[The Crown of Calamity warns you: Whatever is beyond this portal is dangerous. Be ready for a fight.]
Alexâs fingers curled into a tight fist, his knuckles turning white as he braced himself.
âNo shit,â he muttered under his breath, his eyes flickering with tension as they locked onto the swirling, chaotic mass before him.
The portal was massive, at least a hundred meters tall, a gaping void that radiated an overwhelming pressure.
His body tensed instinctively, every fiber of his being screaming at him to prepare for the worst.
This wasnât just some high-tier summon.
This was one of the Hatred Demonâs three Forbidden Skills.
Something capable of killing him.
And the fact that the Hatred Demon had finally decided to use them, rather than toying with him like before, was all the proof Alex needed.
It wasnât playing anymore.
The Hatred Demon let out a deep, echoing laugh, its hole-face shifting grotesquely.
âIâm thinking of it like a game,â it mused, four massive arms crossing over its chest, âYour loss is already guaranteed, and I donât want this stalemate to last forever.â
It sounded smug, casual, even.
As if it had gone back to underestimating him, but Alex knew better.
The Hatred Demon wasnât underestimating him, it had been keeping track of time.
Alexâs skills were on cooldown, but not for long.
The moment they recharged, he would be able to fight back in full force, and the Hatred Demon wasnât about to let that happen.
This wasnât arrogance. This was strategy.
And now, it was time to see the first of its three Forbidden Skills.
âYou will face my greatest creations,â the Hatred Demonâs many mouths laughed, distorting in unnatural ways, âLetâs see if you can survive this.â
Alex grit his teeth, his mind racing.
He didnât have a choice but to play along for now.
Because what the Hatred Demon didnât know was that [World Cleaver] was still charging.
It thought it was stalling him, but in reality, he was stalling it.
For now, though, none of that mattered, because something was coming.
His eyes flicked back to the portal, and just as he was about to speakâ
BOOM!
An explosion erupted from deep within the portal, sending shockwaves through the air.
Then, arms and tentacles, dozens of them, burst out of the swirling void.
âWhat the fââ Alex stopped mid-sentence, his breath catching in his throat as he took a step back.
More and more limbs emerged, pulling something massive into this world.
The Hatred Demonâs hole-face twisted in delight, resting its chin on one of its four arms.
âBreathtaking, isnât it?â It almost sounded genuinely mesmerized, âOne of my playthings.â
ââŠPlaythings?â Alex narrowed his eyes, already dreading whatever the answer was going to be.
âNothing sexual, human,â the Hatred Demon scoffed, shaking its head in mock disappointment, âBe better.â
Alex didnât even dignify that with a response.
His focus was locked entirely on the thing that was crawling out of the portal.
It was massive, easily fifty meters tall, dragging itself forward with grotesque, clawed hands.
Its body was covered in writhing flesh, tangled with endless tendrils, each one dripping with some sickly, pale fluid.
And worse than all of that⊠It was made of people.
A mass of flesh, a horrific fusion of bodies, their twisted forms merging together in some nightmare-fueled abomination.
Their faces were still visible, screaming in agony as their mouths gaped open in silent torment.
Alex felt something rise in his throat.
âWhat in the eldritch horror is that?â
The moment he spoke, the mass of bodies twitched and turned to look at him.
All of them. At once. A shudder ran down his spine.
He didnât care where this thing had come from. He didnât care what it had once been. He didnât even care how the Hatred Demon had created it.
He only cared about one thing: It needed to die, and fast.
The Hatred Demon clapped its hands together, grinning as it basked in Alexâs reaction.
âYour new opponent,â it announced cheerfully, âGood luck.â
The reason this thing even existed was because of the Forbidden Skill:
[Hell Abomination].
[Hell Abomination â One of the Hatred Demonâs Forbidden Skills. A creature summoned from the depths of Hell, tamed and twisted into an unstoppable horror.]
And just like that, the portal behind it snapped shut.
A one-way ticket. No escape.
âIt doesnât have a name, by the way,â the Hatred Demon yawned, stretching its arms.
Then, with a delighted grinâ
âATTACK.â
Alex barely had a second to react.
The moment it received the command, the mass of flesh and tendrils launched itself forward.
âWHAT THE FUââ
It didnât have legs, Alex had expected it to attack with its tendrils.
But no: it rolled like a boulder.
[The Crown of Calamity mocks this futile attempt.]
Alexâs eyes widened.
There was no dodging this thing, not at this speed or without knowing what it could do afterward.
Meeting an enemy so incredibly horrific was confusing to the mind, and so, a blur of flesh, eyes, mouths, and tendrils came crashing toward him like a living avalanche.
Fwish!
Black tendrils erupted from the crown on his head.
[Letâs send it crashing. We can kill it, host,] the Crown of Calamity said smugly.
The tendrils moved fast, or at least faster than even Alex expected.
Within seconds, they formed a ramp.
The massive rolling abomination slammed into it and was sent flying instantly.
Alex leapt back as the disgusting thing soared above him, not wanting to even be under such a disgusting thing, crashing into the ground behind them.
It was even more terrible than the [God of the Abyssâ] final form, and even worse than the Hatred Demonâs ultimate form as well.
BOOM!
[Now, host, you will need to deal with the rest yourself. I will be charging for an attack.]
Alex exhaled slowly, turning his back to the Hatred Demon.
His attention was now fully on the Hell Abomination.
Whatever this thing was, wherever it had come from, he would kill it.
But then, from the corner of his eye, the Hatred Demon raised its four arms.
A crimson glow erupted from them, veins pulsing as arcane energy crackled around its fingers: it was preparing something.
âItâs charging up an attack,â Alphoxâs voice echoed in his mind, âItâs just like you. It probably canât move while charging its skill, which is why it sent that thing to stall for time.â
Alex clenched his jaw.
Of course.
The Hatred Demon wasnât doing this for fun.
It wasnât trying to see him struggle, it was buying time as well, much like he was.
The ritual symbol on its chest began to spin faster, pulsing with power.
Alexâs first instinct was to rush it, to stop whatever it was doing.
But his gut screamed at him that the moment he turned his back on the Hell Abomination, he would die.
Sweat dripped down his forehead.
The Hell Abomination had already started rolling again, its tendrils scraping the ground.
But then, Alex exhaled.
This was perfect. It had dozens of tendrils.
And that meant⊠Destiny Points.
Right now, he only had [24/150] Destiny Points.
But if he could avoid those attacks, if he could dodge just enough times, he would be able to fight back.
His eyes narrowed as he activated an ability.
THREADS OF FATE!
And as the Hell Abomination came crashing toward him once more.
Alex smiled, this time, he was ready.