CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 85: CHIMERA’S HUNGER

Level Eleven: The Center - Platform: 18 Meters

BOOM.

Entity-One’s first strike came before Yoo could finish his breath—six arms moving in perfect discord—WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH—each one targeting different entity simultaneously.

CLANG.

Han’s blade met the first arm—SCREECH—metal grinding against crystallized identity that felt like wrong given solid form. The impact sent vibrations up her arms—rattle-shake—hard enough that blood vessels burst beneath her skin, purple bruises blooming instantly across her forearms.

CRASH.

Kairos intercepted the second arm—CRUNCH—jaws clamping down on limb that tasted like endings. His draconic constitution screamed protest—acid-burn-wrong—as the chimeric flesh tried to corrode him from inside out.

SHING.

Corvus’s conceptual weapon—which looked like a spear made of solidified certainty—pierced the third arm clean through—SQUELCH—punching hole that bled not blood but memories. Flickering images of defeated entities’ final moments poured from the wound like smoke.

VWOOM.

Entity-Six simply wasn’t there when the fourth arm arrived—WHOOSH-miss—her translucent body phasing through physical space, existing in probability-state between solid and not.

But the fifth and sixth arms—

CRASH-CRASH.

—slammed into the platform where Yoo stood, missing him by centimeters as he threw himself sideways—roll-tumble-scramble—his seven-year-old left leg screaming protest at the motion. The impact points evaporated—hsssssss—crystal surface simply ceasing to exist where Entity-One’s limbs touched.

Conceptual deletion.

Not damage. Erasure.

If those arms connect, we don’t get injured. We stop being.

The platform shrunk again—crack-crack-CRUMBLE—edges crumbling into void. Fifteen meters diameter now.

ROOOOOAAAAR.

All three of Entity-One’s heads screamed simultaneously—different pitches, same fury—and the sound manifested. Visible distortions in air—WHOOOM-WHOOOM-WHOOOM—pressure waves carrying conceptual weight that hit like physical force.

WHAM.

Yoo’s body flew backward—tumble-crash-SLAM—hitting the platform’s edge hard enough that ribs cracked—SNAP-crack—pain exploding through his chest like lightning made solid. The taste of copper flooded his mouth—blood, iron, sharp—as internal damage made itself known.

Cough-COUGH-splatter.

Blood spattered across crystal—drip-drip-drip—painting abstract patterns that reflected the three moons overhead.

[MASTER: DAMAGED,] Kairos’s mental voice carried alarm. [SHOULD-I—]

"STAY ON TARGET!" Yoo gasped, forcing words past damaged lungs. "Entity-One first! Entity-Six after!"

He activated his newly-acquired Conceptual Armor—HUMMM—and felt defensive framework manifest around his body. Not physical plating. Conceptual shielding. The idea of "protection" given just enough reality to deflect some attacks.

Shimmer-flow-solidify.

His body gained translucent coating that looked like heat distortion made visible, rippling with each heartbeat—pulse-pulse-pulse—responding to threat levels automatically.

WHOOSH.

Entity-One’s arm lashed out again—FAST—trying to capitalize on Yoo’s vulnerability.

CLANG.

The Conceptual Armor intercepted—barely—deflecting the strike enough that instead of deletion, Yoo received only—

CRACK.

—his left arm shattering at the elbow—SNAP-crunch—bone splintering into fragments that ground together with sound like breaking glass. Crunch-grind-scrape.

AGH—

Pain white-hot and absolute. Yoo’s vision blurred—swim-fade-pulse—darkness creeping in at edges. His enhanced cognition fought through the agony:

Left arm: broken, possibly irreparable.

Left leg: aged seven years, functioning at 60% capacity.

Right hand: aged seven years, still functional.

Ribs: three cracked, one fractured.

Combat capability: reduced to 40%.

Survival probability: dropping.

Need to—

CRASH-CRASH-BOOM.

Entity-Six entered the fight properly—finally—her translucent form solidifying as she struck. And when a Primordial-tier being stopped holding back—

Reality screamed.

Her hand—if it could be called a hand—passed through Entity-One’s torso not by force but by convincing reality the space was already empty. A perfect sphere vanished from Entity-One’s chest—POP—just ceased existing.

SCREEEEEEE.

Entity-One’s three heads shrieked—AGONY-FURY-INCOMPREHENSION—as its crystallized body tried to repair the void. Identities of consumed entities poured into the gap like water filling a hole—glorp-flow-SHIFT—sacrificing their remaining essence to seal the wound.

[IMPOSSIBLE,] one of Entity-One’s heads said—the rightmost, which had been human once. [PRIMORDIAL-TIER-SHOULD-NOT-EXIST-HERE. TRIAL-WORLD-RULES-FORBID—]

"Rules," Entity-Six said, voice carrying harmonics like shattering crystal—tinkle-CRASH-tinkle—"are negotiable when you’ve been trapped three thousand years."

Three THOUSAND?

Not three like Corvus said.

Three THOUSAND.

How is she still sane?

Is she still sane?

Entity-Six’s eyeless face turned toward Yoo—despite having no eyes, he FELT her gaze—and smiled with too many teeth.

"You’re clever, little hybrid. Forcing alliance. But understand—" She gestured, and space inverted around her hand—CRACK-flip-INVERT—turning inside-out in ways that made Yoo’s enhanced perception recoil. "—I’ve killed seven hundred challengers. You’re insects pretending to be hunters."

Oh.

She’s not trapped by failure.

She’s trapped by SUCCESS.

She completed the trials but the Spire won’t let her leave.

And three thousand years of imprisonment has made her—

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK.

The platform shrank to twelve meters—CRUMBLE-dust-void—forcing everyone closer together.

Entity-One lashed out with all six arms—BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—no longer targeting individuals. Just area destruction. If it couldn’t delete specific threats, it would delete everything.

CLASH-CLANG-CRASH.

Han and Corvus intercepted two arms—SCREECH-WHAM—their weapons creating defensive perimeter that held for exactly 1.3 seconds before—

CRACK.

Corvus’s conceptual spear broke—SHATTER-tinkle-fade—the certainty it was made from corroding under Entity-One’s deletion effect.

"NO—" Corvus tried to reform it—concentrate-focus-FAIL—but his power reserves were too depleted. Three years of imprisonment, 34% humanity, degrading abilities. He was spent.

WHOOSH.

Entity-One’s now-free arm swung toward Corvus’s exposed chest—

CRASH.

Kairos tackled Corvus aside—SLAM-tumble-roll—taking the strike across his own scaled shoulder instead.

CRUNCH.

The deletion effect carved away scales, flesh, bone—hsssss-dissolve-GONE—leaving perfect hemisphere void in Kairos’s body. The draconic being’s roar was soundless—pain beyond vocalization—transmitted directly through the naming-bond into Yoo’s consciousness.

PAIN-PAIN-PAIN-MASTER-PAIN—

Yoo felt it echo through their connection—sympathetic agony—his own damaged body responding as if he’d been hit. His vision blurred completely—black-swim-fade—consciousness threatening to slip away.

Stay awake. Stay AWAKE. If you pass out, you die.

He activated Eye of the Sage fully—WHOOM—his doubled pupils spinning at maximum speed—SPIN-SPIN-SPIN—processing combat data at speeds that made time seem to slow:

Entity-One: 40% power remaining. Regeneration factor decreasing. Victory possible if sustained damage continues.

Entity-Six: 100% power. Has not been touched. Observing. Waiting for Entity-One to weaken us before striking.

Han: 67% combat capability. Blade damaged. Gi reserves at 52%.

Corvus: 23% combat capability. No weapon. Desperate.

Kairos: 31% combat capability. Critical damage. Regeneration insufficient.

Self: 22% combat capability. Multiple injuries. Left arm unusable.

Platform: 12 meters diameter. Shrinking continues.

Projected outcome: Entity-One defeats us in 47 seconds. Then Entity-Six kills weakened Entity-One in 8 seconds. Claims mask. We all die.

Unacceptable.

Need to change variables.

But how?

His Master Illusions—his PRIMARY combat ability that he’d barely used—

That’s the key.

I’ve been fighting like Silver-rank combatant.

But I’m not primarily a fighter.

I’m a psychological warfare specialist.

Yoo activated his illusion capabilities—HUMMM—his right eye (silver, flowing script) beginning to glow as he crafted deception at conceptual level.

Entity-Six thought she was the apex predator here. Three thousand years. Seven hundred kills. Primordial-tier power.

Let’s give her something to fear.