A large, bone-white sword — wide as a car door, its jagged edge glinting like teeth — came crashing down toward Alex.
The strike wasn't meant to wound. It was meant to kill.
Alex froze. His breath caught in his throat as he watched the blade descend, the air trembling around it.
Just before it hit, a golden flash sparked in front of him.
Boom!
A yellow qi barrier formed — Gwen's. She had sprinted to his side, throwing up the shield just in time.
The impact roared through the room. The barrier shattered like glass, scattering fragments of golden light. The sword didn't stop — it tore straight through the remains.
The backlash threw both Alex and Gwen backward, the shockwave tossing them off the range of the sword.
Bang!
The bone sword slammed into the ground where they'd just stood. The concrete cracked, then gave way entirely, crashing into the floor below. Dust and debris filled the air.
Gwen hit the ground, rolled, and sprang up in one motion. Without wasting a heartbeat, she kicked off, blasting through the side wall and out into the hallway.
Her whip lashed out — it snapped around Alex's arm. She yanked him hard, dragging him clear of the collapsing room.
The wall behind them caved in with a thunderous crash.
The cracks had stopped, splitting the floor halfway but not reaching where they stood.
Dust drifted through the ruined hallway, the air thick with burnt qi and crumbled stone. Alex and Gwen stood side by side, facing the thing that had stepped out of the wreckage.
It looked human—at least, what was left of one.
At the entrance to Varkov's shattered office stood a massive figure. It had the shape of a man, but the skin was gone, peeled clean off.
Muscles hung dry and grey, tight like cracked leather. Pale bones jutted through in places, showing the ruin of what used to be flesh.
Its size was wrong too—fifteen feet, maybe more. The creature's head nearly scraped the ceiling, each breath it took rattling like metal grinding stone.
Resting on its shoulder was that same monstrous weapon—a jagged bone sword, thick and uneven, still glowing faintly from the last swing.
It was completely naked. And that only made things worse—there was no mistaking it had once been a man.
Then the familiar system ping broke through the silence:
[Class B Undead Knight]
Alex blinked. "Undead what?"
"Shit…" Gwen muttered under her breath, her eyes wide. "How can this be…"
Alex turned to her, confused. "What does that mean? Does it mean it's strong?"
Gwen's gaze snapped to him, urgency tightening her voice.
"There's no time for questions—we have to move, now!"
Alex didn't argue. He didn't need to. Even he could feel the air shift—the kind of pressure that screamed danger.
He and Gwen turned sharply toward the hallway, ready to bolt.
But before they could move, a voice cut through the tension from behind.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Varkov stepped out from the office, he was still naked, eyes burning red under the dim light.
Alex didn't even spare him a glance. Gwen didn't either. They both knew it wasn't the time to trade words—they just kept moving, fast, boots pounding against the cracked marble floor.
Behind them, Varkov's grip tightened around his staff—a long, twisted rod crowned with a small orb that swirled with thick, black mist.
The orb began to churn violently, releasing tendrils of shadow that wrapped around his arm and body. A dark aura burst out from him, spreading across the room like smoke under a door.
He pressed the staff's head against the Undead Knight's chest.
The effect was instant. The black mist crawled over the creature's decayed flesh, coating it in layers of shadow until the dry muscles vanished beneath it.
A set of dark armor began to form—jagged metal plates fusing into place, a tattered black cloak spreading down its back like living smoke.
A helmet shaped like a screaming skull sealed over its head. Gauntlets covered its massive hands, boots formed around its bone-like feet, and the jagged bone sword in its grip shook.
The transformation ended with a low, echoing growl that rattled the hallway walls.
"Kill them all," Varkov ordered, voice dripping with command.
The creature's eyes flared crimson.
---
Meanwhile, down the hallway, Alex and Gwen were already sprinting for the exit when the sound hit them—low and deep at first, like the rumble of distant thunder.
Then it grew louder. Heavier. Closer.
The floor began to tremble beneath their feet. Dust and broken pieces of ceiling started to rain down from above.
Gwen's eyes widened. "That's not good."
Alex didn't even reply. He just gritted his teeth, picked up speed, and reached for his axe.
Something big was coming.
And it wasn't far behind.
Before they could even process what was happening, something massive came crashing down from the upper floor.
Concrete cracked. Dust burst everywhere.
And there it was—standing tall amid the smoke—the Undead Knight. Fully armored now. The dark plates clung to its rotting frame like living shadow, absorbing every bit of light around it.
"Shit… of course it would come after us," Gwen hissed, eyes narrowing.
Her gaze sharpened as she took a defensive stance. "The reports never said anything about a Class B Dark Knight!"
But the creature didn't wait for their talk to end. It moved.
Heavy. Fast.
The ground trembled with every step as it charged.
Gwen lashed her whip, the strike snapping through the air like a gunshot—only for the knight to swing its jagged blade in one clean motion.
The whip split in two.
Before the torn ends even hit the ground, the knight was already closing the gap, sword raised high.
Gwen didn't freeze. She thrust both palms forward, her qi flaring bright yellow.
A glowing barrier flashed into life just in time—
BOOM!
The undead slammed into it full force. The barrier held, but Gwen's boots screeched backward against the floor as the pressure pushed her back inch by inch.
Her jaw tightened. Sweat rolled down her cheek.
"Damn it—move!"
The knight's sword lifted again, ready to cleave down—
Then an axe spun through the air.
Whuumm!
It slammed into the knight's chest with a heavy thud, the impact cracking its armor and forcing the monster backward several steps.
The barrier finally relaxed. Gwen gasped for air, lowering her trembling hands.
She turned—and saw Alex, standing firm a few meters behind her, arm extended from the throw.
He caught his returning axe with one hand as it boomeranged back to him, his expression cold.
"Don't worry," he said, exhaling. "I got its attention now."
"You axe... what's that feeling it's giving off?" Gwen asked, her eyes narrowed.
"Ahhrr... a newly unlocked power," Alex replied, forcing a grin, though even he could feel the strange pulse coming from his weapon.
The look on Gwen's face said it all—she didn't buy it. Not for a second.
'Did she figure out I have a Bloodline power?' Alex thought, his pulse quickening. He gripped the axe tighter, as if the weapon itself could hear his thoughts.
Before Gwen could question further, a loud whoosh tore through the air. Something massive was coming straight for them—fast. The air around them thickened with death energy.
Gwen spun toward the sound, her expression hardening. "Here's how this will go," she said, her voice suddenly sharp and commanding. "I'll take the fight to the others. We'll hold this thing back as long as we can."
Alex frowned. "And me?"
"You, find Varkov. He'll be weak right now after setting this undead loose. Kill him, and his link to that creature dies with him."
"You're saying you can't kill it?" Alex asked, disbelief creeping into his voice.
"This is a Class B Undead Knight," Gwen snapped. "You can't just kill it unless you take down the summoner. Now go—find Varkov!"
Her tone left no room for argument.
Alex clenched his jaw, then bolted toward the office corridor.
Behind him, Gwen turned back toward the hulking undead. Its armor creaked as it lifted a rusted greatsword, dark energy swirling around its blade.
'You made me do this,' Gwen thought, summoning her mana. The air shimmered with violet light as her aura ignited, and the battle began.
On Gwen's palm, a smear of black blood glistened. It pulsed faintly, thick and oily under the light.
Without hesitation, she brought it to her lips and licked it clean.
[Gene Alteration Activated]
[Stage 6 Beast Blood Detected]
[Warning: Host Can Only Transform Partially]
The air around her trembled as mana surged through her veins. Her legs twisted, bones cracking and reshaping.
Within seconds, her feet had turned into wide, webbed limbs like a giant frog's. Her tongue lashed out—long, pink, and fast.
'I was hoping to use that blood to track down that frog,' Gwen thought bitterly, her jaw tightening. 'But you just had to force my hand.'
The Undead Knight lunged at her, sword cleaving through the air. The sound was sharp, heavy—death coming fast.
Gwen dropped low, her movements fluid. With a crouch and push, she dashed forward. The undead swung again—too slow.
Her tongue shot out like a whip, slamming around its neck and looping to its sword arm. The slimy cord tightened, muscles in her jaw straining. The pull was immense.
She could feel the strength of the knight—unnatural, brutal. Her tongue trembled, threatening to tear from her mouth.
'Shit, I have to move, now!' Gwen thought.
Using the opening, she rushed in. Her frog-like legs bent deep, muscles coiling tight. She wrapped her arms around the undead's armored torso, locking him in.
Then—boom!
She launched upward with explosive force. The ground cracked beneath her feet as both she and the undead knight shot into the air, smashing through the ceiling in a spray of dust and broken stone.
---
Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Tamsin and Merrick were busy helping the rescued captives escape.
On the ground beside them, a small circular device blinked with a pulsing red light. Each beep echoed softly before the air above it rippled, forming what looked like a flickering portal.
One by one, the captives were guided into the glowing projection, their exhausted faces vanishing into safety.
While doing this, Tamsin kept glancing toward the mansion. The clouds above it were dark and angry, rumbling with thunder every few seconds.
"Come on, Gwen… Alex… what's taking so long?" Tamsin muttered under her breath, jaw tight.
BOOM!
The mansion roof exploded outward in a shower of debris. Two figures burst through the rubble—Gwen and the Undead Knight.
They crashed through the air, locked in a combat. The undead's armored fist smashed into Gwen's face with a heavy crack.
She lost her grip around its torso, spinning midair, but her tongue was still wrapped tightly around its neck and sword arm.
A second later, the undead's free hand glowed bone-white as a dagger formed within it. One sharp slice—snap! Gwen's tongue was severed clean off.
Before she could recover, the creature twisted in midair and drove its heel into her stomach. The impact sent her flying downward like a broken doll.
She slammed into the ground hard, skidding across the dirt until she stopped dangerously close to the cliff's edge.
"Gwen!"
Tamsin and Merrick sprinted toward her. They reached her just in time, grabbing her arms before she slipped over.
The ground trembled again.
THUD!
The Undead Knight landed nearby, the sheer force of its descent cracking the ground beneath its feet. Dust exploded around it as its hollow eyes turned toward them.
The system chimed in both Tamsin and Merrick's minds, cold and merciless.
[Class B Undead Detected]
Tamsin's face twisted in disbelief. "Shit… no way I'm fighting two Stage 7 monsters in one day," she groaned.