CHAPTER 36: FIGHT TO SURVIVE (1)

Amon and Arnold crouched low, hiding behind a massive boulder.

A short distance away, a man in a dark robe sat leisurely on a rock, his hood concealing his face. His voice echoed through the cavern, laced with twisted amusement.

"Interesting... two little rats came all the way to meet me."

His tone was playful, but the menace in it sent a chill down Amon’s spine.

"Why don’t you two come out?" the hooded man called, his voice sing-song, almost mocking.

Amon and Arnold exchanged grim looks. They had been discovered. With no choice left, they slowly stepped out from behind the boulder.

Amon forced a smile, his expression deceptively innocent.

"Hello, uncle~ we just lost our way. Don’t worry, we’ll be leaving now. Enjoy your time here alone."

Arnold turned to him with a deadpan expression, clearly unimpressed by his attempt.

The hooded man chuckled. "Hehehe... you think you can leave? Oh no, I can’t allow that. Hmm... should I kill you quickly? Or torture you, play with you, and then kill you slowly?"

His words dripped with cruelty.

Arnold’s eyes narrowed, his voice cold. "Who are you? You’re not one of the professors from the Academy. How did you get into this dungeon?"

Amon also watched the man carefully, waiting for an answer.

But the stranger only laughed again. "Why should I tell you? You’ll be dead soon anyway."

Arnold drew his sword without hesitation. Amon followed suit, revolver in one hand, sword in the other.

Arnold moved first, dashing forward, his blade raised for a diagonal slash.

Bang! Bang!

Amon fired two quick shots from his revolver.

The man’s body twisted unnaturally, dodging both bullets and the sword strike with frightening ease. His fist shot forward, slamming into Arnold’s stomach.

"Ugh!" Arnold groaned, his body hurled backward as he crashed against the cavern wall.

Amon grit his teeth and charged, sword flashing in a precise horizontal slash. But the hooded man only laughed, leaping into the air with ease before kicking Amon directly in the face.

Crack!

The impact slammed him into the ground. Blood poured from his nose and mouth.

"Hehehe... too weak. Rank 1, and yet you dare to fight me?"

Arnold, struggling to stand, spat blood and rasped, "He’s... Rank 3. A Master Rank."

"Fuck!" Amon cursed, forcing himself to get up despite the pain.

They had run straight into a monster.

Against someone like this, they had no chance of winning.

The hooded man spread his arms wide, taunting, "Come at me! Or are you too scared?"

Amon tightened his grip on his sword. "What should we do?"

Arnold glanced at him, his expression unreadable. Then, with a shrug, he said calmly, "We fight. There’s no other choice."

Amon muttered under his breath, "Damn it all..."

Arnold dashed forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet as his blade gleamed silver.

Amon followed close behind, his voice low as he chanted a spell.

In the dim tunnel, a trail of silver light carved through the air, forming precise trajectories aimed directly at the hooded figure.

The man barely evaded each strike, his movements quick and fluid.

"Not bad. For someone who is just an Awakened, your swordsmanship style is impressive," he said mockingly while dodging.

But then a shadowy Claw appeared,

"Shadow Claw," Amon muttered.

The spectral claw slashed across the man’s arm.Three line scratches form on the man’s hand.

"Oh? I forgot about you, boy." The hooded man clicked his tongue and leapt back, widening the distance between them.

Blood seeped from shallow scratches on his arm. He looked at it with amusement. "Ouch~ You managed to scratch me. Like a scared little cat."

If he were just an Awakened, then he had been more injured.

But this spell didn’t have much effect on him.

His grin widened. "But I won’t be going easy anymore."

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.

Bam!

He reappeared beside Arnold, his fist smashing into Arnold’s face with bone-crushing force.

Arnold’s body flew into the air, but the man wasn’t finished.

He appeared above him instantly and drove a brutal kick into his stomach.

"Gahh!"

Arnold’s body crashed into the ground, blood spraying from his mouth. His body twitched weakly, his breaths ragged and shallow.

"Arnold!" Amon shouted, eyes widening in horror.

But before he could react, the hooded man appeared in front of him.

Crack!

A heavy punch connected with Amon’s cheek, blood splattering as he staggered back.

"Hahaha! Look at you, so weak... so fun to play with!"The man laughed cheerfully.

"Ahh!" Amon yelled as more blows rained down on him. The man’s fists slammed into his face, his stomach, his chest—again and again.

Bones cracked. His ribs gave way under the relentless assault. His body screamed in agony, every nerve lit with pain.

He couldn’t breathe properly. He couldn’t even fight back.The man was just too strong for Amon.

Finally, Amon collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Blood pooled around him, his vision blurred.His breathing was heavy.

The man crouched, grinning ear to ear. "So much blood. Hahaha..."

With a sharp kick to Amon’s stomach, he sneered. "Oi, get up. You’re still alive, aren’t you? Get up."

Amon struggled, his body trembling as he pushed himself onto his knees.

Blood dripped from his mouth, but his eyes locked onto the hooded man. He glanced at Arnold’s bloodied body lying nearby, then back at his enemy.

A faint, defiant smile tugged at his lips. "What’s wrong? Feeling proud beating up two weak kids?"

The words struck a nerve.

The man’s grin twisted into a snarl. "What did you say? Do you even know who I am?! I am Hector Romblin!"

His fist slammed into Amon’s face again.

Amon’s vision spun, but his bloody grin only widened.

"Bastard!" Hector roared, slapping him across the cheek. "You don’t know your place!"

Still, Amon laughed, his grin unsettling.It was creepy just like Hector’s.

"You’re still smiling? And people call me creepy and insane..." Hector muttered, almost amused.

With a wave of his hand, a dagger appeared, pulled from his storage ring. Its blade gleamed coldly in the dim light.

"Let’s see how long you can keep smiling. First, I’ll gouge out your eyes. Then I’ll cut out your tongue. I’ll peel your skin slowly, strip by strip. Your screams will be a beautiful song."

Hector licked his lips, his laughter echoing through the cavern.

Yet Amon only kept grinning, his bloody smile creeping wider, matching Hector’s madness.

The cavern grew colder as the two stared at each other, their grins equally twisted.