I desperately wanted to ask the Kid what sort of thing was approaching, but the words caught in my throat as I remembered he’d told us not to speak.

Though unable to talk, the Kid still gave us a look—a clear signal for us to find a place to hide.

With nothing but the gravestones for cover, the three of us quickly found a marker to crouch behind.

We all extinguished our flashlights; only the Kid’s beam remained lit.

Holding his Black Gold Ancient Blade, he stood among the monuments, looking from a distance like a solitary, incredibly brave warrior.

Before long, a massive shadow materialized not far from the Kid.

I truly could not fathom what the thing was; it resembled a tattered mop, or perhaps a pom-pom used by cheerleaders.

In essence, the creature was composed of countless chains, with what seemed like a dark mass at the center—that was its core.

As it moved, the chains extended like tentacles, latching onto the gravestones on the ground, dragging its body forward.

How could chains possess such autonomous, tentacular control? That question sparked in my mind.

But as the monster drew nearer, I saw clearly that not everything on it was a chain; interspersed among them were gray appendages, highly similar to the chains, dripping with viscous fluid.

Part of this thing’s tentacles were used to haul its bulky form along, while other parts stood upright in the air like sensory probes. The entire entity seemed to tower six or seven meters high, resembling a gargantuan sea urchin.

Seeing the thing approach, the Kid still appeared somewhat tense, gripping his ancient blade even tighter.

Aside from the sound of our own breathing, we could hear the faint squeaking from the Kid’s hands as he clenched the weapon so hard.

It was this subtle squeak that caused the two tentacles the monster held aloft to suddenly twitch, after which it instantly locked onto the target, shooting out two appendages resembling rubber bands to seize the gravestone in front of it, and launching itself over with a snap.

I was startled by how sensitive this thing was to sound, and even more so by its surprising speed.

But the Kid’s reaction was clearly faster than ours; just as the sea urchin-like thing shot forward, he executed a diving roll, flinging himself sideways.

The monster missed its mark, landing with a thud that shook the very ground.

Next, we watched it swiftly use its tentacles to grab two gravestones, steadying itself, and then sending several forward tentacles whipping toward the Kid on the ground with the speed of snapping rubber bands.

The Kid had only just scrambled back to his feet when faced with such a sharp assault; he immediately rolled to the side again.

Those few tentacles struck the ground with clanging sounds, actually gouging indentations into the bronze-paved floor.

Seeing the Kid evade the attack, the monster let out a piercing roar and launched three or four more tentacles.

This time, the Kid was prepared; he stepped onto a nearby gravestone, using the leverage to perform a backflip in mid-air.

The tentacles smashed into the monuments, sending them toppling backward.

However, before it could retract its limbs, the Kid completed his aerial maneuver, dropping down and plunging his blade deep into one of the creature’s tentacles.

Witnessing such a beautiful fighting technique, I almost stood up to applaud.

But it was at that moment we saw the sea urchin-like monster’s body suddenly expand to more than twice its size.

On closer inspection, I realized it wasn't the body growing, but rather that it had deployed all of its tentacles, exactly as a threatened sea urchin might react.

This 360-degree, no-blind-spot attack nearly killed me.

One tentacle whipped past less than ten centimeters above my head; the mere rush of air from its passage stung my skin.

I quickly ducked my neck, hiding behind the tombstone.

Catching my breath, I immediately worried about the Kid, unsure if he could evade such a sudden, dense barrage.

When I saw the tentacles retract from above, I immediately peered out to look.

Judging by the light source, I instantly located the Kid.

He stood before a marker, holding the Black Gold Ancient Blade horizontally, his face etched with cold resolve.

Not far in front of him lay several tentacles, still writhing—clearly the ones he had just severed.

I couldn't imagine how he managed to cut off several limbs at such speed; I could only silently admire him.

Although the Kid wasn't dead, his clothing was torn in several places, dripping blood.

Seeing how heavily he was panting, I knew he was hurting badly.

At this point, the sea urchin-like monster began to slowly contract, drawing all its appendages back in.

I thought to myself, this fellow finally knows pain; perhaps it will retreat now.

Seeing the monster pull back, the Kid gripped his blade tighter and began to advance step by step.

The creature had already shrunk to nearly half its original size, emitting a gurgling sound from within, like a warning, and it began to slowly back away.

The Kid wasn't planning to let it go; raising his blade, he pressed forward with greater speed.

The monster seemed enraged by the Kid’s advance and suddenly shot a long, thin, and sharp tentacle from its body.

Whether it was my imagination or not, the speed of this appendage seemed to surpass light, and it carried a faint streak of crimson.

Seeing such a sharp attack, a cold dread ran through me.

Indeed, against such velocity, the Kid had no time to react, and the thing pierced directly into the juncture between his right arm and shoulder.

His face went pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a gasp.

But as he coughed up the blood, his left hand clamped down fiercely on the red object, refusing to let go no matter how much it writhed.

Having one tentacle seized, the monster thrashed about, constantly shifting its body size as if gone mad, but its other appendages seemed to have lost their previous sharpness, all lying limply on the ground, twisting.

Then, gritting his teeth, the Kid spoke with fierce intensity, "You asked for this; don't blame me!"

With that, he grabbed the red tentacle and yanked backward, tearing the entire appendage out of the monster’s body.

I watched as a stream of black blood erupted from the creature’s core. Then, all its tentacles began to tremble, emitting high-pitched, strange squeals, and its body gradually shrank.

It kept diminishing until it was only the size of a ping-pong ball, then it ceased struggling.

All that remained on the ground was a pool of foul-smelling black blood and something resembling a metallic core.

Seeing the Kid victorious, we rushed out without delay.

The Kid, his face pale, glanced at each of us and asked, "Are you all right?"

I shook my head and said we were fine, then asked him, "I'm sorry, you were hurt because of us."

The Kid shook his head and replied, "It’s nothing, I’m used to it; I won’t die."

He said this, then coughed up another mouthful of blood and swayed slightly, nearly losing his footing.

Nie Chuan and I rushed to support him, asking, "Are you really okay?"

The Kid looked up at me, shook his head, and then pushed our hands away.

Seeing him trying to act tough, we couldn't do anything but stand guard nearby.

Just then, Da Xiong squatted down, about to pick up the ping-pong-sized metal core from the ground, when the Kid sharply commanded, "Don't touch that thing!"

Da Xiong jumped, asking, "Wh-what exactly is this thing?"

The Kid shot him a look, took a breath, and pointed to the skeletons tied to the surrounding gravestones, saying, "See them?"

Da Xiong nodded and said, "What’s with these dead people?"

The Kid was silent for a few seconds before saying, "These dead people were all extremely dangerous individuals. This place was responsible for capturing and executing them. The chains on their bodies were fastened by the Executioners."

"Executioners? Is that the name of this monster?" I asked.

The Kid looked at me and nodded. "That’s right. There are many Executioners, and they are extremely sensitive to sound."

"There are more?" Hearing this, all of us looked terrified.

The Kid shook his head and said, "No need to fear. There is only one here, because every tier of the Mandala only houses a single Executioner. However, there is also an Enforcer we haven't met, and it’s best we don't."

"Mandala? Do you mean the Buddhist Mandala?" Nie Chuan asked.

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