Chapter 159: Into The Divide [V] Azel failed to understand — truly, he did. How in the frozen hells could something look so utterly disgusting? It stood before him in all its grotesque glory, an abomination stitched together from a nightmare Kyone would have. The thing had the head of a beetle — mandibles twitching, clicking, and dripping some foul venom that hissed when it touched snow. Yet below that insectoid crown stretched the body of a man, or something that had once been manlike. Broad shoulders with sickly pale flesh, a ribcage that bulged unnaturally as if lungs were choking within, and arms twisted with too many joints, bending in wrong angles. Its torso rose and fell as though breathing, but no life could exist in something so corrupted. Its humanoid frame was an insult, a mockery of both beast and man. Azel’s lips curled. ’What the fuck made this atrocity?’ Before he could blink, pain seared through his shoulder. His armor dented inward where the thing’s horn had stabbed him, leaving flesh torn and burning. Already blood seeped through the leather straps. Worse, he felt something crawl under his skin — heat was rising... [Ding] [You have been infected by the Dreadhorn’s Poison] [Kyone’s Blessing has negated the poison] Relief hit like an icy river. Kyone’s blessing, quick as always, flushed the poison from his veins before it could fester. He flexed his arm and forced the wound to seal under his divinity, but his mind sharpened. If not for the goddess’s protection, he’d already be crumpled in the snow foaming at the mouth. "Don’t let that thing sting you!" Azel barked, voice clipped with urgency. "That poison’s no joke!" The monster’s wings — a set of four translucent membranes whirred violently, shrieking against the air until they blurred. Its mandibles clacked together in mocking laughter, and then — It vanished. The air split with a sound like cracking ice. In a blink, it was right in front of Medusa. Her eyes widened momentarily, but reflex ruled her body. She raised her bone longsword in both hands, bracing as the monster’s horn smashed against it. A boom rippled outward, snow exploding in all directions, trees rattling violently under the shockwave. Medusa slid backward, boots grinding trenches in the frost, but she held. Almost instantly, the air filled with shimmering flakes. Snow twisted unnaturally, sharpened into countless blades, whistling as they tore forward like a storm. But they sliced nothing — the monster blurred away again, gone before the storm could bite. "There!" Veyra shouted, pointing upward. Azel’s eyes snapped to the sky. The abomination hovered, arms stretched wide. Then its pale flesh ruptured. Sickening cracks split across its skin, forming holes in its arms, shoulders, even its chest. Black venom gushed out in pressurized streams, spraying down like liquid arrows. The stench hit instantly, it smelled acrid, rotten and sharp enough to sting the eyes. The snow hissed and melted wherever droplets struck, sizzling pits into the earth. "Move!" Azel roared. He spun backward, dodging in sharp arcs, hand fumbling for his Ever-Bracelet. He had a plan but it would take timing and he hoped that it would work, if not they could not ground these abominable creatures. Medusa snarled, her back bursting open as sharp spider legs unfurled with terrifying elegance. Eight in total, long and chitinous, glowing faintly with white aura. She hissed like a predator as she launched them into the sky. The forest trembled as the limbs split the air, raining destruction upon the Dreadhorn like divine javelins. The abomination shrieked, wings blurring as it darted between them. For a moment it looked like a streak of light, weaving through gaps that shouldn’t exist. But it wasn’t perfect. One spider leg clipped its lower wing, tearing through fragile membrane. The creature’s cry was piercing, enough to make Veyra flinch and clutch her ears. Its body faltered, spiraling downward. But before it could crash, a violent burst of energy erupted from its chest, propelling it sideways. Even wounded, it fought with cunning. Its fall ended abruptly as a blast of white fire exploded against its stomach. One of Medusa’s summoned spiders had latched onto it midair and detonated. Chitin cracked, and the monster screamed as its carapace shattered, exposing slimy flesh beneath. The explosion hurled it downward and straight toward Azel. "Fuck." Azel braced, Ever-Bracelet raised. His aura poured into the relic. The air bent and twisted as gravity warped, pulling at the monster. Its flight stuttered, wings flailing helplessly against the crushing force. With a crash, it slammed into the earth, soil and snow erupting around it in a crater. "Now! Kill it!" Azel shouted. He would have done so himself but he needed to confirm. Medusa staggered back, chest heaving. Her mana reserves had been torn ragged by the barrage so she couldn’t push further without collapse. Veyra didn’t hesitate. She dashed forward in silence, steps light as snow, scythe glowing faintly with her purple aura. She ran forward but once she entered the gravity field, she felt herself slow but it was only for a moment, the heaviness was lifted shortly after. She exhaled, then swung. The scythe sang as it carved through flesh, slicing the abomination’s head clean off. Contrary to what she expected, its neck offered little resistance — it was like cutting through rotted wood. The head spun away into the snow, mandibles still twitching, wings spasming before going limp. Azel exhaled sharply, his grip loosening on the Bracelet. The body collapsed, twitching once before going still. Black ichor pooled beneath it, seeping into the snow. The smell was foul enough to make Veyra gag, but she forced herself to sheath her blade. [Ding] [2/20] The system notification rang hollowly in Azel’s head. One monster down. Eighteen more to go. But the forest wasn’t finished. "Hide," Azel ordered, sharp and immediate. He dove into the nearest bush, motioning urgently. Veyra and Medusa didn’t question him. They followed, cloaking their auras and pressing low into the frost-covered undergrowth. Not a second later, the sound hit. Buzzing. The whir of countless wings thundered through the forest, vibrating the trees, rattling the air. It was a swarm. Through the leaves, Azel glimpsed them — dozens of the same grotesque monsters, each one twitching in ugly synchronization. Their wings beat in unison, mandibles clicking as they descended upon the corpse of their fallen kin. The swarm halted above the crater, buzzing angrily. Their heads tilted unnaturally, sniffing for prey, but Azel and the others had masked themselves well. The swarm lingered for what felt like forever. Then, with a piercing collective screech, they darted in the opposite direction, streaking deeper into the forest. Their buzzing echoed long after they vanished, fading like a nightmare retreating into the dark. Only then did Azel breathe. His fingers tightened on his sword hilt. ’What the actual fuck?’ This place... it made his skin crawl. There were enough of those things out here to complete the trial ten times over. However it wasn’t going to be easy, and he didn’t know if the other people had completed their trials as well. ’Fucking hell...’ He thought while pulling out a potion from his ring.