The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order - Chapter 1488

Chapter 1488: First death Chapter 1488: First death “RUMBLE!” The tremor coursing through the ground was not the rumbling of a crumbling structure but rather something colossal approaching from the darkness.

Cain’s face grew solemn.

In a single motion, he summoned the Spear of Doom into his hand, and a surge of Star Power ignited around him like a halo of embers.

Elrick and the others, sensing imminent danger, mirrored his readiness.

Their weapons, Star Power, and Laws came to life in flickers of elemental force.

A cold wind of tension swept over them as they waited.

They didn’t wait long.

From the shadows, a horrific chorus of growls shattered the silence, followed by snarling roars reverberating through the obsidian walls.

Massive Demonic Hounds emerged, each hound’s body wreathed in twisting flames and shadows.

Glowing coals for eyes, they radiated a violent, animalistic fury, and their claws gouged deep trenches in the floor.

As soon as they spotted Cain’s group, they lunged without hesitation, jaws wide as if eager to swallow their prey whole.

Cain’s eyes went cold, and he launched himself forward before the nearest beast could close the distance.

In a blur of movement, he appeared above one of the towering creatures and drove his spear downward.

“CLANK!” The sound of metal colliding with something equally unyielding rang out.

The Demonic Hound’s skull felt akin to divine steel, and the Spear of Doom skidded off its bones, sending sparks flying.

Cain’s eyes narrowed-he had not anticipated that these monsters could possess such formidable natural armor.

He reacted swiftly, calling upon the power of his Solar Pulse Star.

The Star Power at the tip of his spear intensified, vibrating at a high frequency.

In seconds, those vibrations undermined the structural integrity of the beast’s bones.

Cain gave an extra push, blasting open the hound’s skull and incinerating its brain in a burst of crimson flame.

Meanwhile, Elrick and the others fought with desperation, unleashing martial techniques and Law-infused strikes.

Against these monstrous hounds, however, it was immediately apparent that only Mera-whose Concept allowed her to deliver sundering blows-could do more than merely stall them.

The rest, especially the weaker members, found themselves hard-pressed just to hold the creatures at bay.

Their melee strikes and elemental blasts repeatedly clashed with the hounds’ thick, flaming hides, producing showers of sparks and sizzling embers.

Cain soon realized that the group wouldn’t last long in a direct confrontation; they needed to keep moving.

He raised his voice above the cacophony of snarls and roars: “Follow me!

I know the path forward!” Even as he called out, he leaped toward another Demonic Hound, spear spinning in a deadly arc that tore through the beast’s shoulder.

What followed was a cataclysmic battle.

Each step forward felt like a struggle through a sea of fangs and claws.

The Demonic Hounds, far from being scattered by their slain brethren, appeared in growing numbers.

Their fury seemed boundless, and as more poured from the darkness, the air filled with the stench of sulfur and burnt flesh.

Yet Cain, Elrick, and the rest refused to be overwhelmed.

They smashed through hound after hound, forging a winding path through the infernal horde.

Cain, at the forefront, bore the heaviest burden.

He not only had to navigate the complex pattern of magma veins hidden in the floor and walls but also fight off whatever hounds lunged his way.

Each clash was punishing; every ounce of his concentration was devoted to maintaining his momentum.

With each mighty thrust of the Spear of Doom, another hound was left crippled or dead.

Whenever Cain sensed a shift in the magma veins, he adjusted their course, signaling the others to follow.

An hour of continuous struggle soon slipped by.

The group was losing stamina at an alarming rate.

Wounds and scorched flesh made each movement a test of resolve.

Even Cain, who was by far the strongest among them, had begun to accumulate serious injuries.  He sported a massive slash across his back-a wound left by the jagged claw of a Demonic Hound.

Worse still, the slash exuded a toxic, fiery energy, making it nearly impossible to heal with normal restorative powers.

The substance clung to his flesh like glowing embers, every breath stoking the pain.

Still, Cin pressed on, ignoring the agony throbbing in his muscles and the heat radiating deep in his bones.

At last, after what felt like an eternity, Cain spotted a faint glimmer in the distance.

The impenetrable darkness that had choked their vision began to wane.

He could make out the outline of what appeared to be another corridor, bathed in a dim but merciful light.

Sensing their prey was on the verge of escape, the Demonic Hounds erupted in a final surge of manic ferocity.

Snarling and howling, they hurled themselves forward with suicidal fervor.

One hound barreled into Elrick, nearly knocking him off his feet, while another raked its claws against Auron’s skin.

The entire group wavered, and each member stretched to the limit.

It seemed the beasts had called in even more reinforcements, and the ground trembled beneath their combined weight.

Cain gritted his teeth, matching the hounds’ fury with his own relentless will.

He deflected the lethal bite of one creature, spinning around to drive his spear through another’s flank, and then jerked his head back to avoid snapping jaws.

Behind him, Elrick, Mera, Mary, Auron, and the Deus Behemoth Brothers fought like cornered animals, each step carrying them closer to salvation but draining what little energy they had left.

Wounds dotted their bodies, blood soaking through torn armor.

Yet they could practically taste freedom.

It was right there, just beyond the last span of darkness.

Then came a scream, shrill and laced with despair.

“AHHHHH!” All eyes snapped to the source of that horrifying cry.

Mary, the Divine Transcendence Cultivator who specialized in the Laws of Shadow and Space, had been pinned beneath a massive hound.

Its fiery claws clamped down on her left leg, crumpling armor and bone with a sickening crunch.

Mary’s eyes went wide, her face contorted with agony.

She cast a desperate glance toward her companions, pleading for assistance.

Yet, in the frenzy of survival, the rest of the group merely spared her a brief, grim look.

Elrick, Auron, Mera, and the Deus Behemoth Brothers had no intention of risking their own lives to save her.

In this lethal environment, they calculated that any stop or detour could spell doom for everyone.

Without much hesitation, they pressed on, ignoring Mary’s outstretched hand.

Her visage fell into despair as she realized she had been abandoned.

The last thing she saw was the Demonic Hound’s jaws snapping closer to her head.

A final shriek echoed through the darkness before being cut off by the gruesome sound of bones splintering and flesh tearing.

Running at full speed, Cain registered Mary’s death, but he bore no pity or regret.

These people had nearly ganged up on him a day earlier, so he certainly had no reason to jeopardize his own life to save her.

Survival reigned supreme in this tomb.

With a final thrust, Cain rammed the Spear of Doom through the flank of yet another Demonic Hound, splitting its massive form in two, then vaulted past its collapsing corpse.

The brightness that had seemed so distant was now just feet away.

He burst out of the darkness and tumbled into a vast obsidian corridor, stumbling to regain his balance.

Within a few seconds, Elrick, Mera, Auron, and the others joined him, all staggering but alive.

Behind them, the Demonic Hounds screeched to a halt at the threshold between darkness and corridor.

Their glowing eyes fixed on the retreating figures, but they did not attempt to cross that invisible line.

A ragged stillness settled over Cain’s group.

They were injured, exhausted, and reeking of sweat and charred flesh.

And yet, a note of stunned relief took hold, for as they stood panting and surveyed the corridor, they realized something astonishing.

The radiation that had flooded this dimension from the moment they entered had abruptly vanished.

For the first time since stepping into this horrifying realm, they could actually breathe without struggling against a suffocating, scorching aura.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Redsunworld Special shoutout to Jayscribe.

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