Vortex Origins
Chapter 77: The second creature wave - 6

Chapter 77: The second creature wave - 6

Wind sliced clean through a Spine Crawler’s midsection. Its body split in two before it even hit the ground.

Another shrieked as a colossal fist smashed into its side, crushing bone like dry leaves.

Julia’s wind surged, lifting Crawlers into the air, then slamming them down like rag dolls. Osric followed the rhythm, each strike flowing with the next. Even Hrothgar, simple as he was, moved with brutal purpose.

They didn’t speak.

They didn’t need to.

Team Galeforce fought like a storm.

Above them, laser fire continued to pour from the walls, burning through chitin and bone, lighting the sky in red flashes. Spine Crawlers died in heaps, but still they came, driven by something unseen.

Ash stood back, blade still in hand.

He watched for a few seconds longer—how each member moved, how easily they handled it now.

’I guess they don’t need me anymore.’

He turned toward the battlefield beyond.

"[Activating skill: Phantom’s Stride]"

The words echoed in his mind like a whisper from the dark.

Then he was gone.

Only a faint shimmer remained.

Julia turned toward where he had been.

She blinked once.

Twice.

Empty air.

"Where did he go. "

But Ash had already vanished into the chaos.

————

Dust and wind danced across the battlefield.

Kaius stood alone against a tide of Ravagers.

One lunged—he sidestepped and thrust out his palm. A pulse of wind blasted the creature sideways, sending it tumbling into a pile of its own kind.

Another charged from the left.

Kaius didn’t look.

He flicked two fingers.

A burst of air shaped into jagged arrows flew outward. They pierced the Ravager’s skull mid-leap. Its body crumpled, twitching once before going still.

He took a breath and looked forward.

More were coming. Teeth flashing. Eyes wide with hunger. More annoying laughters.

Kai raised both arms.

The wind howled around him, wrapping his body in invisible force. Wind Energy flowed through his limbs, pulsing in rhythm with his breath.

The first Ravager reached him.

He met it head-on, blade of air forming in his hand.

Slice.

Crack.

Bodies dropped around him as he danced through the horde, calm in the storm.

And still, they came.

Kaius grit his teeth.

"Then come. I’ll bury every last one of you."

Kaius fought until he tore through the last Ravager, slicing its throat open with a blade of compressed air. The creature dropped without a sound.

He exhaled—then froze.

Something moved in the distance.

Not fast. Not loud.

But wrong.

A figure stepped into view through the dust. Too tall. Too thin. Its limbs hung loosely, joints bending backward like broken twigs. Each step looked like it should collapse the creature’s frame, but it moved with unsettling grace.

Two long, curved arms glinted beneath the sun—scythe-like extensions of bone and steel.

Its body was pitch black, skin tight like stretched leather. And over its face sat a white mask, plain except for two dark eyeholes and a single cracked line running down from the center.

Kaius chest tightened.

"...The Wretched Dancer."

The wind around him stirred.

He broke into a sprint, his body flaring as gusts formed at his heels.

The Wretched Dancer paused—then lunged.

They met between breaths.

Wind clashed against silver bone as Kaius strike collided with the Dancer’s arm. The creature spun midair, twisting like a ribbon, its second blade slashing down in a clean arc.

Kaius barely dodged, the scythe grazing his shoulder.

He grunted, skidding back. Blood dripped.

The Wretched Dancer didn’t stop.

It moved like a current of water, flowing from one step into the next. Each attack rolled into the next one. A sweeping slash became a spin. A leap turned into a downward cleave.

It was dancing.

But the dance was meant to kill.

Kaius summoned a cyclone around himself, blades of air firing in every direction. The creature ducked, twisted, let the wind pass over and around it as if it were part of the storm.

Its scythe caught Kaius side.

He stumbled, eyes wide as pain bloomed.

He retaliated with a blast of wind that sent the Dancer flying—but it flipped midair, landed on one arm, and charged again.

Kaius movements grew slower.

His breath shorter.

’He’s reading me.’

Kaius thought.

Another cut. This time along his ribs.

The wind around him weakened.

The Wretched Dancer spun into a strike. Kaius blocked it with a wall of compressed air—but the second blade punched through, slicing into his thigh.

Kaius dropped to one knee.

Blood soaked into the earth.

The Dancer stood tall, mask tilting to the side as if... curious.

Kaius clenched his jaw. He forced himself upright. The wind still listened to him—but barely.

Then, just as the Dancer moved again—

A whisper slid through Ash’s mind.

"[Gained 10 Soul Energy Point.]"

He had just killed a ravager. He flicked the blood off his blade.

His gaze cut toward Kaius position. Dust, blood, and wind surrounded them.

The Dancer raised a scythe to finish it.

Ash’s hand slid to his blade.

He moved.

"[Activating skill: Phantom’s Stride.]"

The world slowed.

He blinked into reality beside the creature, blade drawn mid-swing.

His strike aimed for its joint—clean and silent.

But the Wretched Dancer twisted. The blade sliced through air.

Nothing but an afterimage.

Ash landed in a low stance, eyes narrowing as the Dancer shimmered a few paces away, perfectly unharmed.

’No way. My skill was still active. It shouldn’t have seen me.’

The creature tilted its head. Its mask cracked with faint tension—like it was smiling beneath.

Ash adjusted his grip on the blade.

Kaius grunted behind him, pushing himself off the ground.

"I didn’t ask for your help."

blood still trickling down his arm.

"I can handle it—"

Ash didn’t respond. He stepped forward, voice quiet.

"[Activating skill: Static Surge.]"

Electricity sparked across his skin.

"[Activating skill: Storm Vein.]"

The air around him turned sharp. Light bent, and wind hummed against the edge of his blade.

Kaius voice rose behind him.

"Wait, you idiot—that’s a tier four! You can’t just—!"

Ash moved.

He charged, blade low. The Wretched Dancer met him, scythes unfolding like wings. They clashed in a blur of motion—Ash’s blade striking against curved bone.

Sparks flew.

The Dancer spun, one arm sweeping in a low arc while the other struck down. Ash blocked the first, ducked the second, and twisted to bring his blade upward—but the Dancer was already gone.

It floated past him like smoke.

It’s not just fighting. It’s flowing.

The Dancer’s scythes weaved through the air with perfect rhythm. Every swing, every step—it was a dance. Not just for show. Each movement forced Ash into a new position, a worse one. It was trying to trap him.

Ash gritted his teeth.

’It’s reading my stance. Pushing me into patterns. This thing—’

The Dancer lunged again.

Ash sidestepped, barely dodging as the tip of a scythe shaved a piece off his sleeve. He dropped low, swung his blade upward, and felt the jolt of contact.

The Dancer reeled back, mask tilting.

Ash didn’t press the advantage.

He backed off.

Watched.

The Dancer circled him, light on its feet. Every motion was precise. Its scythes weren’t weapons—they were extensions of its body. Even the way it stepped... it was measuring distance. Preparing angles. Dancing with intention.

Ash’s grip tightened.

’It’s intelligent. Fast. But it’s too elegant. That elegance can be broken.’

He surged forward, this time slower.

Testing.

Feinting.

He swung—left, then right—faking high, striking low. The Dancer blocked both, but its rhythm shifted.

Ash felt it.

’There. A hitch. It doesn’t like unpredictability.’

He changed angles mid-swing, bringing his sword in from the side. The Dancer blocked—but it was a fraction too slow. The force rattled through its arm.

Ash’s blade lit with arcs of lightning.

He pushed harder.

A scythe came down.

He caught it.

Steel screamed.

The wind around him surged—then exploded.

Ash roared and slammed his shoulder forward, knocking the Dancer off balance.

The mask cracked slightly.

Ash stepped back, breathing hard.

The Dancer froze. Its body twitched, then realigned.

It charged again.

And Ash smiled.

"Let’s dance, then."