The descent to Level 3 was a journey through the anatomy of a monster. The corridors pulsed with heat, the walls lined with fleshy, organic matter that had overgrown the metal. The Syndicate wasn't just building a weapon; the weapon was consuming the facility.

They reached a massive, circular blast door. It was the only thing standing between them and the Core Chamber where Subject Zero was being held.

But the door wasn't unguarded.

Standing—or rather, crouching—in front of the door was a nightmare.

It was massive, easily twenty feet tall. Its lower body was that of a giant spider, legs made of steel and bone. Its upper torso was a fusion of three different ogres, stitched together to form a wall of muscle. And it had three heads.

A Wolf. A Serpent. And a human face, crying.

[Boss Detected: Project Chimera - Type Alpha]

[Level: 42]

[Status: Guardian / Unstable]

[Ability: Adaptive Regeneration]

"Help... me..." the human head sobbed, while the Wolf head snarled and the Serpent head hissed.

"That's..." Valeria gagged. "That's Professor Harlen. The Biology teacher. He disappeared last month."

"He's gone, Valeria," Alvian said, his eyes scanning the boss for weak points. "That's just meat now."

The Chimera saw them. The Wolf head roared, and the creature charged.

It was fast. Terrifyingly fast for its size.

"Scatter!" Alvian shouted.

Valeria rolled left, bringing her shield up just as a spider leg stabbed the ground where she had been, cracking the concrete.

Alvian jumped straight up, using [Shadow Step] to teleport to the ceiling pipes.

"Analysis," Alvian muttered.

The Chimera turned, the Serpent head spitting a stream of acid at Valeria.

"Shield Wall!" Valeria screamed. Her golden aura flared. The acid splashed against her barrier, sizzling. Her mana was dropping fast.

"It's focusing the tank," Alvian noted. "Classic aggro."

He needed to draw its attention.

He dropped from the ceiling, aiming for the Wolf head.

"[Glacial Void Pierce]!"

He drove the lance down. The black ice tip struck the Wolf's skull.

"CRACK!"

The Wolf head exploded.

[-15,000! Critical!]

But before Alvian could celebrate, the flesh bubbled. The Wolf head didn't just heal; it regrew in seconds, this time covered in bone armor.

[Adaptive Regeneration Triggered.]

[Resistance to Piercing Damage Acquired.]

"It learns," Alvian said, backflipping away as the spider legs swiped at him. "It adapts to damage types."

"Alvian!" Valeria shouted, retreating. "It's healing faster than we can hurt it! And it's getting stronger!"

The Chimera roared, now focusing on Alvian. It leaped, covering the distance instantly.

Alvian blocked with his lance shaft, but the force of three ogre torsos slammed him into the blast door.

[-2,500 HP.]

"Heavy," Alvian grunted.

The Serpent head lunged to bite his face.

Alvian tilted his head. The fangs missed by an inch.

"If you adapt to damage," Alvian whispered, looking into the crying human eyes of Professor Harlen. "Let's see if you can adapt to nothingness."

"System. Activate [Frost Heart] - Partial Transformation."

Alvian's arms turned to ice. He gripped the Chimera's massive arm.

"[Void Frost]."

He pumped the void mana directly into the creature's veins.

The Chimera screamed. The black frost spread rapidly.

[Target Afflicted: Void Frost.]

[Healing Disabled.]

"No healing for you," Alvian said.

The Chimera panicked. It tried to pull away, but Alvian's grip was iron.

"Valeria! Now! The human head! Cut it off!"

Valeria saw the opening. She dropped her shield. She gripped her claymore with both hands.

"TITAN'S JUDGMENT!"

She charged. She poured her remaining life force into the blade. It glowed with a blinding golden light.

She leaped, using the Chimera's spider leg as a ramp.

"Slash!"

The claymore swept through the air.

The human head, still sobbing, was severed clean from the neck.

The Chimera went rigid. The coordination between the heads shattered. The Wolf bit the Serpent. The body thrashed.

Alvian pushed off the door. He hovered in the air, his lance glowing black.

"Finish it."

He activated [Klaus's Upgrade].

[Blessing Active.]

"[Frost Descent +2]: Guillotine."

He summoned a massive blade of pure, concentrated blizzard above the beast.

"Drop."

The ice blade fell.

"SHH-THUNK!"

It bisected the Chimera from shoulder to hip. The void energy prevented the regeneration. The frozen halves fell apart, twitching.

[You have slain Project Chimera - Type Alpha!]

[Experience Gained: 300,000.]

[Level Up!]

[Level 34.]

Alvian landed softly. He breathed out a cloud of mist.

Valeria collapsed, using her sword to hold herself up. She was trembling.

"Is it... over?"

Alvian walked to the corpse. He looted a [Mutated Heart] and a [Keycard: Core Chamber].

He looked at the massive blast door. Behind it, he could feel a presence. A heartbeat that shook the foundation of the island.

Subject Zero.

"No," Alvian said, swiping the keycard. The locks disengaged with a heavy clank. "The doorman is dead. Now we meet the King."

The doors began to open, revealing a blinding red light.

"Alvian," Valeria whispered, looking at the light. "I don't think we're high enough level for this."

Alvian gripped his lance, his eyes reflecting the crimson glow.

"Then we'll just have to level up during the fight."

He stepped into the light.

The blast doors groaned, metal shrieking against metal as the heavy locking mechanism disengaged. A wave of crimson light spilled out from the widening gap, accompanied by a thick, suffocating pressure that tasted of old blood and raw, unrefined mana.

Alvian stood before the threshold, the [Lance of the Void Winter] humming in his grip. The violet frost radiating from the weapon seemed to recoil slightly, as if the air inside the chamber was hostile even to the void.

"Stay behind me," Alvian ordered, his voice devoid of fear. "If the pressure gets too high, activate your shield and bunker down. Do not try to be a hero."

Valeria nodded, her face pale beneath her visor. She gripped her claymore with white knuckles, her [Titan Bloodline] pulsing faintly to counteract the oppressive aura emanating from the room.

They stepped inside.

A/N: Creation is wild, exhausting, and sometimes my brain wants to run away. Power stones are my only bargaining chip to drag it back. If you liked this chapter, toss me one or a few, it helps more than you think.

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