As the black ball disappeared into Harvey's throat, the air around him thickened. A dark vortex of energy swirled up from his body. Shards of glass flew as his transformation began.
The once-human Harvey let out a guttural roar. His body convulsed, and the bones cracked as they contorted in a disturbing way. Flesh bubbled and expanded. His skin turned a pale gray, bulging with unnatural muscle. Shadowy veins pulsed across his arms and face. Countless black tendrils moved like snakes behind him. They whipped and settled in the air.
His face stretched into a grotesque grin, with his jaw hanging open to an unnatural width. His teeth sharpened into horrifying fangs, and his eyes glowed crimson. His fingers lengthened into claws that dripped with a black, tar-like substance. The entire room shook with every throb of the vortex that surrounded him.
Laguna stepped back and tightened his grip. He watched as Harvey vanished into the monster.
[ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ]
Race: Demonized Human
Skills: Devour (S), Fear (A), Regeneration (A), more...
Str: 20
Vit: ???
Agi: 3
Int: 15
Wis: 15
Luk: -
What is this? This is the first time I've seen the name ??? and even Vit? Is this a sign that his Vit is very high? Laguna thought, his eyes narrowed in alarm.
"Harvey, wake up!" Ricky shouted, and his voice echoed in the darkening underground room.
But there was no answer. Instead, the monster opened its gaping mouth and let out a terrifying roar. In an instant, Skill: Fear activated.
A wave of mental pressure so heavy hit the three of them. It was as if the world stopped spinning for a moment.
Laguna and Ricky trembled, their breaths catching. But they were still able to stand—albeit with knees that were about to give out.
Eve wasn't as strong.
She fell, sitting on the cold floor. Her eyes were wide open, but unfocused. She shivered all over, hugging her knees tight. It was like she was hiding from something she couldn't see.
Laguna immediately took out his last scroll. He tore the Healing Scroll, and a soft green light spread from her body. A wave of healing swept across the small room, healing all of their wounds.
But even though she had healed her body, Eve remained silent. Trauma and fear still gripped her mind.
"Eve, wake up!" Laguna shouted while shaking Eve's shoulder. But the girl still didn't answer. Her eyes were blank, full of fear.
Ricky stared at his hand, which was now unscathed. "Why did you heal me too? Aren't we enemies?"
"It seems we have to work together first to defeat the monster," Laguna said with urgency. "And you need to know that I consider Rocky as my friend. I can tell you more after we defeat the monster, so don't die!"
Ricky clenched his fists. "Okay! I'll wait for your explanation later!"
He raised his giant hammer and stood parallel to Laguna.
The fight began.
Monster-Harvey stepped forward. Every step shook the floor. He swept the air with one of his tentacles. Ricky blocked it with his hammer, bouncing back a few steps but still standing.
Laguna attacked from the side, aiming for the monster's legs. But another tendril appeared and blocked it, sending him flying backwards. He slammed into the forging table and fell to the ground.
"Don't attack without a plan!" Focus on the weak points!" Ricky shouted.
"If I knew its weak point, I would have destroyed it!" Laguna replied.
Ricky jumped, his hammer glowing with magical energy. He slammed into one of the monsters' arms. CRACK! Tendons cracked and black liquid spurted.
The monster roared and opened its mouth—a gaping black cavity formed in its belly.
"That's... Devour! Don't let it suck us in!"
A vortex of energy erupted from the monster's belly, drawing in everything around it.
The monster sucked up all the dwarf corpses lying on the ground
Laguna stabbed his sword into the floor, resisting the suction. Ricky hooked the hammer's chain to a pillar.
But Eve, still unconscious, began to drag herself away.
Laguna forced himself to move. He jumped up, grabbed Eve's hand, and pulled her out of the suction. "Wake up, Eve! I need you!"
His eyes began to focus. The fear had not yet disappeared, but his voice had reached her. She nodded with a weak motion.
"If you can move... help Ricky! I'll try to cut off the tentacles one by one!"
Eve struggled to her feet, raising her bow and shooting a magic arrow straight into the monster's eyes. One of its eyes burned; the monster let out a deafening roar.
"Good job, Eve! Keep going!"
Ricky attacked the monster's legs, causing it to wobble.
Laguna darted forward and cut off two tentacles at once. The monster roared, then activated regeneration.
"Damn... he can recover that fast?!" Laguna stepped back, his breath coming in heavy gasps.
Ricky approached. "We have to keep him too busy to heal! Keep pressing, nonstop!"
With a new strategy, they began to attack in turns. Ricky attacked from the front. Laguna charged in from behind. Eve targeted weak points from a distance.
A thunderous roar filled the dungeon. Every stomp of the monster's feet shook the ground, sending dust flying from the ceiling.
The monster took hit after hit, but its regeneration healed the damage in a matter of moments.
Laguna held his breath, his heart pounding. "He's too strong... and he keeps regenerating."
Ricky slammed his hammer into the monster's body, making a loud thud.
BANG!
However, the rotten flesh that had fallen off Harvey's body only grew back in a matter of seconds. The wounds on his body closed themselves, emitting dark steam that filled the air.
"This is like hitting living mud!" Ricky growled, taking a few steps back.
Laguna jumped and stabbed his sword into Harvey's shoulder. Black blood spurted, but the wound soon closed again.
"Crazy... His regeneration is not ordinary!"
Harvey the monster swung his arm, which was now like a giant chain of flesh. Laguna jumped out of the way, but the wall caught Ricky and threw him into it.
BANG!
"UGHH!!"
"Ricky!"
Eve, who finally recovered from the effects of fear, stood up even though her knees were still shaking. She shot an arrow at Harvey's head.
SWISH!
The arrow stuck in his left eye, making the monster roar in anger. But just a few seconds later, the eye grew back, as if someone had never penetrated it.
"It doesn't make sense... He doesn't have a weak point?!" Eve exclaimed in panic.
Laguna gasped, his body covered in wounds and sweat. "If this continues... we'll die of exhaustion."
Ricky stood up again, blood pouring from his forehead. "We have to hit him together! Combination attacks! We'll make him lose his balance!"
Laguna nodded. "Eve, help from behind. Aim your attacks at the legs or joints. We have to make him fall."
Eve pulled three arrows at once. "Ready!"
Ricky hit the floor with his hammer, creating a shockwave; Harvey faltered.
Laguna dashed to the right and stabbed Harvey's armpit. It was a weak spot that hadn't had time to heal.
Eve shot an arrow into Harvey's knee.
The monster roared and fell to his knees, but immediately began to rise again. The pieces of his flesh reattached themselves like mud sucking up water.
"This... never ends..." Laguna gasped, his eyes starting to blur.
Ricky swung the hammer one last time, hitting Harvey in the face and knocking him back. But even that didn't stop his regeneration. Black veins spread across his body again.
Eve fell to her knees, her breath ragged. "I... I can't do it anymore..."
Laguna looked at Harvey, who was starting to stand up again, his body bigger than before. The regeneration didn't stop; it seemed to be getting faster.
"If this continues... we'll be finished not because we're killed... but because we're exhausted..."
The monster roared again, and the fight showed no signs of ending.
The once-spirited battle had now turned into a desperate struggle for survival.
Laguna, with his body covered in wounds and breathless, struggled to lift his sword. Beside him, Eve was no different. Her face was pale, her hair was tangled, and her hands shook as she held her two daggers.
The monster, once Harvey, stood tall. Its body was swollen and filled with pulsing black veins. Blood and flesh dripped from its fang-filled jaws.
"ARGH!!" Ricky was still trying. With a determined shout, he swung his hammer once more toward the monster's chest.
But the monster's movement was too fast. Before the hammer hit, a giant hand grabbed Ricky's body.
"NO!" Laguna and Eve shouted at the same time.
The monster threw Ricky into the air like a rag doll, then opened its gaping jaws.
CRUNCH!
With one terrifying move, the Devour Skill activated, and Ricky was swallowed whole.
Laguna began to be dragged by the pressure of the skill. He plunged his sword into the floor. He fought to stop his body from being dragged toward the Devour vortex, which still pulled at him.
Eve did the same. She fell to her knees and stabbed both of her daggers into the ground. Her teeth chattered, holding back fear and despair.
"Ricky..." Eve whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He... he was eaten..."
Laguna stared ahead with teary eyes. His breath was ragged. "This creature... we can't defeat it... he... he's too strong..."
A dark aura spread from him. The creature roared and took all of Ricky's power. His body grew larger. His muscles bulged. Horns grew from his head. His eyes now glowed bright red.
Harvey the monster stared at them both, now much taller than he had been before.
Their footsteps were heavy. Their hearts were crumbling.
"Is this... the end...?" Eve whispered in a gentle tone.
The room began to shake. The temperature of the air increased significantly. The floor they were standing on began to feel hot.
A hot aura and magical pressure weighed down on the whole room.
Laguna lifted his face. "What now...?"
From the direction of the stairs they had passed earlier, the sound of slow footsteps could be heard.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A figure came down the stairs, wrapped in a soft light that set him apart from the dark.