Chapter 106: Chapter 105: Shadow Weaving Demon

Thanks to the efforts of the "Mysterious Cleaner," the Sixth Cleaning Team advanced far faster than expected.

「Three days later.」 The team had finished clearing the entire western area of Iron Ridge Canyon, destroying the seven Small Demon Nests they found along the way. They had now reached the western edge of their designated mission zone.

Ahead lay a rift zone shrouded in thick black fog. They could faintly sense an unsettling pulsation emanating from within.

That was the core war zone, the responsibility of Official Wizards. It was no place for an Apprentice.

"We’ll rest here for two hours. Afterward, we turn north and head toward the Eastern Seventh War Zone Headquarters."

Kalem issued the order. His scarred face betrayed little emotion, but his eyes held a hint of gravity.

"Our route north will take us through the mission zones of the Fifth and Fourth Cleaning Teams. We might run into Demons they missed, or... other trouble. Everyone, stay sharp."

「Two hours later, the team set off.」

As they left the familiar western region, the environment grew even stranger.

The rock formations shifted from dark gray to a sickly, purplish-brown. The sulfurous smell that had filled the air was replaced by a cloyingly sweet stench of rot.

The glow from the fluorescent moss turned an unsettling, spectral green.

The Demons they encountered along the way became increasingly unfamiliar and twisted.

They encountered a Demon called a Pus Fungus Beast. It resembled an enormous, rotting mushroom with a cap over three meters in diameter, its surface covered in pores that oozed a yellow-green pus.

If any living thing got too close, it would spray a highly corrosive pus that also inflicted spiritual pollution. Wherever the pus landed, it would rapidly grow into smaller Fungal Beasts, making them incredibly difficult to eradicate completely.

They also found Bone-Singing Worms. These creatures were five meters long, their bodies composed of pale, interlocking bone segments. They had no eyes—only a giant maw filled with spiraling, razor-sharp teeth.

They were adept at burrowing for surprise attacks, and their bones were exceptionally hard, making them resistant to ordinary Witchcraft.

The Demons grew progressively more bizarre and indescribable.

Casualties began to mount when they encountered a Demon known as the Multi-Faced Illusion Demon.

It was an eerie, semi-corporeal creature of pure Energy, appearing as a constantly shifting cloud of colored mist. Within the mist, an array of twisted human faces materialized.

The face of a crying infant, a sneering old man, a despairing maiden... Each face could launch a different Spiritual Attack—seduction, fear, Chaos—making it impossible to guard against them all.

The team had no choice but to slow down and proceed with caution. While casualties decreased, the mental exhaustion and oppressive atmosphere grew heavier with each passing day.

「On the evening of the fourth day.」 The team entered an area filled with massive, web-like rock pillars.

The pillars were a dark purple, their surfaces as smooth as mirrors. They reflected the spectral green light of the moss, fracturing the space into a bizarre, kaleidoscopic landscape.

"Halt!" Kalem suddenly roared, raising a hand to stop the team’s advance.

He stared intently at the shadow of a pillar up ahead, the muscles beneath his scar twitching.

"On guard! It’s a Shadow Weaving Demon!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, the shadow came to life.

Like a drop of ink in clear water, a slender, elegant, yet infinitely strange figure slowly "rose" from within the shadow.

It stood about two meters tall and was humanoid in form, but it was woven from pure shadow and dark purple Energy Threads. It had no facial features, only a smooth, mirror-like "face" that reflected the terrified Apprentices around it.

Its arms hung to its knees, but instead of hands, they ended in ten writhing Shadow Silk Threads that glinted with a cold light.

Shadow Weaving Demon: A special creation born from the Erosion of Abyssal Power. It is not a simple subterranean Demon, but an eerie existence more akin to a "Rule Created Creature."

It can manipulate shadows, weave Illusion Realms, and its Shadow Silk Threads are incredibly sharp, possessing a Soul-eroding quality that makes it extremely difficult to fight.

HISS...

The Shadow Weaving Demon let out a silent shriek, yet everyone felt a sharp prick against their Soul, as if stabbed by a needle.

The next moment, it moved.

It didn’t run. Instead, like a scene transition in a film, it simply "appeared" out of the shadow of one pillar and under another, less than thirty meters from the team!

"Spread out! Don’t let its threads touch you!"

Kalem roared as his hands flew through a Sealing Technique. The incandescent Flaming Spear materialized once more, but this time it was even more solid and dazzling.

Rod’s Blood-Colored Dice spun frantically. All six of its pained faces wailed in unison as a pale red mist of agony surged toward the Shadow Weaving Demon.

Kelly raised both of her wands, weaving lightning and Purification Light into a net to try and restrict its movement.

However, the Shadow Weaving Demon merely tilted its body, its smooth face "looking" toward Rod.

Rod grunted, and the dice in his hand abruptly stopped spinning. The cracks on its surface deepened.

A flicker of confusion and pain crossed his eyes, and the mist he had unleashed dissipated almost completely.

At the same time, the Shadow Weaving Demon gently raised its arms.

Ten Shadow Silk Threads shot out silently. They didn’t fly straight but bent and wove through the air in an unnatural way, instantly forming a massive net thirty meters wide that descended upon the Apprentices at the front!

"Get back!"

One Apprentice cried out and rolled backward while another threw up a Force Field Wall.

SSSHHHKKK!

The Shadow Silk Threads made contact with the Force Field Wall and sliced through it as easily as a hot knife through butter, continuing their descent.

"Scorching Beam!" From the middle of the formation, Ian fired a concentrated, orange-red ray that precisely struck the midpoint of one of the threads.

The thread faltered for a moment. A small notch was seared into it, but it didn’t break, merely deflecting its trajectory.

But that brief interference gave the two Apprentices just enough time to scramble out of the net’s range.

The Shadow Weaving Demon seemed to "notice" Ian, its smooth face turning toward him.

Ian instantly felt a cold, viscous Will trying to invade his mind as countless faint whispers echoed in his ears.

The Spirit Devourer Rune in his Sea of Spirit pulsed slightly, effortlessly dissolving the Erosion.

On the surface, however, he feigned a pale expression and retreated.

"Focus fire! Aim for its core—that dark purple spot of light on its chest!" Kalem, with his vast experience, had spotted its weakness.

The Flaming Spear tore through the air!

The Shadow Weaving Demon’s figure flickered as it tried to merge with the shadows, but Kelly’s Purification Light had already blanketed the area, dispelling them. It was half a second too slow to rematerialize.

BOOM!

The Flaming Spear struck its chest. The dark purple light flared violently, and the Shadow Weaving Demon let out a shrill screech, its form blurring for an instant.

"Now!" Blood trickled from the corner of Rod’s eye as he fought through the backlash. He threw the dice again, and it landed on "Despair."

A thick, gray-black mist enveloped the Shadow Weaving Demon, making its movements sluggish and stiff.

The other Apprentices snapped to their senses, and a barrage of attacks rained down, though most were blocked or deflected by the Shadow Silk Threads.

Yet, the sustained barrage finally caused the dark purple light on its chest to dim.

The Shadow Weaving Demon seemed enraged. It stopped dodging and began swinging its arms wildly, its Shadow Silk Threads becoming a flurry of lethal whips lashing out in all directions.

"Aaargh!" An Apprentice was struck across the shoulder by a thread, and his entire arm was severed clean off.

The wound didn’t bleed. Instead, it rapidly turned gray and withered, as if his Life Force had been instantly siphoned away.

Another Apprentice’s ankle was caught by a thread. He screamed as he was dragged toward the Shadow Weaving Demon, about to be pressed against its smooth "face."