The moment Mikhail dashed forward, the Hive Lord let out a thunderous gurgling roar that shook the entire basin.

Its cluster of tendril-mouths whipped toward him like living lashes.

Mikhail twisted his body mid-sprint, narrowly avoiding two of them while slashing upward with the engraved spear.

The sharp tip sliced deep into one tendril, spraying thick black ichor across the sand.

At the same time, he thrust the sword he had drawn in his other hand into the monster’s side.

The blade sank in, but the Hive Lord’s flesh was so dense and rubbery that it barely slowed the creature down.

"Meowtherfucker!!"

Methew darted around the monster’s legs, repeatedly blasting lightning into its lower body.

Each strike left charred marks, but the Hive Lord only grew more enraged.

Behind Mikhail, the situation for the team quickly turned desperate.

The two smaller but much stronger headless parasites that had risen from the ground were now attacking the group with terrifying coordination.

One lunged at Stella, forcing James to intercept it with his shield.

The impact sent James skidding backward several steps.

"These ones are way stronger than the normal ones!" James roared, swinging his shield like a battering ram.

Nelly fired arrow after arrow from a distance, but the parasites moved faster, dodging some shots and taking others without slowing down.

Bert flickered in and out of stealth, slashing at their legs and backs, but his daggers only left shallow wounds.

Patrick’s chains wrapped around one of the parasites, trying to hold it in place while Veltam dive-bombed.

Mikhail glanced back for a split second and felt a surge of urgency.

’They won’t last long if I don’t finish this quickly.’

Taking in a deep breath, Mikhail used [Enchantment] on his luck and another one on his spear.

With a burst of speed, he closed the distance to the Hive Lord again.

This time, he jumped high and drove the spear straight into one of the largest tendril-mouths with all his strength.

The mouth screamed and thrashed violently, nearly throwing him off.

Mikhail twisted the spear viciously and pulled it free, then followed up with a powerful slash from his sword across the creature’s chest.

Black ichor poured out like tar.

The Hive Lord roared in fury. Its massive cleaver came swinging down in a brutal overhead strike.

Mikhail barely managed to roll away as the heavy weapon smashed into the ground, creating a deep crater and sending sand flying everywhere.

The Hive Lord’s cleaver smashed into the ground with terrifying force, but at the same time, a snapping sound echoed.

The monster used so much force that it broke its own hand. Mikhail got ’lucky’.

The wound on its hand was leaking heavily, but the creature didn’t seem weakened at all.

If anything, it looked even more furious.

Its many tendril-mouths thrashed wildly, spitting corrosive fluid in every direction.

Mikhail used the opening to his advantage.

He dashed in low and drove his spear deep into the creature’s exposed side, twisting it viciously before pulling back.

Methew followed up instantly, leaping onto the monster’s shoulder and releasing a powerful lightning strike directly into its neck area.

The Hive Lord staggered, roaring in pain, however, the damage wasn’t enough.

Several of its smaller tendrils suddenly detached from its body and shot toward Mikhail like living arrows.

He slashed two of them out of the air with his sword, but he was too late to block the third one.

But by sheer ’coincidence’, the smaller monster threw James away; his body hit a boulder, and pieces of rock flew everywhere.

One of those pieces hit the arrow that was on the verge of hitting Mikhail, deflecting its trajectory.

He got ’lucky’ once again.

He spun on his heel and slashed upward with his sword, cutting the offending tendril clean in half.

Black fluid sprayed across the sand as the severed piece twitched and died.

The Hive Lord roared louder than ever, its broken hand hanging uselessly while the remaining tendrils flailed in rage.

But at that instant, Mikhail noticed that the two smaller monsters were also writhing in pain.

’Are all three of them connected?’

Mikhail wondered before he moved once again.

He dropped his sword into the sand for better grip and held the engraved spear with both hands.

Mana surged through his body as he used both [Enhancement] on the spear, pushing it to the limit.

A ball of mana formed at the end of the spear as Mikhail thrust it into the monster with a guttural roar.

The moment Mikhail thrust the spear forward with all his strength, a bright flash of mana erupted from the tip.

The engraved spear pierced straight through the Hive Lord’s chest with terrifying force.

The ball of condensed mana exploded inside its body, tearing apart rotten flesh and parasitic tissue from within.

A sickening wet crunch echoed across the basin as the monster’s torso burst open from the inside.

The Hive Lord let out a deafening, gurgling scream that shook the ground.

Its many tendril-mouths flailed wildly in agony before going stiff.

At the exact same time, the two smaller parasites attacking the team also shrieked and collapsed lifelessly onto the sand.

Their bodies twitched violently before becoming completely still.

He twisted the spear viciously and pulled it free in one smooth motion, black ichor spraying everywhere.

The Hive Lord staggered backward, its broken hand hanging limp and its chest cavity torn wide open.

"MEOWTHERFUCKER!!!"

A bright flash of electricity surged through the Hive Lord’s entire body.

Smoke rose from its rotting flesh as its legs finally gave out. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The massive creature swayed for a moment... then crashed heavily onto the black sand with a loud thud.

Its tendrils twitched once, twice, and then went completely still.

Silence fell over the basin.

Mikhail stood there, breathing heavily, spear still raised.

Sweat mixed with black ichor ran down his face and arms.

His left shoulder burned painfully from the corrosive fluid, and his muscles ached.

He stared at the fallen Hive Lord for a few long seconds, making sure it was truly dead.

Only then did he lower his weapon.

At the same time, a familiar warm surge ran through his body.

’I leveled up....’

"Is it... over?" Stella asked weakly from behind him.

Mikhail turned around.

The team looked terrible.

James was leaning heavily on his shield, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.

Stella was sitting on the ground, her clothes torn and her leg bleeding.

Nelly had collapsed onto her knees, completely out of arrows and stamina.

Bert and Patrick weren’t much better; both were breathing hard with visible wounds.

"Yeah," Mikhail said, his voice hoarse. "It’s dead."

A wave of relief washed over the group.

James let out a tired laugh and dropped onto his backside.

"Holy shit... we actually killed that thing."

’Who are ’we’ you stupid brat!’

Mikhail grumbled inwardly before he looked over the monster.

A small crack began to appear over it before it turned into an eight-meter-wide tear, like a painting in the air.

Just as the way to the outside world appeared, a pop-up screen appeared in front of Mikhail.

[You have killed a Hive Lord.]

[A skill has been detected.]

[Would you like to use [Steal]?]