It was tough for Ellis to answer the question.
He had undoubtedly thought that the battle between Northern and the Abysmal level Corpse Eater was going to be tough, in fact, impossible.
But what he had just witnessed violated his common sense.
It was terrifying and at the same time amazing.
In as much as Northern had achieved his victory, it wasn’t flawless and wasn’t without a painful price.
After all, his body was marred with crude scars that looked like they stung badly.
But what worried Ellis the most was that in this brief moment, Northern seemed different, so different that he was scared of approaching him.
He wasn’t even sure if he indeed got the message that Northern was trying to pass to him.
Because really, all that went on in his head was how futile it would be to chase after this person.
Beating a monster with no weapon, or rather, with its own style.
Predicting the moves of humans was one thing, but predicting that of a monster, it was supposed to be impossible!
In as much as monsters could be defined as simple-minded existences, there were some that were distinct from the rest.
Referred to as variants, and this was obviously because of their high danger level.
Night Terror was one of them.
And this Corpse Eater too.
They possessed almost unrivaled intelligence and could make seemingly humane decisions.
Which made fighting them more difficult than usual.
Predicting them was like predicting a human opponent, while it could be possible, Ellis had no doubt that it required a frightening level of focus.
To be able to pull it off in an instant, and keep it consistent throughout the battle was nothing short of incredible!
Ellis felt his respect for Northern dig its roots deeper into his heart. His eyes gleamed with awe.
‘He’s amazing!’
Meanwhile, Northern stood afar, staring blankly.
His head felt light… too light.
‘What is wrong with me…’
There was something strange burning inside of him… it was almost like a hunger.
Something threatening to cause a rampage inside of him, it felt hot and uncomfortable.
It felt insane.
And he really disliked ‘insane’.
‘I feel driven by a ferocious urge to devour…’ Northern thought clearly about it before it made sense to him.
The particular attribute he had seen on the Corpse Eater, and one thing that all other Corpse Eaters had in common.
That [Ravage Hunger].
Perhaps it was the explanation for how maniacal he felt.
This was after all when he used the active ability of the [Formless] Attribute for so long.
Apart from the strange feeling, it was sweet… it filled his belly with an unfamiliar sense of glee.
Northern placed his hands on his torso, trying to hide the curve that sat across them, enjoying the memories of how fantastic he had been just moments ago.
And the sweetness of it.
He was in so much reveling that he didn’t see… it… standing… up…
Ellis, on the other hand, was pointing with a pale face, sweating buckets.
“Uhm, Northern? Northern, I think it’s getting up again…” his voice rang out but was soft, strangled by the fear that throbbed at the edge of his throat.
“Come on Northern!!!” At once, he let out a raging cry, breaking through both his annoying fear and the distracted Northern.
Northern immediately shifted his gaze to Ellis, however, his eyes widened in that moment, and like a stream of water—
He flowed away barely a second before the monster’s large arms powerfully landed on the floor and sent splinters of debris across all directions.
Northern softly landed, with no shoes on, an ear-to-ear grin adorning his lips.
“Oh sweet, sweet indeed, you didn’t die!” His eyes glowed with vicious happiness.
Was that even happiness? Perhaps madness, to be more precise.
Northern, however, didn’t seem to care how he looked. Right now, only one thought ran amok in his mind.
‘I want to see the full extent of the art and act of copy! I want to use Formless to its fullest potential!!’
His grin was almost tearing his face apart, making him look maniacal, absurd, and most of all, fearsome.
Ellis shuddered from the cold tendrils that crawled on his skin; he could feel the collar of his clothes wet from sweat… all in just a couple of seconds.
He didn’t know which to fear more… Northern or the Corpse Eater.
While the Corpse Eater was still marred with scars from the moments ago battle, it stood with a menacing and vicious presence.
It looked incredibly angry, two of its red orbs were gone, leaving just two left. Its jagged teeth were gritting boorishly, creating a subtle screeching sound.
Deep within those closed teeth, Ellis could see glimpses of the red glow; they had grown brighter and were flowing with a bloodthirsty radiance.
Just standing in the same space with the savage monster made Ellis’ heart squirm.
It was a cataclysm of malevolence indeed!
Northern, on the other hand… Ellis wasn’t quite sure.
His eyes were burning with an otherworldly glee, there was a delight that made no sense, it made him look almost deranged.
Faced with such a creature, it was as if Northern was incredibly happy.
Ellis just couldn’t find any words.
‘He really is mad…’
While the monster was truly intimidating, watching Northern made his entire soul cave in with fear.
Northern and the Corpse Eater locked gazes tightly before the monster shot at him with blinding velocity.
His eyes widened for a moment, the glee circumstantially disappearing from his face.
Before Northern could even flinch, the talon of the monster raked across his skin, scoring deep gashes on his pale body as he staggered back in an attempt to dodge.
‘Crap!’
His legs faltered back, and he let out a grunt of surprise and pain, clutching at the ragged gashes that instantly welled with a crimson flow that trickled down his fingers like a conscious red silk.
The Eater wasn’t done – it twisted with agonizing effort, swinging its strong tail in a horizontal arc aimed at snapping Northern’s legs out from under him.
Only his almost feral reflexes saved him.
He launched into a backwards handspring just as the appendage scythed through the space his shins had occupied.
Even so, he couldn’t fully evade – the tip clipped his bare foot, sending shockwaves of numbing force up his leg.
Northern crashed to the ground in an ungainly sprawl, but he was already moving.
The Eater loomed over him, towering against the backdrop of the inky shadows that crawled inside the mansion like a descent of destruction.
Its jaws distended in a warped grin of triumph, black ichor raining down in viscous ropes from the tattered ruin of its throat.
