Zain quickly slipped blood bullets into his pistol.
"Let’s see how you like this."
He aid at the shifting mass of silk above—
And fired.
BANG!
The bullet tore through the air and struck sothing unseen.
It detonated mid-web with a sharp boom.
Strands of reinforced silk burst into fla.
But there was no scream.
No death cry.
Only a faint skittering... then silence.
"...Huh?"
A sudden impact crashed down in front of him.
Zain was forced to leap back.
Dust exploded outward.
From the crater, Skorvile rose.
Zain’s eyes widened a little.
"...Well, damn."
It was massive, easily over three ters tall.
Its lower body was an armored spider.
And the upper torso was shaped like a humanoid woman.
Except its "skin" was a shell.
Its arms were long and jagged.
And its face was completely hidden beneath a bone mask.
Six twitching legs clicked against the ground beneath it.
Silk lines hung from its back like living threads.
It made no sound.
Zain raised his gun again but spoke aloud to himself.
"So this is what a B-Rank monster looks like..."
He narrowed his eyes, circling the beast carefully.
"No talking. No roaring. Just creepy breathing and death stares."
The creature moved suddenly.
Quite fast for its size.
Zain dodged left, sliding under a swipe of its bladed limb.
As he ca to a stop, he glanced back and muttered.
"Centaur-style build. But a spider body instead of a horse?"
He clicked his tongue.
"That’s ssed up."
Skorvile hissed.
High-pitched and inhuman.
It then rushed again.
Zain raised his pistol.
"Let’s see how tough your shell really is."
BANG!
He fired a Blast Breath-charged blood bullet directly into Skorvile’s upper chest.
The impact exploded with a blast of fla and smoke.
Sending fragnts of web flying.
The beast stumbled back—but didn’t scream.
It barely moved.
Zain narrowed his eyes.
"So you’re built like a tank."
Skorvile responded instantly.
PFFFT!
A stream of Venom Spit hissed from its jaws.
Zain ducked, rolling sideways.
The venom struck the wall behind him, lting tal on contact.
"Nice try."
Zain smirked and activated Quick Step.
He reappeared on Skorvile’s flank.
He struck with a Fire Hand, flas erupting from his palm.
He slamd it into one of the creature’s legs.
Skorvile reeled and hissed.
Shell cracked, but didn’t shatter.
Zain followed with a Hard Grip, locking onto the leg and twisting.
He yanked it out of place, causing the beast to finally shriek in pain.
But it didn’t retreat.
Instead, it spun its body and fired Silk Grapple.
A thick web line shooting from its back.
Zain tried to dodge—but too late.
The thread snagged his leg and yanked him backward.
Slamming him into a pile of bone-filled webbing.
"Ugh—!" he grunted, dazed for a second.
His coat now clung with sticky strands.
He activated Fading in the Dark, blending with the shadows.
Holding his breath, he waited...
Skorvile crept forward, scanning.
Its limbs clicked against the floor.
Vibrate... vibrate...
Zain activated Quiet Steps.
Breaking contact silently and sliding to the other side.
He aid again.
This ti tagging Skorvile’s abdon with an Impact Tag.
Then—BANG!
The detonation ripped through her midsection.
The creature howled, now bleeding dark green fluid.
Zain smirked, but winced.
His ribs throbbed, still aching from that earlier slam.
"You’re tough," he muttered, wiping blood from his mouth.
"But I’m tougher."
He took a breath—and activated it.
Angelic Demon Shift.
A pulse of dark red light burst from his chest.
Two black-red horns spiraled out from his forehead.
His aura thickened, radiating pressure that warped the air.
His muscles tensed, and his eyes glowed red.
His wounds stopped bleeding.
No—they began to close.
His Heavenly Demon Body absorbed the pain, the strain, and the injuries.
Turning it into raw power.
Zain cracked his neck and smirked.
"Round two. Berserker style."
Skorvile let out a deafening shriek, rising onto its hind legs.
Threads lashed out from her back.
Silk Grapples firing in all directions.
Zain didn’t dodge.
He charged.
The threads caught him mid-run, slicing into his arms and legs.
Blood dripped, but Zain didn’t stop.
He grinned through the pain.
"This body thrives on pain."
He pulled himself forward.
Using the threads to close the distance.
Then he slamd his flaming fist into her face.
The bone mask cracked.
Skorvile shrieked.
It countered with a Venom Spit, point-blank.
It struck Zain’s side and began to burn through skin.
He scread—then laughed.
"You’re gonna have to lt all of !"
With a burst of Quick Step, he reappeared above her.
He drove both fists into her thorax.
An Impact Tag blinked into existence as he leapt off.
BOOM!
The explosion knocked her against the tunnel wall.
Skorvile tried to crawl away—but Zain wasn’t done.
He activated Hard Grip, latched onto her leg,
He ripped it off.
Green blood sprayed across the tunnel.
Skorvile thrashed violently.
She spun in circles, trying to regain balance.
She launched another Silk Grapple.
Pulling Zain mid-air, trying to impale him with her limbs.
SLASH!
One struck his shoulder—deep.
Zain’s head snapped back from the impact.
But his hand moved anyway.
He created a small blood knife, slicing her underbelly.
"BLEED!"
She collapsed to the ground, twitching.
Zain stood over her, half his body scorched and bleeding.
His horns still glowing, breath heavy but victorious.
"Nice try."
She hissed and tried one last weak swing.
He stomped down, shattering her limb.
"No more hiding in webs. No more corpses."
Zain lifted his pistol one last ti.
"Just say goodnight."
BANG!
A final Blast Breath bullet hit her core.
The explosion shattered the rest of her mask and silenced her for good.
Zain stood there, burned, cut, and bleeding.
But smirking.
"...Toughest B-Rank I’ve ever t."
He looked down at the mangled corpse of Skorvile.
His grin widening.
"No wonder it took an A-Rank to drop you."
He cracked his neck.
"But let’s see how much I get from absorbing you—"
Suddenly, pain spiked through his entire body.
"AGHH—!"
Zain dropped to one knee, clenching his fists.
"Damn it!"
"My... Heavenly Demon Body—!"
He gasped, laughing through gritted teeth.
"It just... reached Stage Two."
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