Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 78: Blood and Ashes

Chapter 78: Blood and Ashes

The blackish-gray sky loomed overhead, casting an ominous pall over the labyrinthine terrain. From above, a rain of blood descended, drenching the land in crimson. Within this sunless void, four silhouettes frantically sprinted across the mud. Actually, they were five If one were to count the ghoul with them.

From their tense expressions and desperate strides, it was painfully clear that their actions were driven by sheer urgency and fear. Behind them, a monstrous tide of blood surged forth in a great wave, threatening to swallow them whole.

’Shit! Shit! As I thought, my luck is really terrible!’

Klaus cursed under his breath.

Who could have anticipated that it would actually rain in this mysterious world? Not just that, a downpour of blood from the heavens. Looking up, one might truly believe the sky was bleeding. Or perhaps this was the lifeblood flowing from the gaping wound of some unknown monstrosity? Whatever the case, if they failed to reach their destination in time, they would be consumed by the crimson sea and drown in its depths.

By some stroke of luck, they managed to reach the great hill where Adrian and Seraphim had been staying. But now, another challenge stood before them, they had to climb to the top.

Without much time to think, they immediately began their ascent. The only one who lagged behind was the Blackmane Stalker, burdened by the corpse of the slain Scavenger. After a brief moment of deliberation, Briar ordered the tamed ghoul to abandon the corpse and carry her to the top instead. Since she was maintaining her human disguise, using her bat wings to fly would raise suspicion, making this the safest choice.

Abandoning their food was a waste, but starving for a few hours, or even days, was definitely far better than drowning in a sea of blood.

’Tch. Damn succubus. If you’re going to climb up using a helper then carry your master as well!’

Grumbling inwardly, Klaus could only click his tongue bitterly and watch as humanoid creature effortlessly carried Briar to the top. Meanwhile, he had no choice but to focus on his own climb. It was almost like watching a monkey scale a tree in real time. Speaking of animals, what exactly could he compare that monster to?

... Well, that wasn’t important.

Remembering his training from the Tactical Survival classes, he gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into the rough edges as he pulled his body upward. Climbing a mountain or a hill without tools wasn’t as easy as it looked. First of all, there were certain parts that the fingers couldn’t grab onto, particularly smooth surfaces. If one didn’t have the knowledge, the experience and more importantly, the strength and stamina to keep moving, they would either slip and fall or exhaust themselves before reaching the top.

Klaus knew this all too well, which was why he carefully distributed his weight with each movement, ensuring his grip was firm before pulling himself higher. More importantly, the thought of being swallowed by the crimson tide below served as grim motivation to keep climbing.

Jokes aside, the rate at which the blood tide was rising was alarming. It was gradually picking up speed, inching closer with every passing second.

Suddenly, a troubling thought crept into his mind. Would they truly be safe once they reached the top?

’Don’t think. Don’t think. Just climb. Don’t look down.’

Muttering that phrase over and over in his mind, he forced himself to focus solely on the next handhold with a breath, blocking out everything else.

Out of nowhere, he suddenly had an itching feeling to look down.

As he subconsciously did so, he spotted Seraphim making her way up the hill. Out of everyone, she was the only one lagging behind. Not because she was slow or anything of the sorts. She was fast in her own right, that’s for sure. But unlike the rest of the group, she was physically the weakest.

No, she was definitely higher than Briar in the physical department. But apart from the physically weak succubus, she was the weakest.

’At this rate, she won’t make it in time.’

What could he actually do about that?

After a bit of thinking, Klaus eventually arrived at a solution. With a deep breath, the young Strider made a daring move and rather than continuing upward, he began to climb back down.

Carefully lowering himself, he descended just enough to reach a suitable position. Satisfied, he secured his footing and tightened his grip on a sturdy ledge before stretching his free hand downwards towards Seraphim.

"Give me your hand!"

Momentarily stunned, perhaps from his act of kindness out of goodwill, Seraphim completely froze.

She hesitated for a second before finally reaching out and grasping his hand.

For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind. This would be the perfect opportunity to drop her into the rising tide. A single flick of his fingers, the sudden release of her hand, and she would plummet into the crimson depths below.

Yeah... that’s right.

Her life was completely in his hands.

A strong, vivid image had already formed inside his mind.

’The hell?! What’s with these intrusive thoughts?!’ Klaus thought, momentarily disturbed by his own mind.

Shaking his head, he pushed the dark idea aside and focused on the task at hand. With a firm grip, he used his incredible strength to pull Seraphim onto his back.

"Hold on tight," he instructed.

She gave a small nod before wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Adjusting her weight with one hand, Klaus wasted no time and began climbing at an impressive speed.

Mere moments later, the crimson tide surged upward, completely swallowing the spot they had just vacated. And it wasn’t stopping, it was still rising.

The metallic smell of blood dominated the air and reduced the air quality, making it thick and difficult to breathe.

Noticing the increasing flood, he swallowed and climbed onwards, with his muscles straining as he scaled the rugged terrain with Seraphim clinging tightly to his back like it was her last lifeline.

...Truthfully, it was.

Up above, the others had nearly reached the top. Briar, already perched on solid ground, peered down with mild curiosity. Adrian was next, hauling himself over the edge, while the Blackmane Stalker grabbed him and pulled him upwards.

Klaus gritted his teeth. Just a little more.

The moment he reached the final stretch, a deep rumble echoed through the sky. Then, as if the heavens themselves had been torn open, the downpour intensified. The rain of blood became a torrential flood, drenching everything in sight.

With his eyes widened, Adrian sharply cursed:

"Shit! It’s getting worse!"

Briar paled and shouted at him:

"Hey, hurry up! If you don’t move faster, you’re going to get caught and drown!"

"What do you think I’m doing, damnit! Stop shouting already!"

Despite shouting that, the demoness’ shout was exactly the last motivation he needed. Klaus reached up and grasped the final ledge. With a final push, he hoisted himself and Seraphim over the edge before collapsing onto the soaked ground with a heavy breath.

"Haah... haah... that was close," he muttered.

Seraphim quickly slid off his back, glancing down at the rising sea of blood below. Her expression was unreadable, but she didn’t say a word.

Even if she had wanted to speak, it would have been impossible.

And then, it happened.

A violent storm suddenly descended upon the crimson sea. The entire group braced themselves, preparing for the onslaught of crushing winds and blood-soaked rain.

The storm that erupted felt unnatural, as if the heavens themselves had risen in rebellion against the world below. The blood, which had been falling in a steady downpour, now poured down in torrents, battering the earth with relentless fury. The wind howled, slicing through the air like a razor. The very world seemed to tremble under the savage force of the storm.

If a religious person was here, they would have definitely said this was the judgement of the Gods.

Staying low and gripping the gap in the stone floor to prevent being blown off the edge of the mountain, Klaus gritted his teeth, bracing against the howling winds with nothing but his own body.

His gaze shifted slowly toward the group, and he could see the same tension etched across their faces.

Each of them seemed to be in a similar predicament. The Blackmane Stalker, using its powerful muscular arms, had gripped a prominent outcrop of the coral pillar, using its massive frame to shield the frail, disguised succubus, Briar. Adrian and Seraphim, like Klaus, stayed low, anchoring themselves to anything they could find to avoid being swept away. Klaus could clearly see Adrian grinding his teeth, cursing under his breath, while Seraphim muttered something. Was it perhaps a prayer? Regardless, they were all drenched in blood from head to toe.

The winds picked up, the gusts carrying the stench of blood and decay with every powerful blast. Strikes of lightning illuminated everything above the churning sea. The crimson tide below had stopped rising some time ago. Even then, it was no longer a simple flood but a swirling mass of roiling blood that seemed to reach up, as if it were trying to pull the group back into its depths.

The ground beneath them shook again and the hill quivered as the very earth seemed to struggle to hold on to its place against the onslaught of the storm.

The storm continued to rampage throughout the sunless void for several hours. Klaus who was crouched against the mountain’s peak, braved its rampage. Every now and then, a towering wave would crash against the mountain’s summit, threatening to sweep him and the others into the churning abyss. But Klaus clung desperately to the deep grooves in the stone, anchoring himself as if he were bonded by the strongest adhesive.

Without this iron-like grip, he knew he would be torn from his hold and swallowed by the crimson sea.

’Haah... Haah... Damn it! This is bullshit! Bloody hell! The last spot would’ve been way better!’

The thought of the initial mountain crossed his mind, the one with a small cave that could have shielded them from the storm. In hindsight, he regretted leaving that place for exploration.

But who was he kidding?

No matter where they went, it would have been the same. He had only thought that location was better out of sheer desperation. Nothing more.

As Klaus questioned his life choices, the young Strider noticed something stirring beneath the crimson waters.

At first, he dismissed it as his imagination. However, thanks to his [Adaptation] ability, he saw the creature more clearly than he was comfortable with. Its full form remained hidden, but part of its fins and slithering body emerged briefly from the crimson sea before vanishing back into the unfathomable depths.

His body trembled in horror. That thing was undoubtedly a giant snake! Or rather a great sea serpent!

This was seriously bad news! The last thing they needed right now was to get attacked by some kind of monstrosity while they were utterly vulnerable!

’No! No! No! Please go far away!’

Heart pounding, Klaus muttered a desperate prayer.

Much to his misfortune, the shadows of the unknown monster could be seen along the crimson water’s surface, slowly slithering its way toward them, growing visibly larger with each passing second.

’Goddamnit!"

He cursed. The young Strider didn’t think he would actually go out this way, being eaten by a terrifying monstrosity, that is. Clenching his teeth, he summoned the Fang of Wrath with the chaos runes, and was just about to alert the rest of the group to brace for the tremendous impact.

Then, he paused.

By some stroke of miracle, perhaps his prayer had been answered, the unknown sea monster suddenly changed course along the body of the crimson sea and slithered somewhere else.

In the first place, it didn’t seem like it was personally coming for them. Considering that they were way too small to even serve as an appetizer, it didn’t make sense why it would target them when there was a giant whale-like creature somewhere around here. Still,

’What in the Chaos was that?’