Chapter 188: Something Gained And Something Lost
Just outside the exit from the Vent Cathedral, a group of Makara waited, more than thirty of them gathered in a loose formation. Their mounts shifted beneath them, jaws snapping at nothing, while hands tightened around weapons and eyes stayed fixed on the tunnel.
They felt ready, but the tension in their grips and the way their mounts twitched told a different story.
Then, before any saw any sign of movement, Seo-jin burst from the cave as a streak of white, tearing through the water in a straight line. The pressure of his movement kicked silt and debris outward as he closed the distance before any could react.
[Maw Annihilation Beam // Activated]
[-10 Maw Charge]
[Maw Charge // 40/50]
Both Twinback Serpents opened their jaws, and without slowing, they unleashed twin beams of bloodlight that cut straight through the formation.
[+1800 Damage Dealt]
[+1800 Damage Dealt]
[+41 Exp]
[+37 Exp]
[+1800 Damage Dealt]
...
...
Notifications stacked over each other as the beams passed, and the space they carved through emptied in an instant.
Makara lost heads and torsos, bodies splitting where the beams hit, while eels were torn apart or left drifting in halves. Those still intact were the ones caught at the edges, close enough to feel it, not close enough to be erased.
The water churned and bubbled around the serpents' mouths as the beams cut out, but Seo-jin never slowed, angling his path and driving straight at the survivors before they could process what had just happened.
Seo-jin hit them before the first scream finished.
His claws punched through the nearest rider's chest, fingers driving in to the wrist before ripping out in a spray. He didn't slow, body twisting as his other hand caught the eel beneath, claws digging into thick flesh before tearing a strip free and kicking off the collapsing mass.
Tiamat lunged first, jaws snapping shut around a Makara mid-turn, crushing bone and armor in one bite as the body folded and disappeared past her teeth. Bahamut followed a heartbeat later, head whipping sideways to catch an eel by the skull, fangs sinking in before she tore it free and thrashed, the body splitting down the spine.
Seo-jin drove through the center, claws raking across another rider's face, tearing it open as he passed, then spun back in, grabbing the same body by the throat and biting down through collar and bone, ripping the head free and letting it drift.
A spear came for him from the side, the shaft grazing his ribs as he shifted just enough to avoid it, then closed the gap and buried his hand into the attacker's stomach. He dragged the Makara off the saddle, then finished it with a short bite that crushed through the skull.
Behind him, the serpents tore through what remained.
Tiamat coiled around two at once, bodies pinned as her jaws snapped down in sequence, each bite reducing them to broken pieces. Bahamut surged past her, biting, releasing, then biting again, each strike taking a limb, a head, a chunk of torso.
The last one tried to flee, kicking its mount hard, but Seo-jin was already there, grabbing the eel's spine and dragging himself up its length before driving his teeth into the rider's back. He ripped down and through, splitting flesh open, then shoved the body free and let it sink.
The water settled.
Blood drifted in thick clouds where the group had been, bodies already sinking, and Seo-jin hovered for a second, claws flexing, before moving on.
He could feel the shift more clearly now, the feedback from the fight running through him. Flesh was weak, bones snapped like twigs, and the serpents tore through targets without slowing. The difference from before evolving sat heavy in his muscles.
Mawspawn Variant.
At first, he had taken it as a name tied to origin, something simple, a mark of where he came from. Now it felt like something else entirely, something active and growing, especially with the new racial skill sitting in his panel.
His connection to the Maw ran deeper than birth, he could feel that much, even if he couldn't define it yet.
After pushing forward a bit longer, the tunnel widened into a large open space, the water thinning as light filtered down from above. Looking up, he caught sight of it, a wavering surface he had been waiting to reach, and his legs kicked without hesitation as he drove straight toward it—
Pain erupted as he stopped, his neck tightening, heat flaring across it.
His hands clamped over his throat as his gills shuddered. The flesh twitched and pulled until—
[Mark Of Thuldan // Cleansed]
The gills sealed, and the next breath didn't come.
[Guess we've officially left the first floor. Quit being dramatic and head up.]
Seo-jin frowned as he forced himself to move, chest tight as the burn lingered.
'You don't always have to be a bitch.'
[Is a demon asking me to be nice? Not sure I heard that right.]
'Go suck ass.'
[You first.]
Smiling despite it, Seo-jin surged upward and broke through the surface, only to be met immediately by the hard whistle of spears cutting toward him.
'Shit—!'
Mid-air in a large, naturally formed oval chamber of stone, he couldn't dodge, so he braced—only for Tiamat to lash out, jaws clamping onto a boulder at the water's edge and yanking him clear.
About to lunge for a target, Bahamut abruptly halted, fangs dripping as it hesitated, then lowered its head.
"They're mine."
The serpents submitted, bodies drawing back and sinking into Seo-jin's flesh, the movement leaving a faint pull across his back.
Rolling up his sleeves, he prepared to test Butcher's Wrath's new effect.
Feeling excitement instead of pain, his skin split, and the blades tore free into his grip, steaming and pulsing with a steady throb that carried through his hands. Even the Makara shifted back, webbed feet scraping against wet stone.
"Any of you understand me?"
Silence held for a beat, broken only by the soft hiss of water and the scrape of claws, until one stepped forward.
Its body was pale and smooth like carved bone, layered with long, leaf-like frills that fanned out from its head and shoulders in bright green sheets, each one trembling as it moved. Faint light ran through those frills, veins glowing beneath the surface as it raised the crystalline trident in its hand.
"I speak human."
Smiling, the corners of Seo-jin's mouth pulled wide.
"Good! I just wanted to say before we start, I'd appreciate it if all of you put up the best fight you can. It'd be disappointing if you all died too quick."
[Tendon Lash // Activated]
The bright green Makara laughed, wet and choked, bubbles slipping from its mouth as its frills quivered.
"You are outnumbered! Surrender now, and your death will be—!"
A rush of water and a flash of steel. That was all the Makara saw or felt, its vision tilting as the chamber spun, the cold bite at its neck only making sense when its body dropped out from under it.
"Holy fuck that hurts!"
Grinning through the pain, Seo-jin pulled the blade back into his grip, the tendons snapping tight as they reeled into his flesh.
But the effects were more than worth it.
Seeing their kin fall headless, the ten or so Makara hissed and shouted as they charged.
Looking down at the hanging blades, Seo-jin felt the tendons twitch under his skin, excitement rising with the possibilities and dread settling in with the pain he knew would follow.
Too late to complain now.
His first swing went out too fast.
He snapped the blade out on a line of living meat, but the arc went wide, cutting air as the Makara dodged. The recoil hit a second later, the tendon ripping back into his arm and dragging a hot line through his flesh.
A trident slammed into his side before he could reset.
[–94HP]
[HP // 3006/3100]
[Demonic Will // Activated]
[Stack // 0]
Another clipped his shoulder.
[–88HP]
[HP // 2918/3100]
[Demonic Will // Stack 1]
[Pain Reduction +6% / Health Regen +1.5%]
"Yeah… alright!"
Leaping back, he lashed again, forcing it, but the blade overextended and struck stone with a hard crack, kicking up grit as the tendon snapped tight and yanked it back. The delay cost him.
The two Makara closed.
[–101HP]
[HP // 2817/3100]
[–85 HP]
[HP // 2732/3100]
[Demonic Will // Stack 3]
[Pain Reduction +18% / Health Regen +4.5%]
Seo-jin staggered from the blows, breath tightening, then grinned. He parried a follow up, then blocked another, using all his strength, he slammed a foot down, cratering the ground and forcing the Makara back.
"Okay. Got it."
He adjusted.
The next lash wasn't forced. It flowed.
The tendon uncoiled cleaner, the blade cutting across a Makara's chest before it could react.
[+1178 Damage Dealt]
[+42 Exp]
[+180HP]
[HP // 2997/3100]
The body split and dropped.
The recoil still hurt, but it slid back into place instead of tearing, and with Feed having ranked up, it now gave a flat health boost with every kill.
The second Makara rushed in low.
Seo-jin stepped into it, twisting as he sent a blade out in a tighter arc.
[+1183 Damage Dealt]
[+45 Exp]
[+172HP]
The Makara's throat opened, weapon slipping from its grip as it hit the ground.
Thrown from his right, a trident grazed his thigh as he pulled back.
[–89 Damage Taken]
[HP // 2643/3100]
[Demonic Will // Stack 4]
[Pain Reduction +24% / Health Regen +6%]
He barely reacted.
Now he was watching. Now he was timing.
Two more came together, frills flaring. Seo-jin let them close, shoulders loose, then flicked both wrists.
The blades shot out in a wide arc, then he yanked them back, the blades aiming straight for their backs.
[+1176 Damage Dealt]
[+39 Exp]
[+181HP]
[+1186 Damage Dealt]
[+44 Exp]
[+188HP]
Both bodies dropped mid-step.
The recoil came, but this time he moved with it, arms shifting instead of locking as a third tried to flank him. He didn't turn fully, just snapped a blade back over his shoulder.
[+1181 Damage Dealt]
[+41 Exp]
[+88HP]
[HP // 3100/3100]
The body hit behind him with a dull slap.
Now they hesitated.
Voices raised. Frills trembled. Weapons lifted, but no one committed.
Rolling his shoulders, Seo-jin felt his tendons flex and settle, the earlier burn fading into something manageable with the help of [Demonic Will].
"Come on, you were loud a second ago!"
He let his aura ignite, bloodlight exploding in obvious provocation. It worked. One lunged, but it didn't make it halfway. Butcher's Wrath punched straight through its chest and pinned it to the stone before snapping back.
[+1184 Damage Dealt]
[+47 Exp]
Another followed, but he was already moving, stepping through the gap, cleavers lashing in tight, controlled arcs.
[+1179 Damage Dealt]
[+38 Exp]
[+1187 Damage Dealt]
[+46 Exp]
Bodies dropped in a line. Now they couldn't get close.
Every step forward met a blade. Every opening closed before it formed. The tendons moved like extensions of his will, snapping out and back in clean lines, recoil adding momentum into his next attack instead of breaking it.
The last few Makara turned to run, but he didn't chase. He just flicked his wrists.
[+1176 Damage Dealt]
[+40 Exp]
[+1182 Damage Dealt]
[+43 Exp]
They fell before they made it five steps.
Silence crept back into the chamber, broken by the drip of blood and the lap of water. Seo-jin stood still for a moment, flexing his hands, feeling the movement settle under his skin.
"Yeah...that works."
[Fucking brutal. The sound it makes pulling from your arms is beyond fucked up. Min's gonna love it.]
He flexed his hands, feeling the blades settle under his skin as he put them away. He was surprised at how quickly he had adapted; considering they were bonded to him, extensions of his own flesh, it made sense he wouldn't struggle for long.
Thinking of Min, he glanced over the chamber, and figured this was as good a place as any. The humans needed to get out of the growths, before it was too late. With [Corruption] ranking up as he evolved, it now came with a much bigger problem than [Madness].
Pushing free from his back, the serpents bodies slid out with a wet pull, both jaws stretching wide as they purged what they held.
Flesh formed mid-air before it hit the ground, and this time the broodlings and the humans stood fully formed almost instantly, though most still hit the stone hard.
"Mother—fucker!"
Rubbing the top of her head, Min winced and rolled onto her back, breath hissing through her teeth.
The other humans weren't in much better shape. Lynn, Split-jaw, Slims, and Teal all pushed themselves up, unsteady, each rubbing a different part of their body as they found their balance.
Looking them over, compared to the brood, they were rough. All except the newborns Tomb and Sin, landed clean; the two that didn't scrambled up fast, hiding their shame.
Scanning the group, Seo-jin felt some of the tension leave his shoulders as he confirmed they were fine, but the unease came right back as his eyes moved across them again...and then one more time...someone was missing.
"Uh...where's John?"