time was just an A-Rank dungeon, and mutating it forced him to fight the Priestess, who jumped all the way to SSS-Rank. If he mutates a dungeon that is already SSS-Rank, how ridiculously powerful will these monsters become, and what unimaginable rank will the creature standing before him achieve?
Is he strong enough to even survive such a apocalyptic shift?
’Damn it!! An SSS-Rank Dungeon is no joke.’