Chapter 85: Bloody Hand

His body reacted before his mind could catch up.

A chill ran down his spine. He had faced dangerous monsters before, but this was different. The moment the hand moved, he felt as if death was coming straight for him.

"Ethan, watch out!"

Aria was standing close to him. He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her away from the hand’s path before jumping in the opposite direction.

The next moment, the hand came crashing down. ⅇ

BOOM!

The entire dungeon shook.

The ground cracked, and stones began falling from the ceiling. Some smashed against the floor while others broke into smaller pieces as they fell. Dust filled the chamber, making it difficult to see.

Ethan barely managed to regain his balance.

"What the hell..."

He looked at the huge hand embedded in the ground. It was several times larger than a human, and Its body was made entirely of blood, and its sheer size was frightening.

But what frightened him most was the feeling he had gotten from the attack; if it had hit him directly, he would probably be dead.

"Ethan!"

Aria’s voice came from the other side. She had fallen to one knee after the impact, but she appeared to be unharmed.

"I’m fine!" Ethan called back. "Stay there!"

He turned his attention to the hand.

Why was blood attacking him?

Could this be the Blood Monarch’s doing?

He couldn’t think of anyone else who could control so much blood from somewhere outside the dungeon. The thought alone made him uneasy.

If he was right, then the thing in front of him wasn’t an ordinary monster he could defeat by throwing his legion at it.

"Ethan, what is that thing?" Aria asked.

"I think it’s the Blood Monarch."

Her eyes widened.

"The Blood Monarch? You mean the one behind this operation?"

"I’m not completely sure," Ethan replied, keeping his eyes on the hand. "But I can’t think of anyone else who could do this."

Before he could say anything else, the hand began to move.

Its fingers pulled free from the cracked ground, and the blood covering its surface returned to its original shape. Its first strike had left it completely unharmed.

Ethan didn’t waste any more time.

"Summon!"

Shadows spread across the chamber as his Shadow Wraith Legion appeared. Solar Elemental Soldiers emerged beside them, their bodies glowing with orange-gold light.

Ethan had thousands of soldiers under his command. Against an enemy like this, he needed every advantage he could get.

"Shadow Wraiths, attack!"

The Shadow Wraiths moved through the shadows and attacked the hand from different directions. Their claws struck its fingers and palm, while others tried to bind it with Phantom Chains.

At the same time, the Solar Elementals raised their heads and fired their Solar Rays.

Several Solar Rays struck the hand at once.

When the light faded, the hand remained unharmed. The Phantom Chains broke apart, the Shadow Wraiths’ claws failed to leave a mark, and the Solar Rays disappeared against its surface.

Ethan stared at the hand.

That was ridiculous.

His legions had grown much stronger since he first awakened them. Their attacks were enough to kill most monsters they encountered, and the Solar Elementals had recently undergone an evolution.

Yet they couldn’t even damage this thing.

The hand slowly turned toward the soldiers surrounding it.

Ethan felt uneasy and immediately tried to recall his soldiers into the Legion Space.

But he was too late.

The bloody hand swept across the chamber before the recall could finish. Thousands of Shadow Wraiths and Solar Elementals were caught in the attack and immediately crushed.

If a single swipe could wipe out thousands of his soldiers, he had no chance of winning this fight. Even summoning his entire army wouldn’t help.

He tightened his grip on the blood-red essence orb in his hand.

He had wanted to save it for later, but he had no choice now.

Ethan crushed the orb.

Crack!

The orb broke apart, and a stream of red light entered Ethan’s body. A system notification appeared before his eyes.

[Variant Essence Absorbed!]

[Constitution Essence: Level 60]

[Constitution +600,000]

[Duration: 10 Minutes]

[Variant Skill Unlocked: Abyssal Bloodshell]

[Abyssal Bloodshell: Covers the user’s body with a layer of hardened blood energy, greatly increasing defense.]

[One Mind, One Legion Activated!]

[Constitution +600,000 shared with the Shadow Wraith Legion.]

[Abyssal Bloodshell has adapted to the physiology of the Shadow Wraith Legion.]

[Constitution +600,000 shared with the Solar Elemental Legion.]

[Abyssal Bloodshell has adapted to the physiology of the Solar Elemental Legion.]

Ethan felt his body grow stronger. A layer of dark red energy covered his skin, forming a hard shell.

The same change spread through both his legions. Their bodies gained a faint red glow and became much harder.

The bloody hand swung down again.

"Attack!"

Ethan’s Shadow Wraiths rushed forward while the Solar Elementals fired their Solar Rays at the hand.

Their attacks landed one after another, but the hand remained unharmed.

Before Ethan could give another order, the hand swept across the chamber.

Boom!

The impact sent Ethan and his summons flying. He crashed to the ground as Shadow Wraiths scattered across the chamber. The Solar Elementals were thrown back, the flames engulfing their heads flickering from the impact.

Ethan pushed himself up. His summons were scattered across the chamber, but they were still alive.

Before he absorbed the Essence, a single strike from the hand had destroyed thousands of his summons. This time, they had survived.

Suddenly, a deep voice came from the bloody hand.

"You dare to use my things against me?"

Ethan looked up. The voice was coming from the hand itself, but there was no mouth or face. It was as if someone was speaking through the blood.

"That Essence was meant for my servant. And now you’ve taken it and used it to protect yourself?"

The bloody hand slowly rose from the ground.

"Interesting, human. Very interesting."

Ethan stared at it. His guess had been right. The Essence Orb had come from the Blood Monarch, and now its power was being used against him.

"Since you’ve taken what belongs to me," the voice said, "I’ll take something from you in return."

Then its fingers spread, and its palm turned away from Ethan. Toward Aria.