[Faceless Hunter 2] Chapter 43: Crystal Heart (Patreon)

Making use of his immense strength, Xen peeled away at the Guardian's hard outer shell like pulling bark off a stubborn tree—except each piece was made from abyssal-tainted rock and was thrice his height.

It was back-breaking work, even for him. A constant haze of putrid steam enveloped Xen as he burned his biomass reserves to regrow his arms, because with each chunk of the Guardian's outer shell he tore off, his arms suffered for it.

Having 1,866 strength would be a lot nicer if I had the resistance to keep it from tearing me apart with every move.

Xen bent down, drove his freshly healed fingers into the cracks, and pulled. The crevice widened, allowing him to fish his fingers deeper and get a better grip. Bending his knees, he heaved upward and slowly walked the rising slab forward, raising it into the sky. The steam billowing around him surged as he constantly rehealed his entire body, because if he faltered for even a second, the slab would come crashing back down upon him.

This was the third layer of outer shell that Xen had painstakingly removed, but what lay beneath it was new. Abyssal mana from within the Guardian's depths rose like tendrils through the cracks beneath, and instead of going for him, they were trying to latch onto the slab and pull it back into place.

Is this the Guardian's attempt at healing? Xen wondered. His initial punches had downed the Guardian, effectively knocking it out, and he had also shattered the Abyssal Rift, breaking the feedback loop the two had shared. With the Abyssal Rift now pulling on the ambient abyssal mana to repair itself, the Guardian was left without aid and to fend for itself.

Xen pushed the slab off the side of the Guardian's body, letting it loudly crash to the ground below. He didn't have the time or energy left to go about this stealthily, as he was already at his limit.

Deprived of their target, the abyssal mana tendrils turned on him, grabbing at his ankles and scorching his skin. If not for Buff of the Berserker dulling his pain, he might have screamed.

Thankfully, he had a solution to dealing with abyssal mana.

"Abyssal Carapace."

The skill took its payment from his dwindling biomass reserves rather than from his empty mana pool, and the cost made his stomach clench.

Layered chitin flowed up from his hands to his elbows, black and glossy and veined with the same abyssal light the Guardian was leaking. He didn't coat the rest of his body as the cost would have been too great.

This alone would suffice.

Ignoring the abyssal tendrils latched around his ankle, he balled his fists and slammed down with all his strength. He braced for the recoil he had previously endured, but it never came. Instead, he punched through; the abyssal-tainted stone gave way and crumbled with far more ease than the hard outer shell. He found himself tumbling into the hole headfirst and falling for a few seconds before landing hard.

[Warning: Biomass reserves are low]

Xen groaned as he staggered to his feet amongst the cloud of dust and raised his arms. They were notably skinnier than before, showing just how dire his biomass reserves had become.

I can't see anything.

Having been stripped of his mana pool, he was effectively blind without the help of Geomantic Perception. All he had to rely on was his eyes and ears, which weren't capable of much in this dark space.

Waving away at the dust and letting his eyes readjust, he eventually got to inspect his surroundings.

As it turned out, the inside of the Guardian was hollow.

It was as if he stood in the pit of a great beast's stomach, except there was no flesh or organs in sight for him to devour. Just a vast, rocky cavernous space dripping in abyssal mana. Xen glanced up at the wide opening he had fallen through and noticed that beneath the outer shell he had peeled away was a lattice of obsidian ribs, curved and interlocking to reinforce this space and coated with abyssal mana.

Sensing an invader, the abyssal mana began to slither toward him and pooled at his feet.

I need to find a way to kill this thing before all this abyssal mana eats me alive. Xen blindly climbed over the rubble surrounding him and stalked through the dark. There should be something notable around here. If only I had Geomantic Perception so I could follow the flow of the abyssal mana... wait, what is that?

At the back of the cavern, where the opening to the Guardian's throat would be if it weren't a golem, was a large floating crystal. It was blacker than night, visible only because of the faint pulses of violet light that shot through it like a heartbeat.

This must be it. If I destroy this crystal, perhaps the Guardian will die.

Xen took another step forward only to freeze in surprise as a system message flashed in his vision.

[An identification-type skill is being used on you]

[Nameless Existence] passive triggered. You may choose what is perceived or block the attempt entirely.

Xen was given a split second to mentally answer the system prompt, but knew outright blocking it would be suspicious. The system message didn't tell him who or what was using an identification-type skill on him, but he knew the best course of action was to be obscure but somewhat truthful.

Since I'm Ghostwire right now, I'll keep the class as Phantom Scout, but I should hide my level.

[Human (Phantom Scout: Level ???)]

That is what he chose to show whoever used the skill, and he then quickly glanced around the dark space. Had it been the Guardian that used it? No, that didn't make any sense. Why would it wait until he was standing before its crystal heart to identify him?

Xen glanced over his shoulder and squinted at the opening and found the culprit.

There was a silhouette backlit by amber light perched on the rim of the hole. He couldn't see the person's face, but they had pointed ears and exuded an aura of strength and confidence.

"Hunter, step away from that crystal," the mysterious man said firmly, his voice echoing through the space.

Xen stayed silent and studied the man. Since he didn't have any mana, he couldn't cast appraisal, so he had nothing to go off besides the man's confidence after seeing his faked status.

If this person saw that my level is somewhere in the hundreds and still dares to order me around, they must be S-rank or higher. Are they an infiltrator mad that I'm interfering with their plans? Or was a random S-rank Hunter exploring the 11th floor when the Abyssal Rift appeared?

The silhouette gracefully dropped down from the hole, and Xen finally got a good look at their face under the faint amber light coming through the hole above. He was an elderly albino man with sharp features, blood-red eyes, and a calm but dangerous demeanor.

"You're a vampire," Xen said the obvious, drawing on his memory soup harvested from the many humans he had devoured.

From what he could quickly gather about vampires, they were one of the supernatural races that appeared during the awakening of the World Dungeon. While they lived among the humans, they were considered the most monstrous out of the mana-touched races and mostly left alone.

But what was an S-rank vampire doing here?!

The vampire grinned, showing off two rows of teeth.

"My name is Jeokhon from Korea, perhaps you have heard of me?"

Xen searched his memories, but no such name came up. He also didn't know why someone from Korea would be so deep in a dungeon under Japan.

Taking his silence as an answer, Jeokhon continued. "Well, no matter. My blood reading skill returned a strange answer when I appraised you. Still, your strength is unquestionable considering you can defeat this Guardian by yourself," he coughed into his hand, "but unfortunately, I still have to ask you to hold off on finishing it, at least for now."

Xen offered no reply or reaction and simply held the vampire's gaze while his mind raced for a solution.

There's no doubt that if we fight, I will lose. I'm deprived of all my magic and out of biomass. My only chance to win is if this vampire foolishly engages me in a melee test of strength, but considering he hasn't rushed forward to physically stop me, the vampire is likely cautious of me. I should use that fear to my advantage until I can think of a way out of this.

"And why should I listen to you?" Xen asked bluntly. "I tore this Guardian apart, so the kill is rightfully mine."

Jeokhon frowned. "Worry not, Hunter. I'm not here to steal your kill, but my client desires for the Abyssal Rift to remain open a while longer, so I ask that you refrain from finishing the Guardian off just yet—"

"Hold your breath, Jeokhon," a commanding voice cut through the cavern.

Xen's gaze snapped toward the voice, and he spotted another unknown man had appeared on the hole's edge.

"That Hunter is Ghostwire. A measly C-grade Savior." The unknown man dropped down beside Jeokhon with a smirk. "An old acquaintance of mine, and last I checked, he has a hefty 250,000 credit bounty on his head."

Xen noticed a shift in Jeokhon's expression.