C12 Giant Mouth

Egil slapped his own face, realizing this was not the time to dwell on the deaths of others. The second shortcoming of his psionic power had emerged.

The first shortcoming was that, although his perception had quickened, giving him more time to think, his movements couldn't keep up. If he couldn't dodge an attack, he was doomed. It was an utterly helpless feeling.

And this second shortcoming? Even more frustrating.

Faster perception and more time to think didn't mean he was immune to making mistakes!

Damn it! The person in the photo had indeed perished at the hands of a creature within the prehistoric remains. That's why Martina had cautioned him against descending alone!

And the most dangerous thing? The human heart, with its foolish pride and embarrassment. Thankfully, the darkness concealed him, hiding Egil's flushed face from any onlookers.

The ground trembled. This was it! He had just been contemplating his first weakness, and now it was upon him. The monster that had consumed Mark was still lurking in the shadows, its chewing sounds chilling to the bone. Yet, Egil could distinctly sense something else approaching from a different direction. The vibrations underfoot were caused by its steps.

Escape was impossible. Mark, at the third level, couldn't escape even with a gun. What chance did Egil, a beginner level and unarmed, have?

Using his power now would only prolong the inevitable. Perhaps it was better to release it and meet a swift end.

But wait, where was Martina? Had she been devoured while luring Mark into the trap?

As time seemed to slow, Egil's eyes darted frantically. Then, he spotted a faint light high to his right. It was Martina! She stood on a lofty platform, arms outstretched towards him, her body aglow with the radiance of psionic power.

Salvation at last!

Egil threw himself to the ground, and as his chest hit the dirt, the earth beneath him soared upwards! With his heightened perception, Egil chose the perfect posture, and riding the upturned ground, he successfully reached Martina's side.

With his Enhanced Perception activated, Egil could execute every action with flawless precision. He leapt onto the platform ahead of time, sparing Martina the effort of controlling the terrain any longer.

As soon as Martina released her grip on the land, she tumbled backward, fainting from exhaustion. True to his word, Egil caught her in the most romantic way possible—a princess carry.

He then deactivated his Enhanced Perception.

Below the platform, Egil could hear a disgruntled roar from where he had previously stood. The sound was neither like a tiger nor quite like an elephant, but it was high-pitched and piercing.

"There really are two monsters! Phew… Lucky they can't fly," Egil muttered, still shaken.

"It's one creature with two sets of jaws," Martina corrected from within Egil's embrace.

"Huh?" Egil was baffled, unable to picture the creature lurking in the darkness below.

Deciding to change the subject, Egil looked down at Martina and said, "Thank you for saving me. But to interfere with the external world like that, I didn't realize you were at the third level."

Suddenly, a punch landed squarely on Egil's stomach! He let out a cry of pain and released Martina.

"I told you not to come down here! Why didn't you listen? Do you have a death wish?" Martina yelled, her voice laced with hysteria.

Egil was taken aback by Martina's vehement reaction.

She knew her abilities well, yet she had initially mistaken herself for a professor from the Azure Dragon Garden, revealing her estrangement from her own identity. The enigma surrounding Martina seemed to deepen.

"Do we have a history, or do I know your parents?" Egil inquired.

After a pause, Martina's voice cut through the darkness, "Okay, I'm done venting!"

Something flew through the dark towards Egil, who quickly caught it—it was Martina's polar assault rifle.

"We can't go back the way we came after jumping here; we have to move forward," Martina deftly steered the conversation elsewhere.

Egil didn't press further. He agreed, "Right, whatever that thing is down there is still making noise. Have you ever taken the path above?"

"No... The last time, I encountered a monster just after descending the pipe. Three meta-humans died, including Mark's bosses—three of them. That guy effectively got a triple promotion... The bosses were competing for credit, and I was left to keep watch. I was terrified by the noises I heard from above."

"Then you came down and stumbled upon some lucky guy who left behind a 'half corpse'. You dragged away the partial remains, retraced your steps, sealed the stone door, and snapped that photo you showed me before heading back to report?" Egil conjectured further.

"It wasn't luck. The guy was a chain smoker. I bet the monster couldn't stand the stench of his lungs and spat out his upper half too!"

"Haha... You have a thing against smoking?"

"The Divinity School expelled everyone who failed to quit smoking this year!"

"Damn! Didn't the students protest?"

"It wasn't the students; they expelled professors!"

"..."

Egil's hand wounds were superficial. In a crucial moment, he activated Enhanced Perception and hurled both guns into the air. The bleeding looked worse than it was, but his combat readiness remained intact. His psionic power proved advantageous once again, with minimal energy consumption and the ability to activate it multiple times.

Martina, with her third-level psionic power, particularly when lifting over seventy kilograms of Egil at least ten meters into the air, probably had only one more full-power activation left in her.

Egil gripped the gun Martina had given him, uncertain of the dangers that lay ahead.

Reaching the platform's end, his hand found the cold, intricately carved wall.

"We've hit a dead end. What now?" Egil inquired.

"Walk along the wall, and follow me," Martina instructed.

Egil did as told, trailing Martina and feeling along the wall, advancing through the pitch darkness with the monstrous sounds echoing from below.

They walked for about ten minutes before Martina halted.

"What's the matter?" Egil asked.

"There's no way forward."

Martina tapped the wall: "We've walked a full circle and ended up back where we started."

"You stay put." With that, Egil continued along the wall.

Seven or eight minutes later, he heard the sound of Martina hitting the wall ahead.

"How does it look?" Martina's voice came from ahead.

"This place is smaller than I thought. It seems to be a circular room. There's the sound of monsters below, and a ring of platforms surrounds us..." Egil paused, visualizing the layout, "It's like..."

"The breeding pond!" Martina exclaimed.

"Uh..." Egil was taken aback. Martina's answer had a quaint, rustic charm: "I was referring to the colosseum."

Martina didn't cease her tapping on the wall, as though the rhythmic action could fend off the fear that the darkness imposed.

"I never expected that beyond the stone door, we'd find ourselves at a dead end," Egil mused regretfully. "And to encounter another monster, it's truly a road that leads to death."

"No, it's not a dead end," Martina said, her tapping growing more forceful.

"Hmm? What have you discovered?"

"There are ancient inscriptions on the wall."

"What do they say?"

"The holy beast governs the path to the Temple of God. Only the true king of all can enter!"

"Huh? Is that it?"

"The engravings are meant for praise, not to serve as an instruction manual."