Chapter 10 My king

The massive stone door slammed shut with a heavy boom that shook the entire mountain. Total darkness swallowed us instantly. The only source of light was the blinding red glow of the angry System screen hovering right in front of my eyes. The text flashed like a warning beacon in the night. It told me I had exactly five minutes left to live before my heart stopped completely.

The fake energy Elara gave me was immediately ripped away from my body. My knees buckled and I crashed hard onto the cold stone floor. A terrible coldness spread through my veins. It felt like freezing water was replacing my warm blood. My skin began to wrinkle rapidly. My muscles shrank and lost their raw power. The ancient parasite inside me was absolutely furious that I tried to cheat it, and now it was eating me alive to teach me a brutal lesson.

"My King!" General Kaelen shouted in the dark. I could hear his heavy boots scraping against the stone as he rushed to my side. He grabbed my shoulders, trying to lift me back to my feet. "What is happening to you? Your skin is turning pale white and your hands are shaking."

I could barely breathe. Every single breath felt like I was inhaling broken glass. The System was draining months of my life every single second. My hair felt dry and brittle. My vision was getting dark and blurry around the edges. I looked up at the red countdown clock floating in the darkness.

[Four minutes and thirty seconds remaining until total organ failure.]

A monstrous roar echoed from the deep basement below us. The sound was so loud it rattled the teeth inside my skull. The shadow demon that was kept trapped down there was fully awake. It smelled my dying royal blood and it wanted to finish the job before the System could.

Elara pointed her small finger toward the deep stone stairs before vanishing into the thick shadows to prepare the magical binding circle.

That was it. That was my one and only chance. If I could get to the basement and kill that demon, I could rip out its massive monster core and force the System to eat it instead of my human soul. But I only had four minutes to do it, and my body was completely falling apart.

"Keep your men up here," I ordered Kaelen. My voice was a weak and raspy whisper. "Do not follow me down there. The beast will kill your soldiers in seconds."

I forced myself to stand up. The pain was absolutely unbearable, but I pushed through it using sheer willpower and pure anger. I stumbled forward, blindly feeling my way down the steep stone stairs. The red glow of the System screen provided just enough light for me to see the wet steps. I descended deeper and deeper into the belly of the mountain.

The air grew incredibly hot and smelled like rotting meat, ancient dust, and thick sulfur. The stone walls of the stairwell were slick with nasty green slime. I reached the very bottom of the stairs and stepped into a massive circular dungeon. Huge iron chains hung straight down from the high ceiling. In the absolute center of the large room was the shadow demon.

It was a terrifying creature made of twisted black bones and pulsing purple veins. It stood twice as tall as a normal man. It had four massive arms, each ending in razor sharp bone blades. The iron chains holding it to the floor were glowing white hot as the beast struggled to break completely free from its heavy prison.

[Three minutes remaining.]

The demon saw me and let out a deafening screech. It pulled hard against its heavy restraints. One of the thick iron chains snapped with a loud crack. The demon swung its lower right arm, sending a massive bone blade flying directly at my chest.

I threw myself to the dirty floor. The heavy blade missed my head by a single inch and smashed into the solid stone wall behind me. I rolled back to my feet, panting heavily. I was much too slow. My rapidly aging body could not keep up with the speed of a supreme threat monster. I needed to end this immediately.

I could not use my green dragon fire. If I used any magic right now, the System would drain my remaining three minutes instantly. I had to rely entirely on my fading physical strength.

I ran forward. The demon broke another iron chain and swung two giant blades down at my head. I slid across the slippery stone floor on my knees, sliding right between the thick legs of the monster. As I passed underneath it, I slammed my fist upward into its right knee joint.

The dark green dragon scales on my knuckles flared with raw physical power. The bone snapped with a loud crunch. The demon roared in pure agony and fell forward onto its hands.

[Two minutes remaining.]

I quickly scrambled onto its massive back. The creature thrashed violently, trying to throw me off. I ignored the sharp bones cutting into my chest and legs. I climbed up toward its thick neck. Right between its massive shoulder blades, a bright purple crystal was pulsing loudly. It was the monster core.

The demon swung its remaining free arm backward, stabbing a bone blade deep into my left thigh. I screamed in pure agony. Warm blood poured down my leg, but I stubbornly refused to let go. I wrapped both of my hands tightly around the glowing purple core.

"You belong to me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Using every single ounce of my remaining physical strength, I pulled violently upward. The demon shrieked as I ripped the core completely out of its body. The creature instantly turned to black ash, collapsing into a pile of dust beneath me. I fell heavily onto the dirty floor, clutching the pulsing crystal close to my chest.

[One minute remaining.]

I pressed the glowing core directly against my own heart. "Eat this!" I screamed at the empty air. "Take the core!"

The red System screen flickered violently. The blinding light turned from angry red back to a calm blue. The terrible freezing pain inside my veins instantly vanished. Warmth flooded my entire body as my lost youth returned. My skin smoothed out and my physical strength doubled.

[Soul Substitute Accepted. Supreme Threat Core absorbed.]

[Punishment Protocol Canceled.]

[Magical costs will now be deducted from the monster core.]

I laid on the floor, laughing softly in pure relief. I had done it. I was finally free to use my powerful dragon magic without dying. I slowly stood up, completely ready to walk back up the stairs and tell Kaelen the good news.

Then, the blue System screen flashed one more time, and the text turned a terrifying shade of pitch black.

[Warning. The Supreme Threat Core is corrupted.]

[The monster soul is currently taking over the host body.]

[Host consciousness will be permanently deleted in ten seconds.]