Chapter 97: From The Ground Are Shadow Limbs

The creature rose to its full height.

And then it smiled.

The sight alone was enough to make Leo uncomfortable. Not because the smile was terrifying, but because it looked wrong. The creature had no mouth. Yet somehow the dozens of eyes covering its face curved slightly, creating the illusion of a smile. The effect lasted only a moment before the eyes returned to normal.

The creature did not attack immediately or mindlessly.

The trio also didn’t rush forward.

For a few seconds, both sides simply observed one another. Leo could feel the pressure in the clearing increasing little by little. The distortion was gone, yet the influence remained. It sat in the air like an invisible fog. The Shell of Dread continued suppressing it, but he could tell the creature was actively probing their minds.

Then the creature tilted its head. The eyes blinked.

Every tree around the clearing suddenly shook.

Leo’s instincts kicked in. "Move."

The three of them scattered immediately.

A second later, dozens of black limbs erupted from the ground where they had been standing. The limbs looked similar to the ones they had encountered earlier, except these were thicker and much faster. They punched through the earth before twisting through the air like snakes searching for prey. One of them smashed into a nearby tree and tore it apart completely.

Nightwalker appeared first. His sword flashed and three limbs fell apart instantly.

Lucien followed behind him and struck another one with his palm, causing cracks to spread through the black surface before it shattered completely.

Leo did not rush the creature. Instead, he calmed himself to observe the abomination firsthand before attacking.

The limbs were coming from the creature, but not directly. They emerged from shadows connected to the creature’s feet. That meant the attacks were extensions rather than independent summons.

The information was useful more than it seemed.

The Yielding Spine separated again.

Several blade fragments floated around Leo while he dodged another strike. One segment pierced a limb from the side while another severed it completely. The shadow recoiled immediately.

The creature did not seem bothered.

More limbs replaced the destroyed ones.

"Great," Leo muttered. "One of those."

The eyes blinked again, then the shadows expanded. This time they spread across the clearing itself.

The ground and treees darkened remembering Leo of Shadow Embrace back at the Seek but he immediately discarded the thoughts.

Nightwalker frowned. "Don’t touch the shadows."

Nobody needed further explanation.

The creature’s ability was becoming clearer now. Distortion was only part of it. The eyes controlled perception while the shadows provided direct offense. Neither ability seemed overwhelmingly powerful alone, but together they made approaching it difficult.

Nightwalker suddenly vanished, the ground beneath him exploded. In less than a second he crossed half the clearing and appeared directly in front of the creature.

His sword descended but the creature reacted immediately. Several shadow limbs crossed together to block.

The sword struck the limbs causing a deafening impact to echo through the clearing.

The shadows shattered apart.

The creature itself was launched backward, crashing through multiple trees before finally stopping.

Leo blinked.

That single strike had covered more distance than anything Nightwalker had shown before.

The silver-haired man did not chase. Instead, he remained where he was and narrowed his eyes.

"Interesting."

The creature slowly stood. Several of its eyes had burst apart from the attack. Dark liquid flowed down its face.

Yet moments later the damaged eyes regenerated.

Leo clicked his tongue. "So it heals too."

The creature tilted its head again , then something changed. The pressure inside the clearing increased sharply.

The mental attacks became stronger – much stronger. This time the Shell of Dread did not erase them instantly. For the briefest moment, Leo saw the clearing disappear. Nightwalker was gone. Lucien was gone. The creature was gone. Only endless darkness remained around him. Then the vision vanished and Leo found himself standing exactly where he had been before. His heart skipped a beat. That had not been an ordinary illusion. The thing was becoming serious.

Nearby, Lucien’s expression tightened slightly, and Leo immediately knew he had experienced something similar. Even Nightwalker looked more focused than before. The creature had finally forced all three of them to acknowledge it as a real threat. The dozens of eyes across its face moved together before it took a single step forward.

The clearing immediately distorted. Distance stretched, trees shifted, and although the creature remained standing in the same place, it somehow appeared closer than before.

Nightwalker moved first again, but this time he did not attack. Instead, he slowly circled the creature while keeping his sword ready. Lucien mirrored him from the opposite side without needing a word. Leo immediately understood what they were doing. They needed information. Rushing blindly against an unknown enemy was stupid, especially one capable of manipulating perception itself. The creature watched them quietly. It did not attack. The eyes followed Nightwalker, then Lucien, then Leo before moving back again, as if deciding which one to kill first. Unfortunately for it, Leo was doing the same thing. The more he observed, the more details he noticed.

The eyes across its face were not equal. Some were larger than the others. Some remained open longer. Some appeared more active. A possibility immediately entered his mind. The creature’s abilities might not originate from every eye equally. Certain eyes could be more important than the rest. A weakness perhaps, or at least something worth testing.

"Nightwalker," Leo called.

The silver-haired man did not look away from the creature.

"What?"

"The larger eyes."

Nightwalker understood immediately, which once again reminded Leo how absurdly experienced the man was.

The creature seemed to realize something as well. Several of the larger eyes shifted toward Leo at once. The pressure around him increased sharply and the shadows beneath his feet suddenly moved. Leo jumped backward just as a black spike erupted from the ground where he had been standing. Another followed immediately after, then another. The creature was targeting him now.

"Rude," Leo muttered.

While dashing sideways, he controlled the floating segments of the Yielding Spine. The detached fragments intercepted multiple spikes before they could reach him. More attacks emerged from the ground, but Leo only became more convinced. The creature clearly did not appreciate being analyzed. One of those larger eyes was important. Very important.

Lucien suddenly attacked. Golden Aura surged around his arm before his palm struck empty space. The creature instantly shifted backward. Leo’s eyes widened. The attack had not touched it, yet it still retreated. Since appearing, the creature finally reacted defensively.

Nightwalker noticed it too and smiled faintly, then he moved.

His sword swept horizontally and a massive wave of force crossed the clearing. The creature dodged while several trees behind it exploded apart. At the same time, the distortion around its body flickered briefly.

Only for a second, but that second was enough. Leo finally saw it. The creature’s true position. Not where it appeared. Not where the eyes suggested. Its actual body stood several meters away from where everyone thought it was. The realization almost made him laugh. The thing had been lying about its own location the entire time.

"No wonder," Leo muttered.

Lucien had clearly seen it too. Nightwalker immediately adjusted his direction and launched another strike toward the true location.

The creature looked surprised. Several eyes widened while the shadows surged violently around it. The attack missed by centimeters, but it still carved a deep wound across the creature’s shoulder. Dark blood splashed onto the ground and the creature staggered slightly.

Then the creature looked down at its wound.

The eyes slowly shifted toward the trio one after another.

The expressionless face somehow conveyed irritation. The wound slowly healed.

The creature might be strong but it wasn’t invincible. Leo immediately felt genuinely optimistic.

They could kill it. It won’t be easy but they’ll definitely kill it.

Unfortunately, the creature seemed to reach the same conclusion.

The dozens of eyes blinked together.

Far away in the forest, countless goblin screams suddenly echoed through the night.

Leo’s smile vanished.

The creature wasn’t planning to fight fairly.

"Damn, this ugly bastard!"