Chapter : 58 Struggle

"Hah," Sheele's rugged breath echoed in the corridor as she stood atop the remains of a gruesome monster.

The headless beast lay on the cold floor, its grotesque head separated from its body, its tongue hanging out, and its nine malevolent eyes closed. 

The creature looked undeniably dead.

The corridor was a nightmarish scene, littered with countless tentacles and bloodied body parts of the monstrosity.

"Hahh!"

Sheele, who stood atop the creature's carcass, felt her hands tremble, the toll of wielding her teigu evident. The massive expenditure of stamina had left her exhausted. 

Her clothes were both bloody and torn, with exposed patches of scratched pale skin, a clear indication of the brutal fight against an army of almost five hundred soldiers and a monstrous creature. 

In an attempt to halt the bleeding from her fight with the beast, she tore her clothes a bit and began tying knots in various areas of her body.

Her hand trembled now, and then clearly showing that her stamina was nearly spent. And probably the objective of the imperial army to exhaust her was also complete.

Normally, Sheele didn't need to swing her Extase much as its blade could effortlessly slice through anything. 

But this creature was different.

It charged at her relentlessly, unfazed by the countless times her blade struck its slimy skin. Its nine tentacles attacked from all directions, a relentless assault that required every ounce of her skill to fend off.

But what made the battle truly harrowing was the creature's regenerative powers. No matter how many times she severed its tentacles or stabbed its heart, it healed almost instantly, making the fight seem interminable. 

If not for her reckless plunging towards the creature and slashing all its tentacles along with its head, the creature would have been alive by now.

As Sheele reflected on the creature's regeneration, a person flickered in her mind, someone who had similar abilities.

Yet, it could also be a misunderstanding. Many danger beasts possessed regenerative abilities, though none to the degree she had just witnessed. This creature's powers were on a level she had never encountered before.

Dismissing those thoughts, she wrapped up her task and retrieved her Extase from the floor. She proceeded towards the innermost area of the brothel to find Bane and determine if he had completed his information gathering.

Swishh!

As she was walking sheele picked the sound of wind rustling in her ears and she suddenly bent backwards without a second thought.

A gust of wind swept by as a gigantic, slippery tentacle grazed the spot where her head had just been.

Swish!

A tentacle emerged from the side, but she skillfully avoided it by twisting her body. However, she couldn't escape the other two tentacles that attacked simultaneously. To protect herself, she immediately used her Extase as a shield. 

BAMM!!

Despite Extase taking the intense impact from both tentacles, her situation did not improve as she was sent flying into the building, breaking through two walls.

CREAK!

As the dust and debris settled inside the brothel hall, sounds of small rocks falling resounded as sheele forcefully stood up using her teigu as support.

"Cough, cough!" She coughed as she fully stood up. She coughed some blood, but she again tried to forcefully focus her attention forward.

Sounds of footsteps reached her ears as Sheele saw a dark silhouette through the broken entrance, slowly making its way toward her.

As the lights illuminated the figure, a ten-foot-tall, dreadful creature stood on its hind legs. Its nine tentacles swirled around it menacingly.

Creak!!

The tentacles placed an object atop the headless creature, none other than its hideous head. As its head settled into place, a dense mass of muscles began to wriggle on its neck. In seconds, the creature's wounds healed completely, and its nine black eyes reopened.

"GRRRRAHHHHH!!" A bone-chilling roar echoed through the building.

Sheele's eyes trembled at the gruesome spectacle. The creature she had beheaded a few moments ago had fully recovered.

But there was no time to think as the creature's tentacles lashed out at her, each one moving as if it had a life of its own.

BOOM!!

A loud crash resounded as a huge chunk of the wall was blown off where the deadly assault landed. 

The creature moved its gaze to assess its prey's condition but was met with the sight of broken wall fragments.

SHIKK!!

"GRAHHH!!!" The creature roared in rage as it felt all of its tentacles sliced apart.

It instantly looked towards its puny prey, standing at the other end of the room, breathing heavily while holding her weapon, eyes locked in its direction.

Nothing but the utter annihilation of its prey filled the creature's mind as it charged mindlessly towards her with all four legs, ready to rip her apart with its claws and maw.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Sheele watched the humongous creature charging at her. She held both ends of her teigu and separated them, wielding them in both hands calmly. 

"Fuuu," she took a deep breath, tilted her body forward, and began to charge towards the mad creature.

SHIKKK!!!

As prey and hunter clashed, they crossed paths and separated in an instant. They halted their charge and stood at a distance without making noise.

Sheele, who held both her blades, relaxed slightly and coughed up blood as her knee buckled, but she used her blade for support. 

"Huff." With a rugged breath and trembling body, she raised her body.

At some distance, the creature stood still without letting out a single growl, but after a second it collapsed to its knees and then its body split apart from the centre up to its hips.

Sheele, who had moved her body backward, observed the creature but didn't relax for a second, aware of its regenerative powers.

Seconds passed, and her fears came true as both sections of the split creature began to wriggle. Slimy threads started to reconnect the creature.

Seeing this, she tried to move toward the creature to prevent its recovery, but her body was too exhausted from the earlier attack.

"Move!! Move!!" She began to smack her hand on her leg, willing it to move, but it was futile. Helplessly, she watched as the creature nearly reassembled itself.

Just as the creature was nearly revived, its back heaved for a second, and Sheele saw a bloodied gauntlet burst through its back, holding the creature's heart.

The gauntlet squeezed the heart, crushing it mercilessly into a mushy paste.

The creature collapsed fully, revealing the masked figure behind it.

Sheele looked at Bane, who was staring down at the dead creature. 

After a few seconds, he looked at her haggard appearance and said, "What? Never seen someone take a heart?"