Chapter 102: Continous Mission XII
The chamber was silent.
Too silent.
No dripping water. No echo of their breathing. Just a still, heavy quiet that pressed against their ears.
The floor was wrong. It wasn’t stone anymore. Smooth black glass stretched out across the chamber, polished like a mirror. Pale lights drifted under the surface, slow and ghostlike, shifting with a faint glow like trapped fireflies.
At the center stood a squat altar of rough stone.
On it rested a cracked spirit core, faintly pulsing.
Yuxin tilted her head, lowering her fan. "...That doesn’t look good."
Tian Lei didn’t move closer. His eyes scanned the walls, the floor, the shadows overhead. "Trap."
As if the word woke it, the black glass rippled.
Once.
The pale lights beneath stopped drifting.
They turned upward.
Shapes began pressing out from the surface, rising slow and silent. First arms, thin and gray, trailing black cords that sank back into the glass. Then heads with pale masks, smooth and hollow.
They climbed free like something forcing its way out of another world. Dozens of them. Each tethered by long black strands into the glowing core on the altar.
Yuxin took one slow step back. "They’re... connected."
Tian Lei’s voice stayed calm. "Puppets. Bound to the core."
The first finished pulling itself up. Its body shivered, twisted like loose strings pulled tight. The mask split down the middle with a dry crack.
Nothing inside.
It raised its head—then screamed.
The others followed, dozens of shrill voices ripping through the air.
Yuxin snapped her fan open, forcing a shaky grin. "Alright. New plan: smash the core first, then deal with the nightmare chorus."
Tian Lei drew his sword, the faint glow along its edge steady and sharp. "Agreed."
The glass floor rippled again.
All of them began to move.
The first wave surged.
Masks snapped open and shut like jaws as the puppets skittered forward, their limbs jerking in broken rhythms. The black cords tethering them to the altar thrummed, carrying pulses of pale light back into the cracked spirit core.
Tian Lei stepped forward. His blade whispered through the air—
SHHHK.
The nearest puppet shattered, collapsing into smoke. But the cord twitched, and from the glass below another began to rise to replace it.
Yuxin’s fan flicked outward. "Scatter bloom!"
WHOOM—
A spiral of wind and petals ripped through a cluster, tearing masks apart, scattering fragments across the glassy floor. The shards sizzled, dissolving into ripples.
But as the ripples stilled, three more puppets climbed out in their place.
Yuxin grimaced. "Endless."
"Not endless." Tian Lei’s gaze locked on the altar. The cracked spirit core pulsed faster now, feeding the cords, vomiting up more puppets. "Rooted."
The puppets screamed again. They lunged all at once, dozens of limbs clawing, cords tightening. The whole floor seemed to heave.
Tian Lei’s voice cut through the noise. "Cover me."
Yuxin’s eyes widened. "You’re charging it head on?"
He answered by moving. One clean step—then another. Each puppet that touched him broke apart in single strokes, blade never slowing. Smoke and shards trailed behind him like a path carved through the storm.
Yuxin snapped her fan shut, spun it once, then thrust it against the ground. "Fine! Tempest Veil!"
FWOOOOOM—
A wall of slicing wind roared around him, shredding anything that tried to flank, keeping the tide off his sides.
The altar loomed ahead. The spirit core pulsed like a diseased heart, cords writhing, pulling tight as if aware of his approach. The puppets shrieked louder, forming a wall of fleshless bodies before it.
Tian Lei tightened his grip. His blade glowed brighter, light searing along its edge.
One stroke. Straight for the core.
Tian Lei’s blade came down.
CRACK—!
The spirit core split. Light burst out in a violent flash. The cords snapped tight, and every puppet froze mid-scream.
For one breath, silence returned.
Then—
KRRRSHHH!
The cracked core fused back together, its glow warping into a harsh crimson. The cords thickened, twisting into black tendrils that slammed into the glass floor like roots. The puppets didn’t just rise now—they fused. Masks melted together. Limbs tangled. A massive, six-armed husk pulled itself free, mask glowing with a jagged red crack down the middle.
Yuxin swore under her breath. "Phase two."
The giant husk roared—BOOOOM—! The sound shook the entire chamber.
It swung two of its arms down at once, smashing the glass floor. Shards exploded upward like knives.
Tian Lei darted forward, sword ringing as he deflected the shards. "Keep the tendrils occupied!"
"On it!" Yuxin leapt back, snapping her fan open. FWOOSH! A wave of slicing wind cut at the black cords snaking across the floor. They shrieked and recoiled, but more pushed up from the glass.
The giant husk lunged, arms pounding like falling pillars.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each impact cracked the glass deeper, pale light spilling out like liquid fire.
Tian Lei met the charge. His blade sparked as it clashed against the husk’s jagged mask—SKRREEEEE—! Sparks rained as steel scraped bone. He twisted, slashed across one arm—SHHKKT!—and severed it clean.
The husk staggered but didn’t fall. Instead, the broken limb grew writhing cords, whipping around like snakes. One lashed across Tian Lei’s chest—WHIPCRACK!—and hurled him back across the floor.
He slid to a stop, coughing blood. His sword trembled in his grip, but he didn’t release it.
Yuxin spun her fan, launching another cyclone—FWOOOM! Petal-blades tore into the cords, holding them at bay. She yelled, "If this is phase two, I don’t want to know what phase three looks like!"
The cracked core pulsed harder, brighter, like it was laughing at her words.
The giant husk shrieked again, and from the floor, more tendrils erupted—this time wrapping around its own body. They dragged it down into the glass, halfway submerged. The surface boiled with light.
Then it rose again.
Phase three.
Its entire body had fused with the core. The altar was gone. The husk was taller now, towering like a demon statue, its mask split into four jagged pieces glowing red. The cords weren’t just tethers anymore—they were wings, stretching out behind it like black sails.
The floor cracked wide open. Beneath the glass was not emptiness but a swirling abyss of pale light, like a trapped sea of souls. Screams echoed from below, each one feeding into the monster’s roar.
ROOOOOAR!
The sound shook loose stone from the ceiling.
Tian Lei wiped blood from his mouth and pushed himself upright. "This is it."
Yuxin landed beside him, fan trembling in her hand. She forced a smile. "No pressure."
The monster spread its wings and dove.
WHOOOOSH—BOOOOM!
The impact nearly threw them off their feet. The cords lashed in every direction, smashing stone, cutting the air with shrill WHIPCRACKS.
Tian Lei charged. His blade flashed left and right—SHHKKT! SHHKKT!—cutting cords as they swung at him. He leapt, driving straight toward the monster’s chest where the core pulsed through its ribcage.
The husk caught him mid-air. One massive hand clamped around his torso.
CRUNCH—!
Pain shot through him. His sword slipped for half a breath. The monster raised him high, ready to smash him into the ground.
"Lei!" Yuxin’s voice cracked.
She thrust both hands forward, fan glowing bright. "Tempest Burst!"
KAAAAA—THOOOOOM!
A tornado of wind slammed into the monster’s arm, shredding the cords that made up its muscles. The grip loosened just enough—Tian Lei dropped free.
He hit the ground on his knees, rolled, and came up with his blade. His breathing was ragged, but his eyes were steady.
The core throbbed inside the monster’s chest, each pulse sending another wave of cords whipping out.
"Yuxin." His voice was low but clear. "Pin it down."
She stared at him. "That’ll kill you if you get too close."
"Not if I strike once."
The monster roared again, wings spreading, cords tightening like a net.
Yuxin snapped her fan shut, bit her lip, then nodded. "Fine. One shot."
She slammed her fan to the floor.
BOOOOOOM—!
A cyclone ripped outward, wrapping around the monster’s legs, cords, wings—binding them in slicing winds. The husk fought against it, shrieking, but the cyclone held for just a few seconds.
Tian Lei moved.
His blade ignited with pale light, brighter than before. His steps shook the floor as he sprinted straight at the monster.
The husk tore at the cyclone, its mask splitting wider. Cords lashed out desperately.
SHHK! SHHK! SHHK!
Each one fell to Tian Lei’s sword.
He leapt. Higher. Straight at the glowing core in its chest.
The world slowed. His blade came down.
CRRRAAAACK—!
The core shattered.
The monster screamed one last time as its body unraveled into light and smoke. The cords snapped and dissolved, the abyss beneath the glass sealed shut in a flash of blinding white.
Then silence.
Tian Lei landed hard, his blade buried in the glass floor. His shoulders heaved, but he stayed standing.
Yuxin limped toward him, hair wild, fan bent, but a grin on her face. "One shot, huh? ...You’re insane."
He exhaled once. "...But alive."
The chamber began to collapse.
Yuxin snapped her fan open again. "Then let’s stay that way. Time to go."
They ran as the black glass cracked and fell away, the last echoes of screams fading into silence behind them.