"Maybe they found them, and to not spread panic, they brought them to secluded locations to study them," Ethan interjected.
"Well… that could be a possibility…"
Samuel led the group as they talked, his gaze moving from one tank to another. The sight was ghastly yet intriguing, a stantificancestors' scientific prowess their ancestors possessed.
"Look at that one," Ethan whispered, pointing towards one tank that was noticeably larger than the rest. Unlike the others, it was shattered, shards of thick, curved glass strewn around the floor like a halo of broken ice.
The liquid that once held the creature was long gone, leaving behind a dry, cracked floor. However, the way the shards were scattered on the outside sent a chill down their spines, indicating that whatever had been contained within had managed to break free.
Erik approached the shattered tank, his mind racing. The image was in stark contrast to the other intact tanks. He crouched down, picking up a piece of the shattered glass.
It was thick and heavy, clearly designed to withstand immense pressure. Yet, it had been blown outwards by a tremendous force from within.
"It escaped…" Samuel murmured, breaking the silence. His voice was low, filled with a grim realization of the implications. "Whatever was inside escaped…"
The room, which was once a hub for scientific exploration, had become a scene of devastation.
As the men in the group became more aware of their immediate environment, the tension in the air intensified and became increasingly thick. Erik looked around the room with serious eyes; his senses were on high alert for potential threats.
"Stay vigilant," he warned the others, his voice echoing off the cold, metal walls. They had found their answer, or at least a part of it.
"Do you think that—"Ethan was interrupted by a loud scream.
KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
The piercing scream echoed through the metallic confines of the building, a haunting herald of the impending danger.
One of the other villagers exclaimed in surprise, "What the heck was that?!"
Instantaneously, everyone's attention was drawn to the door. When they saw the grotesque figure lumbering into view, a wave of chilling dread washed over them. There was no way that horror could have been mistaken for anything other than the humanoid thaid.
The monstrously mutated muscularity of the creature was displayed grotesquely by its hulking silhouette. It towered over them, standing well over three meters tall, with dark, sinister purple skin that served as a haunting symbol of its transformation into a monstrous form.
The dim, ethereal light emanating from the Aclaitrium ore in the room cast an eerie glow over the creature, highlighting its grotesque appearance. Fragmented pieces of clothing hung from its massive frame, each bearing a story from the creature's former life as a human.
The sight was a horrifying testament to the perverse fusion of man and beast. The humanoid thaid's face bore traces of distorted humanity, the once recognizable features now gnarled and swollen.
Its eyes, once the windows to a human soul, now glowed a fiery yellow, devoid of empathy but ablaze with a primal hunger for whatever it could get its claws on. These eyes were set deep into its skull, adding an ominous depth to its glare.
They were hidden beneath a ridged and heavy brow. Nevertheless, the monstrous mouth of the creature was the characteristic that attracted the most attention to it. A horrifying, gaping maw filled the space where the lips and teeth should have been. It was lined with rows of jagged teeth set in a chilling circular arrangement. ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
This horrifying scene was framed by four appendages resembling mandibles, each twitched and flexed with macabre anticipation. When the mouth opened, a low growl rumbled from within it, which caused each man to feel a chill of dread run down their spine.
"Unsheathe your weapons! Ready your brain crystal powers!" Samuel's voice was piercing and commanding, breaking through the oppressive tension.
The villagers quickly obeyed, but as they did so, their hands began to shake while they held their weapons. The monstrous figure standing before them was something out of a nightmare.
The humanoid Thaid charged at the group with a bone-chilling roar, its hulking figure slashing through the dimly lit laboratory. The grotesque maw opened wide, revealing the macabre sight of those monstrous teeth while its beastly eyes burned with ferocious hunger.
?α?dαsηθνε| Each resounding step shook the ground beneath them and reverberated throughout the vast room, serving as a foreboding introduction to the fight that was about to take place.
The villagers stumbled backward, their eyes widening with fear as they clutched their weapons with white-knuckled determination. But amid the chaos, there was one figure that stood firm.
Samuel took a step forward while maintaining his stern expression and brandishing the weapon he was holding.
Despite being old, his physique was that of a seasoned warrior; he had broad shoulders, hardened muscles, and an unwavering gaze that met the unflinching look of the monstrous thaid.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Samuel yelled. He issued the order, his voice reverberating throughout the laboratory. His voice radiated a sober sense of bravery that served as an anchor, pulling the others out of their state of panic.
They stood there in stunned silence as Samuel charged toward the monstrosity, his elderly body moving with a suppleness and strength that belied his age.
The mana around Samuel began to stir, and its spectral tendrils began to coalesce and take shape.
An ethereal dance of energy becoming matter, the shimmering, ethereal substance solidifying into stone right before Erik's eyes, was an incredible spectacle.
It was a breathtaking scene, and Erik had never seen anything like it. Samuel was surrounded by mana, normally invisible, but it was manifesting in a way that seemed to go against the natural order of things. The energy glowed and whirled around the old man, morphing and condensing like a storm before it set into stone and protected him.
The transformation was incredible. The stone formed a protective shell around Samuel, encasing him in an impressive suit of armor.
However, it was the gauntlets that had suddenly materialized around Samuel's hands that caught Erik's attention.
They were so enormous that they made the man's already enormous fists look even larger, making him look like a medieval knight armed for battle.
The gauntlets had an unnaturally large size, coming close to being grotesque in appearance. However, they were created with a specific goal in mind. Kill.
The stone had transformed into a material that was more durable and brittle than anything else that Erik had ever encountered. Each gauntlet was a formidable weapon, the size, and weight sufficient to deliver blows of such force that they were devastating.
While Erik watched, his heart raced in his chest as he felt the transformation end. Although it only lasted a couple of seconds, that was long enough for it to take shape completely.
Samuel's face took on a sinister appearance due to the eerie glow cast by the stone armor in the dim light of the torches.
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