For thirty whole minutes, they ran. And not just casual running.
No.
This was desperate, full-speed sprinting with literal death chasing at their heels.
At least, for Creed it was.
The crimson magma had flooded every single path behind them, turning all possible escape routes into boiling, glowing rivers of doom.
There was no turning back. No stopping. No mont to even catch their breath.
They had two choices; keep running forward or take a nice, sizzling magma bath in a liquid that would drive you crazy.
Creed had never run so hard in his life. His lungs burned. His legs felt like they were made of pure lead.
His throat was dry, his body was drenched in sweat, and his entire existence had been boiled down to a single thought.
Keep. Running.
He swore this was enough cardio for an entire month. No—an entire year! Heck, at this point, he might as well cancel his future leg training forever!
His calves and thighs were already working harder than any sane person would ever need them to!
And the worst part? He wasn’t even the only one struggling.
Yes, they were all Awakened. Their bodies were far stronger than normal humans. So of them could probably lift cars or punch through concrete walls.
But this? Sprinting at full speed for thirty minutes straight? That was a whole different beast.
Even the Stage 5 Awakened—the strongest ones in the group—were panting slightly.
Their normally composed expressions were now slowly marred with exhaustion. Their movents were still fast, still powerful, but there was a slight strain in every step.
After all, they had to conserve their energy and not use their full speed just in case of an ergency.
Then, just as Creed’s legs were about to give out, a loud voice echoed.
"THERE!"
Soone in the group shouted. Up ahead, a narrow tunnel suddenly appeared, leading upward.
Creed’s eyes lit up.
An exit?!
No—even better!
A path leading to the next layer!
For the first ti since this nightmare started, a spark of hope ignited in the group. Without hesitation, they charged toward it.
One by one, they leaped into the tunnel, scrambling upward as fast as their battered bodies would allow.
It was a tight squeeze, the tunnel barely wide enough for two people at a ti. But none of them cared. None of them hesitated.
The mont Creed’s feet touched the ground on the other side, he let out a sharp, ragged gasp and stumbled forward, his body still trembling from exhaustion.
They had made it. They had actually made it. For the first ti since they started running, they had stopped moving.
And oh, how beautiful that feeling was. But sothing was different.
The cavern they had just entered looked similar to the one before... but sohow... wrong.
Creed’s breath slowly steadied as his tired mind processed his surroundings. The new area had the sa dark, ominous walls, the sa eerie, endless space... but the pressure in the air was worse.
Much worse.
It felt thicker. Heavier. And there was sothing else. A presence. It wasn’t just a feeling anymore.
This ti, it was clear. Sothing was watching them. Creed wasn’t the only one who noticed it as well as the rest of the group tensed imdiately.
Then one of the Stage 4 Awakened hesitantly looked back at the tunnel entrance.
Nothing.
The crimson magma never ca.
Creed let out a shaky breath of relief. The others also slowly relaxed. It wasn’t much, but at least one good thing had happened today.
Then suddenly, a sound pierced through the air. It was a low, piercing screech.
Then another.
And another.
Then... hundreds!
The entire cavern erupted with a chorus of shrill, terrifying screams. And before anyone could even react, a swarm of pure red bats burst from the darkness.
Hundreds of them!
The bats were hideous.
Not just in a "normal ugly" way—oh no. These things had truly pushed the limits of how disgusting a living creature could be.
Creed had never found bats attractive before, obviously. They were small, creepy, flying rodents with squashed faces and sharp little fangs.
But these? These were on a whole different level of ugly. Their skin was a dark, fleshy red, like they had been skinned alive and left to rot.
Their eyes were bulging and black, completely soulless yet sohow glowing faintly in the darkness.
Their wings were tattered and stretched thin, like grotesque, oversized mosquito wings—only way more horrifying because they were attached to sothing that clearly wanted to eat his face off.
Their mouths? Too wide. Way too wide. Filled with jagged teeth that looked like soone had smashed a row of knives into their gums at random angles.
Even their screeches were terrifying. It was enough to make his eardrums vibrate painfully.
For the first ti in his life, Creed was actually impressed by how ugly sothing could be. It was a true achievent in the art of being repulsive!
"Prepare for battle!"
The silver-haired leader’s voice bood through the cavern, cutting through the nightmare sounds like a lightning bolt.
His massive halberd manifested in his hands in a flash of blue energy, glowing with a faint, golden power.
The entire group snapped into focus.
Creed tightened his grip on his spear, heart pounding in his chest.
Despite the massive pressure from the overwhelming swarm of bats and his current exhaustion, there was a small, unmistakable thrill bubbling up in his chest.
This was it.
Another wave of stat points was about to co his way!
What kind of stats would these things even give? He had no idea! Would they be Speed stats because they were flying creatures?
Maybe Constitution, since they clearly relied on so kind of special sense? Or could it be sothing completely unexpected?!
His mind was already starting to race with excitent when sothing unexpected happened.
Fwoosh!
A small, barely audible whistle cut through the air. It was so faint that no one reacted at first.
But in the next instant, the sleek, black-haired Stage 5 woman suddenly blurred sideways, moving with inhuman speed.
And then—
CRACK!
A violent rip tore through the air where she had just been standing. For a split second, nothing seed to happen.
Then, the edges of her sleeves shredded apart, tiny fragnts of fabric floating through the air.
If she had moved even a fraction of a second later, that attack would have sliced right into her flesh.
A wound.
Which ant death!
A chilling silence fell over the group. The realization sank in. The bats had just attacked then without moving!
The older Stage 5 woman slowly turned her head, her dark eyes narrowing with deadly focus.
The small, ruthless man—the one who had executed Axel without hesitation—was the first to speak. His voice was calm, cold.
"These bats are quite special," he murmured. "It seems they have an innate ability to attack using just their eyes."
A heavy, icy fear gripped the entire team. If these things could strike with just their gaze...
And if getting even a single wound ant instant death...
Then this was a nightmare battle. An encounter where they had to be absolutely perfect!
They had to avoid every single hit!
Creed felt his stomach twist. This rift was beyond unfair.
The silver-haired leader clenched his halberd tightly, his expression grim. Then, he took a deep breath and steeled himself.
"We can’t just stand here and wait for death!" he declared, his voice cutting through the panic. "We have to fight!"
His command snapped everyone back to reality. The defensive team imdiately moved forward.
The black-haired Stage 5 woman slamd her hands against the ground.
A burst of blue energy exploded outward.
A translucent barrier materialized between them and the swarm of bats, stretching wide and shimring like a solid wall of water.
BOOM!
The first wave of bats crashed into it. Hundreds of them smashing against the flickering barrier, their grotesque bodies wriggling like a sea of living nightmares.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Invisible strikes also began to hit the wall!
They hit the shield like arrows slamming into stone, one after another, over and over, each impact sending ripples of force through the glowing barrier.
The black-haired woman gritted her teeth.
"I can’t hold this for too long!" she hissed. "Hurry and attack!"
The second she said it, the group unleashed hell.
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