The underground entrance continued opening slowly.
Stone ground violently against stone as the enormous circular structure shifted deeper into itself, ancient mechanisms hidden beneath the cliffs awakening after what felt like centuries of silence. Crimson lines spread brighter across the surrounding pillars, illuminating the area beneath the darkening sky with an unnatural red glow.
Cold air poured upward continuously from the depths below.
Not normal cold.
Dead cold.
The kind that carried no life with it.
Ayan's eyes remained fixed on the widening darkness beneath the structure while the faint vibrations beneath the ground grew stronger.
And the voices—
They were becoming clearer.
Still distorted.
Still layered unnaturally together.
But definitely human.
The red-haired archer took an uneasy step backward.
"…What the hell is that sound?"
No one answered immediately.
Because honestly—
None of them knew.
Even Aelira's expression had sharpened slightly more than before, her crimson eyes focused entirely on the opening beneath the structure.
The spear wielder tightened his grip around his weapon.
"…Everyone stay alert."
The silver-ranked team instantly shifted formation around the cliffside entrance, their movements practiced and disciplined despite the tension spreading through the air.
The shield user stepped toward the front.
The mage began quietly preparing several glowing crystal charms.
The dual-blade fighter disappeared partially into the surrounding shadows near the trees.
Experienced.
Ayan noticed it immediately.
These weren't amateur adventurers.
Which only made the fear in their expressions more concerning.
The ground pulsed again.
Then suddenly—
The voices stopped.
Complete silence fell across the cliffs.
Ayan's instincts immediately screamed.
"…Something's wrong."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Movement exploded from below.
BOOOOOOM.
A massive black shape launched upward from the darkness beneath the structure with horrifying speed.
The mage barely reacted in time.
"Barrier!"
A glowing blue shield formed instantly in front of the group—
And shattered immediately.
CRASH.
The impact threw the mage violently backward across the stone ground while the enormous creature landed directly near the entrance.
Everyone froze for half a second.
Then the red-haired archer cursed sharply.
"…What is THAT?"
The creature resembled a humanoid shape only loosely.
Its body was unnaturally tall and thin, nearly three meters in height, with elongated limbs dragging against the stone beneath it like broken bones stretched too far. Black skin covered its body completely, but unlike previous corrupted creatures—
Its surface looked smooth.
Artificial.
Thin crimson lines pulsed beneath translucent flesh across its arms and neck while multiple human faces shifted faintly beneath the skin around its torso.
Not attached.
Embedded.
Like people trapped inside its body.
Ayan's stomach tightened instantly.
"…No…"
The creature slowly lifted its head.
And smiled.
Its mouth stretched impossibly wide across a face that looked almost human except for the complete absence of eyes.
Only darkness remained where they should have been.
Then—
It spoke.
"…Synchronization… incomplete…"
The layered voices echoed together from inside its body.
Male.
Female.
Young.
Old.
All speaking simultaneously.
The armored adventurer visibly paled.
"…That thing can talk…"
Aelira's voice became colder beside Ayan.
"…It was human once."
Silence hit instantly afterward.
The spear wielder's expression hardened sharply.
"…Everyone spread out!"
The creature moved before he finished speaking.
Its elongated arm lashed outward unnaturally fast.
The shield user barely blocked the strike with his massive shield—
CRACK.
The entire shield split apart instantly.
The armored adventurer was launched backward violently through one of the stone pillars.
"…GHH—!"
The creature tilted its head unnaturally toward the fallen man.
Then vanished.
Ayan's eyes widened.
Too fast.
The creature appeared directly beside the injured adventurer, elongated claws forming from its fingers as it moved to strike downward.
But before impact—
A crimson flash tore through the battlefield.
The creature's arm exploded apart.
Aelira stood between them silently, faint crimson light fading around her hand.
The corrupted humanoid staggered backward slightly.
Then—
The flesh around its destroyed arm shifted.
Reformed.
Regenerated.
Ayan's expression hardened immediately.
"…Again with the regeneration."
The creature's eyeless face slowly turned toward Aelira.
"…Irregular existence detected…"
Its layered voices distorted violently.
"…Interference unacceptable…"
Then every crimson line beneath its skin illuminated simultaneously.
Ayan's instincts screamed.
"…MOVE!"
The creature's body split open.
Not metaphorically.
Physically.
Its chest tore apart vertically as dozens of black tendrils erupted outward toward everyone around the cliffside.
The archer rolled sideways instantly while firing several arrows directly into the creature's torso.
The dual-blade fighter sliced through multiple tendrils in a blur of movement.
Ayan cut apart another heading toward him before sprinting forward.
The creature reacted immediately.
Its distorted face shifted toward him unnaturally fast.
"…Recognized target…"
Ayan's heartbeat slowed slightly.
"…It knows me too."
The creature lunged.
Ayan met it head-on.
Its claws crashed against his sword with monstrous force, shockwaves exploding across the stone beneath their feet while the creature's elongated body twisted unnaturally around him like a living nightmare.
Too close.
Its skin moved strangely.
The embedded human faces beneath its torso shifted faintly as though still alive inside it.
"…Get away from him!"
The red-haired archer fired another arrow.
The creature dodged sideways instantly.
Too intelligently.
Ayan narrowed his eyes sharply.
This thing fought differently from corrupted beasts.
It analyzed.
Adapted.
Like the false core.
The creature's mouth stretched wider again.
"…Convergence approaching…"
Then suddenly—
The ground beneath the cliffside trembled violently.
Not from one creature.
Many.
The spear wielder's expression darkened immediately.
"…There's more coming."
As if responding to his words—
Shapes began emerging slowly from the darkness below the structure.
One after another.
Tall distorted humanoids climbed upward from beneath the earth, their bodies incomplete and malformed in different ways.
Some possessed too many limbs.
Others dragged half-formed bodies behind them.
Several still wore fragments of human clothing fused directly into black corrupted flesh.
And every single one—
Whispered softly in layered distorted voices.
The mage's face lost color completely.
"…Those are people…"
Ayan's grip tightened around his sword.
Because now he understood.
The voices they heard earlier—
Were not echoes.
Not recordings.
The creatures themselves were speaking.
Or rather—
The humans trapped inside them were.
A cold feeling spread through his chest.
Because suddenly—
This place no longer felt like a monster nest.
It felt like a graveyard filled with things that never fully died.
The first corrupted humanoid tilted its head again toward Ayan.
"…Primary candidate confirmed…"
The layered voices became clearer.
"…Bring him below."
The moment those words echoed across the cliffside—
Every creature moved simultaneously.