CHAPTER 29— Beneath the air shadow stir
The cavern trembled faintly beneath Zodac's feet, a pulse of distant vibrations rolling through the stone like the heartbeat of some monstrous thing buried deeper inside the earth. Dust drifted from the ceiling in thin streams. Warm, stale air brushed against his face with each breath — thick, metallic, tinged with the scent of blood.
The Sentico circled him.
Its massive frame shifted in and out of the soft blue glow from the crystals embedded in the cavern walls. Strings of drool hung from its fanged jaws, stretching and snapping with each heavy exhale. Its pupils flicked and quivered, as if struggling to fully see him, constantly flickering between focus and distortion. The illusion effect… Zodac could feel it trying to claw at his senses.
He inhaled.
Steadied himself.
His body felt like cracked iron — solid, but carrying fractures that screamed beneath every motion. Still, his eyes remained sharp, calculating the rhythm of the beast's movement, the cadence of its breathing, the small delay in its left step. Every detail mattered.
"Hm. This gives me an idea," he murmured.
The Sentico's head snapped toward him at the sound of his voice. Its muscles coiled, but it didn't strike. Not yet. It sensed something… wrong. Something dangerous.
"I hope this works," Zodac whispered under his breath.
His fingers tightened around the glowing orb in his hand.
"New asset… Chronic Bat Crest."
The change was instant.
Light burst violently from the orb — pure, white, blinding — swallowing his entire arm to the elbow. The cavern lit up like lightning had torn through it. When the glow faded, Zodac stared at what formed: an oval crest clamped around his forearm like a shield, engraved with the unnervingly realistic face of a bat. A green orb pulsed at the center of its forehead, dim but alive.
He exhaled slowly.
"It worked…"
His voice trembled — not with fear, but with the painful relief of a plan coming together. The crest was a gamble. A dangerous one. But the system glitch was real… and he needed this.
He needed every advantage he could get.
The Sentico's growl rose from deep within its chest — a rolling, vibrating note that seemed to rattle the air itself.
Zodac raised his shield-arm.
"Chronic Bat—shield!"
The monster lunged forward half a step, muscles twitching as it tracked his voice again.
Then the system flickered.
Right in front of his eyes.
Kogestu * Chronic Bat Crest
RAYGUST * Chronic Bat Crest
(Empty) * Chronic Bat Crest
Three paths. Three outcomes. None safe. All powerful.
Zodac's breathing steadied, and the cold edge in his mind sharpened.
"Kogestu."
The blade materialized in his free hand — its familiar weight grounding him, reminding him of every battle, every mistake, every cost. Light shimmered along its edge as the sword fused with the bat crest, the metal flowing like molten liquid until the weapon reformed into something new. The blade extended down, the Crest becoming its hilt — a twisted, eerie union.
The Sentico's limbs tensed.
It leaped.
The sound of its leap alone cracked the stone beneath it.
Zodac didn't hesitate.
"Screech Strike!"
The bat carving's jaw snapped open. A horrific, unnatural scream exploded from the shield — a sound not meant for living ears.
EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Air warped. The cavern shook. Small stones shattered into dust. The sonic wave slammed into the Sentico mid-air, twisting its attack into a chaotic spiral. The beast crashed hard, smashing into the ground and skidding across the cavern floor.
Zodac staggered backward from the force of his own attack. His ears rang violently. The world tilted. Pain spiked through his skull, but he kept his arm raised, kept the wave going, forcing the monster into the ground again and again.
The Sentico writhed. Its roars turned to shrieks of pain.
Blood burst from its ears.
Zodac's vision blurred. He clenched his jaw, forcing the pain down, forcing himself to hold the attack until—
The beast collapsed.
He cut the ability.
Silence.
Thick, heavy, unnatural silence.
Zodac fell to one knee, his breath ragged, chest heaving. The ringing in his ears felt like needles stabbing at the inside of his skull. He pressed a hand to the ground to steady himself.
Not yet.
Not done.
He pushed himself to his feet — slow, unsteady, but determined. The Sentico twitched, barely conscious but not dead. Its instincts took over, lashing blindly in every direction with swipes powerful enough to tear the stone floor.
Zodac moved.
It hurt — gods, it hurt — but he didn't slow. He darted past a wild swipe and thrust himself forward, sliding along the ground as the creature's massive shadow passed overhead.
But he had underestimated its reach.
A claw slashed across his chest.
The impact tore through his armor and raked four deep lines across his skin. Blood spattered across his torso and splashed onto the stone.
"Agh—!"
The groan tore from his throat, but his focus didn't break.
He was already under the monster's head. Already raising his sword.
"Kogestu—WHIRLWIND!"
His voice ripped through the cavern like a command.
Power surged through the blade. A spiraling wave of compressed air wrapped around the sword and extended outward in a crescent slash.
The Sentico's head separated cleanly from its body.
A burst of blood geysered upward, painting the cavern in a crimson mist.
The body collapsed.
The head thudded to the ground.
Zodac dropped to one knee, the echo of the impact vibrating through his bones. He let Kogestu's blade dig into the stone to keep him upright. His breath trembled. Sweat and blood mingled down his chest.
He looked at the wounds across his torso — deep, long, bleeding heavily.
"Not fatal," he muttered.
His hand brushed the wound… and he hissed. The pain felt like fire under his skin.
He turned toward the Sentico's decapitated head.
"That ability… shutting down senses… illusions… That will be useful."
His voice was steady again — cold, flat, controlled.
He picked up the head. Heavy. Thick. Dense with bone.
"Hectorgon."
A large geometric shield materialized next to him. He placed the head on it, and the shield shrank, absorbing it in a soft glow.
A system flicker.
His legs finally gave out.
He sank to the ground, breath slow but steady now, exhaustion threading through every vein in his body. He used RAYGUST to cut into the fallen Sentico, absorbing small chunks into the orb to refill his mana. The cavern dimmed into eerie calm.
Minutes passed.
Then—
A ladder rattled.
Metal clanged against rock.
Voices.
"…Down here—careful!"
Zodac didn't look up. He felt their presence before he saw them. His Spatial Awareness pulsed outward quietly, like a ripple in still water.
The men descended — they were neither miners nor scouts, judging by their gear — clutching lanterns that cut shaky cones of light through the darkness.
"What… what is all this?"
One voice trembled.
"Gods… the moles… they've been torn apart—"
Another stepped back, hand shaking violently.
"Something was fighting down here…"
"And winning."
Their voices echoed, bouncing around the cavern, layering over each other in rising panic.
Then one spotted him.
"Look! Over there!"
Zodac didn't move. The blood smeared across his face, the torn armor, the shadow swallowing his expression — he must have looked like something pulled from a nightmare.
"A hero…" one whispered.
"Maybe he saved—"
"No."
A man at the back froze. His lantern slipped in his grip.
"No… no… that's him. That's—"
His breath hitched sharply.
"That's the Elemental Devil."
Every man stiffened.
Their fear was instant and overwhelming.
Voices turned to frantic whispers.
"Are you sure?"
"It can't be—"
"It is. I've seen that armor. That face—"
Zodac didn't look at them.
Not at first.
Then—
He slowly turned his head.
The blood streaked across his face caught the lantern light, and the darkness in his eyes gleamed just enough to reveal something they didn't understand — something cold, controlled, but terrifying.
All four men gasped at once.
"That's no hero…"
"Stay back—stay back from him!"
"He'll kill us—!"
"Leave," Zodac said quietly, voice low, steady, but carrying a razor edge.
The words echoed. A whisper turned into a threat.
One man snapped.
"Silence, Devil! Who are you to order us—this place is ours and we—"
Zodac's head snapped toward him.
Swift. Sharp.
"I said… LEAVE."
His voice crashed through the cavern — not loud, but furious, vibrating with barely restrained power. The sound alone made their lantern flames dance violently.
The men panicked.
Tripping. Scrambling. Fighting over each other to reach the ladder.
But it was already too late.
Zodac felt it before they heard it.
Something large.
Something ancient.
Something… awakening.
He turned slowly toward the far tunnel.
A shadow slithered out — huge, stretching across the entire cavern floor.
One of the men looked back and whispered, voice cracking:
"…Holy mother of....."