My eyes narrowed as the mouth of the monster spread unnaturally wide, revealing a twisting darkness rolling within its lips.
Huff!
The Mourning Wretch inhaled deeply before emitting a deep, guttural cry which sounded like a mix of a whale call and a human sob.
The cry felt heavy in my soul and loud enough to make uncomfortable, but outside that, there was nothing special about it.
[On Pulse creates a sound wave that travels miles and marks the area for other dark beasts to locate. It is strong enough to instantly kill low-Vitality targets.]
This system ssage left genuinely shocked. I looked ahead, seeing the bodies of soldiers who were dead even though there was no scratch or cut on them. Only now did I understand how they died.
My Vitality, coupled with my Berserk and territory boosts, was sowhere around 19 points. If it were lower, I would have dropped dead instantly.
"What?!" the Mourning Wretch gasped, seemingly surprised that I didn’t drop dead like the other humans.
Hmph!
I snorted disdainfully as I raised my clenched fist. However, before I could strike, I felt the earth rumbling violently.
’An earthquake?’ My brows knitted. ’No, it’s sothing else!’
BOOOM!
The ground shattered as a strange beast erged, my eyes dilating in shock at the sight. By this ti, I was already airborne, my wings flapping gracefully with my gargoyles flying beside , while one of them held on to Lord Ravus to keep him afloat—since he was the only one among us who couldn’t fly.
Ding!
[Dark Entity: Cradle Maw detected!]
As usual, the system notification ca a second late.
The Cradle Maw’s body resembled that of an enormous 12-foot malford baby, its pale, bloated flesh covered in cracks, and within those cracks were embedded chains that dangled loosely as it moved.
It dragged its weight using four oversized arms with clawed fingers, while its two malford legs twitched uselessly behind it.
The most disturbing feature was the "cradle" embedded into its chest—a broken, rusted iron crib pried open to reveal a gaping, toothed maw where its heart should be.
Bam!
One arm snatched the Mourning Wretch while it gave us a ruthless glare before it began running. Despite its size, it moved with unnatural bursts of speed that made blink with genuine shock.
Ding!
[The Cradle Maw’s Information Acquired!]
[Na:] The Cradle Maw
[Type:] Mutant Beast / Vanguard-Class
[Realm:] Dead World – Class B Threat
[Known Alias(es):] "Mother of Screams," "The Empty Womb," "Nursery Reaper"
[Stats]
[Strength:] 20
[Speed:] 10
[Vitality:] 25
[Intelligence:] 6
I couldn’t help but blink repeatedly, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on . Even a disfigured beast like this was faster than most humans and could easily reach their peak speed capabilities while greatly surpassing them in strength and vitality.
Fighting against these things with swords and spears was no different from a death wish. It began to make sense why humans were losing against these dark entities and why the world was on the verge of collapse.
’Unfortunately for you... this human!’ I snarled!
Swoosh!
I swooped down while a gate appeared in front of and I flew in!
[Door Activated!]
A second door appeared ahead of the fleeing dark entity and I shot out, charging directly toward the Cradle Maw!
"CRUSH HIM!" the Mourning Wretch roared, and the Cradle Maw increased its speed, charging forward ruthlessly.
The Mourning Wretch must have gauged my strength and concluded the Cradle Maw was stronger.
It wasn’t wrong.
"I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" I bellowed.
Over the centuries, I have been a lot of things, but I have never been a bitch!
[BLOOD IGNITION ACTIVATED!]
[-10% HP]
[-6 HP]
[HP:] 54
[EP:] 13
[Stats]
[Strength:] 18 3.6
[Speed:] 18 3.6
[Vitality:] 19
[Intelligence:] 8
Boosting my strength and speed by 20%, my Blood Ignition skill gave the little edge I needed for the clash!
BOOOM!
[-20 HP]
[ 30 HP]
The sound of flesh and bone clashing together shook the battlefield, attracting shocked gasps. A tiny human actually stopped the raging charge of the almighty Cradle Maw—known for its ridiculous strength?
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" I roared as my eyes burned with ghastly darkness.
The world watched as my tiny figure began pushing back the massive Cradle Maw. Under my imnse strength, its feeble legs couldn’t stop from pushing it back, coupled with the fact one of its four hands held onto the Mourning Wretch, so it wasn’t balanced!
The Cradle Maw attempted to stop its rapid retreat but soon realized it couldn’t resist my push. Its eyes shone with malicious light as it raised one of its hands, preparing to strike down—but I wasn’t alone!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
My stone gargoyles crashed into its limbs, pinning it down.
Now’s my chance!
[Crimson Thread Activated!]
Letting go of the beast, I clasped my hands together, ensuring my fingertips made contact, before pulling away dramatically, revealing dazzling red threads.
Throwing them underneath the face of the Cradle Maw, I sprang into the air, performing a dazzling front flip as I landed on the back of the beast with my crimson threads clinging tightly around its throat, and I pulled with all my might!
"KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the Cradle Maw let out an inhuman cry, kicking and thrashing violently.
It let go of the Mourning Wretch while thrashing around, and I watched the dark entity fall to the ground with a loud thud!
It quickly sprang to its feet with a fearful gaze, probably realizing I was much stronger than it expected to be.
Our eyes were locked as it slowly retreated—only to slam into Lord Ravus, who was already waiting behind it. The Mourning Wretch quickly turned, only for Lord Ravus to drive his hand into its chest, pulling out a rotten heart filled with maggots.
"Y-you..." it gasped like a dying beast before exploding into a body of dark smoke, vanishing from existence like it never existed.
Ding!
[Mourning Wretch Killed!]
[ 2000 EXP & 15 Dark Fragnts]
At that mont, the struggling Cradle Maw finally went limp and another notification sound rang in my head.
[Cradle Maw Killed!]
[ 3000 EXP & 20 Dark Fragnts]
Ding!
[Dark Entity Talent List Unlocked!]
Bam!
Upon releasing the crimson thread, its massive body crashed to the ground with a loud thud, leaving huffing and puffing as I went through the ssages popping up within my view.
"RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The world trembled under the unified cry of tens of thousands of soldiers that manned the wall. My eyes widened with shock, and I looked up to see their weapons and shields raised high as they cheered like there was no tomorrow.
I was so focused on the battle, I forgot they existed.
This was unexpected.
And truly, I was overwheld by it.
I have led n to battle in my past life. I have been cheered on before. But never have this many people poured out their hearts to in one unified cry.
"This... This is worth protecting," I muttered.
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