Torchlight flickered across the cavern-like room, washing over faces and deepening shadows. Hector stood in the middle of the room, Harry clutched in his arms. Jodie and Lincoln were near the Farmhand, who had paused his attacks on the two.

  Nyx stood on the other side with the Farmhand, their fight likewise forgotten. And Hammond lay face down a short distance from the slab, which Harry had lay upon. Hector frowned as a large shell chunk fell away from the egg, clattering to the stone.

  Viscous black fluid poured from the sides of the shell, leaking out in a dribble. Hector took a step back, sandled feet scraping the ground. Tentacles poured from the opening, spilling out onto the side of the egg in a waterfall of black.

  “What is that thing?” Lincoln asked, stumbling to his feet. He gripped at his side and took a step back, looking at Hector. “Is it another one of those things from the festival?”

  Hector’s gaze snapped from Lincoln to the egg. Those Void beasts didn’t have so many tentacles. No, this was something else. Something more dangerous. The tentacles continued to writhe out of the egg. Then a head popped out; made of white crystals and burning red eyes, the creature slowly emerged.

  System, scan it now!

  He wanted to run away, to leave the room and get Harry out of there—the boy couldn’t take too much more stress. But with the aura this thing was giving off, they wouldn’t all make it out of here unscratched. He had to hold it back.

  ————————————————

  ///: Acquiring target stats… Identifying outlier…

  ————————————————

  ///

  Creature Type: Void Singer

  Cultivation level:[Rank-1] = [Gravity Forging-4]

  Talent: [Shared Secrets], [Blazing Arsenal]

  Talent Fragment: [6-Uncommon]

  ///

  ————————————————

  Hector’s heart dropped, its weight almost pulling him to the ground, his knees buckling. Two. Two Talents. He hadn’t seen anything with more than one Talent aside from himself. “Damn,” he muttered.

  More of the creature’s black, glossy humanoid body emerged from the egg. Tentacles writhed from its back as its clawed hands gripped the side of the egg, shattering it and sending spider-weblike cracks popping down its surface.

  “I’ll be taking back my power now,” the Void Singer said. Though Hector wasn’t sure how, it had no mouth, only burning red eyes. It raised its hand, and tentacles rose around it. The air shook as they blasted forward and sunk into the two Farmhands with a wet squelch and crack.

  The third pierced into Hammond, but he didn’t even let out a peep. The tentacles then lifted them all into the air and dragged them back. Hector’s head snapped to Nyx. He rushed over, his sandals slapping across the stone, and held Harry out to her. “Get him out of here and take the other two with you. I’ll hold this thing back.”

  Nyx’s face fell, her gaze moving across his features, searching for something—did she think he was being noble? Hector shoved Herry forward again. “Do it! I have my own way of getting out of here. Don’t worry, I just need you guys out first.”

  Nyx had been holding back this entire time, but she wasn’t as fast as these tentacles. Her fight with the Farmhand had shown that. It was the only thing that gave those Farmhands an edge. And with her speed—unless she had something up her sleeve—she wouldn’t be able to keep up with this monster like he likely could.

  Unless this thing is a lot faster than the Farmhands. Which wouldn’t be surprising, but it just hatched. So… who am I kidding? That thing doesn’t sound like a newborn at all.

  The [Volt Runner] Talent was the only reason he’d been faster than Hammond’s tentacles. Without it, he would have been in a world of trouble. To make things worse, he had, at best, fifteen minutes until it went on cooldown.

  Screams and gurgles tore across the room, the sound of pumping liquid growing while the screams became fainter. Hector turned as Nyx took Harry from him. In the air, in front of the Void Singer and held up by its tentacles, the Farmhands’ bodies slowly shrivelled. Their skin cracked and peeled, bodies spasming as they became husks.

  That did not look like a pleasant way to go at all. Hector hoped Sasha didn’t have to suffer the same way. “You guys need to get out of here now. I’ll hold it back!” Hector yelled, not taking his eyes off the beast.

  “Are you joking?” Jodie replied, inching closer towards him. “We aren’t just going to leave you here.” Lincoln also moved closer, holding his side as he groaned.

  You idiots, I don’t have time to argue.

  Hector went to speak, but a low growl from the Void Singer cut him off. “You humans shall not be going anywhere. I have claimed you as a snack. You should rejoice as you will be used to feed me.”

  The air cracked as several tentacles whipped out, two of them aimed at Lincoln—he’d struggle to dodge them at best. Static crackled through Hector’s legs. Jodie should be able to just about dodge hers, so he wasn’t too worried—thankfully, there was none aimed at Nyx and Harry.

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  He zipped forward, sandaled feet slapping stone. As the tentacle crashed towards Lincoln, frozen in fear, Hector slammed into him, and the two tumbled to the floor with a grunt. Hector then leapt from the ground, dragging Lincoln to his feet as his gaze scanned the room.

  Jodie tumbled to the side as the tentacle aiming for her cracked into the ground. Hector turned to Lincoln and shoved him towards the door. “I need you out of here so I can leave. So go!” He yelled.

  The air cracked as another tentacle shot forward, whipping through the air towards them. Hector dragged Lincoln to the side and used the momentum to throw his friend towards the room door. Lincoln flew a few feet before slamming onto the ground and rolling a few more.

  Hector would have to ask for forgiveness later. Right now, he needed them out. Another tentacle. More static. In moments, he’d dodged it, the ground quaking behind him. This thing was strong—Hammond’s tentacles were barely comparable.

  “Jodie, go, get out of here now!” he yelled as the girl rolled to her feet, a red mark running across her forearm—she’d been hit, but not directly. Hector stepped to the side. The air shook, the wind whipping up his hair, and the ground cracked as a tentacle slammed into it.

  Hector needed to grab more of that thing’s attention. He had to get the creature’s focus off of Jodie. Hector snapped forward, the air whipping around him. He stepped to the side as another tentacle surged past, narrowly missing him, and he leapt over another one to close in further.

  The torches around the room flickered in a frenzy, dragging shadows this way and that. The creature turned towards Hector, and if it could sneer, he didn’t doubt it would. Behind him, a cry sounded, but Hector couldn’t afford to turn. Was it Jodie?

  The Void Singer raised its hand and pointed towards him with an obsidian claw. “Why so eager, human, you will get your turn.” Like a horde of pythons, several tentacles snapped up and exploded towards him with a crack. Hector’s eyes went wide. He wouldn’t be able to dodge all of that—though if he was lucky, he might tank any life-threatening ones.

  As the tentacles closed in, Hector made to dodge to the side. Several of them passed by, but his side exploded with pain as the force launched him back. He slammed into stone, rolling like a rag doll until he came to a stop.

  The torches crackled as tentacles continued to whip around. Hector groaned, slamming his palm onto the floor as he climbed to his feet. His side hummed with a dull pain, but it was distant. Was it broken? He brought a hand to it and then recoiled as a sharp pain exploded from his touch. It was bad.

  “Hector!” Jodie yelled as she stumbled out of the way of another tentacle. The further the tentacles were from the creature, the slower they seemed to move. Jodie ducked under another one and ran towards him. But then, the air shifted as a horde of tentacles slammed towards her, blinking her out of Hector’s vision.

  Hector paused, his mouth falling open as he stared at where she had been moments before. “Jodie,” he muttered as a numbness washed through him.

  “Hector, look out!” a voice yelled. It sounded like Lincoln, but Hector couldn’t be sure. His whole body was numb. He turned his head towards the beast and a wall of tentacles greeted him, barreling towards him. There was no time to move, barely any to think.

  Well, I guess this is how I die. I’m so sorry, Mirae, I wasn’t strong enough in the end, even with a system.

  He closed his eyes, and he braced for the impact. But the pain didn’t come. Instead, his body became light. The wind rushed past him, and he stumbled forward, his eye snapping open as he glanced around. Was he alive?

  “You’re an idiot. You know that,” a voice said.

  Hector turned his head to the voice, and relief and shock flooded through his body as there, unharmed, stood Jodie. Her eyes seemed to glow, flickering with an iridescent white as her ginger hair fluttered lightly behind her. “Jodie,” Hector reached forward but found his wrist gripped by her. When had she moved?

  “Focus, we need to kill this thing,” she said. And again, he found his body light as he was moved out of the way of another tentacle, which cracked into the ground where they’d been standing a moment before. “Try to keep up with me. If it’s like those things at the festival, it can be killed. It’s just gonna take some effort.”

  What was going on? When had the plan been to kill it? Was this the battle intent they’d talked about before? Jodie’s body shifted, and she was gone, charging towards the creature, her figure almost a blur.

  Hector shook his head as static crackled in his legs. He didn’t know about beating it, but with her like this, they should at least be able to buy some time for the others to escape and then get out themselves. Hector kicked off the ground and raced forward.

  He leapt to the side, skidding across the stone as he steadied himself. Up ahead, Jodie wove through the tentacles with apparent ease. She seemed to be having a slightly easier time than him, even with his Talents. What was this battle intent, exactly?

  Hector dived to the side, and another tentacle cracked by. The creature was so close, yet so far. But did he want to get close? The air whistled as tentacles zipped around the room, cracking into stone and knocking over torches.

  It was going to get really hard to see if it continued at this rate. Not only was Hector’s Talent on a timer but so was their ability to see. He pumped his legs faster, crossing the room, leaping onto the slab and closing the gap even more. He needed to get close. Perhaps if they could get a good hit in, that would slow the creature.

  A part of him wanted to look back, to check if Lincoln and Nyx had left the room yet. But he couldn’t. Doing that would be beyond stupid. The dull pain at his side was but a taste of what would happen if he got hit again.

  Dropping to his knees and leaning back, Hector’s breath caught in his chest as another tentacle whipped over him. It cracked into the slab, shattering the stone with a thunk. That was close. Any later, that would have been his head.

  He hopped to his feet. Jodie practically blurred into existence at the creature’s side, raining punch after punch at it. Every hit was blocked—the speed of the tentacles was just about keeping up with her fists.

  The air cracked as one of her blows was blocked near the creature’s white head. A wave of tentacles swarmed towards her. Jodie’s figure blurred. She landed on the floor and then skipped back, the ground cracking as tentacles aimed to skewer her and missed.

  “You are quite annoying, you know that,” the Void Singer said. Its crystal-like head then turned to Hector, and it raised a hand. That couldn’t be a good sign.

  Hector leapt to the side as several tentacles rocked the air and whipped at him. He rolled onto the floor and leapt to his feet, dodging as more tentacles aimed at him. He’d been so close. The thing didn’t want to be hit. The way its tentacles all seemed to swarm together when Jodie got close said as much.

  On the stone slab, now cracked, a pool of fire manifested into being. Its flames licked at the air as a wave of heat washed from it. That was probably its [Blazing Arsenal] Talent. Hector frowned and risked a glance at the room door.

  If they weren’t out yet, then he was screwed. Who knew what this thing did, but going off its name, it wouldn’t be pretty. His heart lightened. The back of the room was empty—the door was still left ajar. Now, all he needed to do was get Jodie out of here.

  The girl continued to weave through the horde of tentacles. Her fist occasionally let loose a barrage to knock some of them back. Static sparked through the air in front of Hector as he bit his lip. Now, how was he going to convince her to leave?

  “You shall burn for me if you do not want to be food,” the Void Singer screeched. Above the fire pool, streams of lashing flame gathered and formed a violent ball of fire. Of course, it would form fireballs—why would it be anything else?

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