In stark contrast to its massive body, the monster moved through the water with unimaginable speed!
"Kill it!" Ace roared. At the same time, countless giant vines erupted from the ground, launching a fierce attack on the monster!
But the sight of the monster being struck down never came. The vines, seemingly devoid of strength, merely landed heavily on the creature’s body, only to be crushed effortlessly.
Ace’s eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
"What the hell is going on..." he muttered. At that moment, Jack shouted, "My fire won’t even ignite!"
In Jack’s hands was a tiny, flickering blue-black flame, completely lacking power or presence. At this moment, a single thought echoed in the minds of the humans present—this was it. They were all done for.
"Aaaaaah! I don’t want to die!" Alexis screamed at the top of his lungs. The moment he realized his powers were useless, he seemed to lose his mind, frantically screaming and fleeing in every direction across the water’s surface.
He had to find a way out. He couldn’t die here—not . He wanted to live. He tried to escape!
Alexis’ panicked cries only seemed to excite the monster further. It let out a deafening roar and surged toward the humans at an even more rapid speed.
The others’ expressions darkened.
"We need to get out of the water to use our abilities!" Matthew shouted before quickly heading toward the tall buildings behind them. However, the water now carried an unimaginable resistance—no matter how hard they tried, they could only move forward at an agonizingly slow pace.
And the monster was getting closer and closer!
Ace’s gaze turned to Alexis, who was still screaming, and his expression darkened with irritation and cold resolve.
"Annoying pest. Die!" Ace suddenly snarled. Vines wrapped around Alexis—who was utterly defenseless—and flung him toward the ferocious monster behind them.
Alexis’s eyes widened in shock as if his mind had yet to process what had happened. It wasn’t until he was hurled through the air, the monster’s gaping, blood-red maw closing in, that he snapped back to reality. He screamed in terror.
"No! No, what the hell are you doing?! How could you do this to me?! No, save me! SAVE ME!"
His screams were frantic, but they were utterly useless. The monster’s shark-like jaws clamped down, slicing Alexis clean in half.
Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, his twisted face frozen in terror and despair as he stared at Ace.
The monster’s many hands tore Alexis apart, stuffing pieces of him into the countless mouths on its multiple heads. The hands fought, each trying to claim a larger portion of flesh.
Never could they have imagined that a single person’s blood could be so much—enough to nearly drench the monster entirely, staining the water around it a deep, unnatural hue. The grotesque sight of the creature feasting was utterly horrifying.
Seizing the moment while the monster devoured Alexis, Ace, and the others scrambled onto the nearby rooftop. However, at that moment, the others and even Jack instinctively distanced himself from Ace. No one could predict who Ace might target next.
"Haha, finally, my powers are back! You bastard, die!"
Ace laughed loudly. Once again, massive vines erupted from the ground, nearly as large as the monster itself. With unimaginable speed and force, they crushed the creature!
The monster let out a pained screech as fresh blood gushed from the countless mouths on its body, dyeing the water beneath it crimson.
Ace didn’t go for a quick kill. Instead, he let the vines continuously grind and tear the creature apart until it was a pulpy mass of flesh! Chunks of mutilated meat and bright red blood floated across the water’s surface, covering everything in a nauseating, grotesque scene. The water itself seemed to have turned into blood.
"Hahaha! I’m the strongest! As expected, that was way too easy!"
Ace’s voice rang out, his face twisted in maniacal delight. His grin was so wide it looked like it might split his face apart.
His madness was terrifying, yet it was clear why he had managed to survive for so long.
Taylor panted heavily—partly from exhaustion and sheer horror at the scene before her. She stammered, "So... it’s over now, right? This is the end, isn’t it? We can go home now, right? The monster is dead!"
"But why hasn’t the s.nced it yet?" Maya’s voice suddenly cut through the tense air, snapping them all back to reality.
That’s right. Ace had killed the monster, so why hadn’t the system notified?
"This isn’t over," Matthew spoke grimly.
Indeed, a dungeon monster—especially one from a unique dungeon—shouldn’t have been trounced. Even the strongest warriors, like Drake and Silas, had struggled in dungeons . The fact that they had made it this far was already a miracle.
"You cowards. Whatever it is, I can handle it!"
Ace turned to the others, arrogance and madness written all over his face. It is evident that, deep down, he was afraid too—but he was trying to bury that fear beneath his sheer display of power.
At that moment, the scene behind Ace suddenly shifted. Without warning, a massive waterspout formed, swallowing everything—water, trees, and even the monster’s remains.
Over twenty meters high, the towering vortex quickly reshaped itself into a colossal figure. Its lower half flared like a gown of swirling water, while its upper body became an emaciated monster—so thin that only skin clung to the bone.
Its arms stretched over twenty meters, dragging against the ground, with long, desiccated fingers sharp as blades, capable of piercing through anything. Its jet-black hair slithered and coiled like living serpents, writhing endlessly. The creature had no eyes—only two massive, hollow voids that ceaselessly turned toward the humans. Its mouth was nearly entirely decomposed, exposing grotesque, jagged gums and rotting teeth.
Its body was dry and shriveled, with gaping slits on both sides of its ribcage, expanding and contracting like fish gills.
Then, it let out a deafening roar. The sound carried a putrid stench so overwhelming it felt as though it could sweep the humans away entirely.
Ace could see the horror in his companions’ eyes. His body went rigid as he turned to face the monstrous being, unable to move a single muscle.
This... this was what they had to fight?
No, there was no fighting this. They didn’t even have a chance to win!
"Is this... the River God?" Maya murmured.
No, this wasn’t the River God. The village elder had said it was an imposter.
The whirlwind of water making up the creature’s "gown" continued to churn, and blurred faces flickered in and out of sight within it—each one bore expressions of agony, terror, and despair—some twisted with resentment.
"Look! That face... it looks like Julia!" Taylor screamed.
There was no need to think twice. It was clear now that all those faces belonged to the brides before their "wedding" with the so-called River God. Perhaps they were even their trapped souls.
The humans stood frozen, paralyzed, realizing there was no hope of fighting back. This thing would drown them all, burying them in this nightmare forever.
But just then, the system notification suddenly flashed before their eyes.
[Final Mission! Thank you, kind friends, for rescuing the bride. The bride expresses her goodwill—among you, only one person may leave the village with the secret! Please decide quickly!]
At the same time, a countdown appeared—10 minutes.
Ten minutes to decide who would live.