Just as she was about to respond, a low rumble shook the earth beneath their feet.
She froze mid-breath, then slowly turned toward the source. Her expression shifted from confusion to horror in a heartbeat.
Her pupils constricted, and her face turned pale.
A dense storm of dark energy swirled in the distance, pulsing violently, growing more intense by the second.
The air itself seemed to thicken as it approached.
Aleron's gaze snapped in the same direction.
In his line of sight, all the abominations that Ashkar had previously slain were now convulsing, their dismembered forms twisting and writhing unnaturally.
Vela glanced down at her phone and muttered under her breath, "Thirty minutes already?"
She frowned, then turned sharply to Aleron. "Quick, we need to leave this place immediately!"
Aleron noticed her agitation, but he couldn't quite tell what had gone wrong. His curiosity flared as his eyes flicked to the abominations that trembled violently on the ground.
"You seem to know what's about to happen," he said calmly, his tone curious rather than alarmed.
Aleron remained composed, showing no urgency to flee.
Vela's voice sharpened, "Trust me, you don't want to see what happens when this process is complete."
Aleron fell silent. Her words carried weight, hinting at something truly horrifying.
Ashkar, who stood nearby, listened quietly to their conversation.
His intelligence had increased along with his strength, though it was still comparable to that of a highly perceptive child.
His voice, when heard, carried the tone of an eight-year-old, and so did his understanding of complex matters.
Still, he was beginning to understand more than before.
'Dad, I can sense something… something more delicious. I want to eat it so badly!' Ashkar's childlike voice echoed in Aleron's mind.
Aleron turned to look at him and noticed the drool beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth.
Hunger burned in the dragon's eyes like twin flames.
But Aleron shook his head with a calm sigh.
'Now is not the time to eat. Let's make sure we can handle this meal first before we dig in. Remember, safety comes first.'
Then he turned to Vela once more.
"I'll watch and see what's about to happen. If it proves too dangerous, we'll leave. But if it doesn't... killing it might be fun," he said with a slight smirk.
Vela's expression changed drastically. "You absolutely cannot kill that creature. If you do…"
Before she could finish her sentence, a thunderous roar split through the air like a shockwave.
Roarrrrrrr!!!
The sound was deep, violent, and primal. It echoed through the terrain, forcing Aleron to raise both hands to his ears instinctively.
The force of the sound alone reminded him of the first time he faced a tier 2 abomination's roar, an experience he would rather not repeat.
His gaze immediately shifted from Vela to the direction of the sound.
And then he saw it.
Towering like a twisted mountain, the newly formed creature emerged from the shadows.
Its body was a grotesque fusion of flesh and jagged limbs, many of which were clearly torn from the abominations Ashkar had defeated earlier.
Its entire form pulsed with unnatural energy.
As the creature's enormous frame loomed above them, it began releasing a terrifying pressure into the surroundings.
The air turned heavy, and even the ground beneath them trembled.
Aleron's expression turned grim.
'This isn't just a peak tier 2 abomination... this is tier 3,' he thought, his mind reeling.
The monstrous figure before him was a horrific amalgamation of all the other abominations, forcibly merged together.
Spikes jutted out from its misshapen form, while broken, twitching limbs dangled grotesquely from its sides.
The first word that surfaced in Aleron's mind as he stared at the creature was something from his past life.
Failed experiment.
The creature's eyes locked onto him, but there was something behind them—awareness. Its gaze shifted to Ashkar, and a faint glimmer of recognition flickered within.
The memories of the abominations used to form this creature were faint but present.
Roarrrrrrrrrrr!!!
It howled again, louder than before, and began moving.
Its massive legs crashed against the earth as it charged forward.
Before Aleron could react, the creature was directly in front of them.
He stared, momentarily stunned at the sheer speed of the thing.
Despite its size, towering well over ten meters, it moved with horrifying agility. It was almost as fast as Ashkar.
Fortunately, Ashkar was still faster.
Just as the creature's enormous arm descended, Ashkar flapped his wings powerfully and darted into the sky, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The creature halted its advance for a moment, its empty eyes following Ashkar's trail. Then, without warning, it shifted its focus to Aleron.
Boom!
A sonic boom erupted as the abomination lunged forward, slapping its massive hand toward Aleron.
His eyes widened. The incoming attack was too fast.
But Aleron's instincts kicked in.
Just before the creature's arm could strike, he twisted his body and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.
Thanks to his recent power-up, Aleron's reflexes had drastically improved.
He was no longer the same man who had once been powerless against these creatures.
He could now stand his ground, even against a tier 3 abomination.
Nearby, Vela turned toward her summoned beast.
In her mind, she gave a silent command, and the massive owl launched forward, cutting through the air with blinding speed.
Its sharp claws extended, aiming directly for the abomination's throat.
As a member of the Hunters Association, Vela knew the risks.
Killing too many abominations in a sealed space often led to disastrous consequences, and this was the result.
In the next instant, the owl's claws slashed across the abomination's thick neck.
A spray of dark blood erupted from the wound. The abomination roared in pain, its body reeling backward from the blow.
But it wasn't enough.
Even with its throat torn open, the abomination didn't fall.
Instead, a sickening sound followed as the torn flesh slowly began to knit back together.
The regeneration was slow but visible, and that alone sent a wave of dread through Aleron's heart.
'What kind of ability is this?' he thought, watching the monster's wound seal itself.
A chill ran through his spine.
'Ashkar, we might need to fuse,' he said mentally.
Even with all their power, Aleron wasn't confident that Ashkar alone could deal with a regenerating tier 3 abomination.
Their combined strength might be the only way to survive.
On the side, Vela quickly dialed a number on her phone, sending out an urgent transmission.
A fused tier 3 abomination was far more dangerous than one spawned directly from a portal.
She knew they could not afford to be careless.
Help was needed. Immediately.