Chapter 691: Dark Shapes

While Clyde remained trapped in his otherworldly experience with the unknown entity, Mina faced a threat that was far more familiar to her: monsters.

She had fought enough of them to understand them. No matter how terrifying they looked, she could kill most monsters now.

The creatures that had emerged from the storm were no different.

She had already killed two of the wolf-like monsters, but the storm didn’t show any sign of calming. More shapes emerged from the darkness. Two additional monsters charged through the streets toward the ritual site.

Mina tightened her grip on her twin daggers. "Seriously? How many of you bastards are there!"

The third monster lunged. Its claws swept toward her chest, forcing her to throw herself sideways.

The wind caught her clothes as she landed on one knee, and the beast’s claws struck the ground where she had stood a moment earlier.

Mina immediately activated Crimson Step and blurred as she darted beneath the monster’s forelimb.

One dagger sliced across the tendons near its wrist while the other drove into the flesh beneath its shoulder.

The beast howled and swung its enormous arm backward, but Mina had already moved away.

She circled it, keeping her distance from its claws while watching its movements.

Crimson Step carried her forward. She planted one foot against the creature’s back, climbed onto its shoulders, and drove both daggers into the side of its neck.

The monster thrashed violently, trying to throw her off.

Mina clung to its thick fur and twisted her blades deeper.

When the beast finally died, she jumped clear before its enormous body struck the ground.

She landed hard, her injured side protesting the impact.

Mina gritted her teeth and forced herself upright. There was no time to rest.

The fourth monster had already reached the settlement.

Unlike the previous creature, it did not immediately charge at her. It lowered its head and stalked forward, its pale eyes following her movement. Saliva dripped from its jaws, long claws scraped against the stone road.

Mina backed away slowly, drawing it toward a narrow street between two abandoned buildings.

The monster growled.

She turned and ran.

Its roar followed her through the settlement.

She sprinted between broken walls and houses. She deliberately slowed just enough to keep the beast interested, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure it continued following her.

The creature crashed through obstacles rather than going around them.

Mina ducked through the entrance of an old building.

The interior was dim and filled with debris. Broken furniture lay scattered across the floor, cracked support beams leaned dangerously overhead.

She rushed deeper inside, searching for an exit at the rear.

Her boot struck a loose stone. She slipped.

"Shit!"

Mina hit the floor hard and slid across the dust-covered stone. She feels pain on her side, but she quickly rolled behind a wooden partition just as the monster smashed through the entrance.

The beast’s claws scraped against the floor. Its heavy footsteps shook the building, sending dust drifting from the ceiling.

Mina held her breath. She could hear it sniffing the air.

The creature moved farther inside, its enormous head turning from side to side as it searched for her.

She tightened her fingers around her daggers and waited.

The monster passed the broken partition.

Mina attack. Crimson Step propelled her from cover, carrying her beneath the creature’s neck before it could turn.

Her first dagger plunged into the joint of its foreleg. She twisted the blade and pulled it free, then slashed the other dagger across its throat.

The monster bellowed and swung its head toward her.

She ducked beneath its jaws, but one of its claws caught her shoulder and sent her stumbling sideways.

Her back struck a stone pillar hard, knocking the breath from her lungs.

For a moment, her vision blurred.

The monster turned toward her, blood running down its neck. It limped but still strong enough to tear her apart with a single strike.

Mina pushed herself away from the pillar.

The beast was wounded, and its movements had grown weaker.

The monster lunged.

Mina waited until its jaws opened, then dropped low and slid beneath its head.

Her dagger struck the damaged foreleg again, cutting deeper into the injured joint. The creature’s weight shifted abruptly and its front half crashed against the floor.

Before it could recover, Mina sprang onto its lowered head and drove her second dagger into its eye.

The beast convulsed violently. She held on for a moment, then wrenched the blade free and jumped away as it thrashed against the floor.

Its movements gradually weakened, and it died.

She checked her surroundings before retrieving her daggers and wiping the blood from their blades.

Then she hurried outside.

The storm had grown even worse.

Wind swept with enough force to scatter loose stones and dead branches across the streets.

The sky had turned almost completely black, swallowing the distant hills and the tops of the trees. Lightning flashed behind the clouds, illuminating the ruins in brief bursts.

Mina returned to the Clyde.

Several monster corpses lay scattered across the ground. Their bodies were sprawled among the stones and grass, their blood darkening the earth.

Clyde remained motionless inside the dark dome. Thin strands of unfamiliar energy curled around its surface, forming a barrier that separated him from the raging storm.

Mina stared at him for a moment before releasing a weary sigh.

She surveyed the settlement, looking between the buildings and the dark tree line. Nothing moved. No more glowing eyes watched her from the shadows or monstrous silhouettes.

Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

Then the sky rumbled.

Mina looked up. A flash of lightning split the darkness, followed almost immediately by a deafening crack of thunder.

Before the thunder had even faded, another bolt descended.

Lightning struck the ground, the rooftops, the distant hills with terrifying frequency. Each flash came barely three seconds after the last, leaving almost no time for the thunder to die away.

The entire settlement seemed trapped beneath an endless barrage of lightning.

"What the hell?"

This was different. The lightning seemed almost deliberate, striking the world with unnatural frequency.

The ground trembled beneath her feet.

A low rumble rolled through the clouds. Then the sound deepened, stretching across the sky with a strange, guttural quality that made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

It sounded like a growl. A monstrous growl, so enormous that the clouds seemed to vibrate.

Mina slowly lowered her arm and stared upward.

Something moved behind the storm clouds.

She could not make out its shape. The darkness concealed most of its body, flashes of lightning briefly revealed only indistinct contours buried within the swirling mass.

Whatever it was, it was enormous.

"You’re fucking kidding me."

Her gaze darted toward Clyde and the dark dome surrounding him. He remained focused on the ritual, seemingly oblivious to the storm, the corpses, and whatever monstrous presence lurked above the clouds.

Mina clenched her daggers until her knuckles hurt.

"What the hell did you do, Clyde?"

—