Floor ??? – Labyrinth of the Deathly Embrace
The air hung thick with the stench of scorched metal and seared flesh, a grim testament to the slaughter that had unfolded moments before. Adonis stood firm, his grip tightening around the sheathed sword he wielded like a club. Before him loomed the humanoid bat, eyes burning with primal hunger.
Behind him, the girl trembled, her legs locked in place—not from injury, but from sheer terror. She had seen what this creature could do. The mangled corpses strewn across the chamber were proof enough. And now, this stranger—was all that stood between her and a gruesome end.
"Are you alright?" Adonis asked, his voice steady despite the tension coiling in his muscles.
The girl swallowed hard. "Y-yes."
I've got to get this thing away from her. The thought burned in his mind, sharper than any blade.
The bat let out a guttural roar, saliva dripping from its fangs as it lunged. Adonis moved like lightning, leaping forward and swinging his sheathed sword in a brutal arc. The impact struck the beast square in the face, sending it reeling backward with a pained screech. It staggered, wings flapping wildly to regain balance.
A smirk tugged at Adonis's lips. I can win this.
Then— danger.
His "Perception" skill flared, a cold warning shooting down his spine. The bat's chest swelled, its throat glowing an ominous red.
Fire breath.
Adonis whirled around. The girl was still there, frozen, directly in the line of destruction.
"No—!"
He reached for her, activating his Teleport skill in desperation—only for a system prompt to flash before his eyes:
[You can only teleport yourself.]
Shit.
There was no time.
He threw himself in front of her just as the bat unleashed a torrent of flames. The inferno engulfed him, searing heat biting into his flesh. His back erupted in agony as skin blackened, muscle melted, and the stench of his own burning body filled his nostrils.
The bat's lips curled into a grotesque smirk, believing its prey had been reduced to ash.
Then the smoke cleared.
Adonis still stood.
His back was a ruin of charred flesh, his spine and ribs exposed in grisly detail. Yet even as the bat watched in stunned horror, his flesh twitched. Tendrils of muscle slithered like serpents, weaving themselves back together. Skin stretched and sealed over the wounds, his tattered clothing mending itself as if time itself were reversing.
The girl's breath hitched. "W-who… what are you?"
Adonis exhaled sharply, pain lacing his voice.
"That doesn't matter." He turned his head just enough to meet her gaze.
"Listen. I'm going to keep its attention. When it's focused on me, you run. As far as you can. Don't look back."
"B-but what about you?" Her voice trembled.
He forced a smile. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"Now go."
She hesitated, her fingers clutching at the fabric of her torn dress.
"GO!" Adonis roared.
The girl bolted, her footsteps echoing as she sprinted toward the distant exit. The bat's eyes snapped toward her, wings flaring as it prepared to give chase—
Then Adonis teleported.
A flash of movement. A crack of displaced air.
He materialized mid-air, teeth gritted, sheathed sword raised high. With every ounce of strength left in him, he brought it down like a hammer.
THOOM!
The blow sent the bat crashing to the ground, its screech of fury cut short. Dust billowed around them as Adonis landed, his body still throbbing with the aftershocks of regeneration.
The beast writhed, struggling to rise—but Adonis planted himself between it and the fleeing girl, his weapon at the ready.
You're not going anywhere he growled.
The bat hissed, its wings twitching, its body coiled for another attack.
The fight wasn't over yet.