CHAPTER 5 : No Way Out
Lurer – Destructive Level Entity
Lurer is an ancient, cunning predator, known to draw unsuspecting survivalists into its chamber—not randomly, but with a deliberate, almost patient intelligence. Victims either perish or are slowly transformed into its creations, their screams swallowed by the crimson fluid that fills its lair. Those who resist find it becomes actively hostile, almost as if insulted by their defiance. Its true form remains unknown, but survivors describe a horrifying yet strangely organic shape: a writhing mass of flesh from which a gnarled tree sprouts. The tree feeds on the body beneath, producing humanoid-like creatures that move with unnerving purpose, extensions of Lurer's will. Memory of encountering it is fragmented at best; many survivors report blank spaces, flashes of shadow, and the feeling that the creature was always watching, always patient… as if it understood them.
The detection device went silent.
The red fluid in front of us churned faster, roiling like it had a mind of its own. Whatever this entity was, it wasn't going to let us leave. The ground beneath our feet trembled, as if the earth itself were alive and angry.
Reiji pressed his hands to his face and crouched low, like he was going to throw up. His eyes full of disbelief and shock, it felt like he was going to cry any moment. We exchanged tense glances—this was our first real fight. One mistake here could mean death.
Then it happened. Six massive tentacles erupted from the crimson pool; each tipped with jagged points sharper than knives. The blob of flesh beneath the tree began to shudder violently. And then—slowly, horrifyingly—it opened its eye. A single, massive orb that seemed impossibly large, watching us… seeing everything.
The tentacles whipped forward, faster than our eyes could follow. I raised my sword instinctively, but the creature's presence pressed against us like a weight, making every movement sluggish. The red fluid roiled violently, and a low, wet groan echoed through the chamber, shaking the walls.
Leo froze, his hands trembling, as if even thinking might draw the creature's attention. Reiji staggered back, white as a sheet, muttering under his breath. The massive eye focused on us, intelligent and patient, as though it could read our every fear.
The tentacles circled, probing, testing. Every time one struck near us, the air vibrated with power, and we jumped back, hearts hammering. It wasn't just trying to attack—it was trying to break us, to see who would falter first.
I gripped my sword tighter. Sweat ran down my face. Each heartbeat echoed like a drum in the tense silence, while the creature seemed to watch, calculating… waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.
"Hesitation here will get us killed," Satoshi muttered, his voice calm, though I could catch the edge of nervousness beneath it.
"We… we have to fight that thing?" Leo asked, gripping his keyboard so tightly his knuckles turned white. It was the only thing keeping him steady.
"Unfortunately," Satoshi murmured, "all other options are blocked. We've walked straight into a trap."
The creature lashed out again, one of its massive tentacles swinging at us with blinding speed. I leapt sideways to avoid it, my heart hammering in my chest. I landed hard, scrambled to my feet, and realized we needed a plan—any plan—to survive this.
I took a deep breath, forcing my muscles to obey despite the pounding of my heart. "Now! SPLIT!" I yelled, and we ran in random directions—Kira darted left, kicking up stones and drawing one of the tentacles toward her, while Yasuto grabbed Leo and ran right, keeping him low.
The creature's massive eye swung toward Kira, and I could feel the air thicken as the red fluid rippled violently. The tentacles moved like living shadows, slashing, analytical, and testing our reactions. I swung my sword at one that came too close, striking the edge with a clang that echoed through the cave. It recoiled, but only slightly, as if amused.
Leo whimpered behind Yasuto, his grip tightening around the keyboard. "I… I can't do this," he stammered.
"Yes, you can!" Yasuto hissed, eyes blazing. "We survive together, or we die together. Focus!"
Reiji made a sudden move, rolling under another lash and stabbing at the base of a tentacle with his sword. The creature shrieked—a wet, unearthly sound—and thrusted its eye toward him. He froze for a second, but then darted to the side, just barely escaping the gaze. His face full of pure hatred.
I lunged at the nearest tentacle, striking again. It shuddered, but the mass beneath the tree only pulsed harder, like a heartbeat amplifying in the chamber. Every movement, every breath, felt like it was being tracked. We weren't just fighting for survival—we were part of some twisted game.
"We can't just fight it—we have to outsmart it!" Satoshi shouted, his glasses catching the dim light. "Aim for its eye, distract it, make it overextend. That's the only chance we've got!"
I nodded, my grip on my sword tightening. "Then let's move in an unpredictable manner, it has only one eye, so it can't track all of us!"
The creature's attacks became faster, sharper, almost impossibly precise. Its six tentacles moved independently, each one targeting a different member of our team. Reiji darted recklessly forward, throwing himself into danger without thought. Satoshi stayed back, analysing rather than fighting, while Leo and Yasuto kept running, dodging desperately. Kira weaved between strikes, eyes scanning for an opening.
And me? I had no choice. I had to act. I had to prove I wasn't just a bystander—I had to be a good survivalist.
A tentacle lunged toward me, and I barely rolled sideways to avoid it, the red fluid spraying across the stone. My hands shook as I yanked my rifle into position and fired—but the kickback threw my aim off, the bullet skimming harmlessly past.
"You had one job; you couldn't even do that properly," Reiji snapped, frustration dripping from his voice.
I ignored him. There was no time for words. The creature's massive eye locked onto me, glowing with an intelligence that made my skin crawl. Every second it stared, I felt the weight of its attention like iron pressing on my chest.
I fired again, faster this time, aiming for the eye. The bullet struck—but the tentacle moved with lightning reflexes, catching it before it could do real damage. My stomach sank, but I clenched my teeth. I couldn't give up now.
Then, instinct kicked in. I noticed a faint twitch in the base of the eye, a pattern in its movement. Using the recoil as cover, I aimed carefully, timing my shot with the exact moment the tentacle recoiled. The bullet struck the eye squarely, and the creature let out a deep, unearthly groan that shook the chamber.
It thrashed violently, giving us a split second of reprieve. Kira seized the moment, ducking under a sweeping tentacle to slice at the creature's tentacle, while Yasuto and Leo pressed forward, creating more distractions. Reiji growled with pure rage, attacking recklessly but effectively, forcing the creature to split its attention further.
For the first time, I realized it wasn't just raw strength we needed—it was timing, coordination, and courage. My heart pounded, but I felt it: I was part of this fight, and for the first time, I wasn't afraid to stand my ground.
The creature's massive form shuddered, its movements slowing, the pulsing red fluid around it rippling in chaotic waves. It had learned too well from our fear—but now, we were learning too, and for the first time, we might just survive.
I should've kept my hope low.
The creature's eye snapped open, clouded with the same crimson fluid that filled the pond. Its tentacles lashed out with a new, frantic violence—it wasn't going easy on us now. A storm of limbs swung toward Yasuto; he twisted away from most, but a strike tore through his ankle. Pain flared as he hit the ground, his blood staining the dirt. As he scrambled to find his footing, he looked up just in time to see the creature looming over him, its next strike aimed straight for his skull.
Kira reacted just in time, intercepting the creature with her dagger, but the impact was staggering. She winced as a sickening pop echoed in her ears; the sheer force had dislocated her shoulder.
Seeing the creature's focus locked entirely on Kira, Reiji seized his opening. He made a desperate, bold leap, catching hold of one of the thick tentacles. Digging his sword into the flesh, he used his own body weight to slide down the limb like a grim anchor, aiming to reach the centre of the blob and hack down the tree.
But luck is not always on your side. Before he could reach there, another tentacle whipped through the air, catching Reiji squarely in the face. The blow sent him crashing into the dirt beside me with bone-breaking force. His left face was a ruined mask of gore, and blood leaked from his gritted teeth.
For a moment, he stared at the blood pooling on the ground, his expression twisting into something feral. Then, he surged back to his feet as quickly as he'd fallen. As he charged the creature once more, a faint, predatory red aura began to flicker around him.
"Reiji! Stop! You're losing too much blood!" Yasuto's voice cracked with desperation as he huddled over his mangled knee, his hands shaking while Leo helped him pull a ragged bandage tight.
Reiji didn't even flinch; the shout was just background noise to his ears. He was operating on pure, jagged instinct now. But as he pushed off the dirt, the world seemed to warp. His legs didn't just move; they snapped forward with a terrifying, unnatural speed. He wasn't just running anymore—he was a blur of motion that his own mind could barely track.
He launched himself into the air, a desperate jump aimed straight for the creature's core. Mid-leap, a tentacle lashed out, piercing clean through his left elbow. The sound of bone meeting cartilage was sickening, but Reiji didn't scream. He didn't even slow down. Instead, he used the momentum of the impalement to pull himself closer.
As a fresh spray of blood erupted from the wound, his body didn't slow down—it accelerated. The air whistled past his ears as the aura around him curdled into a dark, bruised red. His eyes burned with a flat, predatory light, devoid of any human recognition. To us, he looked less like a man and more like a dying star—burning brighter and moving faster the more he fell apart. Maybe his special ability had awakened.
Reiji finally hit the creature's body with a heavy thud, his legs nearly buckling. He was a mess of jagged cuts and bruises, his breath coming in ragged, shallow hitches, yet his eyes burned with a terrifying, manic energy. With a roar, he brought his blade down in a sweeping arc. The steel bit deep into the crimson trunk, wood splinting like bone, but it wasn't enough to hack down the entire tree.
A sound tore through the air—a wet, screeching wail, that shook the entire chamber. A mouth opened on the tree, where Reiji had cut using his sword. We stood frozen as the newly formed mouth curved into a demonic smile.
Reiji didn't hesitate. He pulled back for a finishing blow, but before the steel could fall, a slick, corded tentacle lashed out. It sliced through his right shoulder with a sickening crunch. The force sent his sword spinning from his nerveless fingers, splashing into the thick, crimson fluid below.
He was disarmed. Bleeding. Broken. He stood there, pinned by the beast, clutching his ruined shoulder as the blood seeped through his fingers. We waited for the scream, the plea for help—anything. Instead, Reiji just stood there, deathly still…. and smiling.
I think he had lost his whole mind, even though he was the most wounded person in our whole team, he was still fighting. We had to help him.
"Leo!" I yelled, looking back at him. "Do something! Disorient it! Like you did against Misfire!"
Leo flinched, his shoulders hunching over his keyboard. He looked terrified, but his fingers didn't shake. Leo started to play. It wasn't just music; it was a wall of pure, jagged intensity that hit me like a physical blow. The sound dug into my chest, filling me with a sudden, violent heat. For a split second, I didn't want to run—I wanted to tear the creature apart with my bare hands.
The Lurer hated it. The high-pitched ringing clearly hurt; the creature shivered, and its grip finally faltered. The sharp tentacle buried in Reiji's shoulder loosened just enough.
Reiji's grin widened, he almost looked like a psychopath. He grabbed the tentacle with his good hand, bracing himself, he shoved himself away. He used his own body weight to slide backward.
Leo's music was working, and the monster was reeling—this was Reiji's only chance to leap off that thing and get to safety. To give him every extra second, I snapped my rifle to my shoulder. My breath hitched as I pulled the trigger, the recoil slamming into my collarbone. The bullet whistled through the chamber and buried itself in the creature's main body, a spray of crimson fluid flowed out of its body.
"Reiji!" Kira shouted. She had just finished popping her dislocated arm back into place, her face twisted in pain. "Get off that thing! It's distracted! Move!"
But Reiji didn't move. He didn't jump, and he didn't even glance back at us. It was like our voices couldn't even reach him anymore. He just stood there on the creature, blood dripping from his fingertips, staring down at the very thing that had just impaled him.
"You're right," he whispered, his voice raspy. "I could run away. It's the smartest thing to do."
He spat a mouthful of blood into the pool and gripped his side. "But... that's how cowards act."
Without a second thought, Reiji lunged. A dark red aura flared around him like a fire, pulsing with every ragged breath he took. He ripped the knife from his pocket and threw himself at the trunk, driving the blade into the wood with a frantic, rhythmic violence.
The Lurer bucked, its massive body thrashing to throw him off. The force nearly sent him flying, but Reiji didn't let go. He slammed the knife deep into the creature's main body, using the blade as an anchor to keep his footing.
He didn't even waste the time to pull it back out. Leaving the knife buried in the monster's body, he scrambled back towards the trunk on top of the body, his eyes blown wide and empty. He began to rain blows down on the wood with his bare hands. Bone met bark with a sickening, wet crack, his knuckles splitting open instantly—but the more he bled, the faster his fists moved.
He started to laugh, a dry, broken sound that echoed over the creature's wails. It looked like he was enjoying punching the creature using his bare hands.
The creature had finally reached its limit. It lashed out, swinging its heavy tentacles in a desperate attempt to crush Reiji, but he didn't even slow down. He ducked under the mass of muscle and wood, his fists never stopping their rhythm. Every punch sent a spray of dark crimson fluid leaking from the bark, the tree groaning under the assault.
Then, the hanging victims—the "fruits" of the tree—began to twist.
One by one, they dropped. They hit the ground with wet thuds, crawling through the muck like confused newborns, their limbs jerky and weak. A muffled, gravelly mumble vibrated from the mouth in the tree, and instantly, the confusion vanished. All ten of them snapped to attention, standing perfectly straight.
Up close, they looked almost human, but their faces were wrong—stretched and twisted into unnatural, frozen expressions that made my stomach turn. The sight was so ghoulish that Leo's hands slipped, his music cutting out into a sharp, sudden silence.
One of the things lunged at Reiji, its movements frantic. He didn't even look at it. He sidestepped the attack and landed a blow so fast the humanoid didn't have time to react. It went spinning, crashing into the crimson pond with a heavy splash. I didn't wait for the others to move; I lined up my sights and squeezed the trigger. The crack of my rifle echoed through the chamber, and a second one slumped over.
Two down. Eight left. They looked strong but were extremely fragile. They were not a problem for us right now. We had to take them down quickly and focus on Lurer.
But just as things were getting on our side, they slipped away as quickly. One of them made a hand sign, it crossed its index and middle fingers into a messy, gnarled knot and jammed its thumbs hard against each other. The rest of their fingers curl into a tight, ugly fist. It opened its twisted mouth, and a thick wave of that same crimson fluid spilled out, staining its chin and dripping onto the floor. Its chest heaved as if it were struggling to breathe, and then, a raspy, gargling voice finally broke the silence and it began to speak…
"NIGHTMARISH SKILL: DECEPTIVE KNIVES"
The crimson fluid spilling from the humanoid's mouth didn't just drip; it began to churn and harden, reshaping itself into a jagged, blood-red blade right in mid-air. With a sudden hiss, the knife shot forward. Reiji moved with a flicker of speed, dodging the strike easily, but as the blade passed him, it vanished into thin air—a total deception.
Before he could regain his balance, the knife reappeared behind his back and buried itself deep into his injured right shoulder. Reiji winced in pain, his red aura flickering and dimming as the other humanoids began spawning their own blades by making the same hand sign. I snapped my rifle up and fired, but one of the knives flickered into existence right in front of the muzzle, slicing my bullet clean in half.
Reiji struggled to keep his footing, his movements slowing as more blades began to teleport around him. They struck from every blind spot, biting into his arms and legs the moment he looked away. Finally, his body just gave up. His knees buckled, and with one last ragged breath, he fell backward, disappearing into the dark, crimson river with a heavy splash.
"Reiji!" Yasuto's dashed towards the pond. He moved to dive in, but Satoshi's hand clamped onto his shoulder like a vice.
"Don't," Satoshi whispered, his eyes never leaving the eight humanoids. They weren't attacking anymore. They were simply standing there, their twisted mouths leaking that same red fluid, their fingers beginning to weave a new, larger knives.
I looked at my rifle—the barrel was still smoking, the sliced bullet lying at my feet like a joke. We were alone. Our ace was gone. And as the humanoids raised their hands in unison, I realized they weren't just fighting us anymore.
They were playing with us.