CHAPTER 48: MADNESS

Eren Vale — or rather, Lee Min-Jae in his past life — was used to surprises.

Dying in front of the PC, exhausted after hours of grinding in an MMORPG, and waking up inside the game itself as a Tamer, the most despised class, was proof enough of that.

He knew the system like no one else. Every line of code, every mechanic, every exploit. But the message that flashed on his HUD now was different.

He was sitting against a broken pillar in the cursed temple, his body still aching from the confrontation with Sylha, when the system surprised him.

[Mission Received: Free the Spectral Monster]

[Objective: Confront the entity Sylha and uncover her connection with the Tamer’s Order]

[Ancestors. Reward: Forbidden Knowledge. Risk: Spiritual Annihilation.]

Eren frowned, the blue glow of the HUD reflecting in his eyes.

He knew how the game worked. Missions came from NPCs, world events, or updates. But this one? It was too specific.

Sylha.

Someone knew he had faced her. Someone knew he had made her retreat.

"How do they know this?" he thought, his programmer’s instinct kicking in.

In his life as Min-Jae, he lived to find code loopholes, exploits others ignored.

Now, as Eren, he was the exploit. And someone — or something — was watching.

"Who sent this?" he asked the system, but the HUD remained silent.

No automatic replies, no logs. Just the mission, shining like a challenge. He stood up, rubbing his face. Kaela eyed him, suspicious.

"What is it?"

"I just received a mission. A mission that tells me to face Sylha once more."

Everyone looked suspiciously at Eren, as they had no idea how he would receive such a mission. Eren noticed.

"It’s something only Tamers can receive," he said, trying to give a satisfactory explanation.

It seemed the monsters were satisfied with the answer. However, Kaela was still suspicious.

"You’re not thinking of accepting it, are you?" Kaela asked.

Morwynn, always cold, intervened.

"It’s a trap."

Eren stared at the mission screen.

Forbidden Knowledge? That was bait for someone like him. Min-Jae loved secrets, loved information. But doubt gnawed at him.

"This isn’t a normal event," he said, looking into the void of the temple. "Someone injected this mission. They know about me."

He thought maybe there was another player sending messages to Lee. Could he not be the only reincarnated player in that world?

In his past life, Min-Jae had never encountered other players with such influence over the system.

All the "enemies" so far — hunters, fanatics of the Eye in Flames, even Sylha — seemed like NPCs.

But this mission had a human touch, as if someone was playing with the code.

"If they are players, they know how to use the system better than I do," he murmured. "If they aren’t... they’re watching me."

The idea bothered him. He was the exploit hunter, not the prey.

Kaela growled, impatient.

"So what do we do? Sit here like idiots or go after it?"

Eren looked at her, then at Morwynn and Nyssa.

He had already faced corrupted forests, rituals, and a multidimensional entity.

A mission, no matter how suspicious, didn’t scare him.

"Let’s go," he said firmly. "If it’s a trap, I’ll turn it against them."

He accepted the mission. The HUD flashed:

[Mission Accepted. Location Updated.]

A map glowed in his vision, pointing to the heart of the temple.

Eren clenched his fists. Whoever had sent him that mission, they were about to learn that Lee Min-Jae didn’t play to lose.

The cursed temple was a labyrinth of stone and darkness.

Narrow corridors, covered with pulsing runes, led to rooms where the air seemed alive, whispering secrets.

Eren advanced, Kaela ahead, claws ready. Morwynn followed close behind, her webs shining like sensors, mapping the terrain. Nyssa floated beside Eren, her liquid form alert to any change in the environment.

The HUD map pointed to a place called the "Chamber of the Seal," but the path was far from easy.

"Do you trust this?" Kaela asked, her voice tense.

She sniffed the air, her keen senses picking up something she didn’t like.

Eren shrugged, keeping a steady pace.

Then, the voices began. First, a low whisper, almost inaudible, like wind in a cave.

"Eren..." The voice was Sylha’s, but not aggressive like before.

It was sad, almost pleading.

"You came..."

Kaela stopped, growling.

"She’s here."

Morwynn raised a web, the threads vibrating.

"Not here. In our head."

Nyssa trembled, her liquid form rippling.

"She’s calling, Eren. She wants you to go."

Eren gritted his teeth.

Against his monsters’ will, he followed the voice, guided by the map.

The corridor opened into a vast chamber, where the floor was covered in bones and broken runes. And then, they appeared: mobs.

Shadow creatures, with white eyes and smoky claws, emerged from the floor like wraiths.

The system identified:

[Temple Specters].

Kaela was the first to act.

With a roar, she activated Alpha Fury, her muscles swelling as her claws slashed through the air.

Two specters exploded into smoke, but more came.

Morwynn acted quickly, casting Silk Cage, bright webs trapping a group of mobs, slicing them with Horizontal Cuts.

Nyssa formed a Liquid Shield around Eren, deflecting blows while using Protective Dissolution to corrode the nearest enemies.

Eren didn’t stand still. He activated the bond, feeling the power of his monsters flow into him.

Soul Synchronization glowed on the HUD, and he used Kaela’s Territorial Roar, a shout that disoriented the specters, giving Morwynn time to weave more webs.

He ran, dodging claws, until he reached the center of the chamber. There, an elevated platform displayed a black orb, pulsing with energy. "The seal," he murmured. Sylha was inside, and he knew he needed to reach it.

The mobs didn’t stop. A larger specter, a Temple Guardian, appeared, wielding a scythe of smoke. Kaela leaped but was thrown against the wall. Morwynn tried to trap it with webs, but the scythe cut through them.

Nyssa protected Eren, but she was overwhelmed. Eren clenched his fists.

"You won’t stop me."

He used Nyssa’s Shared Senses, mapping the guardian’s movement, and guided Kaela for a precise attack. Her claws tore through the monster’s core, and it crumbled to ash.

The chamber fell silent. Eren stepped onto the platform, the orb pulsing more intensely.

"Sylha," he said, touching the seal. "Time to finish this."

The orb was cold to the touch, but it burned like fire in his mind. Eren sensed Sylha before he saw her, her presence invading his senses.

[Unstable Seal. Threat Detected.]

Before he could react, a roar echoed. A giant monster emerged from the orb, a Spectral Colossus, a mass of tentacles and glowing eyes, level 50. It was the last barrier of the seal.

Kaela growled, already in position.

"Leave it to me."

She activated Blood Tracking, her eyes fixed on the colossus’s weak points. Morwynn wove a Sentinel Web, mapping the monster’s movements, while Nyssa formed a reinforced Liquid Shield.

Eren coordinated, using the bond to amplify their abilities.

"Focus on the eyes," he ordered.

Kaela leapt, her claws slicing through a tentacle, while Morwynn used Sensory Poison, weakening the colossus. Nyssa absorbed blows, her liquid body glowing with effort.

The battle was brutal. The colossus counterattacked with waves of energy, forcing Eren to dodge while guiding his monsters.

He used the Territorial Roar again, stunning the monster, and Morwynn took the opportunity to trap its tentacles with webs.

Kaela finished the job, ripping through the colossus’s core with a final blow. The monster fell, and the orb cracked.

Eren touched the seal, and it shattered. A wave of energy exploded, and Sylha emerged, not as before, but as an overwhelming force.

Her tentacles enveloped Kaela, Morwynn, and Nyssa, her eyes shining with fury.

"You freed me," she said, her voice echoing in Eren’s mind. "Now, I take what is mine."

Before Eren could react, his monsters screamed. Kaela fell to her knees, her golden eyes empty. Morwynn stopped weaving, the webs falling inert.

Nyssa dissolved, her liquid form trembling. Sylha controlled them, moving them like puppets.

"You challenged me," Sylha said. "Now, they are mine."

[Bond Compromised.]

He saw Kaela advance, claws raised against him.

Morwynn wove a web to trap him.

Nyssa formed a shield, but to contain him, not protect him.

He was alone.

But Lee Min-Jae never gave up. He knew how the system worked. And he knew what made his bonds unique.

"Sylha," he said, his voice calm but firm. "You want control? Then come face me."

He activated Soul Tuning, sensing the remnants of his monsters.

The exploit was more than code — it was connection. And connection, for Eren, went beyond the fight. He thought about what always worked: the total bond, body and soul.

He took a step forward, challenging Sylha. A direct, sexual bond, like he had with his monsters. If Sylha was in their minds, he would bring her into his. It was madness, but it was the only way.