Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 97: Scorching Malice

Chapter 97: Scorching Malice

Through the thinning dusk, his gaze met the shadows where Hollows stirred.

Tall objects that moved under the cover of darkness. To anyone lacking the darkness attribute, they would seem like shifting boulders. Black in color and in constant motion, but Klaus recognized them at first glance.

Without exception, all of them were Nightmare Carapaces!

Klaus froze, gripped by a terror that stole his breath. The hairs along his neck rose like whispers in the wind. One, two, three... the numbers unraveled in his mind, lost to the storm of fear. Fifty... no, far more than fifty; an endless tide of shadows, moving in the dark.

If the Striders faced that many awakened ghouls, they would be slaughtered, torn apart like a rolled feast and devoured with savage delight.

He swallowed and at the same time, trembled all over.

Amidst his rising panic, Klaus forgot Adrian was even beside him.

Looking below, the blonde Strider squinted into the gloom, straining his eyes to the limit, but saw nothing.

He frowned and turned toward Klaus. It was a small mercy he couldn’t see the expression on his companion’s face. If he had, he might have panicked too.

"Hey, I can’t see anything. What about you?"

Despite hearing his name, Klaus gave no reply.

"Klaus?"

"...."

"Hello? Are you there? C’mon, this is not funny."

"...."

"What’s going on? Did you see something or not? Hey, hey, hey, talk to me. I’m completely blind here!"

"...."

Still, Adrian received no answer. It was as if Klaus had suddenly forgotten how to speak. Sweat began to pour from all over his body and his face twisted into an expression of pure horror.

Like a frozen sculpture, he stayed rooted in place, terrified that even the slightest movement would give him away.

He lingered in that paralyzed state, caught between shock and panic, for what felt like an eternity.

In truth, nearly 666 seconds passed before he finally stirred, breaking free from the grip of his trance.

With a blink, Klaus sensed a presence and turned his head, finding Adrian looking at his general location. A silent question lingered in his eyes.

Klaus furrowed his brow, confused.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Adrian’s frown deepened.

"I’ve been calling your name for a while. You didn’t respond. Don’t do that again. I thought something had happened to you."

He let out a sigh, brushing a hand through his blonde hair.

"So... what made you freeze like that? Did you see something?"

"T-That..." Klaus opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He hesitated. Telling Adrian the truth might only spark panic and what good would that do now? Still, the weight of the situation pressed against his chest.

Finally, he accumulated enough courage to open his mouth.

"They’re here. The Nightmare Carapaces... I saw them. Dozens. Maybe hundreds of them."

Adrian froze.

"What?"

His breath caught inside his throat and the expression of pure horror flashed across his face. Surprisingly, he managed to suppress his fear and asked with a half-calm voice:

"Where?"

Klaus nodded toward the east, into the shifting shadows.

"There, just past the ridge. They’re using the darkness to move, so you wouldn’t even notice them."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed, even though he still couldn’t see a thing. He trusted Klaus, but the idea of that many awakened ghouls moving as a unit chilled him.

Of course, this wasn’t the typical behavior of Hollows. Why were mindless, savage beasts moving together and in a coordinated manner at that?

... At least, what was what his expression seemed to say.

Either way, Klaus understood the situation all too well. A single Night Creature could be killed with the right approach, even if it’s of the Awakened rank. They were instinct-driven, not clever, and with careful use of the environment or a strike to a weak point, they could be brought down.

But that logic collapsed the moment they came in numbers. And tonight, there weren’t just a few.

There were over a hundred.

If their small group was discovered, escape would be the only option. Survival through combat wasn’t just unlikely, it was downright impossible.

Not even a full Strider squad could stand against that many. They would be surrounded, overwhelmed, and shredded within minutes.

No strategy would matter. No strength would be enough. It would simply be a massacre.

This was the reality of their current predicament.

"...."

"...."

The two Striders remained silent for an uncomfortably long time, weighed down by a shared sense of realization and helplessness. The only sound between them was the howling wind as it swept across the rocky terrain.

Finally, Adrian spoke up with a serious expression.

"We need to warn the others."

Klaus nodded, though he didn’t move. His eyes were still fixed on the horizon, watching the shadows writhe and shift like waves in slow motion.

In the end, he only responded with a simple reply.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

Upon receiving his answer, Adrian gave a grim nod and began descending the ridge. Klaus moved to follow but froze mid-step and narrowed his eyes as something caught his attention in the distance.

’Huh? What is that...?’

Far below, amid the mounds of broken coral, the Nightmare Carapaces were moving — dragging something huge and enormous with their scythe-like limbs. As Klaus focused, he recognized it: the carcass of the blood whale-like monster he’d seen before. Or rather, half of it — its flesh completely stripped away.

Nestled within the hollow remains of the colossal beast, something shimmered.

Two immense, luminescent crystals pulsed with an illuminant glow.

Klaus’s eyes widened.

’Those orbs... Aren’t they Transcendent Spirit Cores?’

Transcendent Shards... and there was two of them...

Suddenly, a surge of conflicting emotions struck him; greed and fear clashing within in equal measure. Greed, because Transcendent Spirit Cores were unimaginably rare and priceless. Fear, because the monstrous whale... had been a Corrupted Tyrant.

The realization sent a chill through him.

A single Corrupted Tyrant, if left unchecked, could lay waste to an entire country. Only a Saint or a well-coordinated force of elite Awakened could hope to stop one.

In Klaus’s case, he had been lucky — extremely lucky.

The Tyrant he encountered upon entering the Chaos Realm had already been grievously wounded, with its strength crippled after losing two of its Transcendent Cores. Reduced to the level of an Awakened, it had fallen to his blade... but only just.

Inadvertently, he swallowed his dry saliva.

’Damn bastards. I thought the Scavengers had torn it apart... but looks like those things got to it before the feast was over. Tch. Maybe I should’ve gone after it before the storm hit.’

But even as the thought crept in, Klaus dismissed it. Greed had a way of warping reason. The truth was far more brutal.

If he had approached the Tyrant back then, he wouldn’t have lasted ten steps. The Scavengers would have fallen upon him like a storm of blades, stripping flesh from bone in seconds. There would be no last stand, no defiance — only a nameless death beneath their claws, forgotten before the feast even began.

An appetizer. Nothing more.

The thought alone made his skin crawl. How fragile the human body truly was. Flesh, sinew, bone — all laughably weak when weighed against the horrors of the Chaos Realm.

Unfortunately, the vivid image had already taken root in his mind. He grimaced as it played out behind his eyes.

’Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.’

Klaus shook his head, forcing the grisly thoughts away and refocusing his gaze on the scene below.

That’s when he noticed something strange.

The Nightmare Carapaces, moving with unusual urgency, hauled the massive carcass toward a gaping cave at the base of the ridge. Without pause, they dumped it at the entrance, then abruptly turned and retreated, scuttling away with startling speed. It was as though they were fleeing from something.

After focusing intently, Klaus finally caught sight of a massive shadow emerging from the wide, spiraling cavern.

A moment later, the towering monstrosity casting it came into view.

"!?"

Klaus’s eyes widened as his entire body trembled in horror.

The creature, disturbingly familiar, was as large as a house and cloaked in tattered, shadowy tendrils that writhed and slithered like sentient mist. With unnaturally long limbs ending in three-bladed claws, curved like sickles, it pierced the carcass of the giant demonic whale and began to drag it slowly into the darkness.

A cold sweat trickled down his back. In that instant, Klaus finally understood why the creature looked so familiar.

He had seen it before — roaming through the darkness just days ago. The memory was still raw in his mind.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

’Damn it. What is that thing doing here?!’

Or rather... had it already been here all along?

Considering the creature emerged from a cavern, it was far more likely that this abomination had been residing there for some time. In other words, his party had unknowingly wandered too close to its dwelling.

Which meant that this was a bloody death trap!

This was seriously bad news for the group of four!

From the pressure, presence, and the basic knowledge he had about Night Creatures, Klaus deduced that the beast was a monster of the Awakened rank. Night Creatures with a single core were known as "fiends." They were dangerous and powerful, but ultimately mindless. If they managed to develop or were created with a second core, they became "ghouls." Ghouls were far more devastating and possessed a rudimentary, warped form of intelligence. They represented the next stage in a Chaos Beast’s evolution.

And sometimes, those ghouls would awaken unique traits and abilities that set them apart, much like humans awakened by chaos. For the Blackmane Stalker, it was its bone-crushing strength and stealth. For the Nightmare Carapaces, it was their armored chitin. And on rare occasions, there were ghouls who awaken the ability to control other monsters.

In this case, it seemed the creature belonged to the latter category.

Monsters with such a trait were considered the most dangerous type of Hollow one could encounter in the Chaos Realm. In fact, the academy guide explicitly instructed Striders to avoid them at all costs if they valued their lives.

Simply put, confronting an abomination that could command other abominations was utterly pointless.

How was a pathetic group of four — nowhere near reaching the Awakened rank — supposed to fight such a monstrosity?!

That was indeed the case.

There was only one thing he could think to do in this situation; run. They had to escape somehow, before that terrifying beast noticed them.

Forget pride and honor. If they died here, there wouldn’t even be bodies left to bury. He couldn’t speak for the others, but he sure as hell didn’t want to end up as food for some damn abomination.