Amid the ruins and abandoned buildings, Anas and Naivy dashed forward with agile steps.
Their breaths grew shallower with each passing minute, and things were becoming harder and harder.
Despite stopping to rest and catch their breath, they had to keep moving and stay alert. That exhausted them mentally more than physically.
But things had not gotten worse yet.
As they ran, they almost collided in a direct encounter with something resembling a centipede.
The creature looked like it was gnawing on the corpse of another being, its teeth capable of tearing and crushing bones. So what would it do to two frail humans?
Although Anas had noticed the creature before it noticed them, he had stepped into its sensing range.
The centipede turned swiftly and stared toward Anas's position with such precision that he froze in place.
'I'm sure I didn't make any sound or draw its attention.'
As he thought about how it had detected them, Naivy stepped forward to stand beside him, and the creature immediately turned toward her.
The bastard senses vibrations.
Anas realized that a confrontation was inevitable. He leaned forward, his muscles tensing tightly in preparation to fight this thing.
After all, how could he think of fleeing from something that followed their only method of escape: running?
A short sword appeared in his hand, its blade seeming to be woven from shadows.
He glanced behind him for a moment to ensure Naivy was behind him, then reversed his grip on the sword, holding it in an inverted stance. The light in his eyes faded, and all his senses sharpened to their utmost limit.
The creature moved the antenna-like feelers at the front of its head, as if tasting its prey from afar, then opened its clamp-like jaws and snapped them shut with a loud click, droplets of black, viscous fluid splattering outward.
Anas hesitated between considering that substance venom due to the creature's insect-like nature or simply blood from the corpse. He quickly chose to assume the worst-case scenario to avoid regret.
Wait, he wouldn't even have the chance to regret it—he'd be nothing more than a meal for a filthy beast before that.
"Naivy."
When she heard her name, the girl snapped out of her thoughts with a slight jump, staring at the creature before looking back at Anas, a clear question in her eyes: what do we do?
Anas understood her look and spoke as briefly as possible.
"Stay close, but outside the range of the fight."
His tone left no room for argument, though she wouldn't have objected anyway—she couldn't help.
Naivy bit her lip as she stepped back slowly.
'It seems I'm just… a burden after all.'
But…
Unfortunately for them, the world doesn't wait for them to plan and prepare—it moves regardless.
Before Anas could react, the centipede was only steps away, crawling at terrifying speed.
Unlike previous creatures that moved on four limbs, this one had over two hundred legs, moving so fast the ground seemed to crack beneath it.
Without thinking, Anas shoved Naivy away as her eyes widened, then raised his sword to strike and evade.
He tried to redirect the force of the attack using his enhanced eye and what he had learned from watching fools fight in arenas for money or to entertain nobles.
But thinking is not the same as execution.
He barely managed to deflect the attack, doing little more than that as his blade collided with the creature's jaw, producing a sharp metallic clang. It left only a shallow scratch on its armored body—its head was protected by a solid shell.
As Anas thought about how to counterattack, he forgot that the hunter could become the prey if he lost focus.
Before he could react, the creature's rear appendage lashed toward him.
His eyes widened as he realized the thing was far larger than it had seemed from a distance.
Its length was at least ten times his own, and its limbs nearly matched his size, greatly increasing the chances of being struck.
He attempted a sharp maneuver to evade, but he was slower than the insect and received a cut across his face.
He leapt back twice to widen the distance, breathing heavily.
But the creature was still close.
Its length seemed closer to fifteen meters, damn it.
Blood trickled down his cheek, drawing a red line of failure across his face.
The centipede did not wait—it launched a relentless barrage of attacks, giving him no chance to breathe.
If not for his enhanced eye tracking each strike with precision, reading the subtle movements of its many joints, he would have been dead long ago.
The clash of its limbs against his sword echoed through the area, piercing Naivy's ears as she watched with wide eyes as Anas endured the assault, his body filling with cuts, black fluid mixing with his wounds.
Dark thoughts began to invade her mind—what if Anas died, and she returned to that lonely emptiness?
She wasn't afraid of dying as much as she feared losing the only person who had accepted her.
Her chest tightened, her breathing quickened, her vision blurred as she shook her head desperately to drive the thoughts away, then—
A violet glimmer flashed deep within her eyes.
She froze, a burning headache spreading through her head as visions assaulted her:
The nightmare creature staring at her.
Her own body, torn apart on the ground.
And finally… a sound like flowing water in a river.
Anas had already reached his limit—or rather, he had been forced to. Dizziness crept in, his balance faltering, his foot slipping back as one of the creature's limbs struck his abdomen hard.
'Damn it… so it was venom after all…'
Shiiing.
The centipede's mouth cut off his thought as it lunged toward him. He struck its lower jaw with the hilt of his sword.
He ducked quickly and shoved the creature's flattened body to unbalance it, but was shocked as the vile thing coiled around him, threatening to crush him to death between its countless legs.
Anas gritted his teeth as everything slowed.
For a moment, all thoughts vanished—or nearly did. Perhaps his body had entered a pure survival state, but his mind intervened when he noticed how incredible this creature's body was despite its danger.
Adaptation to every situation… wasn't that astonishing?
But that observation wasn't pointless.
Anything with such adaptability must have countless joints—or none at all.
And this creature had many joints.
His body's danger response shifted into a strange blend of analysis and survival. Using the pressure from the creature's crushing grip, he drove his sword into the segment between two joints, attempting to pierce it.
As the creature embraced him in its deadly grip, the pressure forced the blade deep into its body—
But the crushing force did not stop.
In fact… it didn't die.
Piercing it didn't mean killing it. Such a wound might kill an ordinary beast—but not an insect. Even for normal monsters, death from such a strike wasn't guaranteed.
What experience did he even have to know that? He had only faced three monsters before this.
The crushing pressure intensified, but he smiled as the creature's jaws approached, its sharp teeth visible. His consciousness began to fade, yet he still clung to it.
The mouth opened to swallow his head.
Suddenly—
Crack.
Anas heard a tearing sound, then green fluid splashed across his face. He shut his eyes briefly, then opened them—and they widened in shock.
A sword of light pierced through the creature's head.
Its body trembled, then gradually slackened, releasing Anas, who fell to the ground—his face covered in black fluid, his clothes torn, sweat mixing with the dark substance on his forehead.
The creature's body collapsed with a heavy thud, its immense weight shaking the ground.
Silence fell.
It was broken when Anas drew a deep breath.
Pain tore through every muscle in his body, but he quickly remembered Naivy and turned to look at her.
His eyes narrowed when he saw her panting as well, violet halos glowing in her eyes like flames before slowly fading.
The girl smiled—a tired, yet happy and satisfied smile.
Then her knees trembled, no longer able to support her, and she collapsed to the ground with a dull thud…