บท 21: Curse
A sinister smile curled at the corners of my lips, and without a second thought, I leaped forward.
My foot connected with the door, and it flew off its hinges, crashing against the wall with a thunderous crack. The force of it sent the door skittering across the room, leaving a trail of splinters in its wake.
Immediately, a cold, dark aura poured out from the room beyond. It was like a malevolent spirit, an oppressive wave of shadow and decay, swirling around me.
The chill of it sank into my skin, creeping up my spine, and tightening around my neck. The air turned damp, heavy with the stench of rot. It felt like the very presence of death had crept into the space, clutching at my breath. The sensation was truly, unmistakably chilling.
Before me, standing in the center of the room, was the source of the disturbance.
A creature of pure magical energy, born from an obsession that twisted and deformed it into something unspeakable. Its body was a grotesque amalgamation of blackened flesh and unnatural shapes, a mass of disjointed limbs and jagged contours that seemed to defy logic.
Its skin was mottled—black, grey, and bruised-looking, like the twisted creations that haunt humanity's worst nightmares, the ones we are terrified to even dream of.
The creature's eyes—if you could call them eyes—were nothing more than deep, hollow sockets. There were no pupils, no light to guide its vision, only an unholy red glow that pulsed from within, burning with an unnatural fire. The eyes didn't see—they sensed your fear.
Its movements were disturbing. It didn't walk; it shuffled, jerking with each dislocated step. The joints in its limbs cracked and splintered, shifting in ways that should have been impossible for any living creature.
Its body was hunched, twisted in on itself, and long, jagged claws scraped the floor with every motion, leaving streaks of dark, dried grime behind.
The faint screeching sound of its claws against the cracked tiles was enough to make your teeth itch like metal dragging against bone.
But what truly unsettled me, more than its grotesque form, was the unmistakable smell—foul, sickening, and heavy with rot. It reeked like a corpse.
Not just any corpse, though. It was the stench of something that had been long dead, decayed beyond recognition, yet somehow still clinging to a remnant of life. A being born from the decay, the corrupted remnants of something that should have stayed buried.
The creature was growling, a low, guttural sound that vibrated in the air, reverberating through the walls of the room. Its eyes flickered with rage as it loomed in the center of the cluttered, filthy space.
The room around it was a mess—worse than any slum, worse than any place I had ever seen. Piles of discarded garbage, broken furniture, and debris were scattered everywhere—a chaotic, nauseating mess.
If I had to describe it, I wouldn't call it a living space—it was a pigsty, a breeding ground for whatever dark magic had given birth to this abomination.
This wasn't just a creature. It was a nightmare.
My heart pounded in my chest, a steady drumbeat of adrenaline coursing through my veins. My stomach twisted in discomfort, but I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to focus.
Every muscle in my body tensed, ready for what was to come. The air felt thick with dread, but I refused to let it control me. If it were anyone else, they might have screamed, frozen in terror, or even collapsed right there on the spot. But I wasn't like everyone else.
Scared? Not a chance. I had faced worse than this.
Monsters like this? I'd seen my fair share. And I knew exactly how to deal with them.
A sneer tugged at my lips as my eyes narrowed in on the abomination before me.
The creature snarled, its rancid breath thick with the stench of decay. I could practically feel the darkness that clung to it, asphyxiating the air.
But I wasn't about to let it intimidate me. I placed my other hand on the hilt of my sword, gripping it with purpose as I prepared for the strike.
The creature's eyes flashed with malicious intent. Its body twitched, then, with a terrifying speed, it lunged toward me.
"Roar!" A guttural growl erupted from deep within its chest, vibrating the very air around it. The monster's jaws parted, revealing rows of jagged teeth that dripped with something foul—something otherworldly.
Its aim was clear: to tear into me with that grotesque mouth, to bite and rip with savage abandon.
Not happening.
I reacted in an instant, my body moving without hesitation. My left foot slid back, planting itself firmly on the ground as I twisted my body to avoid its lunging attack.
The creature's jaws snapped shut with a sickening clack, missing me by mere inches. I could feel the rush of air as its grotesque mouth passed dangerously close, but I was already one step ahead.
In a fluid motion, I used the momentum from my dodge, my remaining leg coiling like a spring, and I drove it forward with all the force I could muster.
But the monster had reacted with unnerving speed, and raised its two grotesque front legs just in time to block my strike.
The impact reverberated through my leg, the force of my blow halted by its unnatural strength. Annoyed, I didn't waste any time. Using the rebound from my kick, I pushed myself back with a quick shift of my weight, creating a safe distance between us.
The creature hissed lowly, a guttural growl reverberating from its twisted throat. It seemed to sense the threat I posed, recoiling slightly, as if trying to figure out its next move.
And then, without warning, its body began to morph, twisting even further into something more monstrous. Spiny, writhing tentacles shot out from its already misshapen form, their tips jagged and covered in what looked like barbed thorns
And with a horrifying screech, it lunged at me again, its tentacles snaking through the air, aiming to ensnare me, to impale me with their sharp tips.
But I wasn't worried.
"Child's play," I muttered under my breath, the words barely escaping my lips before I moved. The monster was so focused on launching its assault, that it didn't bother to consider its trajectory. It was too blinded by rage and desperation.
I squinted one eye, my focus sharpening. In an instant, I bent my body low, using the momentum to propel myself forward, charging directly at the creature. It was predictable, its tentacles flying toward me with reckless abandon. With a swift, calculated shift, I ducked under its swiping tentacles, the grotesque appendages brushing harmlessly past my hair.
The creature's blind attack missed completely.
Now, it was my turn.
I spun around with lethal precision, not wasting a second. My magic surged through me, gathering in my legs. My muscles coiled like a spring, and with a single, decisive stomp, I slammed my foot into the cracked, decaying floor beneath me.
The impact sent a violent shockwave rippling through the ground, the surface cracking and splintering under the force of my magic.
Before the creature could even react, I swung my other leg forward in a vicious arc, aimed squarely at its side.
Bang!
The shockwave of my kick hit the monster with a thunderous force, the impact vibrating through the air.
Despite its attempt to raise its spiny tentacles in defense, the creature was completely unprepared for the raw power of my strike. It was sent flying through the air like a ragdoll, its grotesque form crashing into the wall with a sickening crash.
The force of the blow didn't stop there. The creature slammed into the next room with such force that debris scattered in all directions, creating a cloud of dust and rubble.
The creature's body crumpled, grotesquely contorted, its dark, tar-like blood oozing from the gaping wound where my kick had landed.
The foul liquid pooled around it, a sickly, viscous mess that splattered onto the floor, seeping into the cracks like some form of malevolent contagion. The stench was unbearable, the air heavy with rot.
But it wasn't dead. No. Not even close.
A guttural growl bubbled from deep within its chest, ragged and broken, but unmistakably alive. The monster's eyes, once dim and hollow, flared to life with an intense, fiery glow—brighter, more malicious.
It twitched. Jerking like a marionette whose strings had been yanked, its twisted body reformed, contorted, then unfolded into something even worse.
I could hear its joints pop and crack as it shifted, its form morphing further into something utterly incomprehensible. The monster was no longer the pathetic thing it had once been—this was an abomination born of pure obsession, of magic warped and twisted beyond recognition.
And then, its mouth opened wide, wider than should have been possible, splitting apart with a sickening sound, like a door ripping on its hinges.
The jagged, broken teeth within its maw gleamed, coated in blood, dripping with foul ichor. The air around it crackled with dark energy as the creature lunged at me, faster than before, its massive, gaping jaw swinging like an axe—ready to cleave me in two.
Dodge.
I moved, my body a blur of motion, twisting just in time as its teeth snapped shut inches from my neck. The force of its attack pushed the air back, a shockwave that sent a chill through my bones. My heart raced, but I didn't hesitate. I couldn't. I wouldn't.
Dodge again.
The creature's claws swiped down in a violent arc, slashing through the air with a deafening screech, the jagged talons aiming for my face.
I spun, the razor-sharp claws grazing my cheek, the heat from the attack sizzling the air around me. I could feel the sting of the close call, but there was no time to think about it. The monster wasn't stopping—it was relentless.
It was too fast. Too powerful.
And I was running out of room.
I needed more speed. More power.
"Acceleration."
The word left my lips, sharp and forceful, and instantly, a surge of magic surged through my body like an electric current, igniting every muscle, every fiber of my being.
The magic circus inside me flared to life, glowing with an intense crimson light, sending waves of magical energy coursing through my veins.
It felt like fire, like liquid lightning, flooding my limbs, amplifying my strength to the level of superhuman.
In that moment, the world around me seemed to slow to a crawl. Time stretched, and everything else—the creature, the room, the very air—became sluggish.
My mind sharpened, and my body felt lighter than air, as though I could move faster than I ever had before. The monster's monstrous, slashing jaws were now a slow-motion blur, its tentacles snaking toward me like thick ropes moving in molasses.
I was no longer just reacting—I was controlling the flow of battle.
I blurred forward, my movements so fast that the room seemed to stretch and warp around me.
My every step was a calculated strike, every motion filled with lethal precision. The monster's attacks, once chaotic and unpredictable, were now predictable, sluggish, and clumsy. Its claws whistled through the air, but they were no match for the speed I had activated.
I was faster than it. Stronger than it.
Now, it was my turn.
I lunged forward with terrifying speed, my foot crashing into the creature's side with a force that shook the very walls.
The shockwave from the impact was like a thunderclap, the sheer power of my kick reverberating through the air. The monster was blasted sideways, its body careening across the room as if it were weightless, its twisted form slamming into the far wall with a sickening crunch.
It hit the wall so hard that the concrete cracked, and the impact sent a cascade of dust and debris raining down. But even as it lay there, dazed and struggling to recover, I could see the dark energy swirling around it, building, preparing for another attack.
But this time, it was already too late.
I was done playing with it.
"Calamity Slash!"
The words left my lips like a vow, and in the next instant, my sword was out of its sheath, gleaming with an unnatural light.
The air around me crackled with an overpowering force, the magical energy I had compressed into the blade radiating with an intensity that made the space around me tremble. Every muscle in my body, every fiber of my being, was ready.
In that moment, I felt nothing but pure focus.
I channeled the magic into my sword and, with a single motion, I slashed, unleashing a devastating wave of power.
It was a supersonic strike, one that moved faster than the human eye could track—a slash of raw, pure destruction. The energy shot through the air like a razor-sharp beam, cutting through everything in its path.
The creature barely had time to react. Its body, already damaged beyond recognition, was cleaved cleanly in half before it could even twitch.
The force of the strike split its hideous form like a blade through butter, and in the blink of an eye, the monster's twisted body was nothing more than two halves, leaking dark, viscous black blood that stained the floor.
The room felt still, silent—almost too quiet.
I stood there, panting, my heart still racing from the intensity of the battle. The pressure from the strike, the force of the magic, left the air thick with dust and grime.
I watched as the creature's severed body slowly decayed, its remaining form withering away, dissolving into the air like a forgotten nightmare.
But something wasn't right.
I could feel it.
The magical energy that had once been swirling around the creature—powerful, oppressive—was no longer focused on it. It had dissipated, yes, but in its place was something... wrong.
A lingering presence.
I turned slowly, my sword still raised in case another attack came, my senses alert, my eyes scanning every shadow. The room still felt suffocating, like the walls themselves were closing in. I could feel the pressure hanging in the air, dense and unnatural.
Something had absorbed the magical energy—something more insidious.
I could feel it pulse, hidden within the remnants of the room, coiling in the shadows like a predator waiting to strike. It wasn't the monster—it was something else, something that had taken its place.
My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword. There was no way I was leaving until I found out exactly what had taken that power. The battle wasn't over.
I wasn't done yet.
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