Chapter 85: Stitch-Splicer

May finally couldn’t hold back any longer. Reaching out, she clamped her hand securely around Theo’s wrist just as it glided across her skin.

"Hmm?" Theo paused his movements, raising an eyebrow at her.

Biting her lower lip, May’s face flushed a deep, burning crimson. Her wide, glistening eyes were shrouded in mist, carrying an expression that seemed equal parts accusation and invitation.

"Theo..." her voice sounded soft, almost like a cozy whimpering complaint, "don’t... don’t just wash me..."

Theo’s breathing hitched slightly. He looked down at her—at the small hand clutching his wrist, and at her delicate eyelashes trembling from pure nervous tension.

"Then what would you like?"

May stayed quiet, but her grip on his wrist didn’t loosen for a second.

Theo let out a low, smooth laugh. Reaching back, he flipped his hand around to interlace his fingers firmly with hers.

"I understand."

Guiding her hand forward, he pressed her palm flat against his warm chest, letting her feel the deep, powerful thrum of his heartbeat through the steam. From there, he led her down the defined contours of his abdominal wall.

"Here," he murmured, his voice laced with a subtle, dark charm as he pressed her palm over his hard eight-pack, "do you like it?"

May’s mind went completely blank. Feeling the firm, burning warmth beneath her palm, she nodded honestly out of instinct—a reaction that felt entirely absurd even to herself.

"It seems," Theo chuckled softly, the vibration echoing against her ears within the tight shower stall, "your hand is far more honest than your mouth."

Before his words even settled, he guided her palm further down—skimming past the sharp line of his pelvis, crossing the perilous boundary, and stopping right at...

Leading her palm straight down the grooves of his abdomen, the rising steam flushed both of their skins with a light, rosy glow.

May’s heart hammered like a war drum, her brain turning entirely to mush.

Wait wait wait... Isn’t this moving way too fast?! I haven’t even prepared myself mentally! And I’m still sore!

"Theo..." Her voice trembled, carrying a delicate whimpering tone mixed with something far more intense.

Theo dipped his head, his dark eyes resembling a deep, bottomless well, a faint smirk resting on his lips that could make anyone’s knees go weak.

"Don’t be afraid," he rasped, his warm breath fanning against her ear. "My hand is far steadier than Ace’s mouth."

A shivering wave ran through May’s entire body. Her fingers subconsciously tightened, her nails brushing lightly against his taut abdominal muscles.

Theo’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently down his throat, his breathing growing instantly heavy and ragged.

Right at that exact second—

THUD—!

A heavy, muffled impact echoed from the far end of the hallway, sounding like a massive weight being dragged forcefully across the floorboards. The harsh screech of metal scraping against raw concrete made everyone’s skin crawl.

Theo froze instantly.

In a fraction of a second, his relaxed composure vanished completely. Sheathing his playful demeanor like a drawn blade, the flirtatious gentleness evaporated in an instant.

"What was that sound?" May whispered, her voice still carrying its soft, lingering breath.

"Not a word."

Theo clamped a hand over her mouth, pulling her behind his broad frame as he pressed his back against the wall, straining his ears to listen to the activity outside.

Flicking off the showerhead, the bathroom fell into a dead silence, broken only by the sound of their steady breathing.

THUD... THUD... THUD...

The dragging noise grew steadily closer, unhurried yet unrelenting, as if an enormous creature were dragging its heavy body step by step along the corridor.

Then came a sharp CRACK.

It wasn’t footsteps—it was the sound of a load-bearing wall being brutally pulverized from the outside.

"Fuck."

Theo swore under his breath. Grabbing a dry towel off the rack, he wrapped May up tight and shoved her behind him.

BOOM—!

The main structural wall of the pharmacy was smashed open from the outside, creating a massive breach as dust and debris rained down into the room.

A heavy hand reached through the gaping hole.

No—it wasn’t just a single hand. It was three distinct arms attached to a single shoulder joint.

Immediately following, a monstrous horror squeezed its way inside through the broken wall.

May’s eyes widened in shock.

Peering through the gap, the creature stood at least eight feet tall, composed of three human bodies stitched together in a grotesque mass. Rough, thick sutures crisscrossed its pale skin like a mad surgeon had bound the parts together with coarse hemp rope.

It possessed six arms distributed along its flanks and back, each ending in a set of mutated, razor-sharp talons. Three distinct faces were mashed onto a single enlarged head, their eyes darting around erratically while their mouths opened and closed to emit a three-part harmonic roar.

[System Notice: New mutated variant detected — ’Stitch-Splicer’!] [Threat Level: S!] [Characteristics: Three-body fusion, coordinated six-arm combat, extreme regenerative capabilities, weak point unknown!]

May’s knees went completely weak, nearly sending her to the floor. "Theo... what in God’s name is that thing?!"

"A new mutated variant," Theo grunted, his free hand already clamping hard around the hilt of his surgical knife.

The Stitch-Splicer’s three heads spun toward the bathroom simultaneously. Six eyes locked firmly onto May—though it was unclear how it perceived them through the frosted glass, it clearly picked up the scent of living flesh.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the creature pushed off with its six arms, launching its massive frame forward like a giant spider at a speed that belied its enormous size.

"Theo!"

Ace was the first to react from outside the door.

The gun in his hand roared instantly.

BANG-BANG-BANG—!

The heavy rounds slammed into the creature’s torso, splashing dark, viscous blood across the floor. Yet the monster merely paused for a fraction of a second before its wounds began closing up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"It won’t die!" Ace swore, shoving his firearm back into his waistband as he yelled over to Theo: "Get her out of here! I’ll hold this thing off!"

Theo didn’t waste a single breath. Scooping his arm around May’s waist, he tucked her firmly under his side and bolted toward the small back exit inside the shower room.

"Ace!" May looked back over her shoulder, her eyes rimmed with red.

My third husband can’t get hurt out here!!!

Ace didn’t look back. The signature gentle smile touched his lips, his voice as smooth as if he were comforting a child:

"Don’t be scared, Sister-in-law. I will join you as soon as I finish killing these."

The moment his words landed, two tactical short blades slid into his hands from his belt. Holding them in a reverse grip, he pressed the back of the blades against his forearms.

The Stitch-Splicer lunged forward, all six arms snapping toward Ace simultaneously.

Side-stepping gracefully like a dancer executing a spin, Ace guided his twin blades underneath the assault, precisely slicing through the tendons of the creature’s left two arms.

GRAAAH—!

The monster let out a three-part shriek as its severed limbs tumbled to the floor, twitching violently on the tiles.

Landing smoothly, Ace spun on his heel with his blade tips pointing downward, his posture completely relaxed and composed.

"First strike: left arm tendons."

Roaring again, the Stitch-Splicer lunged forward with increased speed, swinging its four remaining intact arms down together.

Ace leaned backward, bending his torso into an impossible arc as four sharp claw gusts whistled past the tip of his nose by half an inch. Using the backward momentum, he executed a fluid roll, crossing his twin blades into a vice-like shear—

"Second strike: right arm arteries."

Dark blood erupted into the air as the arms on the monster’s right side went completely limp.

Yet the exact moment Ace landed his strike—

BOOM!

The adjacent wall exploded into rubble once more as a second Stitch-Splicer burst through from the neighboring room.

This one was significantly larger than the first, fashioned from four fused bodies and sporting eight long, mutated arms.

"Damn it!"

The smile on Ace’s face froze for half a second.

Pincer-attacked from both front and rear, Ace was boxed right in the middle. Yet instead of retreating, his gentle smile broadened, his almond eyes surging with unhinged excitement.

"Come on then, all of you."

Twirling his twin blades as their edges gleamed with an arctic light, he charged straight toward both monstrosities.

In the dim lighting of the pharmacy, the silver arcs of his blades flashed like a sequence of shooting stars—every single cut striking with surgical precision at the structural joints, severing the heavy sutures and sending broken limbs flying through the air.