Chapter 85 - Danger
Theo and the others kept walking for nearly ten minutes.
Finally, they came to a halt just a few yards away from a metal plate embedded in the ground.
Ethan adjusted his glasses slightly, his gaze fixed on the map.
’’The sewage system entrance is here,’’ he said. ’’It’s the one I’m most confident in.’’
Theo nodded once, glancing at the metal plate.
’’Okay.’’
Owen rolled his shoulders, resting the sledgehammer against his shoulder.
"Then this is where we split, right?"
Ethan nodded.
"We’ll stay up here and handle anything that comes out," he said. "That was the plan."
They fell silent for a moment.
Then, Owen turned to Theo with a small smile.
’’Try not to die down there.’’
Theo forced a small smile.
’’I could say the same to both of you.’’
With that, he turned back to the plate.
He stepped forward and pulled off the metal plate in one go.
A deep hole opened up underneath him.
’’Damn,’’ Owen whistled beside him. ’’That’s dark.’’
Theo shrugged, looking back at them.
’’I have good eyes.’’
Without hesitation, he took a step back and dropped down.
He landed inside a large pipe, the sound of his boots echoing faintly through the tunnel.
The air around him was damp and smelled disgusting.
A faint flow of sewage water ran in front of him, echoing deeper into the tunnels.
Theo straightened himself, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
Thanks to his ability, he could still see very clearly in the darkness.
’Blood,’ he thought.
His eyes narrowed, finding faint splatters on parts of the walls.
That’s when his gaze fell on the small sewage stream.
Bones and what looked like half-rotted corpses lay in the water.
’Ethan’s prediction was right,
’ he thought, frowning. ’This is the one.’ He stepped forward without hesitation.
As he glanced around the tunnels, everything started falling into place.
’So this is how they spread without being seen...’
This particular sewage system connected to all of the back alleys.
If they used it to travel, they could appear anywhere.
’But since it’s the right one... it also means I can trap them.’
His eyes narrowed slightly, Ethan’s words from just hours ago going through his mind.
’They can’t stay in the water constantly,’ he thought. ’They’ll need a dry section.’
Theo’s gaze shifted forward.
There was only one old, abandoned pipe near him.
And...
It was only a few dozen meters away.
His grip tightened around his umbrella as he moved forward.
The closer he got, the worse the pipes became.
Everywhere he looked, blood painted the walls and bones were spread out.
As the final corner approached, Theo slowed slightly.
’Careful now.’
His heart raced in his chest.
Then—
He leaned just enough to peek around it.
An old, rusted pipe came into view.
It was sloped upwards, with no water running through it.
And at the very top?
Three figures revealed themselves.
They had pale, bone-like bodies that were twisted in unnatural shapes.
Each of them seemed far taller and stronger than any he’d seen before.
’Shit,’ he thought, his expression darkening. ’They really are D-ranks.’
The middle figure sat crouched forward over a corpse, tearing into it slowly.
Theo kept observing them.
That’s when it happened.
A small fragment split off its body.
It dropped onto the ground with a wet sound.
Theo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The fragment twitched for a moment... then began to move.
It writhed across the metal surface like something alive, dragging itself forward with unnatural movements.
The middle creature moved.
It reached down and picked it up again before storing it away.
Theo’s grip tightened slightly around his umbrella.
’So that’s how they do it... they only need to drop those on people.’
His gaze shifted slightly, scanning the other two creatures.
Both of them were alert the entire time.
’They are the guards then.’
He glanced at the middle figure.
’...and that is the host.’
Theo took a step back for a moment.
He exhaled quietly, glancing up at the ceiling.
’’Let’s go,’’ he whispered.
With that, he stepped forward.
The moment he stepped around the corner, the creatures reacted.
All three heads snapped towards him at once.
The one holding the corpse froze for a second—
Then dropped it.
The sound echoed through the pipe.
Slowly, it stood up.
Its full size was way taller than the others.
Theo remained quiet, sizing him up calmly.
’Peak D-rank.’
Four lightning bolts flickered to life beside him.
They instantly shot through the air, each heading for the middle creature.
The creature didn’t hesitate.
It grabbed hold of one of its guards, quickly pulling it in front of itself.
BOOM!
The lightning collided with it head-on.
It disintegrated a massive hole through the guard’s stomach.
Yet, as the main creature let go, it did not fall down.
’Of course,’ Theo thought, narrowing his eyes. ’They are basically just controlling corpses.’
The other guard instantly dashed forward.
It closed the distance in an instant, swinging a large, razor-sharp bone arm towards him.
Theo ducked down immediately.
The strike just barely missed, only cutting a few hairs.
’’Now.’’
He stepped in.
His umbrella shot forward, a wave of water twirling around it.
The tip slammed deep into the creature’s leg.
For a split second—
Nothing happened.
Then, the water collided.
A wave crashed against the bone-like structure, drilling deep holes into it.
The guard let out a screech, jumping back.
’It wasn’t enough,’ Theo thought, gritting his teeth.
The first guard already moved towards him, another sharp bone arm swinging towards him.
Just as he was about to step back, his instincts screamed at him.
Theo immediately raised a water shield in front of him.
BOOM!
Several bone spikes pierced deep into the shield.
’Magic!’ he thought, glancing hurriedly at the middle figure.
Before he could think about it any further, the guard’s strike hit his shield.
It cut through the holes from the bone spikes, easily making it through the remaining part of the shield.
Theo’s eyes widened.
He tilted his head just a little.
The blade flashed past his eyes... and something warm ran down his cheek.
Before he could even think, a shiver ran down his spine.
His pupils shrank.
’Shi—’
Behind him—
A white bone tore out of the ground, stretching into a sharp spike.