Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

[The Crown of Calamity warns you: Whatever is beyond this portal is dangerous. Be ready for a fight.]

Alex’s fingers curled into a tight fist, his knuckles turning white as he braced himself.

“No shit,” he muttered under his breath, his eyes flickering with tension as they locked onto the swirling, chaotic mass before him.

The portal was massive, at least a hundred meters tall, a gaping void that radiated an overwhelming pressure.

His body tensed instinctively, every fiber of his being screaming at him to prepare for the worst.

This wasn’t just some high-tier summon.

This was one of the Hatred Demon’s three Forbidden Skills.

Something capable of killing him.

And the fact that the Hatred Demon had finally decided to use them, rather than toying with him like before, was all the proof Alex needed.

It wasn’t playing anymore.

The Hatred Demon let out a deep, echoing laugh, its hole-face shifting grotesquely.

“I’m thinking of it like a game,” it mused, four massive arms crossing over its chest, “Your loss is already guaranteed, and I don’t want this stalemate to last forever.”

It sounded smug, casual, even.

As if it had gone back to underestimating him, but Alex knew better.

The Hatred Demon wasn’t underestimating him, it had been keeping track of time.

Alex’s skills were on cooldown, but not for long.

The moment they recharged, he would be able to fight back in full force, and the Hatred Demon wasn’t about to let that happen.

This wasn’t arrogance. This was strategy.

And now, it was time to see the first of its three Forbidden Skills.

“You will face my greatest creations,” the Hatred Demon’s many mouths laughed, distorting in unnatural ways, “Let’s see if you can survive this.”

Alex grit his teeth, his mind racing.

He didn’t have a choice but to play along for now.

Because what the Hatred Demon didn’t know was that [World Cleaver] was still charging.

It thought it was stalling him, but in reality, he was stalling it.

For now, though, none of that mattered, because something was coming.

His eyes flicked back to the portal, and just as he was about to speak—

BOOM!

An explosion erupted from deep within the portal, sending shockwaves through the air.

Then, arms and tentacles, dozens of them, burst out of the swirling void.

“What the f—” Alex stopped mid-sentence, his breath catching in his throat as he took a step back.

More and more limbs emerged, pulling something massive into this world.

The Hatred Demon’s hole-face twisted in delight, resting its chin on one of its four arms.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” It almost sounded genuinely mesmerized, “One of my playthings.”

“…Playthings?” Alex narrowed his eyes, already dreading whatever the answer was going to be.

“Nothing sexual, human,” the Hatred Demon scoffed, shaking its head in mock disappointment, “Be better.”

Alex didn’t even dignify that with a response.

His focus was locked entirely on the thing that was crawling out of the portal.

It was massive, easily fifty meters tall, dragging itself forward with grotesque, clawed hands.

Its body was covered in writhing flesh, tangled with endless tendrils, each one dripping with some sickly, pale fluid.

And worse than all of that… It was made of people.

A mass of flesh, a horrific fusion of bodies, their twisted forms merging together in some nightmare-fueled abomination.

Their faces were still visible, screaming in agony as their mouths gaped open in silent torment.

Alex felt something rise in his throat.

“What in the eldritch horror is that?”

The moment he spoke, the mass of bodies twitched and turned to look at him.

All of them. At once. A shudder ran down his spine.

He didn’t care where this thing had come from. He didn’t care what it had once been. He didn’t even care how the Hatred Demon had created it.

He only cared about one thing: It needed to die, and fast.

The Hatred Demon clapped its hands together, grinning as it basked in Alex’s reaction.

“Your new opponent,” it announced cheerfully, “Good luck.”

The reason this thing even existed was because of the Forbidden Skill:

[Hell Abomination].

[Hell Abomination – One of the Hatred Demon’s Forbidden Skills. A creature summoned from the depths of Hell, tamed and twisted into an unstoppable horror.]

And just like that, the portal behind it snapped shut.

A one-way ticket. No escape.

“It doesn’t have a name, by the way,” the Hatred Demon yawned, stretching its arms.

Then, with a delighted grin—

“ATTACK.”

Alex barely had a second to react.

The moment it received the command, the mass of flesh and tendrils launched itself forward.

“WHAT THE FU—”

It didn’t have legs, Alex had expected it to attack with its tendrils.

But no: it rolled like a boulder.

[The Crown of Calamity mocks this futile attempt.]

Alex’s eyes widened.

There was no dodging this thing, not at this speed or without knowing what it could do afterward.

Meeting an enemy so incredibly horrific was confusing to the mind, and so, a blur of flesh, eyes, mouths, and tendrils came crashing toward him like a living avalanche.

Fwish!

Black tendrils erupted from the crown on his head.

[Let’s send it crashing. We can kill it, host,] the Crown of Calamity said smugly.

The tendrils moved fast, or at least faster than even Alex expected.

Within seconds, they formed a ramp.

The massive rolling abomination slammed into it and was sent flying instantly.

Alex leapt back as the disgusting thing soared above him, not wanting to even be under such a disgusting thing, crashing into the ground behind them.

It was even more terrible than the [God of the Abyss’] final form, and even worse than the Hatred Demon’s ultimate form as well.

BOOM!

[Now, host, you will need to deal with the rest yourself. I will be charging for an attack.]

Alex exhaled slowly, turning his back to the Hatred Demon.

His attention was now fully on the Hell Abomination.

Whatever this thing was, wherever it had come from, he would kill it.

But then, from the corner of his eye, the Hatred Demon raised its four arms.

A crimson glow erupted from them, veins pulsing as arcane energy crackled around its fingers: it was preparing something.

“It’s charging up an attack,” Alphox’s voice echoed in his mind, “It’s just like you. It probably can’t move while charging its skill, which is why it sent that thing to stall for time.”

Alex clenched his jaw.

Of course.

The Hatred Demon wasn’t doing this for fun.

It wasn’t trying to see him struggle, it was buying time as well, much like he was.

The ritual symbol on its chest began to spin faster, pulsing with power.

Alex’s first instinct was to rush it, to stop whatever it was doing.

But his gut screamed at him that the moment he turned his back on the Hell Abomination, he would die.

Sweat dripped down his forehead.

The Hell Abomination had already started rolling again, its tendrils scraping the ground.

But then, Alex exhaled.

This was perfect. It had dozens of tendrils.

And that meant… Destiny Points.

Right now, he only had [24/150] Destiny Points.

But if he could avoid those attacks, if he could dodge just enough times, he would be able to fight back.

His eyes narrowed as he activated an ability.

THREADS OF FATE!

And as the Hell Abomination came crashing toward him once more.

Alex smiled, this time, he was ready.