Daru's eyes narrowed as he remarked to himself:

'That…is a lot of hitpoints…'

To make things worse, the hulking spawn was already on half HP, for some reason…

Perhaps it fought another spawn and won, but was wounded quite heavily in the process.

Those stone swords in Rocante's ears…they might've been the weapons of the other Swordspawn.

Of course, Daru was only speculating and was unsure whether the scenario he had thought of was true, but it couldn't be denied that a fifty-percent damage to one's hitpoints was a lot and couldn't have come from anything other than a battle.

The depressed figure was slowly disappearing in the distance.

Curious as to where it was going, Daru followed Rocante very carefully, knowing that he couldn't take it in a battle for now.

Just the level forty-eight Lost Damnedlings were already making him sweat for his victories.

Heavy and slow as the hulking horror appeared, Daru was certain that it was faster than anything he had ever fought before.

Daring to stalk it didn't seem like the brightest of ideas, even if one did it from a distance.

It was just that Rocante seemed to be walking with purpose, and Daru wanted to know what that purpose was.

So, he advanced carefully, hiding in the shadows of the ruined residences, sometimes trailing too far but never too close.

He wasn't an expert in stealth.

Daru knew this, and so he kept his distance well.

He had to remain conscious of his surroundings, too, or he might find himself on the receiving end of a nasty ambush.

Luckily, Rocante seemed too much of a threat that no Damnedling dared lurk nearby, thus making his task easier.

Soon, it exited the ruined arch, and since there weren't as many hiding spots outside as inside the collapsed, ancient stone walls, he could only trail from farther away, though he would get lucky from time to time whenever there was a suitable stone slab he could use.

The two journeyed back to the direction Daru came from, hearing the unsettling howls of the flowing monochrome river nearby, along with occasional splashes.

Aside from these, only the heavy thuds of Rocante's footsteps.

The more travel time passed, the more Daru's brows furrowed. They were taking the same path he had taken earlier to arrive at the ruined settlements.

What could the hulking horror be looking for in this area?

Lost Damnedlings?

There were way more in the settlement, no?

Some even used the houses as temporary hiding spots for their acquired provisions.

Aside from Lost Damnedlings, a few vile trees, half-dead bushes, stone slabs, and the same ground surface made of condensed and powdered ash, he found nothing else of value.

It was then that La Filosa's ruins came into view.

Daru's eyes narrowed, recalling the close call with the bony horror. While he didn't break into a cold sweat, his heart grew a bit heavy.

It would be quite some time before he could challenge whatever that thing is.

Or perhaps he wouldn't have to, if he got lucky and found a way out of this god-forsaken place.

Rocante's thuds snapped him out of his thoughts, forcing him to shift his gaze once more to the hulking horror.

Daru's eyes widened.

Rocante…was moving towards the ruins La Filosa was in.

The ashen domain was a dog-eat-dog world, and following this unspoken rule, the two horrors would clash!

Daru's heart raced in excitement.

He wanted to see how the battle of the two underworldly spawns would end, though it was quite regrettable that he couldn't watch from a prime spectator seat, as he still wasn't capable of protecting himself against either of the two.

And so, he could only continue trailing carefully in the gray shadows, observing with growing anticipation as Rocante walked towards the ruins.

If Daru were lucky, then he would be able to watch from behind the ruined window on the first floor.

But if the scrap happened on the second, he could only wait for the results.

The much-anticipated moment soon happened.

Rocante entered the massive ruins from the same entrance he did, dragging his hulking self to the center of the time-worn lobby.

To his left was the dark corridor.

Daru, meanwhile, scurried closer, leaning against the ancient walls and peering from the window.

The shredded horror seemed to be…waiting?

Then he heard it, the familiar, slow, rhythmic steps with sudden bursts in pace.

Clack…clack…Clackclackclack...clack...

These were the echoes of the dark corridor as the other horror approached.

Soon, La Filosa emerged, twitching and spasming, limbs bending in unusual, humanly impossible angles.

But then again, how could such monstrosity be human?

The two horrors soon laid eyes upon the other, causing Daru's heart to skip a beat in sheer anticipation.

To his disappointment and puzzlement, the La Filosa and Rocante didn't explode in furious dashes.

They simply walked closer to each other.

There were no smiles on their hideous faces, nothing. It was as though this were merely routine.

And as it turned out, it seemed to indeed be a routine.

Daru watched with furrowed brows and a deeply confused expression as the hulking horror suddenly leaned closer, and La Filosa tiptoed in response, placing her sewn mouth closer to his destroyed ears.

It looked like…she was whispering something to Rocante.

Then, right before Daru's eyes, the hulking horror began to smile. A small one at first, until it stretched into a spine-chilling, inhumanly wide grin.

His hitpoints also began to regenerate slowly as the strange and creepy ritual proceeded.

Around five minutes later, he was back to almost full health.

La Filosa then proceeded to remove the stone swords stabbed deeply in Rocante's ears before continuing the ritual.

A dozen more seconds later…

==

Rocante, Hearer of False Glory Lv. 63

HP: 80,200 / 80,200

==

Soon, the two horrors parted ways.

La Filosa clacked and convulsed towards the dark corridor. Rocante, on the other hand, proceeded to exit the ruins.

There was nothing left to watch, and the hulking horror was on his way out.

Daru naturally couldn't stay.

He scurried over to his previous hiding spot, peering from behind an embedded stone slab.

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