Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 182: Get away from mutated beast

"Just a little more… just a little more and I'll reach the top."

Shaan paused for a moment and tried to steady his heavy breathing while climbing the rack. The rack didn't stand very tall, but it held so many items that he struggled to find a place for his feet. Even when he spotted an empty spot, the distance forced him to stretch and use extra strength to reach it.

"Hey, weakling, what are you doing down there?" Theo mocked from above. "Hurry up. We need to get out of here."

"I-I know." Shaan let out a long breath. "It's just—"

"Oh, damn." Theo's eyes widened. "Hey, weakling… you'd better start moving now."

"Huh? What do you—"

Shaan's face turned pale. His eyes froze when he saw the creatures charging toward him again. This time, they looked different from before. Their eyes glowed blood-red, and a strange black-purple liquid dripped from their mouths while their tongues hung out.

"Oh… d-damn. They all—"

"Mutated," Theo said, shaking his head. "Hey, hurry up. Those damn creatures are chasing you."

"Oh no—no!" Shaan shouted in panic. "Theo, do something!"

"Hey, weakling. Focus and don't look back." Theo clapped his hands to pull Shaan's attention toward him. "Don't look behind you, not even once. Just follow my instructions. Got it?"

"B-but—"

"Just listen to me, weakling," Theo said in a firm tone. "Stop talking. I'll deal with those creatures."

"O-okay."

Shaan pushed himself to move faster and climbed as quickly as he could. His eyes searched every gap on the rack, looking for the next foothold.

'Come on… You can do this.'

He stretched his arm toward a space above him. Success. His fingers touched the edge. Now he only needed to jump.

'Yes. Now I just need to jump there—fast.'

But just as Shaan prepared to leap, something suddenly yanked him downward. One of his hands slipped, and his balance faltered instantly.

"Woooahhh!"

Shaan grabbed the rack in front of him with all his strength and held on tightly. Damn it—that had been close. If he hadn't grabbed it in time, he would have fallen.

"Argh! G-get away from me!"

Shaan drove a hard kick into the creature's face as it hung from his leg. The beast dropped slightly, but it still clung to him. He kept kicking again and again, yet the creature's grip didn't loosen at all.

'Damn it… what do I do now?'

"Hey—watch out!"

Theo hurled something from above, and the object struck the creature. The impact weakened its grip. Shaan seized the moment and kicked it once more.

"Take this, you damn monster!"

He launched another powerful kick and finally knocked the creature loose. The beast fell to the ground below. Good. At least that thing wouldn't slow him down anymore.

"Grab my hand, weakling!" Theo stretched his arm toward him. "Hurry!"

Shaan grabbed Theo's hand immediately. Theo pulled with all his strength and hauled him up onto the rack.

"A-at last," Shaan gasped, struggling to catch his breath. "Th-Theo… thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome," Theo said. "Now move. We need to leave before those creatures start chasing us again."

They quickly opened the ventilation hatch right in front of them. Then they crawled inside with all their strength, moving as fast as they could through the narrow passage.

'Come on, Shaan… move.'

Adrenaline rushed through his body. Exhaustion weighed down his limbs, and pain shot through his elbows every time they scraped against the metal surface of the vent. Still, he forced himself to keep crawling forward. If he slowed down, those mutated beasts would catch them.

'I need to keep moving. Those creatures might still—' Shaan slowly stopped crawling when he noticed Theo suddenly freeze. 'Theo? What's wrong with him?'

"Hey, weakling. We can rest for a moment," Theo said as he let out a breath. "I doubt those crazy dogs can chase us up here."

"Y-yeah… I think that's a good idea." Shaan nodded without hesitation.

"Argh, damn it!" Theo clenched his fist, his jaw tightening. "That Resistance must be insane to plan something like this."

"I agree. But right now, we should find the others—"

"Psst. Quiet." Theo pointed downward and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I hear people talking right below us."

Shaan paused. Theo spoke the truth. Voices drifted up from beneath them, faint but clear enough to recognize. Slowly, Shaan pressed his ear against the metal floor of the ventilation shaft and listened carefully.

"Hey, what do you think the boss's connection is with that girl?" a guard's deep voice said. "They treat that female prisoner differently from the others."

"I don't know. I don't understand it either," another guard replied. "That purple-haired woman isn't our concern."

'W-wait… a purple-haired woman?'

Shaan froze for a moment. 'Oh my God… that must be Chelsie. But where are they keeping her now?

Not long after, the sound of the guards' footsteps faded away until silence returned. Shaan stayed still. The short conversation between the two guards kept echoing in his mind.

'Damn it… they didn't say where—'

"Hey, weakling." Theo snapped his fingers, pulling Shaan back to reality. "What are you thinking about?"

"Ah—no, nothing."

"Strange. Daydreaming at a time like this." Theo shook his head. "Forget it. We need to keep moving through this ventilation shaft."

They crawled forward along the narrow passage until they spotted another vent opening right beneath them. This had to be their way out. Without hesitation, Theo struck the vent cover and knocked it loose. Then he jumped down.

"Ah… finally." Theo stretched his arms above his head. "This feels much better than crawling in that cramped tunnel."

"Theo, keep your voice down. What if a guard hears you?"

"Relax." Theo scanned the corridor. "This hallway looks clear. No guards here. Hurry up and come down."

After hearing that, Shaan jumped down as well. He looked around and saw a row of doors identical to the ones they had seen before. He knew Nalira or Chelsie must be behind one of them. He just needed to check each door like before.

Theo walked toward the nearest door and slowly peeked inside. The moment he looked in, his expression froze. Shaan noticed the tension in Theo's face immediately. Whatever Theo saw inside that room… it didn't look good. What exactly did he see?