Monster

“Damn it!”

Vera’s voice echoed through the cavernous underground space.

Nikus watched the violent activity around the stone coffin and immediately asked, “Lady Vera, what on earth is happening?”

Vera stared at the glowing red stone coffin. “That bastard used all of his life force to forcibly awaken a vampire elder.”

Nikus said in a deep voice, “If we could defeat him, we can defeat a vampire elder too. Norman Knights fear nothing!”

“No, it’s not that simple...”

Vera’s tone was graver than ever before.

“Vampire elders are completely different from ordinary vampires, unless...”

Her words caught in her throat.

Because she saw Rosie squatting beside the stone coffin, jamming her sword into the crack in the lid and prying hard to one side with both hands.

“Rosie, what are you doing?”

Without turning her head, Rosie said, “Prying open the coffin while we can so we can stab whatever's inside to death!”

Vera felt a vein throb on her forehead. “That stone coffin is specially made—it can only be opened from the inside!”

“Hey, can someone lend me a greatsword?”

Rosie let go of her one-handed sword and stood up, her gaze scanning across the weapons in the knights' hands.

“Rosie, stop messing around!”

There was a touch of exasperation in Vera’s voice.

Another crack split across the surface of the stone coffin, debris rustling down along its edges.

The red light grew brighter and brighter, so intense that every line of the runes carved on the coffin's surface was clearly visible.

“There’s a tunnel over there. Maybe we can get out...”

Alysia walked over with her fellow elf on her back, pointing into the darkness on the other side of the chamber.

The white-robed cleric walked beside her, followed by the servants assisting the victims.

“Take them and go first, I’ll stay behind...”

Once again, Vera couldn’t finish her sentence.

A brilliant crimson light violently erupted from the stone coffin.

Rosie reflexively raised an arm to shield her eyes.

Squinting, she yanked her sword from the crack and rapidly backed away.

“Fall back! Now!” Vera immediately warned.

Noticing that something was wrong, the others retreated as well, creating distance to watch from afar.

Cracks rapidly spread from the top of the stone coffin toward its four sides, like a web being swiftly spun.

The grinding sound of shattering stone echoed in unison throughout the cavernous space, reaching a critical point in a single instant.

The stone coffin burst open, showering rock fragments everywhere.

The largest slabs slammed onto the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust before everything fell silent.

The smoke gradually settled.

Where the stone coffin had been, a figure now stood.

It was far taller than an ordinary human, its skin a stony gray patterned with crisscrossing lines like a dried riverbed.

Spreading from its back was a pair of broad, bat-like membranous wings, the bones at their edges outlining sharp contours in the dim red glow.

Its head retained certain bat-like features, with a broad snout, fangs protruding beneath its lips, and a pair of slit-pupiled eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty light.

“Who dares disturb my slumber?”

The raspy, grating voice echoed through the vast underground space like sandpaper grinding against stone.

A sharp screech sounded from the stone slab beneath Rosie's feet.

The exact moment the monster’s voice trailed off, she launched forward like a bullet.

The distance of over ten meters dissolved in an instant under the speed of her charge, her blade slicing through the air in a bright silver arc.

Sparks flew everywhere.

The monster reached out an ash-gray palm and swatted at the incoming blade.

The blade snapped with a crisp pop, breaking right in two. The severed top half flew off spinning before clattering onto the ground.

Rosie's hand went numb at the web of her thumb, the violent vibration traveling up her arm into her shoulder, making her almost lose her grip on the broken sword.

The monster flipped its hand and slammed down again.

Seeing the ash-gray palm rapidly expand in her vision, Rosie reflexively raised the shield on her left arm in front of her.

A dull thud echoed off the shield as massive force surged through it into her arm, shoulder, and whole torso.

Feeling as though she'd been rammed head-on by a full-speed carriage, she was sent flying backward through the air.

A figure rushed out at top speed.

The plates of his armor clattered as he ran, and a pair of arms caught her securely from behind.

The momentum forced her savior back several steps, his iron boots stomping heavily against the stone floor.

“Thanks,” Rosie said, finding her footing and offering her gratitude.

Lucius gave a small nod without a word, his gaze already locked back on the monster ahead.

A silver bolt whistled past Lucius’s helmet, shooting straight for the monster's forehead.

Raising a hand, the monster caught the projectile in midair, stopping it less than a palm's width from its forehead, the arrowhead trembling slightly before its fingertips.

It glanced at the bolt in its grip, closed its fingers, and crushed it into dust, casually tossing the remains onto the floor.

Raising its hideous head, its slit pupils slowly scanned everyone present.

“Damned ants. Not only do you dare disturb my slumber, but you also dare challenge me?”

Opening its mouth, its fangs gleamed wetly under the dark red light.

“Become my sacrificial offerings upon my awakening.”

The moment the words left its mouth, its broad wings snapped open.

The wings whipped up a gust of air thick with dust and debris, causing everyone's garments to flap wildly.

Its knees bent slightly before pushing off with explosive power, sending its entire body airborne with a single beat of its wings.

A split second later, it swooped down right above the crowd.

The knights raised their swords to meet it, greatswords sweeping through the air in wide arcs.

But the monster was impossibly fast; the transition between its dive and pull-up was seamless, causing the blades to slice through nothing but empty air in its wake.

A brief, bloodcurdling scream rang out.

A servant wearing a coarse cloth coat was snatched by the shoulders and hoisted into midair by the monster.

He thrashed frantically, kicking his legs in vain and trying to pry open the ash-gray fingers clamped on his shoulders, but they remained as unyielding as iron shackles.

Lowering its head, the monster opened wide and bit straight into his head.

A muffled crunch resonated, sounding like a hard shell being crushed to pieces.

The servant’s body twitched violently before going limp.

Holding the corpse high, the monster squeezed hard with both hands as if wringing out a juicy fruit.

Red fluid gushed from the corpse directly into the monster's maw, the excess cascading down its jaw and neck to drip onto the stone floor below in a rhythmic patter.

After taking a few gulps, it suddenly stopped.

“Bah, bah, bah... Disgusting...”

Tossing it aside, the mangled corpse spun through the air several times before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Wiping away the stray blood at the corners of its mouth, the monster slowly circled in midair.

Its slit pupils swept across the crowd below as if picking items off a shelf.

Its eyes first landed on Alysia.

“An elf? Full of bitterness. Trash.”

Shaking its head in disgust, it shifted its gaze.

Next, it swept over the victims.

“No longer fresh. Trash.”

Then its gaze paused on Vera for a moment, its nostrils twitching slightly.

“Tsk, reeks of the Abyss. Trash!”

Vera’s expression stiffened, her fingers tightening around her repeating crossbow.

Finally, the monster’s eyes settled on the white-robed cleric.

Tilting its head, its dark red slit pupils narrowed slightly before the corners of its mouth pulled back into a spine-chilling grin.

“This one is good. Blood full of the aroma of hope. I like this offering.”

Its voice was loud and utterly unreserved, like a chef explaining his choice of ingredients before savoring a meal.

Without waiting for Nikus’s order, the nearest shield knights stepped forward shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a curved shield wall in front of the white-robed cleric.

The greatsword knights stood behind the shield wall, their blades angled forward to form a second line of defense.

Hovering in midair, the monster watched the defensive formation rapidly take shape below.

Rather than attacking immediately, it deliberately waited until the knights were fully in position and braced before slowly speaking:

“Here I come.”

Its tone carried the chill calm of a hunter playing with its prey.

The white-robed cleric raised his golden holy emblem high, his lips moving rapidly. “O Lord of Light! Protect your devout follower!”

A burst of radiant golden light erupted from the holy emblem, forming a massive inverted golden bowl that enveloped him and the surrounding knights inside.

The monster leaned back slightly, then thrust forward with sudden violence.

A gray blur plunged straight down from the sky.

An instant before contact, the barrier flared to maximum intensity, shooting brilliant arcs of light in all directions.

Then, like thin ice struck by a heavy rock, the barrier shattered with a sharp crack, breaking into countless golden fragments that swiftly vanished into thin air.

The monster swept through the shattering fragments, its dive barely slowed.

The shield knights at the very front were hurled backward along with their heavy shields, crashing heavily onto the stone floor in a screeching clatter of metal plate on stone.

The formation of greatsword knights, Nikus included, shattered in that same moment. Some were blown off their feet by the impact, while others stumbled sideways, colliding with comrades behind them as they scrambled to keep their balance.

Dust rose slowly from the point of impact.

As the dust settled...

...the monster had already risen back into midair.

It held the white-robed cleric with a single hand, like a hawk clutching a chick.

The cleric’s holy emblem had slipped from his grip, the golden metal disk bouncing twice on the stone floor with a sharp chime.

Vera raised her repeating crossbow, its silver bolt leveled squarely at the monster’s head.

The bowstring twanged, sending the bolt whistling through the air.

Without even turning its head, the monster merely flicked its free hand, casually swatting the shaft aside. The arrowhead grazed its cheekbone before striking the stone wall behind, sparking briefly.

The cleric's eyelids fluttered, then closed as he waited for his end to come.

Satisfied, the monster opened its bloodthirsty maw, ready to feast upon his flesh.

Just then...

...a voice rang out.

“Holy Light!”