Not even a second had passed after Arya raised her hand.
Then the first Crawler Monster moved.
It surged through the crowd with terrifying speed, its gray body twisting like a serpent across the wooden floor. No one had time to react. One of the survivors standing near the crates turned too late—
But the claws were faster.
A single thrust. The long claws sank into his chest and punched through his body as if it were paper. His eyes widened in shock—then his body collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Screams erupted through the shop.
The other monster... did not move.
The Rank D Crawler stood still for a moment, its deformed head tilting slowly as it observed the terrified humans.
Then, without warning—
It jumped.
Not toward the people.
Toward the wall.
CRACK!
Its claws sank deep into the wood, latching on with unnatural ease, as if gravity meant nothing to it. In the next instant, its body began crawling up the wall like a massive spider lying in wait above its prey, its long limbs shifting with unsettling speed.
"It's on the wall! Look—it's above us!" a man shouted, his voice strangled with terror as he stumbled backward into the equipment crates. Heads turned with animal instinct toward the ceiling, where the monster moved with horrifying agility, making the wooden planks tremble and sending dust sifting down onto their heads. In a heartbeat, its body was pressed flat against the wooden beams above them, crawling between them in terrible silence.
Everyone was already drained from the previous fight—breaths ragged, bodies spent, hands trembling.
Over a child's sobbing from the corner, people surged deeper into the shop, retreating blindly—colliding with crates, slamming into walls. A voice thick with venom and panic ripped through the crowd. A man who had been shaking moments before thrust a trembling finger toward Cam and screamed:
"Where are you now, 'strongest one'?! Didn't you say you were the leader?! Weren't you the one strutting around giving orders this whole time?! Now save us! Do something, you coward!"
The voices rose, demanding he move, demanding he save them.
In that moment... the cracks in humanity showed clearly. The false respect for Cam curdled into fury and desperate accusation.
As for Cam—the scene had pushed him past his breaking point. He stood frozen. His metal baton trembled in his grip, its blue glow wavering like a candle flame in a gale. The exhaustion gnawing at his body from the earlier battle, coupled with the shock of seeing the monster's Rank—D—had left him unable to take a single step forward. His eyes were nailed to the crawling creature. Cold sweat sheeted his pale face.
At the same moment, Uncle Jad tried to stand. He braced a shaking hand on a tilted iron shelf, his body swaying from the total depletion of his Spirit. His face was ashen, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He spoke in a hoarse, exhausted rasp:
"Don't let it move freely... If it jumps from the ceiling, we're all dead here."
But even as he said it, it was clear to everyone—Jad no longer had enough energy to do a thing. He looked like he was fighting just to stay on his feet. He didn't have the strength left to shift a single nail.
A heavy silence sank down after his words.
Then a trembling, mocking voice burst from the crowd:
"You see? Even the old man's finished."
Slowly, eyes turned toward Cam. Some brimming with desperate hope. Others... with accusation.
Cam's fist clenched around the metal baton so hard his knuckles went white. That man's words from moments ago were still ringing in his ears.
Coward.
His face tightened.
"Shut up..." he muttered, low.
But no one went quiet. A child kept crying. A woman kept repeating in a terrified whisper, "We're going to die... we're going to die right here..."
And directly above them, the shadow moved.
The Rank D Crawler Monster crept across the wooden beams with slow, deliberate patience, its red eyes studying the humans below like a hunter selecting its prey.
Something inside Cam snapped.
Or maybe it ignited.
He screamed suddenly:
"I said—SHUT UP!"
And in the next instant, he exploded forward.
Spiritual energy surged through his arms. His muscles swelled slightly as the blue glow around his metal baton flared brighter. He charged at the wall, then launched himself upward, swinging with everything he had at the monster.
The baton tore through the air with devastating momentum—
But the monster was faster.
Before the blow could connect, its gray body slid along the wall like a living shadow, evading the strike with terrifying ease.
Cam's attack smashed into nothing but wood.
"Damn it!"
He didn't even have time to draw breath. The monster moved—faster than the eye could track—descending from the wall in a gray blur. Its long claws punched into Cam's shoulder.
"Agh—!"
The blow sent him hurtling backward. His body skidded across the wooden floor and slammed into a metal crate with a sick, heavy sound.
Gasps of shock tore from the crowd.
"It threw him!" someone screamed.
Cam tried to rise. Fast. Anger burned hotter in his chest than the pain. He snatched up his baton and staggered back to his feet.
"Come on, then!" he bellowed, lifting his head toward the ceiling.
The monster was above him again, shifting between the wooden beams like a creature born of shadow, its red eyes gleaming.
Cam tensed every muscle in his arm and lunged forward.
And the instant the monster passed above him—
He struck the ceiling with all the force he had left.
BAM!
Wood splintered. Fragments showered into the air.
But...
Nothing.
The monster was gone.
Cam froze. His eyes went wide as he searched the shadows.
Then—
It materialized behind him, as if it had stepped out of the darkness itself.
"Behind you!" a survivor screamed.
But the claws were already moving.
One strike.
It carved through the air and drove into Cam's back before hurling him forward with brutal force. His body shot across the floor and crashed down harder than before.
His baton spun away from him, out of reach.
A terrifying silence spread for one long second. People stared at the scene, faces bloodless. Someone whispered, voice trembling:
"It's... playing with him."
Another man spoke, barely audible, thick with dread:
"This thing... isn't just strong."
His eyes lifted toward the ceiling, where the shadow shifted once more.
"...It's fast."
Above the wooden beams, the Crawler Monster moved between shadows with unhurried patience—like a hunter who knew its prey had nowhere left to run.
---
Cam was trying to get up.
His hands shook as he pushed against the wooden floor. His chest heaved violently. Blood was seeping from the gashes the monster's claws had left in his shoulder and back. Every movement sent a sharp spike of agony through his body.
He reached for his fallen baton—but his fingers stopped short. He tried to summon his Spiritual Power, Iron Body, to boost his strength...
But he had nothing left.
He collapsed to his knees again. His breath came in broken bursts, his eyes raised toward the ceiling where the gray shadow still crawled among the beams.
This time... he said nothing.
Across the shop, despair was spreading. Slow and cold.
One man sat on the floor, staring into nothing.
A woman clutched her trembling child to her chest as if she could hide him from the world.
Even Hussam and Samer, still gripping their weapons, didn't step forward.
Everyone understood the truth now.
This monster... was beyond them.
---
But monsters don't wait.
With a sudden scraping sound, the Rank E Crawler Monster surged through the crowd once more. Its gray body slid across the floor at speed before launching itself toward a survivor retreating near the shelves.
The man turned too late.
His eyes went wide as the long claws shot toward him.
There was no time to run.
The claws drove toward his head—
And never reached it.
Because in that moment...
The Shadow moved beneath Arya's feet.
Darkness spread across the floor like a pool of ink, then rippled once.
And from within it—
A black creature leaped.
A cat.
But not an ordinary cat.
Twice the size of a normal one. Its fur was the black of a moonless night. Its eyes burned with cold violet light. Its long claws unsheathed in midair as it shot forward like a dark bolt.
"Hsssssh—!"
The cat streaked past the monster in one blinding motion.
A brief, suspended silence...
Then the Crawler Monster's head split open with a deep, bloody line. Its body collapsed to the ground, motionless, and began dissolving into gray dust—leaving behind a Core Shard and scattered bronze coins.
The familiar blue system panel flared before Arya's eyes.
---
[Target Eliminated: Crawler Monster — Rank E]
[Experience Gained: +10 XP]
[Reward: 7 Bronze Coins]
[Material Drop: Core Shard — Rank E]
---
Silence struck the shop like a physical blow.
Everyone froze where they stood.
Cam lifted his head slowly from the ground, his eyes widening as he stared at the black creature now standing in front of Arya. Its tail moved in a slow sweep across the wooden planks.
"Y... you...?!"
As for Uncle Jad—
His eyes narrowed as he studied the Shadow Cat... then looked at the shadow pooled at Arya's feet from which it had emerged.
The remains of the Rank E monster still lay scattered on the floor.
The Shadow Cat stood above them. Its claws, stained dark with blood, rested on the wooden planks. Its tail drifted slowly. Its violet eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
And above...
The Rank D Crawler Monster stopped moving.
Its red eyes narrowed as it stared at the black creature below... then shifted slowly to the girl standing behind it.
Arya.
For one taut moment, a heavy silence held.
Then the monster moved.
Its gray body shot across the wooden beams with terrifying speed, claws gouging the wood as it crawled between shadows like a colossal spider.
Dust sifted from the ceiling.
One of the survivors lifted his head and gasped in horror:
"It's moving!"
The Shadow Cat dropped low instantly, ears flattening against its skull like a predator bracing to strike.
The people were still staring at the scene in stunned disbelief.
One of them whispered, voice shaking:
"Is... is that a summon...?"
But the monster didn't wait.
It leaped from the ceiling.
It plummeted straight toward Arya, long claws extended to tear her apart.
In the same split second—
The Shadow Cat launched itself upward. A black flash.
The two bodies collided in midair.
Claws clashed with a sharp, ringing shriek before both forms slammed into the ground.
BAM!
They rolled across the wooden floor and broke apart.
The Crawler Monster crouched low, a predator poised.
The Shadow Cat stood directly in front of Arya. Its black fur bristled, violet eyes blazing in the darkness.
And so... the real battle began.
---
The Shadow Cat struck first.
Its dark body shot across the floor like a black bolt, claws reaching for the monster's throat.
But—
The monster was faster than Arya had calculated.
In a heartbeat, its gray body twisted aside, claws raking the ground as it coiled away from the attack.
Then it struck back.
"Hssssh!"
Its long claws drove toward the cat, tearing across the side of its black body.
The cat sprang backward instantly—but it didn't retreat. In a snap of motion, it lunged again, claws shredding the air.
This time, the blow landed.
The cat's claws tore through the skin of the monster's arm. Thick black blood splattered across the wooden floor.
The monster roared.
But instead of retreating—
It leaped.
Its body launched at the wall. Claws sank into the wood with effortless grip. It began crawling upward with horrifying speed.
Up the wall.
Across the ceiling.
Then—
It dropped.
It landed directly on the cat, claws driving downward.
BAM!
The cat tumbled across the floor before scrambling away at the last instant.
But the blow had left a clear wound in its shadowy body.
The fight ground on. The cat was fast. But the monster... was faster. A leap. A crawl across the wall. Vanishing into the shadows beneath the shelves. Then a sudden attack from an impossible angle.
Every time the monster surged forward to strike, the cat used that instant to leave a new wound in its hide.
But every time...
It took a wound in return.
Arya stood watching the battle, her eyes steady and cold.
Her mind was racing.
It's using the shadows to move...
The monster wasn't just fighting. It was hunting. Disappearing into shadow... then reappearing from nowhere.
The cat took another hit.
It fell back a step.
In that moment, the system panel flared before Arya's eyes.
Spirit value... dropping.
Every wound the cat absorbed was slowly draining her Spirit.
Her hand tightened.
If this fight continued like this...
Her Spirit would run dry before the monster fell.
Without warning—
The monster surged forward. Its claws smashed into the cat and drove it hard into the ground.
This time, the cat retreated clearly.
And the monster stood before it. Its deformed jaw split open into something that resembled a smile.
Behind them, Jad tried to intervene.
With agonizing effort, he raised his hand and launched a small piece of metal at the monster.
It struck its body—
But the impact was pitifully weak.
Hussam tried too. He lifted his axe and hurled it with every last drop of strength he had.
The monster sidestepped with ease.
The axe slammed into the wooden floor, far from its mark.
The help they could offer... was barely anything.
The fight ground on.
The cat fought.
The monster vanished. Struck. Vanished again.
And the Spirit...
Kept dropping.
Arya stood there, issuing silent commands through the link in her mind.
Fight.
Move left.
Jump.
But the truth was written in front of her.
This way... they would not win.
---
Arya closed her eyes for a moment.
A thought of escape passed through her mind.
If she ran now... she might survive.
But—
She looked at the people behind her.
The child.
The exhausted survivors.
The faces that were beginning to understand they might die here.
If she fled... they would die.
Another question slipped into her mind.
Even if they weren't here...
Would I run every time I face real danger?
If I always run... will I ever become stronger?
Silence.
Then only one thought remained.
So... what do I do?
And in that moment—
Something happened inside her.
Cold.
The ember that had been trembling in her chest... went out.
The emotions vanished.
The fear.
The hesitation.
The despair.
All of it... stilled.
Text bloomed before her eyes.
---
[Psychological Effect: Devilish Cold — Activated.]
---
Arya opened her eyes.
The violet light in them had deepened.
But there was no fear there now.
No hesitation.
Only...
Quiet, absolute cold.
---19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhavIHvX0Ry
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