Heir Of The Supreme
Chapter 61: Underground Odyssey (6)

Chapter 61: Underground Odyssey (6)

If there was one truth that all combatants could agree on, it was this: ’People should stick to fighting monsters of the same rank in one-on-one combat.’

After all, even trained soldiers struggled to kill Rank-1 monsters unless they were Goblins or Imps. However, even then, the battle was never without risk.

All it took was one misstep, one careless decision, and their lives would be ripped away in an instant.

It was for that reason that ordinary civilians avoided combat whenever possible.

The disparity between humans and monsters only became more apparent with each ascending Rank.

Rank 2 creatures were nearly impossible for a 1-Star soldier to kill alone, while Rank 3 threats were living calamities, the kind that only 3-Stars, warriors of equal standing, could hope to fight.

As for those belonging to Rank-4?

Their mere existence was a disaster, the kind of catastrophe that could plunge the entire kingdom into a nationwide emergency.

While the world was populated with countless threats, only a handful of humans were strong enough to combat them.

That raises the question: How did such weak creatures persist this long in this nightmarish hell?

The reason was simple.

Unlike the mindless beasts they fought, humans had something they didn’t... Intelligence.

It was humanity’s greatest weapon, allowing the hairless apes to defy the natural order.

Their intelligence allowed them to better coordinate their efforts to take down far larger and stronger creatures.

Fighting as a single entity, humans could effectively bridge the gap between them and their foes.

Humans turned learned to cover their individual weaknesses through tactics, teamwork, and sheer ingenuity.

A squad of 1-Stars could take down a Rank-2 if they worked together, or a unit of 2-Stars could slay a Rank-3.

Logically, this went against the rules of nature, after all... How could ants hope to bring down an elephant?

However, humans managed to accomplish this very thing.

Mere cooperation amongst themselves just scratched the surface of what a human’s intelligence allowed them to do.

In fact, Humans had another pivotal advantage: they could use tools.

Fashioning weapons and armour out of creatures stronger than themselves, humans could forcefully increase their strength in ways no other living being could.

An advantage that Blaine took full advantage of.

Against the towering Rank-2 Unknown, its twisted form a grotesque mixture of rubber, flesh, and bone, Blaine had no illusions about his capabilities.

The youth was far too weak to pierce the Unknown’s mana-infused flesh. His blows were not strong enough, and his attacks were not fast enough.

He neither possessed strong enough arms nor sharp enough claws... Or at least he was sure he didn’t.

But that didn’t matter.

Unlike the monster before him, Blaine didn’t fight with just his body.

Instead, he had something even more deadly, the Rank 3 Dagger Cecelia lent him.

The moment the creature’s bladed claws lashed out, Blaine pivoted his feet and twisted his body, slipping just past the razor-thin margin of death.

Blaine could feel the air shift around him as the attack whistled past, missing him by mere inches.

Without hesitation, he continued his momentum, letting his fingers brush against the hilt of the dagger still embedded in the monster’s arm.

As a torrent of mana flooded out of him, Blaine quickly checked his internal mana storage.

He only had roughly 15% left... He was nearing empty.

At this rate, he wouldn’t last much longer.

The Rank 3 Artifact was consuming his mana far faster than expected, not helped by the fact that he had already burned through half of his reserves fishing this creature up in the first place.

Somehow, Blaine needed to end their fight... And fast.

Luckily, though, Blaine’s labour was starting to bear fruit.

With every second that passed, the creature’s attacks became progressively slower.

Once-precise strikes, the kind that could carve through human flesh like paper, had devolved into sluggish, desperate flailing.

Its movements, once filled with ruthless efficiency, now lacked focus.

Every so often, the beast would suddenly pause mid-motion, its many eyes flickering with confusion as fog settled over its mind.

For some reason, its injury stopped hurting as well.

No, It wasn’t just that, in fact... The creature stopped feeling any and all sensations, for that matter.

Its body had grown entirely numb.

A wet, rattling hiss escaped its maw. A pitiful attempt at a battle cry.

"Screehh..."

However, this only worked to illustrate how desperate its situation was becoming.

Its failing body quivered with frustration. It didn’t understand what was happening.

Despite lacking proper intelligence, the creature’s quickly failing mind knew one thing.

It needed to kill the boy... And fast.

The monster focused its tens of slit-like pupils on Blaine, furious at the human who had weakened it so severely.

But then... Its many eyes twitched as it noticed something beyond him.

Another human, this one a girl.

However, unlike the boy, the girl was different.

Smaller. Weaker. Frailer.

The embers of hunger flared within the Unknown’s decaying mind.

The boy had been elusive, slippery like a loach, evading its attacks again and again. But this girl?

She was easy prey.

Why waste its time with the loach-like boy when it can simply feast on the girl instead?

Its next decision was immediate. Without warning, it abandoned the attack aimed at Blaine, its focus now locked onto Cecelia.

Even in its weakened state, it was still far too fast for an ordinary human.

The princess barely had time to react before it was upon her, the nightmarish blur of fangs and claws lunging straight for her throat.

Cecelia’s sky-blue pupils shook as the creature’s menacing physique was reflected in them.

"N-No..."

Unable to dodge, she could only watch in horror as the creature’s clawed fingers reached towards her.

Perhaps this was finally the end.

Cecelia had often wondered what her death would be like, and dying to a monster was one of the highest possibilities.

In fact, she was almost sure that was how she’d end up going out.

With how dangerous the world was, this was the most probable one.

At the moment, though, Cecelia couldn’t help but internally curse her intellect.

Dying from other causes or even by another human’s hand would give her at least a humane end.

Unfortunately, monsters didn’t care about such things.

Her mind spun with thoughts she had never wanted to entertain before.

Would it be painful?

Would she even have time to feel it before she was torn apart?

Would there be anything left of her for others to find?

No, that was unlikely.

After she was killed, she would most likely be ruthlessly devoured by the predator before her.

In fact... That thought terrified her more than dying.

The creature’s lips curled back, revealing jagged rows of teeth, its warped body twitching with glee.

Cecelia didn’t know if it was because it was enjoying the raw terror on her face, or maybe it was just genuinely happy that it found something to eat.

As its clawed hand plummeted towards Cecelia, she suddenly felt her body pushed to the side by a sudden impact.

She felt something slam into her shoulder, sending her tumbling sideways. Her vision blurred as she crashed to the ground. Her head snapped up in alarm.

There, standing between her and death, was Blaine.

Her breath got caught in her throat.

Blaine’s lithe body was next to her, but she had no idea when the auburn-haired youth had even appeared.

She hadn’t even seen him move.

But none of that mattered at the moment.

Because there, beneath the soft azure glow of the bio-luminescent moss... Was a sight she would never forget.

The twisted claws of the monster, the ones that had been meant for her, had carved deep into Blaine’s body instead.

(Drip. Drip. Drip.)

A viscous crimson liquid hit the ground, barely audible over the sounds of rushing river water.

However, for Cecelia, the silent dripping of blood seemed to completely drown out any other noise, each drop as loud as the beat of a drum.

Cecelia stared, unblinking, as the blood painted the earth beneath them.

And for the first time in a long time... True horror gripped her heart.