Level Up: Voidwalker

Chapter 186: Nightmare

It took Atlas another hour to recover as he could finally sit up, but his head spun before settling down. He glanced around and noticed he was in a restaurant, which caused him to think, 'Looks like I'm on the forty-second floor.'

Without wasting any more time, Atlas stood up as his body cracked and his surviving monsters turned to him. He dismissed them all while scanning his surroundings with Void Sight, but he couldn't see anything.

'No monsters, it seems. Hopefully, I can get to the vault without any trouble.'

There were two dozen red Monster Cores, which he had collected before moving on, while the Rock Wyrm followed him through the corridors. Soon enough, he came to a staircase blocked by the same fences.

"Is this how the nobles made their way to the bottom?" Atlas mused with a tired smile as he surveyed his surroundings.

He stepped inside and immediately spotted a staircase spiraling downward. Without hesitation, he descended, each step echoing in the quiet. However, his progress came to an abrupt halt as he reached a dead end.

'Damn, always something stopping me from moving forward.'

The path ahead was blocked by jagged, torn metal, twisted into an impassable barrier, preventing him from moving forward. He dismissed the Rock Wyrm and entered the next floor, which seemed residential.

When Atlas stepped inside, a foul stench assaulted his nose, causing him to gag. 'Eww, what is that?' he thought, glancing around in disgust.

He found himself in a large, dark foyer where a lone desk stood, abandoned. Four corridors stretched out before him, two on each side, and his curiosity was piqued. Thanks to the Night Eyes Runes, he was able to see.

As Atlas moved toward the nearest corridor, the horrid stench intensified, becoming nearly unbearable. He grimaced, forcing himself to push forward despite the nausea. "The smells even worse here," he muttered.

Every step felt heavier as he braced for what was lurking in the darkness. As Atlas ventured deeper into the ship, the metallic groans of the vessel seemed to grow louder, echoing through the hollow corridors.

The atmosphere became creepier, causing a shiver to run down Atlas's spine as a horrid stench clung to his nostrils, but something about the atmosphere gnawed at his instincts, warning him that he was not alone.

Each step reverberated with an eerie, hollow clang. Once sleek and metallic, the walls around him were now covered in a thin, greasy film that shimmered in the dim light. Every breath tasted foul, and the ship's usual scent of rust and decay was overwhelmed by something far worse.

An acrid smell filled the air, like rotting meat left to decay in dampness. Atlas slowly and carefully rounded a corner and found himself in a long, narrow passage. Its walls were no longer metal but something else entirely—flesh, which horrified him as his face went pale and the hair on his neck stood up.

'What nightmare have I walked into?'

Pale, pulsing flesh stretched over jagged beams and pipes. Veins throbbed beneath the surface, sickeningly organic. As he stepped forward, a shudder ran down his spine. The sensation beneath his boots was warm, like walking on a living thing.

'What... in the Void is this place?' Atlas thought, swallowing the bile that threatened to rise.

The deeper he ventured, the more the surroundings changed. The once-structured layout of the ship twisted into a labyrinth. Rags of flesh hung from the ceiling like cobwebs, glistening with a foul, oily secretion.

'This shit is making me want to throw up,' Atlas mused while trying to control himself.

There were no more corridors of steel and rivets—only tunnels of flesh and bone, twisting and warping as he passed what once might have been a control panel, now absorbed into the walls, its buttons and dials half-sunken into the pulsing tissue.

His hand reflexively went to the hilt of his blade. The shadows seemed to shift at the edges of his vision, and a soft, wet, slithering sound whispered through the air. Then came the noise, soft at first but unmistakable.

There was a distant, wet, churning sound of something feeding. Atlas froze, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. Slowly, his vision extended into the darkness, revealing what lay ahead, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

There were dozens of them huddled around piles of decaying flesh. Their clawed hands dug into the flesh, ripping chunks free and eating it. Atlas noticed the creature's bodies twitched and shuddered with each bite, and the sickening squelch of torn flesh filled the air.

'Fleshfiends,' he thought while watching the scene.

Atlas's pulse quickened as he soon realized he was in the heart of their feeding grounds. He stepped back, his breath shallow, trying to move quietly. But as he did, his boot pressed on something soft, wet.

A faint squelch echoed in the narrow corridor. The nearest Fleshfiend paused, its head snapping, nose twitching as it sniffed the air. A hiss escaped its throat as it turned its hollow gaze toward Atlas.

His heart raced as more of them stirred, rising from their grotesque feast. Their bodies moved unnaturally fast, spindly limbs contorting at disturbing angles. A chorus of clicking and guttural growls filled the place.

Atlas backed off before casting a Void Bomb that exploded in the middle of the horde, allowing him to use Void Step to get across the chamber as the creatures were killed with azure flames that washed over them.

As Atlas advanced, the monster howled in agony, his eyes burning with determination. He channeled Void Infusion into his blades, the dark energy crackling as he sliced through the creatures that had managed to evade his initial spells.

The chamber echoed with the shrieks of the wounded beasts. Without hesitation, Atlas sprinted toward a metal door, slamming it shut with a resounding bang. The sound reverberated through the corridor, momentarily silencing the monstrous roars behind him.

While leaning against the door, the Fleshfiends pounded relentlessly, causing it to shake. Atlas pulled out his map, his hands steady despite the mounting tension. He quickly located a staircase leading downward to the north.

His instincts told him that more creatures were likely waiting in that direction, but Atlas knew there was no other choice. Following that, he made his way toward the staircase while fighting off the odd group of creatures that tried to ambush him.

A few hours later, Atlas arrived at another hall, which he guessed was a nest, but this time, it was empty, which creeped him out. He stepped inside while gripping his blade just as a Fleshfiend lunged from the darkness.

Atlas avoided the monster and carved through its body in one swipe as the blades were covered with Void Infusion. A battle erupted in the hall, causing him to bring in the Shadowstalkers, who tore into the creatures with their sword-like claws.

Blood covered everything, including Atlas, as the last Fleshfiend died, but a sudden howl alerted him to the creatures rushing in his direction. He smiled before summoning more monsters to help in the fight while activating Dungeon Conquerer.

A portal opened, allowing the Werewolves and Dreadmaw Lions to appear on the battlefield. Atlas then jumped into the fray as his monsters tore through the Fleshfiend nest while his summons kept up with him.

Not long after, they reached the next staircase, where a Blightborn met Atlas. He killed several Werewolves before he reached the monster and sliced through its ankles, bringing it crashing to the floor.

He cast a Void Arrow at its skull just as a Dreadmaw Lion lunged over him and hit another Blightborn before tearing it apart. When Atlas saw this, he started rushing to find the way to the lower floor.

His Dungeon Monsters followed behind while others stayed to hold the Fleshfiends back. It took a few more hours to reach the floor where the vaults were, and thanks to the help, the creatures weren't a problem.

Atlas arrived at the end of a long corridor that looked like it could fit a Mistwalker, which he quickly summoned. The giant mammoth monster could move while he followed behind it while readying his weapons.

The further they got, the Mistwalker let out a roar as it started to fight something that was beating the giant monster. Atlas stepped back as it faded back into the Dungeon Realm and sent the remaining creatures charging forward.

That's when the culprit appeared, a Blightborn unlike any he'd seen. It looked more human-like yet still radiated a creepy aure. Atlas tensed, wary but ready to fight. The creature spoke, its voice dripping with malice, "Stupid Voidwalker. Always meddling in our plans. We took everything from you, and still, that wasn't enough to deter you."

Atlas's entire body tensed at the taunting words, a deep hatred coursing through him. His eyes flared as a memory surfaced—of a white-haired woman battling similar creatures while holding him in her arms.

He barely remembered her, the white-haired woman leading a group of guards in a desperate stand while a mage traced mysterious Runes on the ground and chanted in an unknown language.

The monster's taunt sliced through the memory with cold cruelty. It sneered, ''Your mother was a delightful meal. Now, I get the pleasure of devouring her son. How fortunate for me.''

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