The cliffside exploded into chaos.
The corrupted humanoids surged upward from the underground entrance all at once, their distorted bodies moving with terrifying speed despite their incomplete forms. Black tendrils lashed through the air while crimson lines pulsed beneath translucent skin, illuminating the battlefield beneath the darkening sky in flashes of red.
And the voices—
The endless layered whispers—
Only grew louder.
"…Synchronize…"
"…Return below…"
"…Primary candidate…"
Ayan's grip tightened around his sword as the first humanoid lunged directly toward him again.
Its elongated claws tore through the air with unnatural precision.
CLANG.
Ayan blocked the strike at the last possible second, shockwaves running violently through his arms as the creature twisted its body unnaturally around his blade.
Too flexible.
Too intelligent.
Nothing like ordinary monsters.
Its eyeless face stretched into another horrifying smile.
"…You are compatible…"
Ayan's expression hardened instantly.
"…Shut up."
He kicked the creature backward before slashing across its torso.
SLASH.
Black blood sprayed across the stone ground.
The creature staggered—
Then regenerated immediately.
The wound sealed together unnaturally fast as crimson lines beneath its skin pulsed brighter.
Ayan clicked his tongue.
"…Of course."
Behind him the battlefield intensified further.
The spear wielder drove his weapon through the chest of another humanoid, only for corrupted tendrils to erupt from the creature's body and wrap around the spear itself.
The dual-blade fighter moved through the battlefield like a shadow, slicing apart limbs and tendrils with incredible speed while barely avoiding the overwhelming number of enemies climbing from below.
The mage continuously cast defensive barriers around the group, though cracks spread across each shield faster than he could stabilize them.
And the red-haired archer—
She aimed directly for the heads.
Ayan noticed it immediately.
Unlike the others—
Her attacks slowed the regeneration.
Interesting.
A humanoid creature lunged toward the injured shield user lying near the broken pillar.
Before it reached him—
An arrow pierced directly through its skull.
BOOM.
The creature's head exploded apart completely.
This time—
It didn't regenerate immediately.
The archer shouted sharply from above one of the stone formations.
"The head slows them down!"
Ayan's eyes narrowed.
"…Good catch."
The humanoid in front of him attacked again instantly.
Ayan ducked beneath the elongated claws before driving his sword upward through its jaw.
CRACK.
The blade pierced through the creature's skull.
Its body froze violently.
Then collapsed twitching onto the ground.
Not dead.
But slowed.
Ayan immediately stepped backward as another two creatures rushed toward him simultaneously.
"…There's too many."
And worse—
More continued emerging from below.
The underground structure pulsed brighter with each passing second, crimson light spreading across the enormous entrance beneath the cliffs while distorted whispers echoed continuously from the darkness underground.
Almost like the structure itself was alive.
Aelira moved through the battlefield silently.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Every corrupted humanoid approaching her simply ceased existing.
Some exploded apart instantly.
Others collapsed as crimson energy tore directly through their unstable bodies.
But even she—
Couldn't eliminate them all fast enough.
Because the creatures kept coming.
"…They're stalling us."
Ayan realized suddenly.
Not trying to kill immediately.
Containing.
Pushing them toward exhaustion.
Toward the entrance.
Like they were herding prey underground.
The first humanoid he fought earlier appeared again several meters away, its distorted body partially regenerated while the embedded faces beneath its skin shifted continuously.
"…Descent required…"
Its layered voices echoed unnaturally.
"…The network awaits synchronization…"
Ayan's chest tightened slightly.
Because despite the horror surrounding them—
The creature sounded sincere.
Not mocking.
Not threatening.
Like it genuinely believed what it was saying.
That somehow made it worse.
A humanoid suddenly burst from beneath the stone directly beside him.
Too close.
Ayan barely twisted away before elongated claws ripped across his shoulder, tearing through cloth and flesh.
"…GH—!"
Pain exploded through his arm instantly.
The creature lunged again.
Then froze mid-motion.
Aelira's crimson eyes glowed faintly nearby.
"…You are distracted."
Her voice remained calm despite the battlefield collapsing around them.
Ayan gritted his teeth.
"…Kind of hard not to be!"
Aelira erased the frozen creature with a single movement before turning toward the underground entrance itself.
For the first time since the fight began—
Her expression darkened visibly.
"…Something stronger is approaching."
The ground trembled violently.
Not from above.
From deep below the structure.
The humanoid creatures immediately stopped attacking.
Every single one froze simultaneously.
Then slowly—
They all turned toward the underground entrance.
Ayan's instincts screamed.
The distorted whispers grew louder.
"…Convergence…"
"…Convergence…"
"…Convergence…"
The crimson lines across the structure illuminated completely.
Then the darkness beneath the entrance moved.
At first Ayan thought it was smoke.
Or shadows.
Then he realized—
Something enormous was climbing upward.
A massive black hand emerged slowly from the depths beneath the world, its surface covered entirely in moving crimson lines while fragments of metallic structures appeared fused directly into the flesh itself.
Then another hand appeared.
Followed by a shape far too large for any humanoid creature they had fought so far.
The silver-ranked adventurers instinctively stepped backward.
Even Ayan felt cold pressure settle across his chest.
Because unlike the corrupted humanoids—
This thing felt stable.
Complete.
The enormous figure slowly pulled itself upward from the underground darkness until its upper body finally emerged beneath the crimson light surrounding the structure.
Ayan's eyes widened slightly.
The creature looked horrifyingly human.
Not distorted.
Not malformed.
Human.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Its body covered in black armor-like flesh lined with glowing crimson patterns while fragments of metallic structures extended across its arms and spine like integrated machinery.
But the face—
The face looked completely normal.
A man.
Cold expression.
Dark hair.
And glowing crimson eyes.
The same eyes from the memory fragment.
The figure stepped fully onto the cliffside.
Every corrupted humanoid immediately knelt around it.
Silence swallowed the battlefield.
Then the man's gaze shifted directly toward Ayan.
And smiled faintly.
"…So."
His voice sounded completely human.
Calm.
Controlled.
"…You're the new candidate."
Ayan felt his heartbeat slow.
Because unlike the creatures surrounding them—
This thing wasn't broken.
It wasn't incomplete.
It wasn't a monster trying to imitate humanity.
It had already succeeded.
And somehow—
That terrified him more than anything else so far.