Chapter 51: Big Boy

Before I could fully understand what was happening, I panicked and started running toward the Core.

When the first creature blocked my path, I brought the bat down on its face and knocked it aside. I pierced the second one’s chest with a spear, driving the weapon into the monster behind it and bringing both of them down at once.

Just as I was about to reach the temple stairs, five creatures approached from the right and blocked my way.

I gripped the bat with both hands and charged into them. I broke one creature’s leg, crushed another’s head, then caught the third on the spikes and threw it down the stairs.

But every second I spent fighting them carried me a little farther from the Core.

When I heard the claws of the creatures approaching from behind, I had to dodge to the side instead of moving forward. Every opening I created was filled with new bodies within seconds, and the corpse in front of the temple kept moving farther away from me.

I transformed the black bat into a flail and swung it around me. The spiked ball shattered the monsters’ heads and chests, briefly opening a path ahead.

As I tried to pass through the opening, one of the creatures grabbed my ankle.

The moment I lost my balance and fell, the others jumped on top of me.

First three, then five, and before long, more creatures than I could count had piled onto my body. They pulled my arms and legs in different directions while biting into my armor and trying to tear it apart with their claws.

Even with Umbrella protecting me, their combined weight made it impossible to breathe.

I tried to move my right arm, but several creatures had pinned it down. My legs were completely trapped, and my face was pressed against the ice-covered stone floor.

"Get... off me..."

A tooth pierced the armor covering my shoulder.

Then another claw reached my waist.

As my vision began to darken, I tried to feel the pieces of Umbrella spread across my entire body.

"I SAID GET OFF ME!"

The black armor suddenly expanded.

Hundreds of spikes several meters long burst from every part of my body. They pierced the creatures piled on top of me and lifted them into the air before I threw the spikes outward with all my strength.

The weight disappeared as the white bodies flew in different directions.

I pulled the black spikes back into my armor and quickly rose to my feet. Gritting my teeth as I filled my lungs with air, I looked around.

The creatures had been pushed away for a moment, but more continued coming from every part of the temple.

The moment I noticed a tall pillar nearby, I ran toward it.

After knocking aside the two monsters blocking my path with my shoulder, I planted my foot against the ground and jumped with all my strength. I dug my fingers into the cracks in the pillar and pulled myself upward.

The creatures below tried to reach my legs.

I transformed Umbrella into short blades and cut away the hands climbing after me. Then I formed spikes beneath my feet to grip the stone surface and reached the top of the pillar in a few quick movements.

From there, I jumped onto the temple roof.

When I looked down, I saw that the entire courtyard was filled with white creatures. They were climbing the temple walls and trying to reach me from the edges of the roof.

"God... how many of these things are there?"

I brought the spiked bat down on the head of the first creature climbing toward me.

"Fifty?"

I kicked the second one off the roof.

"A hundred?"

I transformed Umbrella into a long scythe and cut down four creatures that had reached the edge at once.

"Two hundred?!"

More appeared after every monster I killed.

Some emerged from the pillars, others from the cracked walls, and still more from the dark openings inside the temple. It was as though every creature in the entire area had been called here to protect the Core.

I kept moving along the edge of the roof, trying to stop them from climbing up. I switched between the bat, spear, and scythe, turning toward the next creature the moment I knocked one down.

But if I continued like this, I would never reach the Core.

I looked at the corpse in front of the temple.

There was a considerable distance between the roof and the stone altar, but the strength from the potions was still flowing through my body. If I jumped directly toward it, I could reach the Core within seconds.

I moved back to give myself enough room for a running start.

"Now or never!"

I ran across the roof with all my strength. On my final step, the black stones cracked beneath my foot, and my body launched into the air.

I raised the spiked bat above my head with both hands.

"Aaaaaah!"

I was falling directly toward the swollen heart on the altar.

At that moment, the goat-headed giant moved.

The creature that had remained on its knees throughout the entire battle raised its head. Its eyes between the curved horns glowed with a dark red light.

As it rose onto its hind legs, its true size became clear. Its body stood more than two and a half meters tall, rising before me like a wall as it pulled back its right fist.

There was no way for me to change direction in midair.

I brought the bat down with all my strength.

The goat-headed giant threw its punch.

The spiked bat and enormous fist collided violently.

A sound like an explosion echoed through the entire courtyard. The shaft of the bat formed from Umbrella couldn’t withstand the impact. It shattered through the middle, scattering black fragments through the air.

The creature’s fist didn’t stop.

It struck me directly in the stomach.

As the armor caved inward, my body was thrown backward like a doll. When I crashed into the temple’s outer wall, the thick stones shattered, and I flew through the opening into the building.

After rolling through the rubble several times, I came to a stop on my back.

When I tried to breathe, terrible pain spread from my stomach throughout my entire body. I tried to push myself up with my right hand, but my arm bent beneath me before it could support my weight.

When I looked at it, I saw that my right arm was bent backward at the elbow.

"This... isn’t good at all..."

A heavy impact came from outside.

The goat-headed giant jumped through the opening and entered the temple. The entire structure shook when its hooved feet struck the floor, and two thick clouds of steam burst from its nostrils.

Its red eyes glowed in the darkness.

White creatures began appearing through the hole behind it. Some hung down from the edges of the roof, others tried to squeeze through the cracks in the walls, and dozens completely blocked the temple entrance.

I was surrounded.

Just as I began to think that getting back on my feet was impossible, a blue System window appeared before my eyes.

[Umbrella]

[100/100]

The black fragments scattered across the dark floor began to move.

They flowed through the rubble toward me and merged inside my left hand. Within seconds, they formed a closed black umbrella with a long handle.

Since my right arm was useless, I gripped the umbrella with my left hand. I used it for support as I slowly rose to my feet, then rested Umbrella against my shoulder.

As the goat-headed giant clenched its fists and approached me, a wide smile formed beneath my mask.

"We’re going to have so much fun, big boy."