The Animagus: From Hunter to Monster-Chapter 84: Engrossed (1)

Engrossed (1)

Buji’s environment changed. His mind seemed to transcend, and expand. His horizon somewhat became wide.

Thick darkness enveloped him, very oppressive. He inhaled sharply, but the air was stale.

"Mr. Zin!" he called out, stretching his right hand out as if lost.

"Mr. Zin—"

The silence that had taken over bore its weight on him, distant echoes from clanking sound reverberated through the space.

’They’ve forsaken me, as usual?’

The weight of silence bore down on him, amplifying the distant echoes that reverberated through the space.

This place—

His breath hitched. His eyes darted around as he began to take down the description.

It was a hall.

The hall was vast, looking somewhat like an ancient structure with towering stone pillars which stretch far beyond his sight. On the walls lined cracks, some of which were barely visible, others visible enough to resemble purposeful jagged scars.

His eyes looked up to find the ceiling was shrouded in darkness, proofing alone that the Hall’s height was immeasurable.

On the pillars, flickering blue torches clung unto them, their flames swaying unnaturally despite the absence of wind. The dim glow of the light from the torches illuminated the hall, just enough for him to see what he was in for—battle remnants.

Broken and rusted weapons were scattered across the floor. Armor pieces, some crushed, some still bearing the shape of their former owners.

The stone ground on which he stood was hard and cold, yet, pulsating in an odd way, as if something was sleeping beneath it.

Then, he saw it.

Blood.

Dried pools, smeared trails, crimson stains seeping into the cracks. This hall had initially been a battleground.

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A cold shiver ran down his spine.

"Just, where am I?"

His thoughts were interrupted.

Click… Click… Click…

He heard the sound that was faint at first, then grew louder. It followed a deliberate, steady rhythm.

Buji turned toward the source of the sound, his pulse was quickening as well. His instinct screamed at him. ’Something is coming!’

"But, what should I do?" he was rhetorical.

The shadows behind the torches on the pillars twisted, writhing unnaturally. Then, from the darkness, they emerged.

The figures were tall, skeletal in structure and were clad in ancient corroded armor. Their movements were stiff yet precise, generally unnatural.

In their hands, some help chipped swords while others wielded long axes with blades darkened due to its ancient existence. Their hollow eye sockets glowed with a dim, crimson light.

One of the skeletal figures stepped forward. It tilted its head in a virus motion, as if studying him. Then, in one sudden motion, it raised its weapon.

Clang!

The weapon clashed against the Cord-like weapon which Buji had yielded. He thought it was best to use the weapon in this situation.

A second later, the entire hall roared to life. From all sides, the skeletons charged.

Buji barely had time to react. His feet stumbled backwards, his mind struggling to process the sudden onslaught.

He shouldn’t attack now. Not until he has seen their strength, and know how to follow their attacks. With this, he flung his weapon, allowing it to wrap diagonally around him.

Damn it!

He twisted his body just in time as the second strike came. A jagged blade slashed through the air, missing him by inches. The force alone sent a gust against his skin.

Another attack—this time from behind.

He ducked. A rusted axe swung just over his head, embedding itself into the stone wall, getting stucked.

"I can’t keep up if I fight like this."

His breathing was short-lived. His heart pounded against his ribs.

"Should he make use of his weapon? Not yet."

His mind was distorted as a spear came flying toward him.

With no time to dodge, he rolled to the side. Luckily for him, the spear had missed by a fraction of space, its sharp tip digging deep into the stone floor. A fine crack split from the impact point.

His hands found solemn as support on the ground. He pushed himself up. The skeletal warriors don’t seem to be stopping.

They were pushing forward, more were coming.

"It’s time," Buji said.

He loosened the weapon wrapped around his body. His fingers wrapped around the hilt of the holder. The blades of the cord was sharp, chipped in several places, so it was a better weapon in this condition.

Step. Step. Step.

Another skeletal warrior was had approached him, and was upon him.

It swung.

Buji barely flinged his cord in time.

Clang!

The impact sent vibrations through his arm, numbing his grip. His eyes widened in desperation.

"Too strong a force to be wielded by a mere skeleton."

As if it heard what Buji said, the skeleton pushed forward, attempting to overpower him. Its glowing eyes locked onto Buji, as if to discourage his expectations of a skeleton.

"Should I make use of the system skill?’ he thought. ’No, the more I go natural, the better the rewards will be.’

"But these things," Buji gritted his teeth.

He twisted his body and, with all his strength, shoved forward. The skeleton staggered.

"Now!"

He took a step back, adjusting his grip. Then, he countered.

"Now?"

He watched as the cord slashed across the chests of three skeletons.

Crack!

Their old armors shattered, revealing the brittle bones that hid behind them.

Buji didn’t stop. To him, it was going to be a bad idea to do so.

He slammed his foot against the knee of one of the fallen skeleton warriors.

With a final strike, he flung the cord with a downward slash, then in an X-form, he delivered another strike, cutting off the skulls of the skeletons.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The skeletons went limp before collapsing into a heap of bones.

As this went on, Buji didn’t have time to catch his breath. The others had seen what happened and were already on him.

One. Two. Three. Four... Ten.

The skeletons surrounded him glazing their looks on him with there eyes burning brighter.

Buji exhaled.

"They don’t look mindless, anyway. Just like the Wyrm, their moves shows they’re learning."

His movements were being studied. Even though their appeared in multitudes, the hesitation in their attacks was proof.

He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Ouch," his muscle ached. His breathing was uneven. He couldn’t afford to slow down after all.

One moved.

Another followed.

A sword came from the left. An axe from the right.

Buji dodged, twisted, parried—but he was getting slower. Probably, his agility point seemed to have reduced.

A sharp pain seared through his leg. One of them had grazed him. Blood trickled down his skin.

His grip on the cord holder tightened.

"Damn it! How long can I last like this?"

Another strike. Another parry. He was quick this time, so, he had evaded the strike.

He, however, lunged the strike this time. He flipped the cord to whirl circularly, before flinging it horizontally.

With his legs bent, and one of his knees touching the ground, that strike was effective.

Since the cord can be adjusted into shortness, and longness, Buji did the later before sending his attack.

His target was their skulls.

Crom! Crom!—

The skulls of the skeleton warriors fell to the ground from the strike, all ten of them.

"Not like they are fast enough," Buji said and bluffed. Standing upright to his feet.

"Healing Potion."

A small bottled appeared in his left hand as he sipped it’s content. He felt nourished, the wound caused by the attack of one of the skeletons healed.

Suddenly, he felt motivated. He instantly got refueled.

"Hum!" he threatened the other skeletons that were approaching further.

But then—

The torches on the pillars flickered.

The hall trembled.

Another presence emerged. A different one.

Buji froze, but not as a result of fear.

From the far end of the hall, the shadows shifted. A dark figure slowly stepped forward, its movements unnervingly smooth.

It was tall, wrapped in black chains that clinked softly with each step. Its face was obscured by a cracked, bone-white mask. On the surface of the mask was carved etchings of ancient symbols.

’This is confusing,’ Buji thought, his stare focused on the ground. ’The gate had only appeared moments ago, but the creatures in it look primitive, how?’

Unexpectedly, the skeletons stopped attacking.

They stepped back. No, they knelt.

A chill ran down Buji’s spine as his sight behold this.

This thing…this creature is different.

The chains unraveled, slithering like live serpents. The figure slowly raised its head.

A pair of piercing, glowing eyes, just like that of the skeletons except it was intensely sharp, locked onto him.

Then, the pressure came.

An invisible force slammed onto Buji’s shoulder, forcing him to his knees. His vision blurred, his limbs trembled.

"This… power…"

The figure lifted a hand.

The torches dimmed.

The air grew suffocatingly thick.

Then, in a voice cold as death itself, it spoke.

"You do not belong here."