The moment the Skeleton Knight took another step forward, the ground trembled beneath its weight. Its eyes, glowing with an otherworldly fire, focused on Derek with a silent, eerie intent. Every movement from the creature seemed deliberate, as though it were a being forged solely for this moment.
Derek tightened his grip on Night Fang, his knuckles turning white. The sword, already buzzing with energy, felt heavier in his hand, but it was a familiar weight—something he could rely on.
"Bring it," he muttered under his breath, summoning all the strength he had left.
The Skeleton Knight raised its Soulreaver, the cursed greatsword shimmering with a malevolent glow. A low, guttural sound came from its throat, a sound that might've once been a battle cry, but now, it was merely the grinding of bone on bone. The knight advanced with chilling speed, the sword lifted above its head, ready to cleave.
Derek's instincts flared. He surged forward, pushing past the gnawing exhaustion that clung to him. His every motion felt sluggish, but the adrenaline rushing through him helped sharpen his focus.
The Soulreaver came crashing down.
Derek barely managed to sidestep, feeling the blade's malicious energy scrape across his shoulder, leaving a wound that sizzled with cursed energy. He grunted, rolling to the side to avoid a follow-up strike, the stench of sulfur filling his nose.
His heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of fear and determination. He wasn't going to let this creature stop him from getting the flower.
The Skeleton Knight swung again, faster this time, the air around the blade warping as if reality itself bent to the sword's malevolent presence. Derek barely blocked it with Night Fang, the sword vibrating violently in his hands as the impact rang through his arms. The cursed energy tried to seep through his defences, but Derek pushed it back, forcing the blade off his weapon.
"Assign five points to Strength and speed "
He dropped the blade in his hand and followed with an upper cut; his fist connected with the skeleton's jaw.
" Boom ", it was pushed back, skidding across the ground. Derek broke into a run, but he was not escaping or running towards the Skeleton Knight.
His true goal had never been the Skeleton Knight, it was the Nether Flower, the mission objective. His plan was simple: grab the flower and get out of here.
He was only a few meters away from it, he could almost feel the flower in his hands.
Suddenly, a shadow expanded quickly, then a white, bony knee slammed into his side, it felt like the force of a truck ramming into him.
" Bang" He rammed into a bone wall.
The impact nearly shattered him.
Derek's vision blurred. Ribs cracked again. His ears rang. His shoulder dislocated with a sickening pop as he slid down the jagged bone wall, smearing blood in thick red lines.
The moment Soulreaver rose again, Derek rolled toward Night Fang, fingers wrapping around its hilt. He didn't rise—he lunged, using all the strength in his legs to surge under the arc of the greatsword's swing. The cursed blade slammed down, carving a jagged trench into the marrow-stained floor.
He came up with a vicious slash, aiming for the exposed hip joint between the knight's armour plates.
But the skeleton had anticipated, responding with a downwards kick.
He was slammed back again.
Derek's back slammed into the jagged bone wall with a bone-crunching thud, followed by a gritty crack that echoed like snapping branches. Pain shot through his ribs—familiar now, almost expected—but sharper, deeper. Maybe the same fractures had splintered further. Maybe new ones had joined the party. His shoulder dislocated with a sickening pop, and his body slid downward, leaving a thick, red smear in his wake. His breath caught mid-throat, stolen by the sudden, brutal collision.
Then—stillness.
Soundless, breathless stillness, wondering why he was in the first place.
He lay there, blinking blearily at the ceiling—a canopy of interwoven bone roots and flickering runes. His chest heaved, mouth filled with the coppery tang of blood. Every breath scraped through him like jagged glass. The world felt far away—distant and muffled, like he'd been submerged in something heavy and suffocating.
Then he heard it.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of footsteps. Heavy. Slow. Unstoppable.
The Skeleton Knight advanced like a storm given form—each footfall grinding into the chamber floor with unnatural weight. Its fractured armour scraped against itself as it moved, bone grinding on bone. Sparks of cursed fire burned in the sockets of its shattered helm, each step gouging a glowing trench into the rune-carved floor as Soulreaver dragged behind it like an executioner's blade.
Derek's fingers twitched. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
He was out of time. This
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No more space to dodge. No more clever tricks. No backup. No system prompt offering a last-minute perk.
But he still had one card left to play.
"Activate…" His voice was barely a breath, wet with blood. "Bloodburst."
[Skill Activation: Bloodburst]
The words triggered a response that wasn't physical—it was primal. Instinctual. His heart skipped once, then detonated in his chest. Blood boiled in his veins, turning molten. Veins along his arms and neck bulged as though something alive moved beneath the skin. Power surged through him in jagged spikes, and his eyes ignited in a crimson blaze that lit the haze around him like twin dying stars.
Something snapped—a tendon, a rib, maybe something deeper. It didn't matter.
He moved.
Screaming from the inside, burning from the outside, he moved.
Derek surged upright like a man possessed, Night Fang in hand, the blade crackling with residual energy. The Knight raised Soulreaver in a wide arc, poised for the killing blow.
Derek met it head-on.
CLAAAANG!
The clash was thunder. The impact rattled the bones of the entire chamber. Sparks exploded where steel met soulbound steel. Derek's arms nearly gave out, but he gritted his teeth and twisted, redirecting the blade just enough to avoid being cleaved in two. He ducked low and slammed the hilt of Night Fang into the knight's gut.
The Knight reeled.
He didn't wait.
He stepped inside the monster's guard, using every ounce of Bloodburst-enhanced strength to drive his blade into the shattered remains of the Knight's helm. The steel edge punched through old bone, sending fragments flying. A burst of black smoke hissed from the wound like escaping gas.
Still not enough.
The Knight howled—an echoing, ethereal shriek that raised Derek's hackles and made his blood run colder than the grave.
Derek kicked forward, stomping the Knight's knee joint. There was a crack, and the creature dropped lower, off-balance.
He leapt.
In mid-air, he twisted his torso and brought the sword down in an overhand swing aimed at the Knight's exposed shoulder. The blade bit deep—past armour, through sinew and bone, into the cursed ichor that served as the Knight's lifeblood.
But it didn't fall.
Not yet.
The Knight retaliated with a savage backhand, catching Derek across the ribs. He flew backwards, spinning once mid-air before crashing hard against the chamber floor, skidding in a smear of blood and bone dust.
Bloodburst flickered.
The power was already leaving him—too much strain. Too much blood lost.
He could feel it: his pulse slowing, vision dimming, muscles spasming from overuse.
No strength left.
But… one last thing.
Derek's shaking hand dug into his belt pouch. His fingers closed around rough bone and cool metal. On the tip was a bunch of grenades he had yet to use before the grenade launcher was wrecked, held together by a bunch of cloth wrappings; it was not aesthetically pleasing, but he didn't care.
"Alright…" he coughed, and it felt like his lungs were full of knives. "Come closer, you undead bastard."
He jammed the fuse together. A faint click-hiss answered him—ignition.
The Knight raised Soulreaver for the final blow, trudging forward with grim inevitability.
Author's Note;
This is the 5th Chapter for the day, thanks for all the golden tickets, I went beyond today, I am locking the next chapter, I hope you won't hate the book for that, I know some are tryna save money, but it is totally worth it, I will update more chapters from now.