It hadn’t been long since Adam fell asleep, perhaps only a few hours, when he was once again woken up.
But this ti, it wasn’t because of the voices inside his head or the ravings of the Faceless Mask. No, the danger had grown, though not within him. He doubted his madness could worsen further. The threat was external, and it had beco extrely dire.
The growls started low, almost like a soft rumble, then quickly grew louder and harsher. They were deep and guttural as they rolled through the air. It was rough and jagged, and it seed that the sounds were clawing closer and closer with each passing second.
Every second, they grew sharper, stronger, and more urgent, echoing off the abandoned streets of the city and making the ground tremble.
The beasts in the city were growing restless, impatient, and circling closer than ever before. They were drawn by the sound of laughter and screaming, their hunger and malice turning the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
Adam woke up with a start, his charred body drenched in a layer of cold sweat. The guttaral sound of beasts had beco as loud as the whispers of the Laughing God inside his head. Perhaps... louder.
"Wh-what is happening?" He murmured in apprehension as he glanced around. "Is... is this a dream?"
The mimic was by his side, screaming frantically. "Gege! Gege!"
"Gege, what... what’s going on?" He reached out for the chest, trying to pat its wooden head.
But the next mont, the mimic transford into a leather rucksack and strapped itself onto Adam’s back. It then opened its mouth, revealing its rows of razor-sharp teeth, and scread, "Gege! Gege!"
Adam instantly beca paranoid, wondering what was happening around him.
Why did the air suddenly feel so thick and full of tangible threats?
Why was the city engulfed in the growls of fantastical beasts when it was supposed to be relatively empty?
Just what was going on?
His heart beat furiously as he tried to gather his senses. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled deeply as he tried to calm down his emotions. But nothing he did helped.
And right at that mont, the strangely familiar voice echoed directly inside his mind:
"It’s not looking good, old sport."
"Where are you?" Adam blurted out. "What’s happening to ? Is this real? Am I dreaming?! Wh-what’s happening?!"
The white-robed Adam was nowhere in sight, yet his voice echoed inside Adam’s mind nonetheless. "We need to leave!"
Noticing the sense of urgency in the voice, Adam couldn’t help but panic. He involuntarily gulped and, without hesitating for a second further, expanded his Sphere of Resonance.
When he observed his surroundings, his heart nearly stopped beating.
There were hundreds of beasts surrounding the building. Then, through the window, Adam noticed sothing that made him shudder to his very bones...
A giant eye with a yellow iris and black vertical pupil stared coldly at him.
The mont the owner of the gigantic eye noticed Adam’s ’gaze’ on it, its vertical pupil constricted, radiating intense bloodthirst and dark hostility.
Adam, on the other hand, slowly found his lips curling into a wide, fearful grin.
A highly dangerous and powerful beast was staring right at him!!
Before Adam even knew what he was doing, his instincts took over. In the next instant, a small black stick appeared on his palm. He aid it straight at the giant eye and whispered in snaketongue:
"Expand..."
BOOM!
In an instant, a thick column of black pillar tore through the building at a crooked angle. One end of the pillar slamd onto the ground on the western side of the building, while the other side jutted out from the far side, bursting straight into the...
HIIISSSS!
The other side of the black pillar had viciously driven deep into the eye of the beast—which turned out to be a Mana Core-level serpent. The force of the attack sent the gigantic snake reeling, its head thrashing in pain and agony as blood spewed from its ruined eye in thick streams.
Despite the pain from the surprise attack, the beast did not waste ti to retaliate. With its other eye gleaming with fury and bloodlust, the serpent whipped its massive, scaly tail at the building with full force.
The impact shook the structure to its core. The walls broke apart, the beams splintered, and chunks of stones and debris rained down as the entire place collapsed. This building, which once used to be a place of learning, was now nothing more than rubble... destroyed by the wrath of a seething serpent.
And amidst the falling stone and debris, a figure cloaked in dust and madness burst forth like a shooting star. Adam flailed his limbs frantically as he plumted towards the ground.
"Close! Close! Close! Close!" he cried, repeating the sa words like a lunatic, his lips curling into a wide, unnatural grin. And whe he observed his landing spot below, his grin stretched even further.
A sea of beasts awaited him, their eyes clouded in a strange daze, yet their very figures radiated pain, anger, and bloodlust.
And before Adam could even react... he plunged into the horde of beasts and was instantly swallowed by the tide of claws and fangs!
anwhile, when the colossal serpent behind him took notice of this turn of events, the rage in its heart finally susided, albeit very slightly. Then, it shifted its attention to the black pillar embedded into its eye.
The pillar... it was strange and unsettling. It attracted the serpent in ways it could not explain. For a fleeting mont, the thought crept into its mind: if it could sohow absorb the black staff into its body, then maybe, just maybe, its power would grow!
For there was one thing that it knew for certain... the staff was no ordinary object. It was a remnant of a kin far stronger than itself.
But before it could act further, its other eye narrowed, and it shifted its attention to the spot where Adam had been engulfed by the beasts under its control.
And then... sothing spectacular happened.
A typhoon of steel and power erupted as chains whipped through the air, ripping flesh and bone, reducing beasts to blood paste. At the heart of the chaotic storm of chains and blades, Adam erged... drenched in blood and madness.
Without even turning around, he stretched out his hand, then spat with a crooked grin:
"Shrink. Return."
HIIIISSSS!
The Staff of Calamity ripped free from the serpent’s eye, drawing out a fresh torrent of blood and agony. It spun in the air and shrank at a rapid pace as it moved towards Adam. Then, just as the staff settled into his hand... it disappeared.
Without a mont’s pause, Adam broke into a run, his deranged laughter echoing through the streets of the Forgotten City.
But the colossal serpent wasn’t done with him yet. No, it had only just begun! With a thunderous hiss, it commanded the horde of beasts to pursue the madman.
No matter what... it would kill him and reclaim the mysterious staff!
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