He screamed in agony, but instead of begging for mercy, he used the last of his strength to shout at Lu Wanyin, "Run! Don't just stand there!"
His voice was hoarse, and his face was covered in blood, making it almost unbearable to look at.
"Aren't you an awakener? Then hurry up and run! We can't let this kind of monster live! Go! You can take revenge for me later!"
His voice grew weaker, each word seemingly draining the last of his strength.
Lu Wanyin stared at him blankly, her vision blurred by tears.
Yes, an awakener—the secret guardians of this world, silently fighting on the frontlines, protecting the peace of this land with their lives.
But what was she doing now? Letting an innocent ordinary person die in her place? And then continuing to be cowardly, never facing the beast?
Lu Wanyin took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and gripped the scythe tightly.
When she raised her head again, there was still fear in her eyes, but there was also a hint of calm and determination.
She charged towards the monster that was tearing into Jiang Huai, her silver-white hair fluttering in the wind.
"Cut! Begin!"
The girl's voice trembled as she forced her body into motion, leaping high, the scythe in her hand flashing cold light as it struck the monster's arm with all her might.
The sound of the blade cutting into flesh had never been so pleasing.
The beast let out a painful howl, its right arm severed, blood splattering.
Jiang Huai's body also fell to the ground.
The monster howled again, this time with rage, fear, and...
Mockery?
Yes, the monster's expression shifted to one of ridicule, as if everything before it were a comical performance.
It leaned back slightly, grinning broadly, showing its sharp teeth, and began to emit a harsh "cackling" laugh.
The sound echoed through the quiet alley, sending chills down the spine.
It was as though it was mocking the girl's resistance, showing how powerless and laughable it was.
Lu Wanyin held her weapon tightly, eyeing the monster warily.
Cold sweat streamed down her body, her nightgown drenched in sweat and blood, clinging tightly to her skin.
The monster suddenly made its move, its disfigured body darting toward Lu Wanyin in the blink of an eye.
Its sharp claws slashed towards her face.
Lu Wanyin dodged to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike.
But just as she thought she had evaded the attack, her eyes widened in horror as her pupils constricted in pure dread.
From the wound, a steel blade suddenly shot out, gleaming coldly.
Blood sprayed, and the blade pierced deep into her chest before her terrified eyes.
Lu Wanyin felt a chill in her chest, and then excruciating pain radiated throughout her body.
A metallic taste surged up her throat. She tried to cry out, but only weak, whimpering sounds escaped.
...
Jiang Huai nearly lost consciousness several times, his body leaning against the brick wall.
The broken arm sent waves of pain through him, more intense than the heart extraction from the previous night.
He didn't know why his healing abilities had failed him now.
But what concerned him more was that there was no sound of fighting in his ears.
Drip. Drip...
Instead, something warm was dripping onto his head, trickling down his face.
It was blood...
Jiang Huai shakily lifted his head, and his eyes fell upon the girl's face, still beautiful but now covered in blood.
Lu Wanyin was suspended in mid-air, her chest pierced by the steel blade, twitching helplessly.
Her blood soaked her body, her delicate face now blank, as though she were a doll.
Jiang Huai's heart nearly stopped at that moment.
His mind went blank, and the world seemed to lose all color in an instant.
Overwhelming sorrow and fear consumed him, suffocating him, spinning the world around him.
The monster seemed satisfied with the scene, deliberately allowing the girl's body to slide slowly down the steel blade, falling into Jiang Huai's arms.
"Jiang... Huai."
Lu Wanyin weakly lifted her head, her gaze feeble as she looked at Jiang Huai.
When she saw that he was still alive, her eyes lit up briefly, and a faint, pale smile curled at the corner of her lips.
"I... I..."
Jiang Huai trembled as he held her tightly with his remaining hand, but he could feel her body growing colder, the steel blade having pierced her heart. She was beyond saving...
"It's... it's so good... you're... alright..."
She spoke with great difficulty, each word seeming to drain the last of her strength.
Blood continued to pour from her mouth, dripping down her chin, leaving a bloody trail on her pale face.
"...I'm fine. It's because of you... you protected me... So don't let anything happen to you... Please..."
"Jiang... Jiang Huai... I need to ask you something..."
The girl tried to raise her hand, but she had no strength left. Jiang Huai immediately took her hand.
"You... what you said on the balcony... was it true, or... were you just joking?"
Jiang Huai didn't know why, but at that moment, he immediately understood what she was asking.
Jiang Huai nodded vigorously, tears streaming down his face.
"It's true... really... If you're willing, we can continue... forever..."
Lu Wanyin trembled, a relieved smile spreading across her face.
She gave him one last deep look, her eyes filled with unspoken words.
"I really want to eat... the food you made again..."
And then, she slowly closed her eyes.
She never opened them again.
Jiang Huai stared blankly at Lu Wanyin's lifeless face, his mind completely blank.
He wanted to scream, to stop everything from happening, but his tears choked him, and no sound came out.
The monster threw its head back and laughed maniacally, as if it had just seen a performance that pleased it.
Then it slowly approached Jiang Huai, each step crushing the blood of Lu Wanyin beneath it.
A nameless fire raged in Jiang Huai's heart, as though it were burning his very insides to ash.
It was anger, unwillingness, regret, and heart-wrenching sorrow.
He hated the cruelty of the world, hated the injustice of fate, and most of all, he hated himself for being powerless at this very moment.
The anger that had been suppressed deep within him reached its breaking point, and it seemed ready to burst forth.
Jiang Huai trembled, his fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms, blood dripping down.
The monster's cruel laughter echoed in his ears, agitating every nerve in his body.
Suddenly, everything in Jiang Huai's vision seemed to lose color.
Everything around him became black and white, and even the air felt filled with the scent of death.
Only the monster, the blood, and Lu Wanyin's pale face were the only colors in this black-and-white world.
A sharp pain spread through his body, and Jiang Huai let out a painful howl.
His bones seemed to crack, as if they were about to shatter at any moment.
His muscles convulsed, and his internal organs felt like they were being crushed.
He collapsed to the ground, curling up in agony.
Sweat mixed with tears, running down his cheeks.
His body began to change.
His skin turned pale, revealing stark white bones, as if they had formed a suit of armor around him.
The severed arm grew back, and eventually, the white bone helmet completely covered his head.
In the blink of an eye, a giant monster clad in white bones appeared in place.
It was massive, over two meters tall, with its entire body glistening silver-white, and its joints protruding like spikes.
Its eyes, covered by bone, suddenly flickered with cold blue flames.
An aura spread out, and almost instantly...
Countless monster hunters stopped what they were doing.
Some lifted their heads from piles of infected corpses, their faces twisted in eerie smiles.
Others stopped typing, adjusted their glasses, and moved toward a bed, watching a corner of the city.
Some tipped their cowboy hats, holding beer bottles, and their expressions gradually cleared.
Everyone became uneasy because of this aura.
This was the aura of a beast, and its level...
Was Abyss-level.
And yet, the beast before them was oblivious to everything.
It cautiously approached the suddenly appearing white monster, seemingly wanting to confirm its reality.
The beast extended one sharp claw and lightly poked at the bone monster's chest, making a "knock-knock" sound.
Though this white-bone creature was large, it was still slightly inferior compared to the beast.
Seeing no response, the beast raised its head and let out a cackling laugh, the sound reverberating through the quiet alley, grating to the ears.
Then, it lifted its severed arm, with its steel blade attached, and swung it down hard at the white monster's head.
The sharp blade sliced through the night air in a deadly arc, just moments away from cleaving the bone-like head.
At that critical moment, a bone arm shot up, meeting the fatal strike with lightning speed.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal breaking rang out as the steel blade was directly snapped by the white monster, the broken piece embedding deeply into the cement floor.
The beast's eyes widened in shock, unable to believe what had just happened.
Its grotesque face twisted in terror as it staggered back several steps.
This cautious and careful beast had never expected that its successful hunts would make it lose its alertness.
And now, by the time it realized what was happening, it seemed too late.
The white-bone monster slowly turned around, exuding the scent of death.
It took heavy steps forward, each one making the earth tremble, as though it was stepping on the beast's heart.
In the next instant, a hand covered in bone armor shot out, seizing the beast's throat.
The grip was so powerful, it seemed as though it would crush the beast's windpipe.
The beast let out a painful howl, struggling desperately, its claws scratching at the white-bone monster's arm, but it was futile. It couldn't even leave a mark on the white armor.
In the next moment, the white monster's other hand pierced the beast's abdomen.
With a horrific scream, the white-bone creature tore the beast's body apart.
Flesh tore, bones broke, and black-red entrails spilled everywhere.
The beast didn't even get a chance to scream again before it died at the monster's hands.
But the bloodbath was not yet over.
The white-bone monster leaned down, reaching into the beast's body at the torn spot, groping for something.
It quickly found its target: a jet-black crystal, exuding a murky aura.
Then, it squeezed the black crystal, and countless black fumes began flowing into the white-bone giant's body.
The transformation began at that moment. The tailbone of the giant grew wildly, a steel tail slowly dragging along the ground.
Before long, it walked slowly to Lu Wanyin's side.
The white-bone giant knelt down, gently reaching out its bony hand, brushing against her cold cheek.
At that moment, the white-bone giant's hand suddenly moved to its chest.
The bone armor slowly opened as it pierced its own body with its hand, blood flowing freely, staining the white armor red.
Soon, the white-bone giant pulled out a dark green crystal from its own body and slowly pressed it against the chest of the girl, whose life had already left her.
After a long while, the crystal began to be absorbed into Lu Wanyin's body.
The white-bone giant looked down at the lifeless girl, her body completely devoid of life.
Her once pure white dress was soaked in blood, now a horrifying dark red.
Her disheveled hair was also stained with blood, clinging to her pale face in strands.
Her beautiful eyes were closed tightly, with blood beads hanging from her long lashes, as if they would never open again.
Then, the white-bone giant gently cradled the girl's lifeless body in its arms, as if holding a fragile porcelain doll.
Her body was limp, soft as if without bones, lifeless in its embrace.
It slowly carried the girl's corpse out of the alley, which was thick with the stench of death.
The night wind blew.
Dust and debris swirled around.
The pale moonlight illuminated the giant's white skeletal frame, casting a grim light on the bloodstains on its bone armor.
As it stepped out of the alley, a revolver pressed against its forehead.
"My god."
The man smiled with excitement, adjusting his cowboy hat, clearly fascinated by the white-bone giant.
"A friggin' Abyss-level beast, I've really hit the jackpot."
But as his gaze slowly shifted toward the lifeless girl in its arms...
The smile on his face froze.
"...What the hell did you... do?"