I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 102: Abyssal Howler

A second ripple followed the first, this one wider, rolling outward in a perfect circle from the lake’s center. The silver surface shimmered unnaturally as if protesting from what stirred beneath it.

Then, the water exploded.

A towering figure surged upward, erupting from the lake like a nightmare made flesh. Vale leapt back, arm shielding his eyes from the spray. When he looked again, his breath hitched.

The creature stood nearly three stories tall, its form grotesque and ancient. Slick, eel-like skin clung to a spiny frame, its surface glistening with rot and algae. Webbed limbs twisted at unnatural angles, ending in hooked talons that shimmered with a greenish hue, coated in something that looked toxic.

Its elongated torso pulsed as if hundreds of veins ran just beneath the surface, glowing faintly with threads of bioluminescence that danced beneath the pale flesh.

Its head was a gnarled crown of bone and flesh—three uneven jaws splitting apart to reveal a mouth teeming with needle-like teeth. From within that maw, a sound echoed out—not a roar, but a horrible screech like iron being dragged across glass. Worse still were its eyes. Not one, not two, but dozens of small, lidless orbs dotted its face and shoulders—each one twitching erratically, locking onto Vale from different angles, some blinking independently, others leaking thin streams of black fluid.

The monster’s presence pressed against reality itself, and for a moment, Vale swore the sky dimmed.

Then it moved.

It lunged forward with terrifying speed, water surging behind it like a tidal wave. Its claws slammed into the earth where Vale had stood a heartbeat earlier, gouging a trench into the soil. He rolled to the side, his weapon already summoned as he retaliated with a horizontal slash.

The steel connected—but it barely carved more than a shallow wound into the creature’s flank. Instead of blood, thick black ooze hissed from the gash, splattering the grass and sizzling it into ash.

"Tough hide," Vale noted as he summoned his Unique Ability, and black flames coiled around his weapon.

The monster snarled and spun, its tail thick as a tree trunk, sweeping toward him. He ducked, barely evading the crushing blow, and countered with a thrust aimed for one of the eyes dotting its neck.

This time, the blade struck true. The eye burst with a sickening pop, and the beast let out a screech so loud it split the air. But pain only seemed to enrage it further. Its next strike was a flurry of claws, limbs bending and twisting impossibly as it attacked from multiple angles at once.

Vale deflected one strike and dodged the second, but he underestimated the distance with the third one, and it caught him across the ribs. Pain lanced through his side as he was flung through the air, crashing hard against the slope of the hill. Dirt filled his mouth. His breath came ragged.

But he didn’t stop.

He rolled to his feet, spitting blood. His knuckles whitened around the hilt of his blade as something inside him snapped.

The quest objective burned in his mind.

Slay all those you care about.

Fury of defiance erupted inside of him.

His muscles tensed. Mana surged through him, igniting his veins like wildfire. His eyes sharpened, narrowing into a predator’s focus.

He activated Voidstep and approached right before the creature.

This time, he didn’t aim for a killing blow.

He danced between the creature’s legs, slashing at tendons and joints, crippling mobility. With each cut, his blade grew faster, his strikes more precise—black fire eating at the wounds. He was dissecting the monster part by part.

The creature howled in pain and frustration, swiping madly as ichor spilt from its wounds, dissolving into thick smoke as it hit the ground. Vale twisted beneath another claw, sprang upward, and drove his sword into one of the beast’s upper shoulder eyes—his momentum carrying him with the strike.

The monster thrashed, trying to shake him off, but he clung to its pulsing, algae-covered back. With a snarl, he drove his blade in again and again, hacking through the unnatural carapace until his blade found what felt like a spine.

Black flames started to spread from all the wounds, but before they could do proper damage, a burst of dark mana surged from the beast, knocking him free.

He hit the ground hard, but rolled instantly, rising before the dust settled.

The creature was stumbling now, its limbs twitching erratically. Its shriek had dulled into gurgles and choking wails, but it still refused to fall.

Vale’s hand extended, and with the activation of his unique ability, black flames erupted like a living shadow, stretching toward the creature and covering its lower torso.

Without delay, Vale sprinted forward.

He ducked low to avoid one of the monster’s stikres, and with all the fury, despair, and defiance in his soul, he leapt forward.

The final strike split the air.

His flame-engulfed blade drove straight into the creature’s core, piercing it through. The glowing veins across its body pulsed twice before erupting in a cascade of light and shadow. The monster screamed, its body convulsing violently as cracks raced across its hide.

Then, it slowly collapsed like an avalanche skidding across the mountainside.

The familiar, cold voice echoed clearly in his mind.

[ You have slain a D-Rank, Unhallowed Monster: Abyssal Howler ]

A heavy silence followed.

Vale stood atop the fallen beast, chest heaving, his body drenched in thick black ichor and sweat. Without hesitation, he leapt off the creature’s lifeless torso and stared for several tense moments as black flames surged up, consuming it utterly, leaving no ash, no remains, only empty air where the monster had been.

But before he could savour even a fleeting moment of victory, two simultaneous ripples violently tore through the stillness.

His eyes snapped sharply to the water, and just as they locked onto its shimmering surface, two more massive, monstrous creatures erupted from the depths.

Vale raised his arm instinctively, shielding his eyes from the crashing spray. But he didn’t need to see to know what was coming next.