Ivy moved toward the building not too far from the factory and the basketball court, guided by her psychic abilities, which continuously led her toward the monster’s location.

Upon reaching the building, Ivy and Darren began climbing the stairs. However, they soon came to an abrupt halt, grabbing onto the walls as the stairwell trembled violently beneath their feet.

"Something’s wrong!" Darren exclaimed, terror evident in his eyes.

"I know, right?" Ivy replied with a scoff. "I hope you’re ready to fight that motherfucker. This is the last monster we’re fighting today."

GROWL~

A deafening rumble echoed throughout the underground structure, causing Ivy and Darren to grip the walls even tighter.

Cracks rapidly spread across the concrete staircase, and before either of them could react, the entire stairwell collapsed beneath them.

BOOM!

Before they could even regain their footing, chunks of concrete and twisted steel came crashing down from above. Just before the debris could crush them, the two leaped toward the nearest platform as thick dust filled the air, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Ivy landed heavily on a narrow ledge protruding from the wall. Pain shot through her body as though several of her bones had cracked from the impact.

Darren, on the other hand, barely managed to grab onto the edge beside her while the space beneath them disappeared into darkness.

GROWLS~

Behind them came the horrifying growls of approaching monsters.

What?! There are more monsters here?

Ivy’s eyes widened in shock.

That monster actually led me here because there are even more monsters waiting inside.

"We’re trapped!" Ivy gritted out through clenched teeth.

The ledge was barely wide enough for two people to stand on. One wrong step would send them plunging into the abyss below.

Another tremor shook the building, sending more debris crashing down from above.

Ivy narrowed her eyes as the walls themselves seemed to be moving.

"This monster is powerful," Darren muttered under his breath. "But should all of this really be happening? The monster hasn’t even revealed itself yet. Why is the damn building collapsing?"

Massive stone spikes suddenly burst from the ground, sealing off several escape routes.

Darren’s expression darkened. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Earth abilities?"

A low laugh echoed throughout the building.

Then a figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

Its skin was gray and rotten. It had no head, yet countless glowing eyes covered its grotesque body. The creature had grown nearly ten times larger and wider than a normal human. Huge mouths lined its torso, each filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

The countless eyes glowed a bright crimson red.

Despite its horrifying appearance, Ivy recognized it immediately.

"Andrew!"

Darren’s eyes widened.

"Andrew? The Earth-Type Ability User? The one who threw survivors off rooftops and turned them into monsters? The one we punished by releasing monsters on him and his men?"

His expression quickly shifted from shock to disbelief.

"Wait... monsters can keep their abilities too?" Darren asked, confusion written all over his face. "You mean anyone with an ability who turns into a monster can still retain that ability? And these monsters still know how to use them?"

He sucked in a sharp breath.

"Imagine a high-level ability user turning into a monster and keeping their powers. That’s basically a death sentence for anyone who crosses paths with them."

The monster known as Andrew grinned.

Fragments of dried flesh cracked around the corners of its mouths.

The ground beneath Ivy and Darren rippled violently as Andrew raised a decaying hand.

Several enormous stone pillars erupted from below, forcing them even closer to the edge.

His Earth-Type abilities had not disappeared after death as Darren had assumed.

Instead, they had become even stronger.

GROWLS~

The surrounding earth obeyed Andrew’s commands instantly.

Stones, rubble, and debris rose into the air, forcing Ivy and Darren to shield their eyes from the swirling storm.

More monsters began gathering behind them.

Growls filled the building.

Ahead of them stood a deadly enemy.

Behind them waited a hungry horde.

The situation looked completely hopeless.

Darren tightened his grip on his weapon. He managed to open his eyes despite the flying debris.

"So where is he?" he demanded. "I’ll fight my way through."

"No."

Ivy suddenly closed her eyes.

Darren frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Ivy released her mental power.

Invisible waves spread throughout the underground structure.

Dust.

Stone.

Metal.

Every detail entered her perception.

Andrew immediately sensed the danger and moved.

Unfortunately for him, Ivy’s mental power had already locked onto his location.

"There."

Her eyes snapped open.

She pointed toward a hidden section of the wall.

"Three meters to the left. Behind that earth barrier."

Darren reacted instantly.

Without hesitation, he unleashed his Water-Type ability.

BOOM!

The attack smashed through multiple layers of stone, causing Andrew to release an enraged roar.

The monster attempted to reshape the earth to defend itself, but it was already too late.

Not only was Darren attacking him directly, but Ivy was continuously tracking his every movement.

Darren charged forward with his gun raised.

BANG!

BANG!

A sickening crack echoed through the building as one of the monster’s massive eye-covered heads was blasted apart.

Silence followed.

Then—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Neither Ivy nor Darren stopped.

They immediately redirected their fire toward the surrounding monsters.

Without Andrew’s control, the earth constructs throughout the building began crumbling apart.

The trap instantly started losing its power.

Ivy and Darren continued shooting, blasting monster after monster through the head.

The thick scent of decay filled the air, accompanied by agonizing growls and shrieks from the monsters.

One after another, the creatures fell.

Eventually, silence returned.

Only the foul smell of monster corpses and scattered debris remained.

Darren landed beside Andrew’s corpse and searched through its shattered remains.

A moment later, his eyes brightened.

"I found it."

In his hand rested a crystal core roughly the size of a walnut.

Its surface shone with a deep yellow glow.

A Level Twenty-Five Earth-Type Crystal Core.

DING!

{Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a Monster Core, and not just any Monster Core, but the core of a monster that possessed an ability. One of the rarest treasures in the apocalypse.}

Darren tossed it toward Ivy, who caught it immediately.

A bright smile appeared on her face.

The golden glow reflected beautifully within her eyes.

"We did it again!" Ivy exclaimed proudly.

She turned toward Darren.

Darren nodded in agreement, his admiration for her growing even stronger.

"Yeah," he replied with a grin. "We did."