Chapter 23 | Second Vessel
The group rushed forward, their hearts pounding with dread as they traversed the forest at breakneck speed.
But as they reached the spot where the cave had been, a scene of true terror appeared before them.
"Holy shit," Iris gasped, taking a few steps back in horror, her hand covering her mouth. "This is..."
Standing right in front of the cave’s entrance stood the sun beast, its massive form towering over them like a monument of death.
It had destroyed all of Darian’s barricades with a single attack, leaving nothing but rubble and splintered wood scattered.
Around it were three bodies: Elliot, Olivia and Mark, three of the awakeners that had appeared with Alicar’s group.
Their lifeless forms were lying motionless on the ground.
And facing the sun beast was none other than Sera, her spear raised in a trembling grip, her face pale with terror, with the last awakener, Susie, shivering behind her.1
"WHY IS IT HERE?!" Sera shouted, her entire body shaking with desperation as she faced the impossible creature. "THIS IS NOT..."
Slash!
The sun beast swung its claws with devastating force, forcing Sera to duck down at the last moment to avoid being torn apart by the razor-sharp appendages.
But the sheer force of the attack was enough to shatter the cave’s entrance completely, sending debris flying everywhere and forcing everyone to shield their eyes.
It seemed like the sun beast was about to attack once more.
But at that moment, it turned its head toward the three corpses lying on the ground, its white eyes gleaming with cruel curiosity.
Then slowly, it walked toward them with deliberate, mocking steps, and it started to eat them, its massive jaws tearing into their bodies with sickening sounds.
Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of this legendary-rank monster devouring their companions like they were nothing more than prey, the crunching of bones echoing through the clearing.
After only a few seconds, the sun beast turned its gaze back toward Alicar’s group, its white eyes gleaming with cruel amusement and contempt.
And then it laughed. It actually laughed.
It was a mocking, cruel laughter that sent chills down their spines.
Its piercing gaze was mocking them for being so weak, unable to even save their companions from their gruesome fate.
The message was clear: they were nothing to it, just food waiting to be consumed, and it would enjoy every moment of their suffering.
As soon as it was done feasting on their companions’ bodies, the Sun Beast turned its gaze toward Sera once more, its white eyes gleaming with cruel hunger.
"NOT THIS TIME!" Leon shouted as he rushed forward at full speed, aiming to tackle the boss once more and push it away from his friend.
Unfortunately for him, not only was the Sun Beast extremely strong, but it also knew how to use its brain, it had learned from their previous encounter.
Fwoosh!
With a single elegant step, it dodged Leon’s attack with contemptuous ease, and swung its massive tail at him with devastating force.
The sheer impact of the blow was enough to send Leon flying back through the air, crashing into a tree near Alicar, Iris and William with a sickening thud.
"Oh god..." Iris’ expression paled as she saw Leon lay there, blood trickling from his mouth and his body clearly battered from the attack.
And the Sun Beast didn’t stop there, as it attacked Sera and Susie again, forcing them to dodge once more with desperate agility.
Unfortunately for the latter, she didn’t have the agility to fully avoid it, and so one more of their companions fell to the Sun Beast, her body collapsing to the ground.
Only 6 more of them remained in this secret realm, their numbers dwindling with each passing moment.
But while the others were focused on the Sun Beast and how to get out of this situation, Alicar quickly rushed to Leon’s side, his mind racing with possibilities.
The man was sitting against the tree, his eyes hollow and defeated, all hope seemingly drained from his face.
"We stand no chance," Leon mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. "We truly don’t."
"Yeah, we don’t," Alicar replied with a neutral expression, making Leon look up with confusion. "But perhaps... there’s something we can do to save us all."
Strings began to appear around Leon’s injured body, binding themselves all around him like invisible threads of fate.
[The vessel needs to approve of the contract.]
And so of course, much like with Iris, the very same panel appeared before Leon, its letters glowing with ethereal light.
Ding!
[Do you wish to sign Soulless’ contract?]
[Yes] [No]
"What the hell is this?" Leon asked, his expression turning from hollow to confused, his eyes scanning the panel with suspicion. "How can this even help us?!"
’Leon’s not as desperate as Iris was,’ Alicar thought, his mind analyzing the situation. ’He wouldn’t just accept out of nowhere, he’d actually need explanations.’
Unfortunately, in such a moment, Alicar felt like no matter what explanation he gave, they wouldn’t be enough, and he wouldn’t be able to do it fast enough to save everyone.
The Sun Beast tried to attack again, and this time William and Iris finally decided to join the fray with desperate courage.
The former rushed forward and swung his sword at the monster while it was distracted, his blade gleaming with determination.
Slash!
Unfortunately though, William’s attack didn’t do much, the blade barely scratching the beast’s thick hide, and the Sun Beast turned around, swinging its claws at him with devastating speed.
William managed to dodge the attack by a hair’s length, his body moving on pure instinct, and right as he was about to be overwhelmed, Sera jumped into the air and slammed her spear into the beast’s body.
It pierced it slightly, but once more, not enough to cause any significant damage to the creature.
At the same time, Iris focused on her power and summoned the biggest fireball she had launched yet, the flames crackling with intense heat.
She sent it crashing toward the Sun Beast, who for the first time actually had to react to an attack with genuine concern.
It lifted its massive wings, and the fireball slammed into them, exploding strongly, though the Sun Beast seemed relatively fine despite the impact.
’Its wings are more durable than its body,’ Alicar’s eyes gleamed with realization. ’Interesting.’
Still, Alicar felt like this was the perfect opportunity to convince Leon to accept the contract.
Sera, William and Iris were now fighting the Sun Beast by themselves, and one wrong move would kill them all in an instant.
Which is when Alicar turned toward Leon, a serious expression on his face, "Accept the contract and we’ll both gain power to defeat that thing."
"...But how?" Leon repeated, his voice filled with doubt and confusion. "This doesn’t seem possible..."
Alicar was about to speak once more, to try and find the right words to convince him, but he didn’t need to.
"ARGHH..."
Sera’s shout as one of the sun beast’s claws grazed her shoulders was enough for Leon to decide, her cry of pain echoing through the clearing.
"Stay back," William shouted as he deflected an attack that pushed him back several meters, his arms trembling from the force.
Leon watched his friends struggle, their lives hanging in the balance, and he made his choice.
He accepted the contract.
Ding!
["Leon Dreemur" has accepted the "Contract" and will receive a new class.]
Immediately, the strings around his body began to glow with brilliant light, sending power over to him, and eventually, after a few seconds, the process ended and a new notification appeared.
Ding!
["Leon Dreemur" has obtained the "Martial Demon" class.]
By last awakener, I mean from Alicar’s group.