The tension hadn't eased—if anything, it had worsened—when suddenly the brown Fleshgnasher launched his second attack. This time, he targeted Claire. With his incredible speed and claws empowered by a Sinbearer, even one of these monsters was already deadly. Two against them meant their chances of survival were next to none. If this kept up, both of them would die. Lucien couldn't let that happen; he still needed them.
The situation was so critical because they acted as a group of four. That meant the system, which functioned like fate, would make the challenge scaled for four, not for two. And the system knew Lucien wasn't ordinary—it knew how strong he was. In truth, with his current Sinbearers, Lucien could defeat each of the other three—Mark, Darren, and Claire—in a one-on-one fight. But if it became two against one, things would get dangerous. He might lose, no matter the combination. He simply wasn't strong enough yet. To become stronger, he needed more and better Sinbearers.
Before the brown Fleshgnasher's claw strike could land, Claire's whip cracked through the air, hitting him and slowing him down to near slow-motion for two seconds. Two seconds weren't enough for Mark to attack, but that wasn't the point—it still counted as an attack. If they dodged the brown one again, he would lose his mind and become irrational.
The real problem was the other five Fleshgnashers who hadn't attacked yet.
A loud growl echoed, and two Fleshgnashers charged at Mark. The red one slashed at his upper body with claws while the green one attacked his sides.
"Claire!" Mark shouted. Claire immediately cracked her whip at the red one, slowing him down. That was her second strike—the recoil was still manageable, but it would increase significantly after a third hit. The green one, however, didn't stop and kept attacking.
Before Claire could whip again, the green Fleshgnasher struck. Suddenly, Claire smelled blood—it was Mark's. Although he barely dodged, the green Fleshgnasher's claw tip had grazed and injured him under his left rib.
"Damn!" Mark felt sharp pain and struggled to think clearly. Seeing his clear weakness, the Fleshgnashers attacked relentlessly. Suddenly, Claire threw herself between Mark and the yellow and gray Fleshgnashers. As they charged into her range, she cracked her whip and hit both—two successful strikes. The recoil hit hard. She gritted her teeth, something tore in her shoulder, and the whip flew from her hand. She was thrown backward, landing on her back. She had barely saved herself, but now she was unarmed—and vulnerable. Her whip lay motionless several meters away.
While the Fleshgnashers moved in slow motion, one of the remaining four noticed something—they had spotted another human.
Lucien and Darren were hiding behind a tree.
"Can you handle this?" Lucien asked, knowing they had been spotted.
"I think so. But what's the plan if I can only slow them down?" Darren replied.
"We need to draw the Fleshgnashers' attention onto us. Claire and Mark might handle two of them, but they stand no chance if it's six against two."
"Are you crazy? We'll die!"
"Trust me. I can fight a bit too."
"No way! Do you really expect me to believe that? Who do you think you are, some kid pretending to be the hero? It's a joke."
"Remember when I said I didn't like home, and my father is very strict? I'm pretty sure you know him. Does the name Corvin ring a bell?"
"What? Corvin? King Corvin? Rank 5 Corvin? The one who refused to ascend to the higher dimension and stayed on Earth?"
Once someone reaches Rank 4, they can ascend to a higher dimension, leaving Earth behind. King Corvin refused not once, but twice—first at Rank 4, then again at Rank 5. For Sinners, ascending is essential to gain a vital boost and rise faster. But Corvin refused, because he was the king of Cindoria. No one on Earth didn't know him; he was the most famous person alive.
"You're telling me King Corvin is your father?"
If that's true, it could give them huge advantages—after all, he's known for his generosity…
"I promise I can prove it. But…" Lucien said.
Suddenly, the tree behind which they hid crashed down, revealing four Fleshgnashers—the brown, blue, red, and green ones.
"Whip them!" Lucien ordered.
Darren reacted instinctively, cracking his whip and hitting three of them. The fourth, who wasn't slowed, lunged at Lucien. In less than a second, Lucien blocked the claws with his blade, and for a brief moment, it looked like a stalemate. Then Lucien pressed his palm onto the hand of the blue Fleshgnasher, who was using his Sinbearer. The creature froze, moving at a crawl. Before the effect of the Curse Ring faded, Lucien plunged his blade into its heart. One of the four was down, but the others sped back up.
The cooldown on the Curse Ring was too long—though a decent effect, it was mostly useless in prolonged fights. Lucien crouched and pulled the claws out.
"I didn't want to use it, but…" Darren said, thrown back by the force. He hadn't even noticed the blue one was dead.
Then he pulled out a Sinbearer—another one he had kept secret. Lucien wasn't surprised; who wouldn't hide their Sinbearers? Lucien had lied not only about his Curse Ring but also the effects of his blade.
While Lucien killed the blue one, Darren searched for the whip—but it was nowhere to be found, so he had to rely on this. He closed his eyes.
"Second Skin of Pride," Darren activated the Sinbearer, and his skin turned silver.
Lucien couldn't believe his eyes—Darren truly had one of the rarest Rank 1 Sinbearers from the system. He tossed him the claws, which Darren caught smoothly.
"You think you can handle two against one?" Lucien asked.
"With this skin and claws? Definitely!" Darren answered confidently.
What just happened? How did the Fleshgnasher die? Darren only realized now.
Was it Lucien? That made him even more excited—everything pointed to him being King Corvin's son, with that kind of potential.
Lucien sprinted toward the green Fleshgnasher. When it noticed him and charged, Lucien dodge and then changed direction and headed to Mark and Claire. He was almost certain that, based on what he'd seen, they wouldn't die against two Fleshgnashers. Whether they could win, he wasn't sure—but it didn't matter.
On the way, he took a small detour.
Mark and Claire were fighting the gray and yellow Fleshgnashers. Both had dodged once already, meaning only one more dodge before they'd be hit. Yet they hadn't lost their minds; on the contrary, they acted rationally and didn't attack.
The situation was tense. Mark and Claire thought they could attack at any time, but in reality, the Fleshgnashers were waiting for their allies.
Claire had lost her whip, and Mark only had a useless bone needle.
"Claire, catch!" Lucien ran up, whip in hand, followed by one green Fleshgnasher.
He threw the whip, and Claire caught it gracefully.
"What are you doing here, Lucien? Where's Darren?" Mark shouted, clearly surprised.
"We were attacked by the other four Fleshgnashers. And…"
"And?" Claire pressed.
"Darren killed one of them, but the other three… then killed him…"