Chapter 70: The Unascended

[Short sword seleted]

The creature lunged.

It threw itself forward.

A short silver sword materialized in his hand.

The blade was short enough for close combat, roughly the length of K’s forearm, but unusually thick near the spine. Its edge tapered into an extremely fine point, allowing it to pierce as easily as it could slash. There were no conventional forging marks along its surface. Instead, faint circular patterns spiraled from the base of the blade toward the tip, remnants of the ring’s original structure.

Dozens of hands and feet exploded against the ground, propelling the enormous mass toward its target with terrifying speed.

Its limbs stretched outward as it moved, fingers spreading like hooks.

The first pair of hands reached forward.

Then another.

Then another.

The entity’s entire body seemed to unfold in midair, transforming from a compact ball into a horrifying tangle of limbs.

It attempted to swarm K beneath itself.

Any limb that managed to make contact immediately grabbed, pulled, or struck, while the others continued dragging the creature forward.

Once K managed to escape, the entity simply collapsed back into itself.

Hands folded.

Legs tucked inward.

Bodies rolled over bodies.

Then it became a ball again.

And it chased.

Its greatest advantage wasn’t strength alone.

It was unpredictability.

There was no attack pattern because there was no singular body controlling it.

One Vashki could reach from the left while another lunged from underneath. A third could suddenly kick against the ground and send the entire mass rolling sideways. Another could seize him while the rest of the bodies pulled in the opposite direction.

This entity could attack from almost any angle.

And whenever K thought he had found its center of mass, the creature would simply rearrange itself.

Its porcelain bodies clicked and shifted.

Its rings flickered.

Its many faceless heads turned toward him.

Then every limb stopped.

For one eerie moment, the entire thing was completely still.

The creature compressed itself.

K tightened both hands around the short sword and lowered his stance.

The mass of Unascended Vashkis suddenly launched itself forward again.

K moved.

The creature hit the place where he had been standing a fraction of a second earlier, dozens of hands slamming into the sand at once. Its enormous body rolled over itself and several legs kicked outward, sweeping across the ground.

K jumped.

A foot passed beneath him.

He twisted in midair and brought the sword down.

The blade struck one of the exposed limbs.

A sharp crack rang through the beach.

The porcelain split.

Silver blood sprayed across the sand.

The creature recoiled, but instead of retreating, several arms immediately grabbed the wounded limb and pulled it back into the mass. Bodies folded over one another, concealing the damaged section.

K landed and slid several feet across the wet sand towards the shoreline.

"That’s going to be annoying."

The creature rolled again.

K sprinted toward it instead of waiting.

His bare feet dug into the sand as he accelerated. The entity was already unfolding, dozens of hands reaching toward him from different angles.

K ducked beneath the first arm.

Another hand swung toward his face.

He tilted his head but it didn’t stop the fingers from scrapping past his cheek.

A third limb came from behind.

K twisted around it and slashed.

The short sword cut through the wrist.

The severed hand dropped into the sand.

K barely had time to register it before another pair of arms lunged for his legs.

He jumped and planted one foot against the creature’s torso.

The porcelain beneath his sole shifted.

K pushed off.

He spun backward through the air as several limbs snapped together where his body had been.

He landed on one knee.

The system appeared in the corner of his vision.

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[COMBAT ANALYSIS]

TARGET: UNASCENDED

MULTIPLE SOUL SIGNATURES DETECTED.

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K glanced toward the creature.

"Unascended?"

The monster came again.

K sprinted toward it.

This time, he wasn’t aiming for the limbs.

He was looking between them.

Vashkis possessed the same anatomy as humans.

The best way to cut down this creature was to rid it of its mobility and attack,

The creature rolled toward him like an enormous ball, its arms and legs folding inward as it gained speed.

K waited until the last possible second.

Then he jumped.

The creature passed underneath him.

K twisted in the air and drove the short sword downward again.

The blade pierced through a narrow opening between two fused arms.

A violent shriek erupted from the creature.

K’s eyes widened.

He felt the sword catch on something beneath the porcelain.

Then he pulled.

The blade tore free.

Silver blood splashed across his bare body.

The creature slammed sideways, several bodies tumbling apart before pulling themselves back together.

K landed hard.

The entity rolled toward him again.

"Come on."

It sped up.

K raised his sword.

The first limb reached him.

He cut it.

Another.

He cut that one too.

A third arm wrapped around his waist.

K grunted with a stagger.

The limb tightened.

Another hand grabbed his shoulder.

Then another seized his leg.

The creature pulled.

K was dragged toward the center of the mass.

"Get the fuck off!"

He stabbed downward.

The short sword punched through the arm around his waist.

The limb released him, so did the others.

K immediately rolled away, but the creature followed.

Several feet struck the ground simultaneously, propelling the mass forward.

K sprinted.

The monster chased him.

He glanced over his shoulder.

It was getting faster.

Its limbs struck the ground in rapid succession, turning its entire body into a bizarre rolling mechanism. Every time it tumbled, different limbs took over the movement.

K suddenly changed direction.

The creature couldn’t stop.

Its momentum carried it past him.

K turned and chased it.

He jumped onto the back of the rolling mass.

Several hands immediately reached for him.

K slashed left.

A wrist broke, its tendons tearing apart.

He slashed right.

A forearm split.

He drove the sword downward.

The blade struck another fusion point.

The creature screamed.

K pulled the sword free and jumped away before several limbs crashed into the spot.

He landed, breathing heavily.

The system flashed.

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[STAMINA: 64%]

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His stamina was already dropping.

K wiped silver blood from his face.

"Fine."

He looked at the creature.

"If you want to play like this..."

He raised the sword.

"...I’ll cut you apart piece by piece."

The entity unfolded.

For the first time, K could see just how many Vashkis were trapped inside it.

At least ten.

Maybe more.

Their porcelain bodies had fused together in a tangled sphere of limbs, each one moving independently.

K realized something.

It wasn’t attacking as one creature.

It was attacking as several.

One body lunged.

Another protected it.

Another tried to grab him.

Another pushed the entire mass forward.

It was like a hive mind but instead of thinking as one they moved like a pack of wolves.

Attacking and protecting.

He could exploit that.

K charged.

The creature responded immediately.

Three limbs shot toward him.

K cut the first.

He ducked beneath the second.

He caught the third with his forearm and allowed its momentum to carry him sideways.

He planted his foot.

Pulled.

The limb stretched.

K used the opening.

His short sword flashed.

The blade struck the body beneath the arm.

Crack.

The porcelain split.

K struck again.

Crack.

A third time.

The torso finally fractured.

The creature convulsed.

K jumped backward as the mass collapsed.

For a moment, the individual Vashkis spilled apart across the sand.

K saw one crawling toward him.

Then another.

Then all of them.

"Shit."

They scrambled across the ground on their hands and feet.

K backed away.

One leapt.

K raised his sword.

The blade entered its chest.

K pushed forward.

The Vashki struck his chest with both hands, trying to pull him down.

K kicked it away.

Another came from his left.

He turned.

Slash.

Its arm fell.

Another from behind.

K ducked.

Its hand passed over his head.

He spun and drove the pommel of the sword into its chest.

The porcelain cracked.

He followed with a horizontal slash.

The blade cut through its torso.

The body collapsed.

K didn’t stop.

The remaining Vashkis rushed him together.

Hands clawed at him. Feet kicked against his legs.

K swung the sword in tight arcs, refusing to allow them close enough to overwhelm him.

One grabbed his shoulder.

He slammed his elbow into its chest.

Another caught his wrist.

K twisted.

The creature’s grip tightened.

K drove his forehead into its face.

The porcelain cracked.

He ripped his arm free and stabbed upward beneath its ribs.

The sword pierced through its chest.

Silver blood ran down the blade.

K kicked the Vashki away.

The remaining bodies collided into one another.

They began fusing again.

K’s eyes widened.

"No."

He charged.

The creature compressed itself.

Its limbs folded inward.

K ran faster.

The mass began rolling.

K jumped.

He brought the short sword down with both hands.

The blade struck directly into the center.

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Ring Resonance.

[Skill is Active]

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A shockwave of silver light exploded outward.

The creature stopped.

Every limb froze.

K remained suspended against it for a heartbeat before wrenching the sword free.

The entire mass cracked.

Not one crack.

Hundreds.

Thin fractures raced across the porcelain bodies like lightning.

Then the creature collapsed.

The fused bodies separated and hit the sand one after another.

The beach fell silent.

K stood over them, breathing heavily.

His entire was covered in silver blood.

His short sword trembled in his hand.

Then one final Vashki moved.

Its hand crawled toward him.

K looked down.

The faceless head lifted slightly.

Its fingers reached.

K raised his sword.

"I don’t know what happened to you but I have somewhere to be... and it sure as hell ain’t here."

He brought the blade down.

The movement stopped.

A translucent screen appeared before him.

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[TARGET ELIMINATED.]

[UNASCENDED DEFEATED.]

[QUEST COMPLETE.]

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K stared at the message.

Then another appeared.

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[REWARD GRANTED.]

+500 EXP

+5 ATTRIBUTE POINTS

[SOUL EXTRACTION UNLOCKED.]

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K lowered his sword.

The corpses around him began to glow.

Thin strands of pale light emerged from the broken porcelain bodies and rose into the air.

K watched as the lights twisted together above the battlefield.

His system began scanning them.

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[MULTIPLE SOUL FRAGMENTS DETECTED.]

[BEGINNING EXTRACTION...]

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