Chapter 77. Last Dance
Succubi Chapter 77. Last Dance
I sprinted full speed, my cracked ribs screaming, shadows still flickering off my armor. The boss monster was still staggered from my shadow-arrow salvo, its giant cannon arm twitching erratically, sparks flying out like angry fireflies. Its clawed hand swiped wide, a desperate blind swing.
I ducked it.
Slid under it.
And leapt—
[Shadow Blade – Spear Form]
I conjured the spear mid-air again, aimed right for the gap in the helm I’d already cracked.
I roared, driving it forward…
And missed.
By half a second.
The monster jerked sideways, not elegantly, not smartly—just barely enough to throw me off course. It wasn’t reacting to me. It was reacting to pain. It flinched and saved itself.
The spear skidded off its shoulder plate with a jarring metallic shriek, and I went crashing down like a comet with bad balance.
“Son of a—”
I landed hard on the stone floor, rolled, hit a chunk of broken column with my shoulder, and groaned so loud I probably scared a few of the simulation devs monitoring this.
When I got up, I was panting, wheezing, and more pissed than proud.
The boss was staggering toward the center of the arena, its legs dragging like they didn’t want to listen anymore. But before I could chase it down for the final blow—
[Warning. Time Remaining: 2:00]
That voice.
That stupid voice.
It hit me like a slap.
Wait. What?
I stopped mid-run.
“No,” I said aloud, panic creeping into my throat. “No, no no no no—”
I spun around wildly. The arena spun with me.
That last bastard?
Still alive.
Still hiding.
“Seriously?!” I shouted, looking around like a madman. “Where?! Where are you, you creepy little coward?!”
[Objective Incomplete. One target remaining.]
[Time Remaining: 1:47]
My breath hitched.
Alright. Think.
It hadn’t attacked during the fight. It had waited.
Why?
Because it was smart?
No—because it was borrowing time. Letting me waste energy.
It was still here.
It had to be.
Somewhere still. Somewhere watching. Waiting. Probably nestled in some dark crack like a smug magical cockroach.
My eyes scanned the arena.
Nothing.
I closed my eyes. Focused on the sound.
On the smell. The air. The mana currents.
One of the torches flickered strangely. Not in rhythm with the others.
I turned slowly.
[Time Remaining: 1:32]
My feet moved on their own now. Light steps. Quiet. I held my blade in dagger form—small and fast. The kind of weapon that let me stab before questions.
I walked toward the broken wall.
No wind.
Then I saw it.
Not the monster.
Its movement.
Just slightly off.
Too wide. Too dense.
“Ohh… you sneaky little—”
I dashed forward.
The second my foot hit the ground near the shadow, something hissed and launched out of the wall.
It was fast. Thin. Almost serpentine. A slick black blur with too many legs and not enough face.
‘It changed form?!’
It latched onto my leg.
I screamed—more from frustration than pain—and stabbed down, missed.
It detached and skittered away, disappearing between stone cracks like it was mocking me.
[Time Remaining: 1:18]
“Nope. No. You do not get to be the reason I fail. I will drag you into hell with me if I have to.”
I moved low. Silent.
Let it think I lost it again.
Another flicker. Opposite corner. This time near the half-fallen column.
I summoned three dark orbs and released them low, set to minimum blast radius. Just enough to tug at shadows.
They triggered—and I saw the shape lurch. Just a blink.
[Shadow Blade – Whip Form]
The blade lashed out like a tendril, curved mid-air…
Caught something solid.
The creature shrieked.
I yanked it toward me.
It flew into the air—a writhing, shrieking blur—and I didn’t hesitate.
I leapt.
[Shadow Blade – Twin Daggers]
I shifted mid-air, dual-wielding again. One in each hand. My whole body burning with adrenaline and fury.
I slashed it mid-flight.
It shrieked again, twisted.
Then landed.
Scuttled away.
[Time Remaining: 0:55]
You’re kidding me.
How was it this slippery?
I dashed after it. Vaulted over a broken stone. Slid under a chain. Tossed an orb. Nothing.
Then I felt it—crawling along the ceiling.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
I launched a shadow hook.
Missed.
It dropped down behind me.
I turned.
It pounced.
I threw my elbow up—blocked the strike. Rolled backward. It landed where I’d stood.
I flipped my grip on the daggers.
“Last dance.”
It hissed. Rushed me again. Fast. Erratic. But this time?
I was faster.
I ducked low, slid between its legs, pivoted.
And slammed both daggers into its back.
The impact lit up with cursed magic. The creature convulsed, shrieked one last time…
And burst into shards of violet light.
Gone.
Dead.
Finally.
[Target Eliminated.]
[Objective Complete.]
[Final Evaluation: Processing.]
I dropped to my knees.
Panting. Drenched. Glaring at the dust like I was still ready to kill it again.
“That… that stupid little spider-rat-mosquito thing is going to haunt my dreams.”
My lungs burned. My ribs were on fire. My knees were halfway to mutiny. But even through all of that, I grinned.
Because then came the sound I’d been waiting for—
-Ding!
[Final Trial Complete.]
[All Objectives Cleared.]
[Combat Efficiency: A]
[Damage Taken: Moderate]
[Style Rating: S-]
[Adaptability: High]
[Final Result: B-RANK MISSION ACCESS GRANTED]
[Congratulations, Evan Drakos! You are now eligible for Rank B missions.]
I blinked.
Stared at the glowing text floating above the arena like a gift from the sarcasm gods.
Then I collapsed backward, arms outstretched, grinning like a sleep-deprived maniac.
“Hell yeah,” I wheezed. “I’ll take it. I'll absolutely take it.”
The light flared, the walls shimmering as the simulation started to fade. Even the fire that once looked ready to devour me now looked kind of cozy, like it wanted to tuck me in with a warm ‘you almost died’ blanket and a kiss on the forehead.
My hands still trembled. My body ached. But I couldn’t stop smiling.
It felt like Christmas.
If Christmas came with demon bosses, invisible spiders, and a 5% chance of bleeding out mid-fight.
Still. Totally worth it.
I stood up slowly—shaking my arms out, cracking my neck—and gave one last glance around the now-fading arena.
“Alright,” I mumbled, dragging my legs toward the exit rune as it shimmered into view, “get me the hell outta here. I want snacks. Or a bed. Or both.”
The rune glowed under my feet.
[Exiting Simulation...]
Light flickered— Then everything stopped.
I froze.
Not metaphorically.
I mean literally.
The rune beneath my feet glitched. My whole body locked in place.
The air stopped moving.
No breeze. No heat.
No sound.
Even my breath didn’t echo in my chest anymore.
[Warning: Demonic Power detected!]
[You are being dragged into an unregistered dimensional rift.]
My heart dropped.
“Oh, not again—”
The world didn’t shatter.
It shifted.
The air in the room grew dense. Like something had pressed ‘pause’ on reality. The light above me flickered, froze in mid-stutter, and never blinked back on.
And I realized—yeah, I was still in the training chamber.
But not really.
The room was here, but... not here.
The air didn’t move.
The walls didn’t breathe.
Everything stayed frozen in place—my shadow caught mid-flicker on the floor, the cracked stones from the last fight locked in their perfect fall, even the final shimmer of mana from my kill frozen like an old photo that had given up on time.
All color drained. The firelight. The stone. Even my clothes felt gray somehow. Like I’d been copied and pasted into a corrupted save file of my own world.
No warmth.
No echo.
And definitely no escape.
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