Chapter 149: Gray, Pointy-Eared Creatures

Liam remained motionless for a few seconds.

In front of him, on one of the stone platforms suspended in the darkness, stood Lena and Emily.

But something didn’t make sense.

They hadn’t appeared from the portal Liam and Lydia had entered through.

It seemed as though they had arrived from somewhere else.

Liam narrowed his eyes as he watched the two of them move across the floating platforms until they drew closer.

Lydia also looked completely confused.

"How is that possible?"

Liam looked at her.

"What?"

"They said they’ve been fighting inside the dungeon for hours."

Lydia pointed toward Lena and Emily.

"But we crossed the portal first. They should have appeared behind us."

Liam had no answer.

That was exactly what he couldn’t understand.

Lena reached a nearby platform and looked at Liam with a confused expression.

"Where did you guys go?"

Liam raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"When the others and I crossed the dungeon’s entrance, you two were already gone."

Emily took a deep breath. She looked exhausted.

"That doesn’t matter right now."

Then she looked at Lydia.

"Would you mind giving me a hand?"

Emily pointed at her arm.

It had several wounds and cuts. Her clothes were torn in several places, and dried blood covered her skin.

Liam looked at Lydia.

"Sweetheart, heal her."

Lydia nodded.

"Of course."

Without wasting any time, she took a running start and jumped toward the next platform.

Her body stretched slightly during the jump, and she landed effortlessly on the stone.

Then she jumped again.

One platform.

Then another, until she reached Emily.

Liam watched as Lydia used her ability.

[Healing’s Growth]

An aloe-like substance began appearing on her hands.

Lydia carefully applied it to Emily’s wounds.

◇◆◇

A few minutes later, one of Emily’s arms was already bandaged.

The healing aloe generated by Lydia had considerably reduced the discomfort from her wounds.

Emily moved her fingers.

"Much better."

Lydia smiled.

"I’m glad."

Liam remained a few yards behind them.

Pix had disappeared again.

She didn’t seem to want to remain in front of them for too long, especially after explaining the situation.

But she was still communicating with Liam through the system chat.

[Pix: You must leave the dungeon before it finishes becoming an SS-Rank dungeon.]

Liam closed his eyes and used [Call].

’Pix, I have to go check on the rest of my squad.’

[Pix: You shouldn’t.]

Liam shook his head.

’I’m not leaving them alone.’

[Pix: It’s dangerous.]

’I know.’

Liam opened his eyes and looked at Emily and Lena.

’But they don’t know any of this.’

[Pix: Know what?]

’That the dungeon can evolve.’

Liam clenched his fists.

’Besides, our mission was simply to enter and investigate. It was a reconnaissance mission.’

His gaze shifted toward the platforms stretching out in front of them.

’What kind of creature are the others fighting?’

Pix didn’t answer immediately.

Liam felt that her silence was enough of an answer.

Something very bad was happening.

Lydia took Liam’s hand.

"Come on, honey."

Liam nodded.

The four of them began moving.

Emily and Lena led the way.

Liam and Lydia followed behind.

The stone platforms floated above the darkness.

Each jump carried them toward another platform suspended in that strange space.

Lydia looked at Emily.

"What kind of creatures did you find here?"

Emily frowned.

"I’m not really sure how to explain it."

Emily paused.

"But they don’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before."

Lena chimed in.

"They’re like people."

Liam looked up.

"People?"

Lena nodded.

"They have gray skin."

Emily continued.

"White hair."

"And pointy ears," Lena added.

Liam remained thoughtful.

’People with gray skin, white hair, and pointy ears?’

That sounded more like a race than a monster.

But before he could ask anything else, Lena pointed ahead.

"We’re almost there."

Liam looked in the direction she was pointing.

The tiny lights were beginning to gather together. The darkness was becoming less intense, and a much brighter area could be seen in the distance.

However, at that exact moment...

Lydia stopped and grabbed her head.

"Agh..."

Liam immediately reacted.

"Lydia."

She closed her eyes.

"My head hurts."

Liam moved closer.

"Are you okay?"

Lydia took a deep breath.

"Yeah."

She slowly opened her eyes.

"But..."

She placed her hand against her forehead again.

"It feels like someone is getting inside my head."

A chill ran down Liam’s spine.

"What?"

Lena stopped.

"It’s them."

Emily immediately turned around.

"Watch out!"

Emily disappeared in a flash of electricity.

A second later, she appeared in front of Liam and Lydia.

A huge piece of debris came flying from the distance.

Emily raised both arms, and the fragment slammed directly into her chest.

"Emily!"

The hunter was sent flying several yards before landing on a platform.

Liam gritted his teeth.

"Emily!"

But before he could approach her, Lena stepped forward.

Her expression had completely changed.

The young woman extended one hand, and a black sword appeared between her fingers.

It looked as though it were made of charcoal.

As soon as Lena gripped it, the weapon began to ignite.

Small flames spread across its surface.

Anger flashed in her eyes.

"Don’t touch my teammates again!"

Lena charged forward.

Liam looked toward the place the attack had come from.

And finally, he could see them.

The creatures.

Emily and Lena hadn’t exaggerated.

They were humanoid beings.

Gray skin.

White hair.

Pointy ears.

But that wasn’t all.

They were huge and muscular, and their expressions were filled with fury.

Liam crouched beside Emily.

"Are you okay?"

Emily coughed.

"Yeah."

Lydia quickly approached.

"Let me heal you."

She used her ability again.

[Healing’s Growth]

The aloe appeared over her hands once more.

Emily shook her head.

"Don’t worry about me."

"But..."

"I’m fine."

Emily got back to her feet.

"We have to help the others."

Lydia looked at her with concern.

"Are you sure?"

Emily nodded.

"Completely."

An electric current began running through her body, and her hair lifted slightly.

Then she disappeared.

Emily returned to the fight.

Liam watched her leave for a second.

Then he drew his pistol.

"I’ve got your back, honey."

Lydia looked at him.

"You need to go help the others."

Liam raised his weapon.

"We need to try to escape this dungeon before it finishes evolving."

Lydia nodded, and her body began to change.

Within seconds, she transformed back into her small slime form.

[Rabbit’s Leap]

Her body bounced off a platform.

She quickly headed toward the area where the rest of the battle was taking place.

Liam began moving behind her.

He fired.

Bang!

An explosive bullet shot forward.

The explosion struck one of the creatures and sent a cloud of dust into the air.

But a gigantic silhouette emerged from the smoke.

Liam stopped.

One of those creatures stood in front of him.

The creature raised an arm.

"They destroyed my home."

Liam’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t seen its mouth move.

Yet the voice had appeared directly inside his head.

It was a deep, irritated voice.

A voice that seemed to pierce through his skull.

Liam felt a sharp pain in his ears.

"Ah...!"

He tried to concentrate.

He raised his pistol and fired.

The bullet passed beside the creature.

A miss.

The voice echoed through his mind again.

"Leave."

Liam gritted his teeth.

The pain was making it difficult to concentrate.

He fired again.

Another miss.

’What the hell is happening?’

Liam tried to breathe and looked beyond the creature.

Among the floating debris, he could make out a large concentration of lights.

And there...

There was a battle.

He recognized his teammates.

The rest of the squad was gathered beside another portal.

One very similar to the one Liam and Lydia had used to enter.

’Another portal?’

Three of those creatures were guarding the area.

One of them had Jordan pinned to the ground. It was holding him directly by the head. Jordan struggled, trying to break free.

Another creature was fighting Carol hand-to-hand. Carol’s arms had transformed completely. They now had the same dark, rocky material that made up some of the dungeon’s floating debris.

Carol threw a punch, but the creature blocked it.

The impact made the platform tremble.

Farther ahead, Chuck seemed to be running from the third creature.

He jumped from platform to platform.

The creature tore chunks of stone loose and hurled them at him.

Chuck barely managed to dodge them, jumping onto another platform.

Then he threw several small rocks at the creature.

The projectiles barely managed to distract it.

Liam could see it clearly.

Chuck was far too exhausted, as if they really had been fighting for hours.

Liam felt slightly dizzy, and the headache continued.

The creature’s voice was still echoing inside his mind.

But he couldn’t just stand there.

He looked elsewhere.

Emily and Lena were fighting another one of the creatures.

Emily moved like lightning between the platforms.

Lena swung her black sword wrapped in flames.

And then...

Liam saw Lydia.

The little slime was finally reaching the battlefield.

She bounced off a platform and jumped again.

Liam took a deep breath.

He had entered thinking this would be a simple reconnaissance mission.

A raid to investigate an S-Rank dungeon.

Nothing more.

But within minutes, everything had changed.

Now they were separated.

His teammates had been fighting for hours.

There were multiple portals.

Those creatures claimed they had destroyed their home.

The dungeon was evolving.

And he didn’t even know how much time had actually passed since they entered.

Liam gripped his pistol tightly and looked at Lydia approaching the battle.

Then he looked at Emily, Lena, Chuck, Carol, and Jordan.

’What’s happening here?’

Now, all he wanted was to get everyone out alive.