Chapter 81: Premature Birth

A shudder ran through the hooded figure from Selwyn. He hadn't sensed any movement despite the close range; the Aleisterre traitor had been instantly killed, torn in half in a grisly manner.

Instinctively retreating, the hooded man summoned his fighting spirit. He quickly drew a finely crafted enchanted longsword from the scabbard at his waist. Adit's fear grew as he stared into those malicious blood-red eyes. What in the world was that creature? A "blessed vampire"?

Those blood-colored eyes, devoid of human emotion, radiated pure malice—not the kind of evil born from human intelligence and desire, but an innate, natural hostility toward the entire world.

Though it was called a "vampire," it was closer to the concept of a demon, a demon of blood.

"Damn it, what are the researchers back home doing? How could an offshoot of Erphine turn into this? Wasn't it supposed to be a benevolent life-giver? How could it create something so inherently malevolent? Has it gone mad?"

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Adit's temple. The coughing and the thuds of his subordinates collapsing behind him snapped him out of his shock and confusion.

Behind him, a hooded subordinate coughed violently, struggling to speak. "Captain, what's going on with this gas—ahem, ahem!—It's unbearable... It's getting stronger, and soon—ahem, ahem!—we might not make it—ugh!"

Adit was the leader of this infiltration team from Selwyn. Their ultimate goal was to sow chaos in Aleisterre's capital, destabilizing the city to pave the way for future plans targeting Aleisterre.

Adit's subordinate coughed even harder, blood splattering from his throat and staining the mask of his hood crimson. The suffocating stench of blood began to mix with the acrid odor of chlorine gas filling the space.

Adit exhaled, regaining some composure as the blood-red tumor showed no further movement. Even so, the suffocating gas and searing pain in his lungs made it increasingly difficult to think clearly.

Lubi's claim that the Selwynians' strongest fighter was an advanced knight was technically accurate. What Wang Yu and the others didn't know was that he was the only fighter of the group. The others were Selwynian researchers—mostly alchemists—who had snuck into Aleisterre to conduct their experiments. Their physical capabilities were only slightly above those of ordinary people.

Now, with their Aleisterre contact torn in half, there was no way to proceed with the plan or gather further information. The entire operation was as good as doomed.

A glance at the thickening yellow-green gas filling the area made it clear that someone outside was actively pumping it in. It wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Adit didn't know exactly what this substance was, but its effects were obvious from the researchers' pained groans and bloody coughs.

Soon, these researchers would be beyond saving. Even the advanced knight Adit wouldn't last long against this combination of suffocation and corrosion.

Ignoring the hooded man who had collapsed to the ground gasping for breath, Adit turned his gaze back to the blood-red tumor.

After dragging half of the Aleisterre traitor's corpse into itself and devouring it, the tumor had gone still once more.

It hadn't moved when Adit and the Aleisterre contact first observed it, even as they exchanged taunts. Why had it suddenly activated?

On closer inspection, Adit noticed signs of corrosion on the tumor's surface. The yellow-green gas had condensed into small droplets that were eating into the tumor, leaving it pockmarked and uneven.

Inside the semi-transparent tumor, streams of blood could be seen rushing to repair the corroded surface and restoring it to its original smooth state.

That had to be the reason—the gas was the problem. The tumor desperately needed something to heal itself. Left unchecked, the corrosive gas would kill it just as it would kill them.

The vampire's instincts drove it to seek blood for self-repair, and the nearest source had been the Aleisterre traitor.

Realizing this, Adit sighed. The blood tumor, which the Aleisterre contact had described as a source of new life, was unlikely to survive intact.

Even the "premature offspring" filled him with fear. If the Aleisterre researchers were correct, and the tumor had been allowed to fully mature with sufficient blood supply, what kind of terrifying entity would it have birthed? Disrupting the capital would have been child's play for such a creature.

But now, with the gas concentration increasing, a premature birth looked like the only option. Still...

Adit glanced at his subordinates, most of whom were already succumbing to the toxic air. His expression turned cold. At the very least, he needed to ensure the creature wasn't stillborn. He had to see what kind of monstrosity Aleisterre's experiments had created.

One hooded subordinate, barely able to breathe, began crawling desperately toward the sewer exit. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose, mingling with tears and snot from the pain and suffocation.

He clung to a single thought: escape meant survival. "Just get there... Just get to the exit..." The sewer exit was only twenty meters away, just around the corner. His survival instinct overrode all rational thought; he didn't care where the gas came from or if anyone was lying in wait outside.

Suddenly, a hand clamped onto his shoulder and hauled him up. The hooded man turned in shock to see Adit, who had recognized the insignia of a door on his hood. Relief filled the hooded man.

"Captain! Let's get out of here..." Amidst intermittent coughing, the hooded man clung onto Adit. It would be trivial for an advanced knight like Adit to bring them both out of the sewers.

"Apologies, but the Abyssal Gate does not tolerate failure—not before all other methods are expended." Adit's eyes, cold and unfeeling beneath his mask, reflected no emotion. Before his subordinate could respond, Adit snapped his neck in a single swift motion.

Adit dragged the corpse over to the blood-red tumor and threw it onto the writhing mass. Sensing a new offering, the tumor's surface rippled like liquid, sending out tendrils to pull the body in.

Expressionless, Adit methodically repeated the process, killing each surviving team member and feeding their corpses to the tumor.

A mountain of bodies soon surrounded the blood-red tumor, each face frozen in agony and despair. Blood oozed from their mouths and noses, creating a hellish scene that would leave anyone who saw it shaken to their core.

"Damn it. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was going insane. Still... this tumor really is impressive. You're going to create something strong enough not to disappoint me, aren't you?"

Casting one last glance at the grotesque tumor, Adit turned and walked deeper into the sewers, seeking to escape the thickening chlorine gas. Whatever emerged from the tumor would surely plunge the city into chaos.

What Adit didn't know was that something unique to Aleisterre had already been triggered in this hellish scene. The despair and hatred concentrated in this place had awakened a presence tied to the capital's shadow—a maddening intent now seeping into the sewers.

Unnoticed, a twisted smile crept onto Adit's lips, and the searing pain in his lungs faded away.

Some who were mired in the abyss's depths still believed that they stood far from it. Adit's fate would soon diverge from his expectations.

Meanwhile, the blood-red tumor began to pulse like a heart. The surrounding bodies shriveled into husks as their blood was completely absorbed.

Though the creature within was still premature, its malice was no less terrifying. Crimson, batlike wings emerged from the tumor. Blood-red eyes, brimming with pure malice, fixated on the sewer exit, beyond which lay even more blood...