Shadow's Hand-Chapter 26: A Confrontation

A few seconds went by, and the monster finally spotted Damien. They halted their movement and stood just a little bit over 10 meters away from him.

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

Composed, Damien didn't even flinch a bit. He glanced at the monster's face and was rather stunned by the appearance.

Their head was disturbingly flat, their eyes sunken and bulbous, glowing with a malevolent red hue. The monster stared at Damien deeply. Their set of fanged, gaping jaws opened wide. It then let out a guttural growl, its tongue flicking out like a serpent's.

Any normal person would have panicked by now, but Damien didn't show signs of panic. He kept a poker face and seemed uninterested in the monster's action.

"If you roar again, then I don't mind slicing you," Damien said. His eyes narrowed and consumed with killing intent.

Shuddered, the reptile-like monster turned wary. The lack of reaction, followed by a sudden killing intent caused them to wonder if this was a prey or predator.

However, the monster was unwilling to let the opportunity go. Their body twisted, and their movements were fluid yet jerky as they proceeded to lash out their barbed tail, splashing the murky water.

The sign was a declaration of war.

After all, its action was intended to splash Damien with the murky water, only to end up in failure. The murky water couldn't even penetrate the passive barrier from the outfit he was wearing.

"Have you seen a cat passed by?" Ignoring the action, Damien instead questioned the monster.

Although he didn't know why, he had a strong feeling the monster had intelligence and could comprehend his words.

Sure enough, the reptile-like monster growled in response and swung its barbed tail toward Damien.

As his eyes tracked the barbed tail movement, he exhaled through his nose, sighing at its decision.

'Monster really wishes to get a beating before complying. It's just like the behavior of humans.' He thought. Since the monster clearly had no intention of responding based on the attack, Damien realized he needed to make a move again.

As the barbed tail hurtled toward him, he sidestepped effortlessly, his movements swift and precise. The tail struck the murky water where he had been standing, sending a ripple through the filth.

Without wasting a second, Damien surged forward. He extended his hand outward, materializing the power of Shadow.

The connection between him and the Shadow was quite fascinating, to say the least. Although both couldn't communicate properly with each other, their connection seemed unshakable—even if it could be temporary.

With the power of Shadow, a large hand colored in hues of blue, purple, and darkness appeared from within Damien.

Alarmed by the gloomy appearance of a large shadow's hand, the monster reacted instantly. It twisted its body unnaturally, its elongated limbs flexing as it attempted to counterattack. Offense was the best defense!

It ignored the crisis of the glooming shadow's hand and instead, lashed out their own clawed hand, aiming to rake across Damien's chest.

Unfortunately, Damien wasn't naive enough to leave an opening. Another Shadow's hand appeared and deflected it with a sharp parry, sending sparks flying as the hand met claw.

The creature hissed in frustration, its glowing red eyes narrowing. Then, its throat expanded unexpectedly before spewing a thick, corrosive liquid straight at Damien.

'A long-range attack?' Baffled, Damien didn't anticipate the reptile monster was capable of doing so.

He barely tilted his head to avoid the spray. After dodging, his eyes darted to the spot where it landed. The acidic substance sizzled upon contact with the stone walls, eating through the grime and brick-like molten metal.

"Toxic spit, huh?" Damien muttered, feeling that the monster was quite sneaky. They had such a move all along but didn't reveal it and chose to go close-combat mode.

It was clearly saving it for a good opportunity to strike unexpectedly, only to end up failing due to his swift reaction.

The distance between the two increased once again, and the monster's eyes glared ferociously at Damien. Without a doubt, it was dissatisfied by its missed attack.

Meanwhile, Damien stretched his neck and smirked.

"You should really stop focusing too much on me." He said and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, from the shadow of the monster, emerged a large hand.

The monster barely had any time to react. The massive shadowy hand, wreathed in an eerie mix of blue, purple, and black, descended with crushing force. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the murky water, splashing filth in every direction.

A guttural, strangled screech tore from the creature's throat as it struggled beneath the oppressive weight. Its elongated limbs flailed around, its claws scraping against the stone floor in a desperate attempt to break free.

Yet, no matter how it twisted and thrashed, the Shadow's grip was firm and held it down tightly.

Suppressed and unable to break free, the monster was soon graced with the desolate-looking Damien.

"Now, are you willing to inform me who sent you over here?" Damien questioned. "I refused to believe there is something as coincidentally encountering a ferocious monster rushing toward my direction."

Others might have been distracted by the monster's appearance and fought with their all to confront them. However, he remained focused and was positive that the monster's objective from the start was him.

Despite not making much movement or sound, the monster was able to detect and locate his position. As if he would believe it was a coincidence, especially when it failed to detect his Shadow latching onto his.

The monster's awareness was clearly on the low-end, which meant it had to be directed or controlled by someone else.

As for how they did it?

Damien had no clue. He was not some god who could discern a situation at first glance. If so, then he would have already long found a way to escape or explain his sudden transportation to a whole new world.

A few seconds later, the monster let out another feral roar, its sunken red eyes glowing with primal fury. Then, its body convulsed violently. A grotesque series of cracks and pops echoed through the sewer as its form began to change once more.

"Hoh, is this the so-called second phase of a boss fighting?" Amused, Damien applaud its resilience.