After effortlessly defeating the Grivarns, Cydal advanced through the blood-soaked, foul-smelling hall, hoping he'd reach Gunserr soon.
Then Gunserr's voice dropped, curious and mocking at the same time.
"Hey, hey. Tell me... why didn't you use Null? You could've just erased them. Doesn't he let you undo their existence in a snap. Why fight so hard? Why waste strength and stamina?"
Gunserr's laughter echoed through the stone halls like a skipping record, looping and stretching unnaturally.
"Huahuahua… is it because you can't control him?"
His words lingered in the air like fog.
"Every time you use him… you're burning through your own body, aren't you? You lose your human half when he takes over, he isn't yours is he?"
"There's no telling how long this little dungeon will last… or what waits deeper inside."
Cydal said. "I'll wait. I want the right opportunity to use him."
But then… The air thickened. Inside Cydal, within that buried depth of soul a voice cracked through the silence.
It was Null and he laughed at Cydal because the words Gunserr said were true.
After a bit of walking, Cydal finally reached the far end of the hallway.
For a moment, the floor trembled, almost contracted and then shifted.
With a sickening groan, the walls pulled apart, splitting along hidden seams to reveal a new pathway. It was alive, somehow, and it welcomed him deeper inside.
The new corridor ahead no longer resembled stone or metal.
The walls were a slick, pulsating red, coated in a thin membrane of mucus that glistened under the dim, breathing light. Every few seconds, the surface twitched with subtle, rhythmic spasms as if responding to a heartbeat somewhere deeper within.
*Huahuahua!*
Gunserr's broken laugh echoed once again through the flesh-like walls, shaking the very membrane around Cydal.
"You're not tired already, are you?"
He mocked gleefully. "This is barely the second floor.
Come on, Player No.1, you have to keep moving if you want a chance to fight me!"
The walls pulsed wetly in rhythm with Gunserr's voice, as if laughing along.
"Hmm... what kind of enemy should I send next?"
He pretended to ponder theatrically. "It has to fit the scenery, after all."
"You want me to send a bunch of Digasters? Nah... too generic."
Suddenly, his voice sharpened with excitement.
"Oh oh, I know..! I'll send you a Gastroworm!"
The ground ahead tore open with a wet ripping sound.
From the fleshy wound slithered a horrifying creature:
The Gastroworm was long and serpentine, about the size of a man but grotesquely stretched and flexible. Its body was semi-transparent, showing distorted lumps of half-digested material moving inside its gut. Its skin was coated with a layer of acidic slime, steaming wherever it touched the ground. Rows of tiny hooked teeth lined its lamprey-like mouth, which kept twitching open and closed, revealing a black tunnel into its digestive tract. Strangely, sprouting along It's back were dozens of gas-bladder like sacs, inflating and deflating as it moved, releasing a faint mist into the air.
Gunserr's voice giggled cruelly from above.
"Careful, Player No.1... Those gas bladders release Digestive Mist, it's the same chemicals your own stomach uses to dissolve food."
"Even breathing it in will start melting you from the inside out.
Heheheh... let's see how you fight now."
The Gastroworm opened It's gaping mouth wide, and lurched forward with sickening speed.
Cydal moved fast, rolling over the slimy, uneven floor, but even that slight contact was enough, the thin film of acid clung to his clothes like invisible fire. Almost instantly, small holes began forming, the fabric darkening and peeling away as if eaten by unseen mouths.
The smell was putrid, a mix of burnt hair, rotting meat, and sour acid was thick enough to make the back of his throat gag.
Cydal clicked his tongue sharply. It was organic acid... not industrial...He mentally noted how it behaved, slow on thick materials, faster on skin or exposed tissue.
Not just any acid it was something like gastric acid, but unnaturally concentrated.
It's mimicking the chemical makeup of a stomach, he realized, scanning the oozing, twitching walls, Cydal crouched, brushing two fingers across the sticky moisture gathering on the floor. It clung to his skin like bile.
"Hydrochloric acid... but airborne?" he muttered, almost impressed.
The realization clicked into place like gears grinding in his mind.
The dungeon wasn't just trying to kill him.
It was replicating a digestive process, turning the entire room into a stomach, slowly releasing toxic gastric gases to weaken him, break down his skin, his muscles, his bones until there was nothing left but sludge.
He wiped his fingers against the ground, smearing the residue.
The blood at his feet was already starting to fizz and lose color.
The Gastroworm opened its gaping mouth wide, and lurched forward with sickening speed again it was relentless. It kept wriggling faster, lunging again and again.
When Cydal dodged another strike, the worm suddenly exhaled, blowing a toxic gas straight at him. The cloud hit his bandaged arm, the fabric burned away and something underneath twitched, struggling violently.
A voice, familiar and venomous, growled inside him.
"Let me out. You're too weak. You'll get us both killed."
It was Null, coiled and furious, gnashing his invisible teeth.
Cydal dodged another attack while Null thrashed against his mind.
He grinned coldly.
"Why don't you help me, then?" he muttered under his breath.
"If we defeat it we escape together."
But Null's laugh slithered across his spine, a gut-wrenching whisper.
"No."
"Once your body dies here and gets digested, I'll be free and he'll give me his body."
"Haven't you seen it? That's what he wants."
"He's offered me something much better. Freedom!"
Cydal's eyes sharpened.
No time for traitors now.
The Gastroworm reared up behind him again, but Cydal didn't slow down.
He veered sideways, sprinting toward a shallow, bubbling pit, acidic steam rising from it like a slow death.
The Gastroworm leapt after him but Cydal pivoted sharply at the last second.
The worm, unable to stop its momentum, plunged straight into the corrosive pool.
Its body sizzled and burned, twisting and shrieking as it dissolved into the bubbling acid.
Cydal exhaled once, steadying himself after his little victory but then he heard another growl.
It was low and hungry but it was deeper than before.
The walls around him pulsed faster, like the hunger was growing, like the place itself was getting desperate.
Gunserr's voice broke through the tension, weaker now.
No laughter.
No clapping.
Only a faint panting.
"I see…" he said, voice raspy.
"You used the environment against my monsters. I suppose that can be considered smart..."
He didn't sound amused anymore.
He sounded afraid.
"Hurry up and move to the next floor. I'm not sending you a weak opponent this time."
The air grew thicker, reeking of gastric acid and other stomach bile. Every passing second turned the floor more hostile. Cydal knew if he waited here too long, he'd be digested alive.
His nails retracted like blades unsheathing. He turned toward the pulsing red walls of flesh and moved forward, ready to strike.
"What are you doing?!" Gunserr barked, alarmed. "Your path is that way. You can't—"
"Aaarghhh!"
Gunserr's scream pierced the space as Cydal slashed through the living walls with brutal precision. He didn't stop there. Again and again, his nails ripped through the tissue, ignoring the howls. The room quaked with pain until a surge of vomit burst forth, soaking and drowning Cydal in acidic bile.
When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in the normal school hallway.
Gunserr stood there, barely upright, panting hard. His stomach growled like an empty beast. His arms hung lifelessly at his sides, fingers limp, head bowed. Then slowly, his neck twisted unnaturally to face Cydal.
His mouth dripped with saliva. Eyes glowed red, wild and burning.
"I'm so hungry..." he whispered.
Without warning, he lunged like a rabid dog, jaws aimed at Cydal's arm. He caught him his teeth nearly sinking in his flesh before Cydal punched him off.
But what shocked him wasn't the sudden attack. It was how solid Gunserr's face felt after hitting him. His scrawny, bony frame was hard, hard like steel.
Cydal stepped back, his instincts flaring.
Something was wrong.
This wasn't the cheerful Gunserr.
He moved with twitchy, impulsive energy like a starved beast and his stomach wouldn't stop growling.
Gunserr lunged again with a snarl.
Cydal dropped low and kicked, sending him flying across the hall. But Gunserr twisted in mid-air, digging his claws into the wall, hanging like an insect.
He started crawling sideways, toward Cydal again.
"I'm so hungry!" he howled.
"I hate it, I hate it! I want blood!"
He scrambled up the ceiling, closing in fast. Cydal backed off, tried to put distance, but it was too late. Gunserr dropped like a missile, slamming him into the floor and sinking his teeth into Cydal's neck.
Cydal clenched his jaw, groaning in pain. Gunserr's teeth were too sharp, his bite vicious and his weight was unnatural for a body so scrawny.
And inside him, Null stirred.
It's cold laughter echoed through Cydal's core, chilling him from within.
He was enjoying this.
But Cydal didn't give in. His nails retracted again, then drove deep into Gunserr's back.
Gunserr screamed, recoiling.
Cydal shuddered, blood dripping from his neck from the bite. Gunserr licked his lips, tasting the blood but spat it out with disgust.
"You're a half-demon..." he growled.
"Even if you're human now... your blood is bitter, your flesh is too hard. I hate it, I hate it!"
His face twisted into something unrecognizable.
"But I want to gut you. Maybe... maybe I'll find something soft and delicious inside."
Cydal dropped into his animalistic stance, Low to the ground, all four limbs set with precision. His hands were spread wide, fingers curled like claws. Legs bent, ready to spring, shift, or strike. He was a creature honed for war, his attack and defense fused into one.
Gunserr snarled and lunged, jaws wide, aiming straight for his guts.
But Cydal didn't flinch. Calmly, he lifted his leg straight for the ceiling, it was flexible and deliberate. As Gunserr came close, Cydal unleashed his devastating kick downwards.
Boom!
The impact cracked the air. The force shattered nearby glass windows, and the floor ruptured beneath Gunserr as his skull was driven straight down into it, cratering the tiles and sending rubble flying.
Even without Null's help, Cydal had reached at least Level 18, it was modest by player standards but his real weapon wasn't levels. It was Null's limbs.
The friction from the kick tore his pants at the thigh, revealing the unnatural green of Null's invasive leg, just like the bandaged arms, it was veined, rough like a reptile's skin and pulsing with dormant power.
"You were right," Cydal said coldly, stepping forward.
"Null does take over my body when I use his power. And yes, he's stronger than me..."
He looked down at the crater, where Gunserr twitched in pain.
"...But my spirit is superior as long as I exist, he can't control this body."
The air trembled around him.
Null's limbs weren't just powerful, they were monstrous. Harder than steel, heavier than tons of metal and in Cydal's control, they became execution tools, allowing him to release attacks no human body should survive.
But Gunserr was no ordinary human.
Despite the devastating kick, he began to move slowly. Twitchingly pushing himself up to his knees. His bones cracked like splintering metal, but he rose.
His body wasn't just tough, it was monstrous. He was tougher than steel as well.
Bones so dense they defied reason, giving him near-immortal defense and terrifying strength.
He stood there, barely upright, his limbs limp, his head drooping forward like a broken puppet.
Then he screamed:
"I'm so hungry!"
And the moment he looked up, Cydal was already rushing him.
Gunserr sprang to life, shifting his legs and lunging forward like a starved wolf. His jaw snapped open with wild hunger, aiming for Cydal's throat or limbs anything he could sink his teeth into.
Cydal dodged, bouncing back just in time. Gunserr didn't stop.
He came again.
Snap—miss.
Again.
Snap—miss.
When his teeth nearly grazed Cydal's arm, he was met with a brutal punch to the side of the face. But even as his head jerked sideways, Gunserr launched forward again, unrelenting.
Cydal gritted his teeth. He's not slowing down...
More punches. More lunges.
Gunserr didn't seem to register pain anymore. He just kept biting.
Finally, Cydal leapt back and launched himself toward the ceiling, his Null-infused limbs anchoring him like hooks. He began crawling upside down, fast and agile.
But Gunserr followed.
He jumped up too, sticking to the ceiling with eerie ease. His body bent unnaturally as he skittered after Cydal, sharp teeth bared and flailing. They bounced left and right across the ceiling and walls, monsters defying gravity in a terrifying dance.
Gunserr lunged again, this time trying to catch a leg.
Cydal spun away mid-air, landing on the opposite wall.
Gunserr shrieked. "Hold still! I'll bite through that disgusting demon meat, I will rip it open and find something warm inside!"
Cydal narrowed his eyes.
This isn't just hunger anymore... This is madness.
During their frantic chase across the ceiling and walls, Gunserr suddenly paused, sniffing the air like a hound.
His bloodshot eyes darted downward to the floor.
To the corpses of the students he had slaughtered earlier.
His twisted grin widened.
Without a second thought, he leapt down and slammed onto the floor, landing amidst the bodies. He didn't hesitate, He grabbed a severed head, ripped the jaw open, and sank his teeth into the tongue, slurping it like a noodle, the sound was wet and vile.
Cydal landed behind him, eyes narrowing.
"No!!"
He dashed forward and kicked Gunserr hard across the jaw, twisting it sideways with a sickening crack. Blood and flesh spilled out of his mouth.
"You're getting hungrier... and losing control the more you use your powers," Cydal said, rising to his full height. "I won't let you eat anymore."
He raised his arm and pointed at him, smiling coldly.
"I'm going to beat you while you're starving."
"That'd suck, wouldn't it? Especially after all the trouble you went through mass hunting for food earlier."
Mockery laced every word, and it cut deeper than any attack.
Gunserr twitched, his fury and hunger boiling inside him. He didn't know how to react.
So he ignored Cydal and again tried reaching for another corpse.
Boom!
Cydal kicked him back, sending him skidding across the floor and away from the dead.
Gunserr shrieked, not in pain, but in madness.
He lunged at Cydal again, drooling, jaws snapping like a rabid dog.
Driven not by reason. Not even by instinct.
But by an unbearable hunger and the one person who kept denying it.
With a sudden surge of hunger, Gunserr lunged from all directions at once, his movements impulsive and rabid. He slammed his knee into Cydal's gut, then wrapped his hand around his throat, choking him violently. Cydal grabbed his arm, digging his nails deep into Gunserr's flesh. A scream tore from Gunserr's throat just the opening Cydal needed. He drove his foot into Gunserr's side, sending him staggering and off-balance, Gunserr tripped and slammed into the wall, blood trickling from his mouth as he leaned against it, laughing.
"You're strong," he rasped, spitting blood onto the floor, "but strength alone won't save you when you defy the Creator. You planned your moves, designed your abilities, and refined your tactics. That's why he won't give you a chance to act. He sent me to stop you before you can become a real threat."
Gunserr grinned, blood staining his teeth.
"He chose me to carry Null. And I'm not stopping until I've eaten you whole."
Once again, Gunserr moved, not toward Cydal, but like a feral beast with no fixed form. The walls around them twisted and quivered like flesh, parting open as he melted into them. Cydal watched in grim silence, his vision piercing through the warped structure.
Within the walls, Gunserr reached into a corpse, gripping its skull with both hands. With a sickening crack, he tore the head open like an egg, extracting the brain and devouring it whole. His mana jolted violently, his molecules shifting and warping becoming one with the writhing structure. The walls pulsed, they were no longer mere stone but something alive, something hungry.
One by one, the corpses hidden inside were absorbed, digested in silence. The walls churned like a grotesque stomach until only bones and dark stains remained. Then, with a wet gurgle and a loud burp, the walls peeled back.
Gunserr stepped out, clean as ever, wearing his usual eerie, innocent smile, like nothing had happened.
Gunserr's strength had returned, no, it had multiplied. The aura of mana flaring off him was raw, volatile, and suffocating. It distorted the air around him like a fevered hallucination.
Then, like a glitch in reality, he vanished and reappeared beside another corpse, already tearing into a kidney with casual malice, he tried to bite it but it was cold and he spat it and before Cydal could blink, Gunserr was back at his side.
Cydal flinched but it was too late.
Gunserr's fist plunged deep into his abdomen with a wet, crunching sound. Cydal's eyes widened in shock as his own intestines were yanked out, blood poured down his legs. He trembled, his breath was shallow. Gunserr had suddenly become way too fast and stronger.
Gunserr leaned in, voice calm but laced with mockery.
"You said you wanted to find the Creator, didn't you? But that's foolish. You do realize he's dead, right? He was killed long ago by the vessel of Light.
To be continued