Chapter 130: [USE MY BLOOD]

’Shit.’

The weight of the blade shifted.

Kairo felt it instantly—the moment the tentacle constricted around the obsidian edge. At first, he thought it was resistance. The ordinary clamp of muscle and flesh.

Nothing unusual.

But then the pull deepened. Stronger. Hungrier.

’Is it stuck? No… it’s…’

It was being swallowed.

His wrist flexed, tendons straining, muscles coiling as he pulled back hard. Scarlet aura surged along the obsidian steel, vibrating with power.

The blade should have come free, tearing through meat and sinew.

But it didn’t.

Instead, the weapon sank deeper. Inch by inch, the tentacle’s muscles rippled, suction ridges locking with grotesque precision. The monster’s body pulled it in like a throat swallowing prey.

“Tch.” Kairo’s jaw tightened, composure cracking for a fraction of a second. His boots dug into stone, the cavern groaning under the strain as he pulled harder, aura blazing.

The blade slid forward anyway.

The hilt slipped in his grip.

And then—

Gone.

The obsidian sword disappeared into the writhing mass. The weapon that had carved through countless monsters, the extension of his strength, was devoured whole.

The sound of rushing blood filled his ears—not the monster’s, his own. His pulse thundered like war drums, vibrating through his skull.

“Fuck.” The curse left sharp between his teeth, his black eyes narrowing, composure tempered into steel—but disbelief cracked at the edges. His weapon. Devoured.

“K-Kairo?!” Eli’s voice broke, raw and ragged, his yellow eyes glowing faintly through the blood smeared across his face. Panic vibrated in every syllable.

Zaira gasped, her grip on her dagger tightening until her knuckles paled. Her aura flared pink, trembling faint around her shoulders. “Captain—your sword!”

Mio didn’t hesitate. His silver threads snapped forward in a violent lash, coiling around the tentacle like steel wires. They dug in deep, shimmering under the weight of his aura.

“Give it back—!” His shout ripped through the cavern as he pulled with everything he had. His teeth clenched, muscles trembling as the cords strained taut.

For a moment, the tentacle stilled. The air thickened with pressure.

Then the pull reversed.

The monster yanked.

Threads tightened, dragging Mio forward. His boots scraped hard against the stone, sparks spitting as his heels carved lines into the cavern floor. His arms trembled, veins bulging as he resisted.

“Shit—!” His teeth bared. Then, with a sharp crack, his threads snapped, dissolving into silver dust before he was pulled completely off his feet. He stumbled back, panting, frustration etched deep across his pale face. “Sorry, Captain—I couldn’t get it.”

Kairo’s gaze never left the tentacle. His expression was still sharp, but the faintest shadow passed through his black eyes.

“…It’s for the best,” he muttered, voice low, clipped.

If Mio had kept pulling, Kairo would’ve ordered him to release. He didn’t need to. He felt it himself.

The monster was strong.

Too strong.

Even Kairo—who had never once lost his grip on a blade—couldn’t wrench it free. The pull had been absolute. And quick.

The tentacle recoiled, thrashing as it dragged back toward the ceiling, the stolen sword swallowed deeper into its grotesque, shifting mass.

The obsidian black vanished completely, leaving nothing but glistening flesh.

Kairo’s hand closed around air. Empty.

Eli’s voice broke through, weak but sharp, desperation cutting through the blood clogging his throat. “I—I don’t feel danger anymore. Not yet now anyways…” His chest heaved, a wet cough wracking him, crimson streaking down his chin. His wide yellow eyes locked on Kairo. “…But your sword—!”

Kairo’s lips pressed into a thin, hard line. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

No danger.

Not from the octopus.

Not from his teammates.

Good.

That meant no one else was under its control.

And yet—unease rippled beneath his calm. Something cold and jagged pressed against his chest, a flicker of panic threatening to surface. He buried it instantly, forcing his breath steady, slow.

Not weaponless. Never weaponless.

He still had his blood.

But without his sword, he was crippled. His aura was sharpest when it flowed through steel, and stabbing this thing wouldn’t release fresh blood to replenish what he had spent.

He was bleeding himself dry.

His gaze flicked to his wrist. Crimson still dripped steadily from the self-inflicted cut, splattering across the cavern floor in shallow puddles.

Scarlets constructs shimmered faintly in the dark, remnants of earlier bursts.

All he had left.

“Captain! What do we do now?!”

Zaira’s voice snapped across the cavern. Sharp, edged with steel. But beneath it—fear. Real, unguarded fear.

Kairo didn’t answer. Not yet.

His black eyes lifted, narrowing on the writhing bulk plastered across the ceiling. Dozens of ringed, inhuman eyes glowed down, unblinking, each one dripping hunger.

His mind turned fast. Calculations slicing through thought:

The octopus was regenerating.

His sword was gone.

Eli was on the brink of collapse, blood dripping from every orifice.

Mio was half-steady, half-broken, threads twitching weakly at his sides.

Zaira stood, dagger in hand, aura flickering—but she was already hurt.

Mel was still unconscious and needs to be carried.

Options narrowed.

The monster had fed on his blade. Was it absorbing it? Restricting it? Had it gained something from the act? If it could control Mio, then its ability extended beyond brute force. Mind influence?

It could regenerate. It could control. It could devour.

An S-Class monster without question.

But the boss? No. The aura didn’t have that crushing dominance. This wasn’t the peak of the dungeon. Which meant something worse still lingered.

Think.

He needed time.

Kairo’s breathing slowed again, steadying into rhythm. Even as the flicker of panic throbbed faint beneath his calm exterior, his voice emerged low, level—refined into command.

“…We run.”

Kairo’s words cut through the cavern like a blade.

Eli’s head snapped up, his bloodied face paling even further. ’Run?’ His chest heaved, ragged breaths tearing at his throat. “…Run?”

“I need time to think.” Kairo’s voice was steady, refined—measured despite the chaos.

His black eyes never left the monster writhing above them. “I don’t have the blood to work with, and this thing can regenerate. Staying here is suicide. We move forward.”

“But Captain—” Zaira’s voice cracked, her dagger trembling faintly in her grip as she looked between him and the unconscious figure on the rocks. “Mio’s still regaining his strength… and Mel hasn’t woken up yet.”

“I know.” Kairo’s reply was clipped, firm. “But we have no other choice. With the blood I have left, I can’t stay here and fight this monster head-on. Your ability won’t stop it. Mio’s won’t stop it. This thing doesn’t just need disruption—it needs damage.”

Silence followed.

Not silence.

The cavern breathed.

The octopus’s lungs—or whatever passed for them—expanded and contracted with a wet, gurgling hiss.

The low drone of its vibrating body echoed off the walls, rumbling like a storm. Eli’s own ragged breathing was loudest of all, torn and broken, every inhale a jagged rasp.

And underneath it all—the steady reminder that they were running out of time.

At any second, the monster could lash out again. Another tentacle could strike, another shriek could rip them apart. They couldn’t stay still.

“What if…”

Eli’s weak voice broke the rhythm, cutting through the thick air. Kairo turned his head, his gaze sharp.

Eli’s yellow eyes glowed faint through the haze of blood, desperation lighting them from within. “What if you had more blood? Could you fight it then?”

Kairo’s expression didn’t shift, but his silence carried weight. “If I had more blood—yes. I could fight. But where would I find it? The octopus has none. The phantoms and leeches we faced earlier—doubtful.” His jaw clenched, his words trailing, breaking on realization. “And I—”

Kairo stopped.

The flicker in his black eyes was subtle, barely there—a ripple under the surface of his usual composure.

Weakly, he stirred in Kairo’s hold. His body trembled, ribs rattling with every ragged breath as he forced his arm upward.

’Those marks… they’re from Mio’s threads.’

Eli’s wrist lifted into view, skin scored with raw grooves where the silver wires had dug deep. Blood still welled sluggishly from the cuts, dripping down in thin trails, staining his pale fingers.

The movement was shaky, pitiful—but deliberate.

His other leg shifted, toes dragging against stone until his foot dangled. Fresh blood streaked down his ankle, sliding off to meet the shallow puddles already scattered across the cavern floor.

The dark liquid spread outward in ripples, scarlet blending into the murky water at their feet.

The air felt heavier suddenly. The only sound was the faint drip, drip, drip of his blood joining the pool, echoing louder than the groan of the octopus above.

Kairo’s gaze lingered. His hand tightened faintly at Eli’s side, his jaw set hard.

“I… I am bleeding,” Eli whispered, voice rasping, throat raw.

’Why is he telling me this?’

“I can see that.” Kairo’s reply was flat, clipped, emotionless on the surface. But inside, his chest was tight, unsettled in a way he didn’t allow to show.

A part of him bristled at the thought, something sharp and unwanted pressing beneath his calm.

Eli swallowed, his throat convulsing as if even that small action took all his strength.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, danger still buzzing faintly even without the octopus striking. ’Wait… is he thinking what I think he’s thinking?’

The silence between them stretched, broken only by the wet scrape of the octopus shifting above and the faint drip of blood hitting stone.

Finally—Eli forced it out. His yellow eyes widened, shining weak through the blur of tears and exhaustion.

“Use my blood, Kairo.”

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