Celestina dragged her feet through the black sand, her breath ragged as sweat caused her silver hair to stick to her face.
She still wore her soul armor, which offered some resistance to the heat, but not enough for the relentless black desert.
At first, she had followed Instructor Benson in secret.
Too many things didn’t add up.
When she reached the bottom of the tunnel, she was shocked to see Instructor Benson meeting with four men she didn’t recognize.
They wore standard black military uniforms.
But… why?
Why would soldiers be here, in the void dungeon?
It was a strict rule that only academy students were allowed entry for the next few weeks.
Driven by curiosity, she continued following them.
Or at least, she tried her best.
They moved fast.
Too fast.
Like they knew exactly where they were going.
And she was certain they did, especially with the strange device Instructor Benson held.
It was difficult to keep pace without being noticed, and she lost them more than once.
Only the faint footprints in the sand allowed her to track them.
Even then, she had to hurry, as the occasional gust of wind would blow, threatening to erase the trail.
Eventually, she arrived at a strange, circular platform that was wide open, with stairs leading down into something unknown.
The sight filled Celestina with a sense of unease.
What is this place?
Why did they come here?
Instructor Benson was supposed to find Azriel and Instructor Kevin.
Did that mean they were here too?
Her mind raced with questions, but she didn’t let them stop her.
Taking a deep breath, she summoned her silver sword, gripping its hilt tightly.
She descended the stairs.
With every step, the air grew heavier, the darkness thickening around her.
Finally, she reached the bottom.
What she saw stunned her.
It was an abandoned tunnel, dimly lit by flickering torches along the walls.
But that wasn’t what made her freeze.
Blood.
And mana cores.
Everywhere.
It seemed like Instructor Benson and the soldiers had slaughtered the residents of this strange tunnel.
And yet…
She felt a strange sense of delight.
Why?
Because all the mana cores were untouched.
They hadn’t been consumed.
That meant they were all hers.
Surely, they wouldn’t mind?
She was so close to breaking through, to becoming a Grade 1 Awakened after defeating the Dark King and absorbing its core.
With these mana cores, she’d not only achieve that but surpass it.
It would be foolish not to take advantage.
It was their own fault for leaving them behind.
Celestina approached one of the cores, picking it up with a smile.
The entire void dungeon had been strange, slow-paced.
In truth…
She wanted to kill more void creatures. She wanted to grow stronger.
But the chance had rarely presented itself.
Just as she was about to consume the mana core, though…
She felt it.
A gaze.
Her brows furrowed, and she looked up.
And froze.
Above her, hidden in the thick darkness of the ceiling, were dozens of vermilion eyes, staring back at her.
Her face darkened.
‘I should have known… life can never be easy.’
*****
Azriel and the others froze, their expressions grim as they faced the Cradler.
The creature stood before them, smiling twistedly, its hollow eye sockets locked on them like black pits of endless terror. The swaddled bundle it had been cradling earlier was now gone.
Azriel’s eyes met the sunken void where the Cradler’s eyes should have been, and a deep, primal fear washed over him.
His entire body shuddered involuntarily.
The sheer horror of seeing a creature survive decapitation was unsettling enough, but the way it stood there—whole again, unfazed—was something beyond terrifying.
For a brief moment, the Cradler looked away from Azriel, its gaze shifting towards one of the soldiers holding a spear.
Azriel’s heart pounded in his chest, and without thinking, his body tensed, sensing the imminent danger.
Benson’s face had paled, his normally composed demeanor cracking as he shouted desperately,
“Get away from there, now!”
But it was too late.
The soldier didn’t even have time to register the warning.
One second the Cradler stood far away; the next, it had closed the distance in a blink, appearing directly in front of the man with the spear.
A high-pitched whistle cut through the air as an arrow shot toward the creature.
But before it could make contact, the Cradler lazily raised one of its long, unnervingly thin hands, gripping the arrow mid-air.
The archer’s face twisted in shock, his eyes widening in disbelief as the Cradler’s fingers tightened, reducing the arrow to dust.
And then, with a sickeningly fluid motion, the Cradler raised its grotesque hand and slashed the spearman across the neck.
The blow was so swift that for a moment, it seemed as though nothing had happened.
But then the soldier’s head detached from his body, rolling across the bridge before tumbling into the void below.
Azriel’s mind blanked.
His stomach churned, and his breath caught in his throat as he watched the life drain from the man in front of him.
The sight of blood splattering the ground only added to the mounting horror that consumed him.
“…Shit!” Instructor Benson’s voice broke the silence, laced with urgency.
“Back off! All of you, don’t engage! I’ll handle this!”
But Azriel barely heard him.
Before Benson could finish his command, the Cradler vanished again.
It was so fast—inhumanly fast—that Azriel had trouble tracking its movement.
One blink, and it was gone.
Another blink, and it was already in front of the archer. freewēbnoveℓ.com
“No… please…” the archer’s lips trembled, his voice barely audible.
The Cradler’s grotesque fingers moved with the same precision and cruelty, slicing through the archer’s neck like it was cutting through paper.
His head fell, rolling across the cold stone bridge before disappearing over the edge, just like the spearman’s.
Azriel released a shaky breath.
His heart raced as the weight of the situation bore down on him.
This wasn’t just any ordinary void creature.
How was he supposed to defeat something like this?
His hands trembled slightly as he instinctively peered into the Cradler’s mana core.
‘A Grade 3 demon…’
Azriel’s face went pale.
This realization hit him like a brick.
Though Instructor Benson was also a Grade 3 advanced , it was common knowledge that a void creature of the same rank as a human was still far more formidable in one-on-one combat.
It wasn’t just a difference in strength, but in nature—a demon like this had abilities that humans couldn’t begin to match.
The two remaining soldiers stood frozen in fear, their eyes wide as they clutched their weapons tightly.
Despite their terror, they gritted their teeth, trying to maintain composure.
It was a futile effort, given the carnage they had just witnessed.
Without warning, a sword appeared in Instructor Benson’s hand.
He lunged forward, aiming to strike the Cradler down.
But the creature was fast—its unnaturally long nails intercepted the blow with ease, and a shockwave rippled through the air, causing the ground beneath them to crack and crumble.
Azriel’s mind clicked into place, a sudden realization dawning on him.
‘Wait… this could work.’
So what if the guardian was missing?
While it might have been stronger than the Cradler, this fight still presented an opportunity.
With Instructor Benson here, he could enact the same plan.
Let them clash. Let them fight it out.
But then his gaze shifted to the two remaining soldiers—the ones from Neo Genesis.
They had to go.
Azriel gripped Void Eater tightly in his hand, his knuckles white as he watched Instructor Benson.
Surprisingly, Benson seemed to be holding his own against the Cradler, at least for now.
Neither had used their full abilities yet, but Azriel knew it was only a matter of time.
Fighting on this narrow bridge was far from ideal, but none of them had a choice.
Spotting an opening, Azriel dashed forward, running past both the Cradler and Benson.
For a brief, heart-stopping second, the Cradler’s hollow gaze met Azriel’s.
Its unnaturally wide smile stretched even further, sending a chill down his spine, before it turned its attention back to Benson.
‘Dammit..!’
Azriel pressed on, closing the distance between him and the two trembling soldiers.
They were distracted, their fear palpable.
Reaching them before they could react, Azriel thrust Void Eater at the swordsman’s throat.
The man noticed just in time, jerking his head to the side.
But not fast enough.
“Gah! Damn it…!”
The swordsman fell to the ground, clutching his ear, blood seeping through his fingers.
Both soldiers scrambled back, distancing themselves from Azriel, eyes wide with panic.
Azriel narrowed his gaze.
‘[Death’s Blossom].’
In an instant, black smoke poured from Azriel’s mouth and nose, coiling around his body like serpents, red lightning crackling around him as well.
The tips of his hair turned white, and the ground beneath his feet followed suit, frosting over with an unnatural chill.
And then, Azriel vanished from their sight.