Chapter 241: Screaming Scissors

Elias stared at the orange System screen, his curiosity briefly overtaking the anxiety that had been building inside him.

’Why did I obtain these?’

He dismissed the notification and continued crossing the pit, jumping from one stone pillar to another while keeping his balance. The pillars varied in height and distance, forcing him to adjust his footing with every leap. Beneath him, darkness swallowed the broken stones that fell from their surfaces.

His thoughts returned to the Space-time Shards.

He had obtained his first shard from Charles, the man who had been transformed into a human-monster. The three he had just received came from the centaur-like creature, yet the shards were not awarded for every monster he killed inside the rift.

Before reaching the pit, he had also killed an Exalted monster—a large wolf with red spots scattered across its white fur. That creature had not provided any shards.

’There must be a fixed condition.’

He remembered the strange entry he had seen when inspecting Charles’s corpse, one that he had been unable to understand at the time.

[The bound monster was a scout.]

’What exactly are these shards?’

Elias landed on another pillar, bent his knees to absorb the impact, and immediately pushed off again. The far side of the pit was finally within reach, and he crossed the remaining distance before landing on solid ground.

He resumed running toward Monica’s location, following the faint pull of their connection.

The curiosity helped suppress the anxiety in his heart. Rather than letting his worry consume him, he allowed himself to focus on the mystery surrounding the shards.

"Maybe that would work," he mumbled.

He opened his status screen while continuing forward.

[Status]

[Name: Elias Crimson]

[Rank: Lord] (False)

[Affection Rate: 34.07]

[Talent: Indomitable Will (S)]

[Physical Constitution: Three-Star Harmonic Dragon Physique (Sealed)]

[Space-time Shard: 4/100]

[Weapon: Sword]

[Weapon Mastery: Sword — Elite III]

[Weapon Aura: Sword — Tier VII]

[Mana Aptitude: A]

[Mana Affinity: Wind (D), Earth (D), Shadow (SS)]

[Mana Circle: None]

[Spiritual Aptitude: None]

[Spiritual Affinity: None]

[Spiritual Stars: None]

[Stats]

[Strength/Constitution: 80] (240)

[Speed/Agility: 77] (231)

[Stamina/Endurance: 64] (192)

[Perception/Comprehension: 80] (360)

[Mana/Spirit: 71]

[Stat Points: 0]

[Skills]

[Slash (F)]

[Stab (F)]

[Swing (F)]

[Parry (F)]

[Earth Wall (D)]

[Earth Spike (D)]

[Quagmire (D)]

[Flat Ground (D)]

[Dust Cloud (D)]

[Mental Whisper (C)]

[Enhanced Mana Enhancement (B)]

[Heal (B)]

[Shadow Ghost Poison Resistance (A)]

[Aura Layering (A)]

[Unnamed Sword Art (A)]

[Aura Sense (A)]

[Aura Invoking (A)]

[Tyrannical Giant’s Immovable Stance (S)]

[Masterful Hands (S)]

[Thousand Poison Immunity (SS)]

[Serene Mind of Geldnor (SS)]

[I Can Do This All Day (SS)]

[Storyteller’s Captivating Tongue (SS)]

[Angel of Comfort (SSS)]

[Boundless Tether of Hearts and Souls (SSS)]

[Heart’s Crafter (SSS)]

[Spirit Detection (SSS)]

[Perfect Role (SSS)]

[Physique Appraisal (SSS)]

[Crimson Lord’s Aegis (SSS)]

[Oathkeeper’s Harmonic Sword Style (SSS)]

[Mystical Eyes of True Revelation (SSS)]

[Shares a connection beyond time-space with Natasha Sephila, Stella Crimson, and Monica Ragnar.]

[Spirit Marks: Lastbane]

Elias’s eyes moved across the numbers, and he noticed that his overall stats had increased by twenty each. With his Aura, he could multiply them to threefolds, allowing him to exert far greater physical strength and speed.

However, his attention soon returned to the suspected entry.

He focused on Space-time Shard, and an orange tab appeared beside the status screen.

[Space-time Shard: Fragments of a unique authority, very rarely awarded to the rift guardians.]

Elias read the description twice.

"So not every rift guardian has it," he concluded.

The explanation was brief, but it confirmed that the shards were connected to rift guardians and some kind of unique authority. It still did not explain what that authority was or why he was getting them from these monsters.

He dismissed the screen and continued forward.

A monster emerged from the rubble ahead, its distorted body lunging toward him with a shrill growl. Elias barely slowed. Crimson Aura spread from his body and crushed the creature before it could reach him, scattering its remains across the ruined street.

"Is that why this place is so weird?"

His connection with Monica gradually grew stronger the closer he got to her.

Elias focused on it and reached out again.

[Monica.]

He waited, but no response came.

His brows tightened, and he tried explaining how she could communicate through their link.

[You can talk to me by sending your thoughts through the link that you feel with me.]

He continued running, waiting for even the faintest reply but nothing.

His expression darkened.

"Why is she not responding?"

---

Monica lay atop an altar inside a dark chamber.

At three distant corners of the room, braziers burned with flickering flames. Their light barely reached the altar, leaving her body submerged beneath the shadows that stretched across the stone floor.

A scraping noise echoed through the chamber.

From the last remaining corner, another brazier was dragged into place. Its rusted metal frame scraped against the uneven floor, and the flames inside it swayed as it settled. Yet even with the additional light, the shadows around Monica only seemed to grow more pronounced.

The creature beside the brazier slowly became visible.

It might have been mistaken for a human if not for the wide swirls and strange markings covering its dark skin. The patterns resembled countless screaming souls trapped beneath its flesh, their distorted forms twisting across its body. Its eyes were completely purple, with pale white irises, while its fingers narrowed into sharp blades resembling scissors.

It was the Screaming Scissors.

The monster scraped its bladed fingers against the brazier’s rusted surface, producing a harsh metallic sound. Then it rose and began walking toward the altar.

Its steps were slow and deliberate.

When it reached Monica, it stopped exactly five steps away from her body. The creature lowered itself and began drawing a circle into the ground with one of its sharp fingers.

The blade carved through the stone, leaving a groove behind.

It continued until the circle was complete, then raised its left forearm. Several quick cuts opened across its skin, and dark blood seeped from the wounds.

The Screaming Scissors held its arm over the circle.

Blood dripped into the groove, slowly filling it.

The creature remained still as the dark liquid spread around the circle’s entire circumference. Once the last section was filled, the shadows inside the boundary began to move.

They twisted and turned, gathering into shapes that resembled souls. Their forms stretched across the ground before rising toward the altar.

The shadowy figures wrapped themselves around Monica’s body.

One layer covered her legs, another wound around her torso, and more gathered over her arms and shoulders. Their shifting forms resembled black bandages, encasing her like an Egyptian mummy.

The shadows continued moving around her, tightening and overlapping until her body was almost entirely concealed.

---

Elias halted.

The ruined street around him suddenly shifted, and the broken buildings vanished as the surroundings transformed into an arena. Stone walls rose around the battlefield, while the ground beneath his feet settled into a broad, open platform.

He looked ahead.

The Stone Knight and the Blue Thorne stood opposite him.

’Not again.’

Elias sighed and lifted the lantern in his left hand, showing it to the two Exalted monsters.

"Do we really have to do this?" he asked. "It is pointing at me."

He did not want to waste any more of his Aura fighting them, especially when he was aware of the presence of the Lord-rank rift guardian.

The two monsters exchanged a glance.

Then the Stone Knight slammed its foot into the ground.

The impact sent a tremor through the arena, shaking loose fragments of stone from the surrounding walls. Elias watched the creature prepare to attack and shook his head.

"How annoying."

Crimson Aura shimmered around his feet.

He burst forward, crossing the distance in an instant as Valor Sword gleamed in his hand. The Stone Knight raised its arm to block him, but Elias appeared beside it and swung horizontally.

His blade cut through the stone body.

A sharp crack rang out as the sword passed through the monster’s torso, splitting its armored form apart. The Stone Knight’s body fractured from the wound, then collapsed into dust that scattered across the arena.

[Ding!]

[The host has obtained Space-time Shard x3.]

Elias barely glanced at the notification.

The Blue Thorne leapt toward him with its maw wide open, its blue body surging through the air. Elias turned and raised his right arm, coating it in crimson Aura that flowed like ice.

He caught the monster by its jaw.

He held it firmly, tightened his grip, then wrenched the creature’s head sideways with a sharp pull.

The Blue Thorne’s jaw tore free.

Blood flooded from the wound, splashing across Elias’s arm and the arena floor. Before the monster could stagger away, he stepped forward and drove a crimson-coated punch beneath its head.

The impact crushed its head.

The Blue Thorne’s head exploded into fragments, its remains scattering across the stone.

[Ding!]

[The host has obtained Space-time Shard x3.]

Elias wiped a drop of blood from his face and glanced at the notifications.

He muttered. "This is getting on my nerv—"

A new screen appeared before he could finish.

[Monica Ragnar is experiencing a seizure!]

Elias’s eyes widened.

Another notification immediately followed.

[Shadow Possession is getting stronger!]

"Shit!"

Crimson Aura surged around his legs, and he streaked forward. The ground cracked beneath each step as he rushed toward Monica’s location.