Chapter 85: Mutated Ghoul

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Mutated Ghoul

"Detect Evil can still last for a short while. I sense that the thing is still in the direction on our left. Its position hasn’t changed," Anya said softly.

"Alright, let’s go."

Lorin had already picked up his shield from the ground. Holding Rusted Throat, he turned left and continued deeper along the walkway.

The walls of the side passage were narrower than the main tunnel, and the air had grown worse. It felt as if there hadn’t been any ventilation here for decades; the complex mixture of stenches was almost palpable.

"There are tracks here."

Not far ahead, Lorin spotted two trails dragging from the murky sewage onto the walkway. The filthy water stains moved forward in a crooked, meandering path.

Using the light, he inspected them. The trails twisted and wound in a way that clearly wasn’t left by anything normal.

"It’s very close. Prepare for battle," he said in a low voice.

The three of them soon reached the end of the side passage and found a collapsed iron door. The trail of water stains disappeared behind it.

Lorin cautiously pushed his shield inside. The Light Magic illuminated the entire scene behind the door.

Inside was an abandoned cistern. The water had long dried up, leaving the bottom filled with untold years of sludge and debris.

In the middle of the muck, a humanoid creature crawled on its belly, gnawing on something. In this dark environment, the sight was incredibly terrifying.

The creature’s limbs were abnormally long and slender, with its joints bending backward in reverse. At the ends of its hands and feet grew long, thick Bone Claws.

Its skin was a filthy yellowish-brown, cracked open in several places. The exposed muscles at the ruptures were covered in some kind of translucent crystal.

Lorin raised his shield toward it, finally getting a clear look at what the creature was gnawing on.

A corpse.

The corpse lay face-up in the sludge. Its chest and abdomen had long been torn open, and its internal organs were dragged out, scattered all over the ground.

The remnants of Leather Armor on the body and the Guild emblem on the belt all proclaimed his identity.

This was most likely one of the previously missing Adventurers.

Yet the humanoid monster had its head buried, intently feeding, completely unresponsive to the light and sound behind it.

"A Ghoul..." Erin quickly recognized it. She frowned and said, "Those crystals don’t look right... Normal Ghouls don’t grow things like that."

"Is it evolving into a Demon Ghost?" Anya glanced at the corpse.

"No." Erin shook her head. "A Demon Ghost would be smaller, and its skin would be more decayed. It might be that the Negative Energy caused it to undergo some sort of mutation."

"Can you lure it out? It’ll be hard to fight in there," Lorin said, turning to look at her.

"I can."

Erin nodded. Just as she was about to raise her Magic Staff to cast her Magic, she was stopped by Anya.

"Wait a moment."

Anya gently tapped her Holy Emblem and chanted a familiar Spell, "Dawn Lord, please grant us courage to face the enemy ahead!"

Golden radiance suddenly flew from the Holy Emblem and landed on the three of them. This was the Divine Magic Anya had used during their hunt for the Rock-dwelling Salamander—Blessing Skill!

Lorin was instantly enveloped by a warm sensation. Boundless courage surged from his heart, making him feel extremely invigorated. He shouted in a low voice, "Let’s go!"

He raised his shield and stepped in front of the two girls. Having just gained some insight into his Sheathing the Sword technique, he was fretting over not having a target. Looking at the Ghoul now, he was already eager to strike.

"Agnir Ignis!"

Erin quickly chanted the Spell, and a Flaming Arrow rapidly took shape at the tip of her Magic Staff. Trailing an orange-red Flame, it brushed past Lorin’s side and flew straight toward the Ghoul.

"BOOM—"

The Flame erupted on the Ghoul’s back, the explosion sending its upper body crashing face-first into the sludge.

It struggled to pull itself out, then let out a chilling shriek. Its head instantly twisted one hundred and eighty degrees backward at an angle entirely impossible for any living person.

By now, Lorin had charged to the edge of the cistern, only a few steps away from it. He could clearly see its face and felt his scalp tingle at its bizarre way of turning back and its grotesque appearance.

This Ghoul had no lips, leaving its gums and jagged fangs completely exposed. Scraps of meat and bloodstains still hung from its teeth. There were no eyeballs in its sunken eye sockets; instead, they emitted a faint green glow.

Its torso jerked around to align with its head before it lunged at Lorin with a low growl.

"BANG—"

Bracing himself, Lorin used his shield to block its right claw. The massive Bone Claw smacked against the Dragon Scale Round Shield with a muffled thud, the impact numbing his arm.

An indescribable stench washed over him at the same time. Even with Lorin’s battered sense of smell, he felt his stomach churn and nearly threw up.

He gritted his teeth and swallowed it back down. Now was not the time to puke.

"WHOOSH—"

The Ghoul’s other claw followed closely behind.

With no time to dodge, Lorin hastily turned Rusted Throat sideways, resting it against his shield to take the blow with the flat of the blade.

The Longsword let out a low hum. Rusted Throat, which possessed the Solid attribute, was actually bent slightly by the strike.

Fortunately, Lorin now knew how to redirect force. He dropped his knees slightly and took a step back, simultaneously triggering Block and Counterattack.

"Haa!"

Enhanced by Skills, the Longsword slashed out like lightning. The first strike of the Continuous Slash struck viciously at the Ghoul’s neck. The light clinging to the blade seeped into the wound, igniting a platinum Flame upon its muscles.

This strike appeared to be highly effective, but Lorin furrowed his brows tightly.

The sensation of slashing this thing felt incredibly strange...

It didn’t feel like Rusted Throat had cut into any normal flesh and blood; rather, it felt like chopping into a piece of soggy hardwood, carrying a bizarre sense of Tenacity.

He had no time to ponder. Glen’s teachings flashed through his mind as he bent his wrist at an angle, following that slight reactionary force.

The second strike slashed downward diagonally at an equally extreme speed, landing dead center on the Ghoul’s shoulder blade.

"CLANG—"

A crisp sound rang out. The blade of Rusted Throat struck some kind of hard object and was forced to slide aside.

He wondered, "What the hell is that!?" Lorin’s pupils contracted, and he looked in astonishment in the direction of his sword tip.

He saw that the crystals on the Ghoul’s body had already spread, forming a layer of translucent carapace across its back. His previous attack had only left a shallow sword mark.

"Lorin, dodge!"

Erin’s sharp shout rang out from behind him.

He quickly took a step back, evading the Ghoul’s bite while conveniently exposing its body to her line of fire.

"Bala Astra!"

Three silvery-white Magic Missiles blasted from the tip of Erin’s staff, exploding accurately against the Ghoul. In the dazzling explosion, a few of those translucent crystals were blasted away.

However, this Ghoul seemed to feel no pain. It merely stumbled back a step. Then, as if infuriated by Erin’s Magic, it completely ignored Lorin right in front of it and sprinted wildly toward her.

"Did you secretly learn taunt!?"

Lorin reacted with lightning speed, shifting to a reverse grip on Rusted Throat as he rapidly channeled his Mana toward his freed index finger.