Chapter 17: Velmira
The underground chamber had completely changed.
The battlefield no longer looked like a corridor inside a ruin. Broken pillars lay across the ground, massive cracks spread through the ancient black floor, and the corpses of Hybrid Muxicals surrounded the Revenants in every direction. The Ulgroth’s body lay ahead, partially crushed from Mark’s strike.
Yet no one moved.
Not because of the Ulgroth.
Because of the creature crouched beside its corpse.
The grotesque black monster remained low to the ground, its distorted humanoid body bent over the dead Ulgroth while dark blood dripped from the spiraling rows of teeth inside its mouth. Part of the S-Rank creature’s remains still hung between those rotating jaws before being crushed apart with another wet sound.
Crunch.
Several Revenants paled.
These were not inexperienced soldiers. They had fought monsters, entered ruins, watched allies die, and seen spiritual creatures tear people apart. But this thing felt different. It was not only stronger or faster. Its entire existence felt wrong, as if the ruin had produced something that should never have stood inside the world.
Mark remained on one knee.
His breathing had become heavier, and faint veins bulged around his neck as he resisted the pressure filling the battlefield. That alone changed how the other Revenants looked at the situation. Until now, Mark had seemed untouchable. He had dodged an S-Rank Ulgroth with his eyes closed, caught its claw barehanded, and launched it across the chamber with one punch.
Now, the pressure from this black creature alone had forced him down.
The monster slowly raised its head.
Its hollow black eyes shifted toward Velmira.
For the first time since entering the Eternal Ruin, Velmira stepped forward herself.
Clang.
Her silver armored boots touched the shattered floor calmly. Her long ash-gray hair moved behind her, and her posture remained steady despite the pressure crushing the battlefield. Unlike the others, her breathing did not change.
The black creature tilted its head.
Then it disappeared.
There was no sound, no visible movement, and no burst of Spirit Energy.
It simply vanished.
Several Revenants widened their eyes instantly.
Even Mark’s pupils contracted.
The creature appeared directly before Velmira.
Its grotesque black arm had already thrust forward, elongated claws curving inward toward her stomach with terrifying precision. The movement was almost identical to the way it had pierced Atlas inside the ruin. The attack was direct, efficient, and aimed at ending the target before a proper battle could begin.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
Several Revenants felt their hearts stop.
Then the world seemed to slow.
Dust hung in the air.
Falling rubble drifted downward at a crawl.
Even sound seemed delayed.
Inside that stretched instant, the grotesque claw continued toward Velmira’s stomach.
Velmira moved.
Her hand extended forward calmly.
A thin white sword appeared in her grip.
It was not drawn from a sheath. It did not unfold from a visible relic. It simply emerged into existence, compact, elegant, and pure white. The moment the blade appeared, the Spirit Energy around the battlefield trembled.
Velmira’s crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Marvilas."
The sword hummed.
Silver-white Spirit Energy erupted from Velmira’s body and compressed near the inner edge of the blade close to her hand. It did not stay there. The compressed energy burst backward like propulsion, forcing the blade upward with terrifying acceleration.
Velmira spoke calmly.
"[Meteor Slash]."
The slash rose.
It was an upward strike aimed directly at the grotesque creature’s neck. The Spirit Energy behind the blade continuously accelerated the movement, making the attack fast enough to distort the air around it.
All of it happened within a single moment.
Yet the creature did not even look at the sword.
Its hollow black eyes remained fixed on Velmira.
Then it stepped away.
Not desperately, not hurriedly.
It moved before the slash could reach, as if it already knew the blade’s exact path.
Velmira’s eyes narrowed.
Then time resumed.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The slash erupted upward.
A huge section of the underground ruin vanished as the attack carved through the black walls and ceiling. Stone melted, shattered, and disappeared under the force. Pillars across hundreds of meters broke apart from the shockwave, and the Eternal Ruin trembled violently around them.
Several Revenants shielded themselves as hurricane-like wind exploded through the battlefield.
Then blood sprayed.
Five Revenants collapsed at the same time.
Their heads slid from their shoulders before their bodies fell.
Silence landed on the battlefield.
Several surviving Revenants stared in horror.
None of them had seen the attack.
The grotesque creature now stood far behind Velmira, dark blood dripping from its elongated claws. It had avoided Meteor Slash, crossed the battlefield, killed five Revenants, and returned to a stable stance before most of them even understood it had moved.
Velmira had sensed the deaths.
She had sensed the creature killing them.
But she had not turned.
That was the correct decision.
If she had reacted emotionally for even a fraction of a second, the creature would have taken advantage of it. Against something this fast, hesitation meant death, and Velmira understood that better than anyone present.
The grotesque creature slowly turned toward her.
Then it spoke.
"You... are strong..."
Its voice was mechanical, hoarse, and distorted. Each word sounded dragged out of something that was imitating speech rather than using it naturally.
The surviving Revenants stiffened.
Even Mark’s expression darkened.
Because this creature was not only fast.
It was intelligent.
The aftereffects of Meteor Slash slowly faded. Chunks of molten black stone continued falling from the erased section of the ruin, and silver-white Spirit Energy drifted around Velmira’s body.
Velmira exhaled slowly.
"Hah..."
She lowered Marvilas beside her right leg.
Then her crimson eyes locked onto the grotesque creature again.
This time, there was no restraint in her gaze.
"I will not hold back anymore."
The pressure around her began rising.
"You are a strong monster..."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Battle-hungry.
"...So let’s fight without any restraint, shall we?"
The underground chamber trembled beneath the Spirit Energy leaking from her body.
Then Velmira’s gaze shifted briefly toward the surviving Revenants behind her.
"...And do not involve them in this."
Silence followed.
The grotesque creature stared at her for several moments.
Then its mouth slowly widened.
Resembling something horrifyingly close—
to a grin.
