Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 67: Blackstampede Horror

Chapter 67: Blackstampede Horror

Just like that, only a handful of Hollows remained, less than one third of their original numbers. Some snarled in anger and tensed their bodies to charge, while others skittered backward, uncertain.

Whatever the case may be, their empty eyes seemed to be glowing with a great deal of resentment and hatred for the intruders who had

Klaus exhaled and flicked off the blood on his sword.

"Briar, how much control do you have left over that thing?"

The demoness vision became a little blurry and gritted her teeth. Clearly, she was gradually reaching her limit.

"Not much. Also, it’s falling apart. I would give it another minute at best."

Hearing so, a sadistic smile appeared on Klaus’s lips.

"That’s all I need."

He then turned his gaze to the remaining Hollows and pointed his blade toward them. That sword seemed to be challenging the essence of their existence.

"Let’s finish this."

With one final command, Briar forced the Plague Ravager forward, sending it straight into the enemy’s ranks like a living battering ram. The wounded, dying creature lashed out wildly and used its venom-coated mandibles to tear through anything in its path. The Hollows screeched in response and attacked it with mindless rage.

And while they were distracted, Klaus moved in.

He weaved between the chaos and his blade became a flash of silver as he cut down the remaining monsters one by one. Heads rolled. Limbs were severed. In just a few moments, cavern floor became slick with blackened blood.

And then, at last, silence.

The final Hollow experienced a clean decapitation, its severed head tumbling to the ground before the body swayed unsteadily and collapsed with a heavy thud. As for the mind-controlled Plague Ravager, it could no longer sustain itself after enduring countless gruesome injuries. Half of its eight scythe-like legs were shattered, twisted at unnatural angles, while deep cracks marred its thick carapace, each seeping dark, viscous blood.

One of its massive pincers was missing entirely, torn away at the shoulder, leaving behind a gaping wound. The creature twitched weakly as its remaining limbs scraped against the cavern floor in a final, futile struggle for survival.

But it was pointless.

The light in its dull, pinkish eyes flickered before fading completely. With one last shudder, the Hollow crumpled into a lifeless husk.

" —! Hah! —! Hah! —!"

Briar exhaled heavily and staggered uncontrollably. Just before she could collapse, Klaus swiftly caught her with his firm hands.

His brows knitted in concern as he asked,

"Are you alright?"

Lightheaded and breathless, the demoness managed a faint reply.

"I’m fine... I just pushed... myself harder than I expected. Just... give me a moment... to catch my breath..."

Klaus let out a sigh of relief before breaking into a laugh.

"Ha ha! I’m glad you’re alright. Everything worked out in the end, right?"

"That was a stupid plan."

"Do you hate it?"

Surprisingly, Briar shook her head and smirked.

"I don’t hate it. In fact, I had fun."

"You had fun?"

"Yeah! That was the most fun I’ve had in a while! If possible, I want to do it again and again!"

He blinked. Why was she suddenly so energetic? Did she really enjoy herself that much?

A normal person would definitely call her insane. Then again, she was a member of the demon race, so comparing her to a human was pointless. Even so, there was something about her smile that made Klaus feel a certain way.

At this moment, she looked just like a normal girl.

For a brief second, an odd tension filled the air (or maybe it was just his imagination). Realizing this, Klaus let go and helped Briar stand on her feet.

Looking around, the fruits of their hard work were evident, laid bare for all to see. The mangled bodies of the Plague Ravagers were strewn across the cavern like discarded trash.

It was certainly an impressive feat!

Most Aspirants wouldn’t have been able to achieve the same result, even if they joined forces. Yet, the two of them had managed it alone. If Klaus were to tell anyone, they wouldn’t believe him. No... he couldn’t tell anyone, not unless he wanted to reveal the existence of a second party, Briar. And that wasn’t happening.

Of course, he couldn’t say that he did it himself since that was even more absurd than the last.

Damn. I can’t even brag about this. That’s really unfortunate.

Perhaps there truly was an existence like the Goddess of Misfortune after all.

He sighed.

Facing the demoness, he said, "Let’s start extracting all of their Spirit Cores while we have the chance."

Briar nodded absentmindedly.

"Ah... let’s do that. This place is making me uncomfortable."

With that, they moved swiftly to extract the Spirit Cores from the fallen Plague Ravagers. Well, it was mostly Klaus who did the work, as he was the only one between them who had a blade.

† †

After successfully extracting 50 Spirit Cores from the fallen Plague Ravagers, Klaus divided them equally between himself and Briar.

An argument could be made that the demoness had been the main contributor in this battle and that would be true. Certainly, without her Mind Control Mysticism, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against the Shrouded Monsters with his own measly strength.

However, the same argument could be made for him as well. He had prevented the Hollows from reaching Briar. Her mind control wasn’t omnipotent, after all. There was no way she could have lasted in the fight on her own.

Thinking about something foolish, he briefly wondered if it was possible for a Succubus to get impregnated by a Hollow, before quickly shaking the thought away.

Surely, such a thing shouldn’t be possible... right?

In the end, both Klaus and Briar collected their share — twenty-five Spirit Cores each — and swiftly absorbed the essence within them.

[Aether Fragments: 25 / 1000]

’Yes. I finally made progress in this regard.’

A pleased smile spread across Klaus’s face. To ascend to the next progression, one required a divine relic known as the "Baptismous Slate", which could only be obtained by gathering Spirit Cores. In simple terms, accumulating the right amount of Spirit Cores allowed a Strider to ascend to a Lancer, then an Inquisitor, and eventually, a Saint.

It was a straightforward yet tedious process of Ascension.

The conversion process usually takes place within a person’s individual Soul World and once they leave the Shadow Realm, they would acquire the necessary energy to ascend to the next stage, Lancer. When that happens, his [Shrouded Core] would transform into an [Awakened Core] and he then would receive his Second Mysticism Ability.

How could one not be excited?!

Needless to say, he needed to find more Spirit Cores, and the only way to do that was by hunting more monsters. But he did wonder why the chaos runes displayed "Aether Fragments" instead of "Spirit Fragments." Was this the case of a different chaos translation?

Somehow managing to contain his excitement, Klaus glanced at Briar just as she absorbed the essence from the last Spirit Core. Moments later, it faded into nothing.

I wonder what her second Mysticism Ability would be.

Noticing the demoness opening her eyes, Klaus’s expression turned somber as he addressed her.

"Are you done? Let’s get out of here."

"Yes. I’m coming."

Saying that, Briar dusted off her clothes and followed after Klaus.

The two entered the massive passage ahead. Recalling the lessons he had learned from Teacher Rex, Klaus reminded himself that when exploring an unknown cavern, one must always consider the humidity and wind direction.

With this in mind, whenever they encountered multiple paths, he would choose the one with the strongest airflow and coldest breeze. This ensured they were gradually making their way toward an exit.

As they ventured deeper, the air grew damp and cold, accompanied by the faint, flickering glow of bioluminescent fungi clinging to the rough walls. These fungi were unique to the Shadow Realm. Far from ordinary plants, they were, in truth, parasitic organisms.

It was strange. How was parasitic organisms able to grow in a world that was supposed to be dead?

The research team had already discovered this phenomenon but quickly lost interest since they couldn’t take it back to Earth for further study and examination. What a shame.

Throughout the way, they encountered other Plague Ravagers, but they weren’t as numerous as the first group. They swiftly cut them down and harvested their spirit cores. It seemed this cavern served as a territory for those particular Hollows, perhaps a unique habitat.

If that was the case, it made sense why so many of them were lurking all over the place. Reaching that conclusion, Klaus and Briar decided to change their strategy.

Since they couldn’t afford to fight their way through continuously, they opted to sneak past instead by using a distraction. However, Klaus quickly noticed a major problem.

Briar couldn’t be stealthy.

No, that wasn’t completely correct. No matter how sneaky she was, the Plague Ravagers would always turn their heads in her direction, discover her, and then charge straight at her. It was as if they possessed a unique sensor that allowed them to detect the demoness automatically. Thinking about it, the same thing had happened when the first group of Hollows passed their hiding spot.

This had led them into more unnecessary fights than they had planned for, forcing Klaus to reconsider the issue.

After a moment of thought and careful review, he soon realized that the root of the problem lay fundamentally within Briar herself.

She was a Succubus. From his experience, succubi unconsciously released aphrodisiac pheromones that affected those around them. This seemed to apply to Hollows as well, except instead of becoming aroused, they became bloodlusted. He had suspected this back when they were living together, but now his suspicions were confirmed.

Even so, he felt no satisfaction in being right and clicked his tongue in annoyance. To make matters worse, her passive trait, [Siren], only amplified the effect.

In other words, she might as well have been walking around with a massive sign on her back that said, "KICK ME!"

How were they supposed to conquer the Fracture with such a massive sign that constantly gave away their location?

At times like this, Klaus really hated being correct. This was pure misfortune. Given the circumstances, he had no choice but to explain the situation to Briar and have her remain inside his Soul World for the time being.

Exploring the Forsaken Cavern felt even more difficult now that he was by himself. Well, he wasn’t truly alone, but without a physical presence beside him, the loneliness was palpable. More importantly, avoiding Hollows had now become a necessity.

... At the very least, he didn’t have to worry someone constantly giving out his general location.

Hours passed. Due to his increased vigilance, Klaus’s progress slowed down considerably. What’s worse, the further he reached out of the cavern, the more confusing and entangled the paths became. It was difficult to choose between two identical paths.

If he couldn’t find a way out soon, he would eventually by surrounded by some unknown terror.

’C’mon! There should be a path out.’

Still determined, Klaus quickened his pace. After repeatedly entering, exploring, and retreating time and time again while arguing with Briar about where to go, he eventually arrived at another open space. Unlike the previous area, this one was far more spacious and strangely devoid of any Hollows.

Looking up, he spotted a massive hole through which the faint illumination of the outside world seeped in. Without a doubt, that was the exit and there were no other openings in sight.

’Yes! Yes! Yes! I finally found the damn exit out of this hellhole! Hey, Briar! Do you see that? C’mon, c’mon, say it. Say I was right all along!’

’I have nothing to say about that.’

’Heh. I wonder if that’s something for a demoness to say.’

’Just shut up and climb up alright! I’m tired of this stinky place as it is!’

’You don’t have to tell me twice.’

With a satisfied smile, he moved forward without delay. Several massive pillars stretched upward, providing a path to the opening above. Thanks to Teacher Rex, his climbing skills were well-honed, so failure due to inexperience or lack of stamina wasn’t a concern.

Everything had been going too well, and for that reason, he let his guard down slightly. His arrogance played a part as well; after all his exclusive preparations, physical prowess, and heightened senses, Klaus subconsciously assumed everything would be fine.

He truly believed it.

That was why he failed to sense the lurking presence rapidly approaching and why he was a fraction too late to react.

In the blink of an eye, the ground quaked beneath him as a towering figure surged from the shadows and charged straight for his back, threatening to deliver a devastating blow and pierce right through his chest at once.