CHAPTER 162: [BLOOD BATH]

’Time to change things up then.’

Eli gritted his teeth as the vines lifted him higher, the air thick with the stench of blood and ink.

His fingers trembled against the slick surface beneath him, the octopus’s flesh squirming like something alive—soft, elastic, and unnervingly warm.

The vines beneath him writhed, giving him one last push before releasing. He landed hard against the creature’s back, his knees sinking slightly into the jelly-like texture.

The entire surface rippled beneath his weight, responding to every breath, every movement.

"Eli! What the hell are you doing?!" Mio’s voice tore through the chaos, raw and panicked.

His threads lashed around the monster’s head, slicing and binding in desperate motions. "That’s not part of the plan!"

Mel’s voice followed, louder, rougher. "Get down from there before it throws you off!" His vines strained, roots creaking under the monster’s weight. "You’ll get crushed if it rolls!"

But Eli didn’t stop moving. He barely even looked back. "Trust me!" he shouted, voice echoing through the cavern.

And then he climbed.

Each grab was a battle—his fingers slipping on the translucent, trembling surface, the faint hum of energy pulsing through the creature’s flesh like veins beneath skin.

The sword weighed heavy in his other hand, dragging at his arm, but he refused to let go.

’Almost there... just a little higher.’

The ground below was a blur of movement. Mio’s threads glimmered as they tore into the creature’s wounds, Mel’s vines erupted from the water, digging into the tentacles to hold them still. And Zaira—

"Eli!"

Her voice cracked, soft but desperate. He looked down in time to see her collapse into the shallow water, her hands pressed to her temples, blue light flickering weakly between her fingers before fading completely.

"I... I can’t..." she gasped, her illusions flickering out one by one like dying embers. "I can’t use my ability anymore!"

The octopus roared immediately, as if it could sense her weakness. The air trembled again, water splashing wildly around them.

Eli’s breath caught, but he forced himself to shout over the noise, his voice harsh and steady. "It’s fine, Zaira! Rest!"

"But Eli—" Mio started, panic bleeding into his tone.

"Just keep going!" Eli yelled back, gripping tighter onto the quivering surface beneath him. "Both of you! Don’t stop now!"

Mio hesitated, but only for a heartbeat. Then his hands moved again, his threads slicing through the air in perfect rhythm.

Mel clenched his jaw, his vines twisting tighter around the monster’s limbs, sharp thorns digging into the flesh.

The octopus screamed again, the sound rattling through Eli’s bones. Its whole body jerked in agony, waves crashing against the cavern walls.

Eli’s grip slipped once, his heart lurching as he nearly fell—but he caught himself at the last second, stabbing the sword’s tip into the flesh to anchor himself.

"Damn it..." he hissed, his fingers burning as he climbed higher, dragging the blade free again. His breath came fast and uneven, every muscle screaming in protest.

The creature was shaking violently now, its body thrashing as if trying to throw him off. Each pulse beneath the surface grew stronger, more erratic.

He could feel it beneath his hands—the rhythm of those three hearts hammering out of sync, panicked and wild.

"Eli!" Mio shouted again, his voice raw. "Get down before it—"

"I said I’m fine!" Eli barked back, his tone sharper than he intended. His hair clung to his face, wet with sweat and water, but his eyes were locked forward. "Just keep fighting!"

He could feel it now. The strongest pulse.

The main heart. It was close—right beneath the surface near the center of the head, glowing faintly beneath the translucent flesh.

The monster felt him, too.

Its body convulsed violently, a deafening screech splitting the air as it twisted and rolled. Waves exploded outward, drenching the entire cavern in spray.

Eli’s body was thrown sideways, his vision spinning, the world blurring into chaos—but his hand never left the sword. He slammed it down, driving it deep into the flesh again, holding on with everything he had.

His shoulders screamed in pain, his knuckles white against the hilt, but he didn’t let go.

"Eli!" Mio’s voice rang out again, hoarse and terrified.

"I’m fine!" Eli shouted, his voice cracking, but steady. "Just—keep—it—down!"

He dragged himself forward, crawling across the shifting surface, the pulsing glow now blinding beneath him. Every heartbeat from the creature thundered through his hands, through his chest, through the blade.

This was it.

If Eli was right—about the heartbeat, about the plan, about everything he’d pieced together through instinct and desperation—then this was it. The moment that would decide whether they lived or died.

The vines beneath him trembled from the octopus’s thrashing, but Eli didn’t let go.

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the hilt tighter, eyes fixed on the pulsing light beneath the creature’s translucent, quivering skin.

He took one sharp breath—then raised the sword high.

The crimson blade hummed in his grasp, vibrating with a faint, living rhythm that matched the frantic pounding in his chest. The air around it shimmered faintly red, the aura faintly twisting with Eli’s own energy.

’Please... let me be right.’

Then he plunged it down.

The blade sank deep into the glowing spot, slicing through thick flesh with a wet, sickening sound. A pulse of raw mana burst outward—the entire cavern shook violently.

Instantly, Eli’s head snapped back in pain. His danger sense exploded.

It wasn’t just a warning—it was screaming. Every nerve in his body went alight with panic, like someone had set fire to his brain.

"Eli!" Mio’s voice rang through the chaos, raw and terrified.

"Eli, hold on!" Zaira screamed.

The octopus convulsed, every tentacle jerking violently. The vines holding it shattered all at once—Mel’s control breaking from the backlash. The monstrous limbs snapped free, slamming into the water with deafening force.

Mio leapt back, dodging just in time before one of the massive tentacles struck where he’d been standing seconds ago.

But Eli didn’t move.

He couldn’t.

His hands were still locked around the sword’s hilt, buried deep in the monster’s skull. His face was splattered with thick, cold liquid that smelled faintly metallic.

It wasn’t red.

It was blue.

The octopus’s blood—thick, glowing faintly like ink mixed with moonlight.

It dripped down his arms, into his eyes, staining the water below.

"Eli, let go!" Mio shouted, his voice breaking. "It’s going to—"

Eli already knew.

He could feel

the movement in the air, the shift of mana around him. The tentacles were rising again, reaching—ready to crush him in retaliation.

But he wasn’t done.

Instead of letting go, he twisted the sword. Hard.

There was resistance, then a tearing sound—a deep, wet crack—and a burst of blue blood erupted outward, showering everything around him.

"ELIONE!"

Zaira’s scream cracked through the chaos.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"ELI, DON’T PULL IT OUT! YOU’RE GOING TO FALL!" Mio shouted.

Eli didn’t need to be told twice—he knew it, he knew he was going to fall.

But he didn’t care.

’I just need to finish this.’

He pulled.

The sword ripped free with a final, sickening shhk! and the world became blue.

Blood sprayed in every direction—hot, pressurized, endless. It painted the cavern walls, the water, the air. A torrent so thick it blinded him completely.

It was a bloodbath.

He lost his footing instantly. The vines that held him snapped loose under the violent pressure. For a second, he was weightless—suspended midair amid the rain of shimmering blue liquid.

Then, he fell.

He could hear the others screaming his name, voices distorted through the roar of water and the pounding in his ears. His heart hammered against his ribs like it was trying to break free.

Time slowed.

The world blurred into a haze of red and blue and sound.

And through it all, as his body plummeted toward the ink-black water below, one name tore from his throat—raw, desperate, and loud enough to echo across the entire cavern.

"KAIRO!"

The impact never came.

Instead, a firm arm caught him mid-fall, pulling him against something solid—something warm.

And then, a familiar voice, rough but unmistakable, vibrated against his ear.

"You really are a suicidal princess. Tch."