The Fall of the Giant Rat Kingdom
In the dim room, only a horrifying sound of chewing rang out. Outside, the numerous Shadow Rats grew increasingly terrified and instinctively began to move away, as though what was inside the room was not their king, Dikas, but some unknown monster.
Crack!
"Where are you going?"
Suddenly, a large hand covered in dark-red scales reached out from the darkness. Dikas, now nearly five meters tall, followed close behind, hunched over as he stepped out. His face, which had originally still borne rodent-like features, had completely transformed into something resembling a human's. Beneath his scarlet vertical pupils was a face covered in fine scales, and his slightly parted lips revealed rows of saw-toothed fangs.
The sharp claws that had originally grown from his hands had also transformed into something resembling human palms. However, those palms were covered in dark-red scales, while his scimitar-shaped fingernails glimmered with a faint, chilling light. Behind him, a huge tail like a long serpent twisted incessantly.
"Why aren't you answering me?"
The next second, the suppressed voice rang out again. Dikas raised his head and stared at the numerous Shadow Rats before him. The scarlet light in his eyes grew increasingly intense, while viscous fluid dripped from the corners of his split mouth, corroding the ground into tiny holes.
"Squeak! Squeak-squeak!!"
Suddenly, the shadow above one Shadow Rat's head began to twist, transforming into a chain that hoisted it into midair. The intense suffocation made the Shadow Rat let out a shrill scream. Blood gushed from the corners of its mouth, and its pupils gradually dimmed.
Smack!
The next second, a headless corpse fell to the ground in a spray of blood. A head followed close behind, while the stench of blood spread through the air.
Across from it, Dikas revealed an expression of utter satisfaction. His tentacle-like giant tongue licked his lips, and a sickly light shone in his eyes. The blood within his body yearned for slaughter, death, and blood.
"Shadow Guard."
Suddenly, Dikas raised his palm and aimed it at the dead Giant Rat. The mana within his body began to circulate instinctively. Beside the dead Shadow Rat, its shadow began to twist and struggle. Finally, a Giant Rat with scarlet eyes and a body made entirely of shadow emerged there.
"What incredible power!"
Dikas crossed his arms and hugged his shoulders tightly, his body twisting into a bizarre posture. He gazed at the newly formed Shadow Guard with an intoxicated expression. This was a brand-new power he had obtained after devouring the human ancient hero bloodline genes within Diri.
It could summon the shadows of living beings it had killed, turning them into its most loyal subordinates. No matter what order it received, it would carry it out perfectly. Moreover, it no longer needed food or rest and remained in peak condition every moment.
Aside from its strength being determined at the moment of its birth, it could be said to be the most perfect weapon ever created for war.
"More! More! I want more!"
The next second, Dikas's scarlet eyes fixed on the remaining Shadow Rats and the vast numbers of Giant Rats in the Underground Kingdom. Whether it was to increase the number of Shadow Guards or to satisfy the enormous nourishment his newly evolved body craved, everything drove Dikas, who was already gradually losing his sanity, into an even greater frenzy.
However, the crazed Dikas failed to notice that the muscles on his body had begun writhing incessantly, while his scales began to mutate, as though everything on his body had come alive.
"Squeak-squeak!"
Across from him, all the Shadow Rats also sensed that something was wrong with Dikas's gaze. They turned and fled toward other areas, their panicked squeaks echoing throughout the entire Underground Kingdom of the Giant Rat race.
Splurt!
A Giant Rat that had just turned around to flee suddenly froze. Its confused eyes saw a headless corpse collapsing in a spray of blood—and that corpse looked so familiar. It was practically identical to its own body.
Thud!
The next second, the corpse and head crashed heavily onto the ground together. The stench of blood filling the air grew even thicker. After the corpse fell, its shadow began to twist incessantly, and a brand-new Shadow Guard rose to its feet.
Scenes like this occurred constantly throughout the dim passageway. A large number of newly born Shadow Guards merged directly into the shadows and began hunting the remaining Shadow Rats and Giant Rats. Wherever they passed, every living thing was slaughtered.
Fresh blood flowed from the corpses and gathered into rivers. The air itself seemed dyed red. In the dark-red atmosphere, Shadow Guards moved like grim reapers, harvesting every life throughout the entire Underground Kingdom.
"Power. An endless supply of power!"
In the dark-red passageway, Dikas's heavy footsteps rang out. His nearly seven-meter-tall, burly body was completely enveloped in wisps of black aura. Wherever he passed, the corpses on the ground all turned into charred-black fragments, their souls and flesh devoured completely.
As Dikas devoured more and more, the black aura surrounding him seemed to come alive, twisting into long, slender tentacles that plunged into the corpses on the ground.
Half an hour later, deep in the sewer, countless black tentacles suddenly burst from the ground. The mass of tentacles twisted wildly through the air. Then the ground collapsed into a huge pit, and Dikas's nearly ten-meter-tall body slowly emerged from it. Behind him, an endless army of Shadow Guards followed silently.
"Not enough. Not enough—not enough. I need more, more!"
Dikas raised his head and looked upward. Countless tiny black tentacles twisted and throbbed across his formerly human-like face. Large amounts of viscous fluid dripped from the corners of his mouth, corroding away the ground wherever it touched.
"Humans. Humans!"
Suddenly, Dikas let out a faint murmur. The corners of his mouth began to split open little by little. In the end, his entire head transformed into something resembling a sandworm. A frenzied roar erupted from his terrifying, gaping maw, becoming a visible shock wave.
The next second, the tentacles on Dikas's body began to extend madly, smashing through the ceiling of the sewer above his head. Vast amounts of pitch-black wastewater filled with excrement and garbage, along with foul-smelling sludge, poured through the opening and directly into Dikas's roaring maw.
But Dikas, now completely insane, paid no attention to any of this. As his tentacles and body slowly drilled into the opening, he advanced toward the town of Ereccia above the sewer. The boundless army of Shadow Guards sank into the shadows and followed after him.
"The humans in this city are all doomed."
In the dead silence, only the sound of wastewater and sludge pouring down could be heard. Suddenly, after Dikas and the army of Shadow Guards had left, Number Four and Number Three slowly stepped out from a corner. Number Four raised its head and stared expressionlessly at the opening.
It knew that Dikas had gone hunting, and his prey was every human in the town above. This had already been decided when the experiment began. Everything in the city above the sewer was part of the experiment as well.