Chapter 78: The Lost City of Blood (2)

Their legs carried them nowhere.

Running was the only thing they could do.

At last, they stopped.

They had reached a distant, shadowy corner—one of the narrow alleys thick with the smell of blood.

They froze when their eyes caught sight of something that looked like a corpse.

But then …

it moved.

A faint movement.

Which meant…

the figure was still alive.

As they approached carefully, they saw that it was a man.

His appearance was grotesque.

He wore ragged, torn clothing.

A filthy old hat hid most of his face, while a worn scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Excuse me… are you alright?” Virtz asked cautiously, drawing his sword as he stepped closer.

The man didn’t respond.

Not even a twitch.

That made Virtz move a little closer.

“Don’t go near him,” Alexa whispered urgently, grabbing his arm.

“I have a bad feeling about him…”

Virtz nodded.

“I know.”

“But he might be our only clue in this place.”

“I have a feeling we’ll never find the exit if we keep running around blindly.”

Carefully, he extended his hand toward the man, trying to wake him—or at least provoke some reaction.

Slowly, he lifted the hat to get a better look at the man’s face.

And what he saw made him freeze.

“His face…” Alexa whispered, covering her mouth with both hands.

It was horribly disfigured.

His skin was pale and cold.

It was covered with scars and festering wounds filled with dried, rotting blood.

Blood dripped from his mouth.

His teeth were long, sharp—and broken.

His eyes were wide open.

Crimson red.

Filled with blood.

He remained perfectly still.

There was no awareness in those eyes.

No life.

But then .. without warning …

his hand shot forward and grabbed Virtz’s arm.

Virtz recoiled in terror.

The man had come back to life.

And his eyes reflected nothing but madness.

A hoarse scream erupted from his throat—one filled with pure hatred.

Then he lunged at Virtz.

“Away! Away!”

“You are not welcome here!”

The sudden frenzy caught both of them completely off guard.

His claws—long, filthy nails—dug deep into Virtz’s arm.

Virtz cried out in pain.

But he reacted quickly.

Swinging his sword, he cut off the man’s hand.

Grabbing Alexa’s hand again, fear consuming him, Virtz ran.

Blood dripped from his wounded arm as they fled.

Then his face turned deathly pale.

Because more of them were appearing.

From the corner of the street …

figures like the madman emerged.

Dozens of them.

They carried torches, rusted axes, and crude saws.

And behind them—

even more appeared.

It was as if the entire city had responded to the earlier scream.

“They’re coming from everywhere!” the young witch screamed.

Virtz tightened his grip on his sword.

“Stay close to me!!”

He stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body.

With everything he had, he fought back against the feral men.

Fortunately—

they weren’t particularly strong.

At his level, he could still hold them off.

Swinging his blade fiercely, Virtz fought with desperate courage.

’I have to save her at least…’

’This is happening because of me!’

The thought flashed through his mind.

He turned briefly to make sure she was still behind him ..

And despair swallowed him whole.

Because the feral men behind them…

had already reached her.

Half of her neck had been brutally severed by a rusted axe.

Several of them had already pounced on her body, tearing into her flesh like wild animals.

In her final moments, she looked at him.

Her eyes reflected countless emotions.

Fear … toward the monsters devouring her.

And hatred …

directed at him, the one who had brought them here.

When Virtz saw that look, the last remnants of his composure shattered.

He turned and ran.

He ran past the feral men, screaming like a madman.

Running for his life.

Running to escape the same horrific fate.

He sprinted with everything he had, trying desperately to leave the street swarming with monsters.

Then—

he stopped.

At the corner of the street, he heard it.

Heavy footsteps.

Violent.

Approaching.

Before him appeared a creature straight out of a nightmare.

A monstrous giant slowly revealed itself from behind the corner of a building.

First its face.

Then its enormous body followed.

It looked like a living statue.

Its body was grotesquely massive.

Terrifyingly tall.

Its muscles were huge but distorted, while its pale gray skin was covered with scars and bulging veins.

Its back was slightly hunched, as though it carried some unbearable burden.

It wore heavy garments resembling those of a guard.

One of its legs was bound by a long chain.

At the end of the chain hung a massive iron ball, as if it had once been used to imprison it.

But instead …

the creature had turned it into a weapon.

It raised the iron ball high above Virtz’s head.

Virtz suddenly began laughing hysterically.

“Ha… ha…”

“I see.”

“So this is how I die…”

CRAAAAAASH

With a single strike, the gigantic iron ball crushed Virtz’s body completely.

The sound of wet flesh bursting and bones shattering echoed through the streets.

The young hunter was reduced to nothing more than a grotesque mass of mangled meat.

As for the young witch—

she had become a feast for the monsters.

Neither of them left anything behind.

Not even a trace.

Slowly, the creatures retreated back into their hiding places.

The city returned to its oppressive silence.

Its dark atmosphere once again swallowing everything.

Waiting patiently…

for its next visitors.

To welcome them with blood and death.

—

It did not take long for the news to spread the following day.

Standing before a notice board placed at the center of Ashvarn, Ethan frowned as he read the announcement posted for everyone to see.

“Two hunters mysteriously disappeared while searching inside the Legacy Dungeon…”

He read the words aloud.

And immediately realized something.

Time was beginning to run out.

’At this rate… they’ll discover Old Ashvarn sooner than I expected.’

’And I’m not ready yet.’

Things were moving far faster than he had anticipated.

Which forced him to reconsider his plans entirely.

“That’s strange,” Raiden said beside him.

“The dungeon was supposed to be completely safe by now. How could they disappear inside it?”

Ethan merely shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe they got lost or something.”

He feigned ignorance.

Then he gestured for Raiden to leave with him.

“You seem really eager to go hunting today,” Raiden remarked.

“Is there a reason for that?”

Ethan had been unusually persistent about heading out.

“I just want to level up and reach the Advanced Rank as soon as possible.”

He was racing against time.

His instincts told him that if he wanted even the slightest chance of surviving that city—

he would need Aura Armor at the very least.

What awaited him there was a journey into the unknown.

A place he understood nothing about.

And there was only one thing he could do.

Prepare himself as much as possible …

and hope that it would be enough.

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