The first thing Justin noticed about her wasn't the blood.
It was the way she moved—fluid, dangerous, like a dancer on the edge of death. Her chain dagger slashed through the air in tight, brutal spirals. Every step, every swing, carried a weightless grace that seemed almost out of place in this dying world.
She was elegance under fire.
But even the most perfect rhythm could slip.
Her spin faltered.
Justin's heart clenched as he watched her stumble, her leg slick with blood. The chain lashed out too wide, missing its target. A ghoul—bone-clawed and snarling—lunged at her exposed back, eyes burning with hunger.
She didn't see it coming.
But he did.
[Shadow Step: Activated]
Justin launched from the crumbling archway, his feet gliding noiselessly across the cracked stone. One second, he was watching.
The next, he was behind the beast.
His dagger sank into the side of its skull.
A sickening crunch. A flash of pain.
CRITICAL HIT – 104 DAMAGE
[Enemy Defeated: Lesser Ghoul]
[+25 XP]
The creature jerked once, then collapsed.
Matilda spun at the sound, eyes wide, breathing sharp. She hadn't even seen him approach—only the glint of a blade, the fall of a body, and a shadow with blood on his cheek.
"Who—?"
"Stay down," Justin muttered. His voice was low. Controlled. "You're bleeding out."
She narrowed her eyes, retracting her chain dagger with a hiss of metal.
"And you are?"
He didn't blink. "The guy saving your ass."
For a heartbeat, she looked like she might argue.
But then the ground rumbled—deep, like the world itself was growling.
Cracks spidered out beneath their feet.
A bellow rolled across the battlefield like thunder.
Gutrend the Carnifex had arrived.
Justin turned slowly, heart hammering against his ribs.
There it stood.
Ten feet tall. Skin like ancient bark, crusted and hardened like armor. Twin axes the size of coffins dragged in its hands, blades dripping with a black sludge that steamed against the ground.
Its eyes glowed with a molten fury—like something that had been chained in the dark for far too long.
It didn't charge.
It didn't roar again.
It just walked. Slowly. Calmly.
Like it knew that nothing on this floor could stop it.
"That doesn't look eight levels stronger," Matilda whispered beside him, barely breathing.
"No," Justin muttered. "It looks like it was built to kill hope."
The system pulsed in his mind:
[Boss Analysis – Gutrend the Carnifex]
Level: 12
HP: 2,400
Weak Points: Lower Spine, Left Shoulder
Behavior: Aggressive Pursuit, Area Suppression
Special Ability: Execution Roar – (Fear Aura + Armor Break)
Screams echoed across the field as Gutrend barreled into a squad of four players.
His axes moved in a wide, cruel X—two were cleaved in half mid-scream. One flew twenty feet before hitting a stone pillar. The fourth ran.
Big mistake.
Gutrend didn't chase.
He just lifted one boot and crushed the runner into the dirt.
Justin winced. "We can't beat that."
Matilda's jaw clenched. "Then what do we do?"
"Slow it down. Give others a chance to survive."
She turned to him. Her leg trembled. Her eyes didn't.
"That's suicide."
"It's necessary."
For a second, they stared at each other—two strangers, both bleeding, both out of their depth.
Then she smiled. Thin, wry.
"Alright, assassin. Let's dance."
They moved as if they'd trained for it.
Justin stayed low and fast, weaving between broken stone and dead players. Shadow Step carried him in short bursts, his body light, breath tight. Gutrend's swings were wide but slow—brutal arcs that sent shockwaves through the ground.
Justin aimed for the shoulder.
[Precision Kill Activated]
+50% Crit Damage – 132
His dagger bit deep. Black ichor sprayed from the wound.
Gutrend roared, turning violently—but Matilda was already there.
Her chain dagger snapped around his wrist, jerking one of the axes just off course before she slashed across his exposed ribs.
[Chain Reaper Strike – 87 Damage]
[Bleed Effect: Moderate]
They retreated before he could retaliate.
The boss growled and raised both axes high.
"Down!" Justin shouted.
Matilda dropped.
Justin leapt over her, planting both feet on Gutrend's chest and flipping back as his blade carved a line across the titan's shoulder.
[HP: 2,154 / 2,400]
[Time Remaining: 10:42]
But they were slowing.
Justin's shoulders ached. His chest burned with every breath. His coat clung to his body with sweat and blood.
Matilda limped more now, dragging her injured leg, her swings just a second slower than before.
They were dancing on a thread—and the thread was fraying.
"We can't do this straight-up," she gasped. "We need something—anything—to tip the scale."
"No finishers in my back pocket," Justin muttered. "Only death or survival."
Just then, the system chimed.
[System Notice – Chain Trigger Unlocked]
Consecutive Critical Strikes: 5
Bonus Skill Unlocked: Backlash Fang (Active)
Effect: Dash through target's shadow to deal triple damage (Cooldown: 60s)
Justin's eyes narrowed.
"That'll do."
He turned to Matilda. "Give me five seconds. Distract it."
"Just five?"
"Four if you're amazing."
She didn't laugh.
But her eyes sparkled with something wild.
She ran straight at the boss, screaming.
Her chain dagger coiled around Gutrend's leg, anchoring tight as she yanked with everything she had. The boss stumbled, caught off guard.
Justin closed his eyes.
One breath. Two. Three.
Then he moved.
The world dimmed.
He wasn't running.
He was sliding through shadows, pulling forward like reality had turned into fabric and he was ripping through the seams.
He emerged behind Gutrend, blade raised.
There it was—the glowing rune between its shoulder blades.
The dagger struck home.
[Backlash Fang – DIRECT HIT – 384 Damage (CRIT)]
[Boss Stunned – 3 seconds]
Matilda didn't miss a beat.
She vaulted onto Gutrend's back, chain dagger spinning through the air before locking tight around the titan's throat.
"Together!" she shouted.
Justin screamed through clenched teeth, twisting the dagger deep.
"Now!"
With a final pull, the chain jerked back, Justin's blade dug in, and Gutrend's body convulsed.
His roar became a gurgle.
The molten glow of his runes dimmed to ash.
And then—
He collapsed, shaking the battlefield like a collapsing tower.
[FLOOR BOSS DEFEATED]
[+300 XP]
[Level Up: Level 5]
[New Title Acquired: First Slayer]
[New Skill Acquired: Shadow Pulse]
[Loot Acquired: Obsidian Core Fragment | 1,200 Gold | Carnifex Leather Wrap]
Silence.
Then… cheering.
Players emerged from behind rubble. Some cried. Others simply fell to their knees in relief.
But Justin didn't cheer.
He dropped to one knee, panting, blood dripping from his fingertips.
His muscles trembled.
His dagger clattered to the ground beside him.
Matilda limped over and sat beside him, her arms resting on her knees, chain dagger across her lap.
"That was…" she exhaled, laughing once. "...Insane."
He didn't smile.
Just nodded. "We're alive."
"Barely."
They sat there in the dust and blood, breathing in the silence left behind by a monster.
Then she extended a hand.
"Matilda," she said. "But in here, they call me The Ballerina."
Justin shook it.
"Justin. But soon enough… they'll know me as The Lethal Assassin."
(To be continued ....)