Did it dare?
It did not!
Though half of Cheng Lvtong's body was drenched in blood and wracked by unbearable pain, his fair, delicate face was twisted into a ferocious grin.
Because amid the air mixed with the stench of blood and a heavy fragrance, he saw a distorted outline glowing with an intense crimson light becoming clearer and more real.
The posture that had seemed strange upon first sight had now become even more grotesque, revealing its true form.
It was not particularly tall, but it was certainly no child. Its body had been folded in half at the waist, then rigidly frozen in that horrifying position.
To put it more precisely:
It looked like a scarlet figure that had been cleanly snapped at the waist. Its upper body leaned backward, yet seemed to be desperately trying to return to its original position. That limp posture had been bizarrely fixed into rigid stillness.
As its outline gradually emerged, Cheng Lvtong could not make out its face due to the way its severed upper body hung behind it.
He could not see clearly.
Yet after seeing the figure's true form, Cheng Lvtong felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity rise within him.
"Th-this... you, could you be..."
Before he could finish, the figure in that bizarre posture let out a chilling growl like some dreadful monster and charged toward him madly.
No matter how clever Cheng Lvtong was, he could not overcome the gap in raw strength. For a brief instant, he hesitated.
That instant of hesitation cost him his only chance. His right hand was in his pocket, but he failed to pull out that handful of fine sand.
At the same time, the stiff, broken figure had already rushed before him.
This time, he saw the complete "monster." It...