Stark stood across from Father Hugo, staring up at the towering figure.
The air in the basement felt suffocating, thick with the stench of decay and the oppressive weight of something far worse.
Father Hugo, the Moonscorch Commander, was a living nightmare.
His dark, priestly robes clung to his massive frame, and his face, twisted and swollen with corruption, barely resembled anything human.
Stark wiped the sweat from his brow, eyes scanning for weaknesses.
But he found none.
There was a flicker of hesitation, but he shook it off.
Level 600.
That number burned in his mind.
It was far beyond his capabilities, but he didn’t have the luxury of retreating now.
He couldn’t show fear. Not after coming this far.
Father Hugo tilted his head, his voice an eerie croak, “Children who stray must be… corrected.”
Without warning, the priest lunged forward.
Stark had barely a second to brace himself.
His instincts kicked in— Invincible Dodge—he sidestepped the attack, narrowly avoiding Hugo’s fist, which smashed into the ground with terrifying force. Cracks splintered outward, shaking the entire room.
“He’s too strong…” Stark muttered under his breath, but there was no turning back.
Crimson energy surged around Stark’s body as he prepared his counterattack.
“Crimson Spears!”
Ten blood-red spears materialized in the air, swirling in a deadly formation.
With a thought, Stark sent them flying toward Hugo’s chest, each spear aiming for a vital point.
But Father Hugo barely flinched.
His arm moved with frightening speed, swatting the spears aside like they were nothing more than twigs.
Two of them managed to pierce his side, but the wounds were shallow, barely scratching his grotesque skin.
-13,842!
-14,437!
Before Stark could react, Hugo’s massive foot slammed into his chest with bone-crushing force.
CRACK!
-83,394!
Stark was thrown back, his shield completely cracking under the sheer power of the attack.
[Your “Crimson Barrier” broke.]
His vision blurred as pain seared through his ribs.
Blood trickled from his mouth as he gasped for air.
His health bar had plummeted.
He was dangerously close to death.
“I need to-”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence that he sensed an overwhelming aura behind him.
“Oh… god…”
“Children, do you understand?” Hugo spoke, his entire figure darkened by his aura, only his eyes being white and leaving a trail as they moved.
“Correction SMASH!”
BOOOOOOM!
Hugo smashed Stark’s head.
If it was any other participant, then they would have died at this point.
-170,383!
He was about to collapse from the pain.
But then, like a spark reigniting, the familiar surge of power coursed through him.
[Crimson Healing activated, Full Health restored.]
“Get up… get up…!” Stark whispered to himself as his consciousness came back, adrenaline pumping as he scrambled to his feet.
Father Hugo loomed over him, his eyes burning with a sick, religious stare.
Stark knew he couldn’t win. Not now. Not against something this powerful. But he could run.
The wooden door at the far end of the room was his only chance.
Stark summoned what strength he had left, pushing through the agony that radiated from his cracked ribs.
He glanced at the chains on the walls, the scattered corpses, and something inside him screamed to move faster.
With a burst of speed, Stark dashed toward the door, ignoring the ominous creaks and groans of the floor beneath him.
Father Hugo’s heavy footsteps followed, methodical and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world.
“Crimson Ball Transmission!” Stark yelled, throwing one of his crimson orbs toward the door.
He snapped his fingers, teleporting instantly.
Just as Father Hugo reached out with one of his massive hands, Stark blinked through space and appeared on the other side of the door.
He slammed it shut behind him and fumbled with the handle.
His heart pounded in his chest as he searched for something to hold it closed.
There!
A small iron key lay on a nearby shelf.
Stark grabbed it, thrust it into the lock, and twisted.
There was a satisfying click, but Stark knew this would only give him around two seconds of additional spare time.
He needed to get back to Sora.
Father Hugo was too powerful, even with all his skills, his boosts, everything he had learned up until now.
[Heaven’s Spear] came to his mind, but he shook it off.
He needed it for the other participants, as well as the moons.
He quickly noticed a flight of stairs that led up and found his way out of the basement.
Ding!
[You will not be able to leave the ‘Orphanage’ until you defeat Father Hugo.]
“Figured as much,” Stark muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
He knew he couldn’t just leave the orphanage.
Whatever twisted magic this place held wouldn’t let him go until Hugo was dead.
But that fight—he wasn’t ready for that. He had to find Sora, regroup, and come up with a plan or another way to leave.
BOOM!
He heard the sound of the door he had locked effortlessly being destroyed, and so he knew he needed to be faster.
With a final glance at the basement door, Stark began to make his way through the narrow, dimly lit hallways of the orphanage.
The eerie silence pressed down on him like a weight.
The idea of seeing [Father Hugo] emerge from the corner of a hallway terrified him.
After all, he knew that this thing was faster than him: it was walking to make sure Stark he was nothing but a bug.
He passed several rooms, each more unsettling than the last.
Cribs overturned, old toys scattered across the floor, their bright colors faded with time and dust.
There were no signs of life, just remnants of a happier time long gone.
His breath was ragged, his body still recovering from the brutal assault.
Even with [Crimson Healing]’s recovery, he somehow still felt pain, which was weird.
Where was Sora?
She had to be okay. She was strong, he reminded himself.
Maybe not as strong as the others, but they were alone in the orphanage, so it should be fine.
But still, his mind raced with worst-case scenarios.
He couldn’t afford to lose her—not here, not like this.
“Sora?” he shouted.
But nothing.
Stark pressed on, moving through the dark corridors.
Every creak and groan of the old building made him tense, expecting Father Hugo to burst through a wall or a door at any moment.
He kept his fighting position at all times just for this reason.
Then, he heard it—soft footsteps in the distance, light but deliberate.
Stark’s heart leaped as he quickened his pace, turning a corner to find Sora emerging from one of the classrooms.
“Sora!” Stark called out, relief in his voice. “We need to get out of here!”
She looked up, her expression calm, “What happened? You disappeared for a while.”
“I fell into the basement,” Stark explained quickly, glancing over his shoulder, half-expecting Father Hugo to burst through the floor.
“And Father Hugo… he’s a monster. I tried fighting him, but it’s not happening. He almost killed me.”
Sora’s eyes narrowed, instinctively activating her aura, “So what’s the plan?”
Stark shook his head. “There’s no plan, Sora, that thing is killing us if we get too close, we need to find another way.”
“…” Sora’s eyes widened slightly.
She had never seen Stark like this.
It was apparent from his expression that he was serious.
“QUICK, WE NEED TO-”
He held her hand as he tried to quickly move.
But… it was too late.
“Found you, bad children.”
A voice could be heard from the corner of a hallway, and from it appeared [Father Hugo], the smile on his face still visible.
