Infinite System Inheritor Return From The Abyss

Meanwhile, Seojun sat on the body of a massive mantis that had no head. All around him, the supermarket was filled with dead mantises lying on the floor.

And there's a mantis head clamped onto his arm. "Looks like all the resistance and nullification that locked is now unlocked," he muttered, feeling the strange energy flow through him.

[If you just went to the dungeons host, your powers would have come back. Since you experienced it once, you gain the resistance again,]

Seojun jumped down from the mantis's body and walked toward the middle part of the second floor, where the floor had collapsed to the first floor.

"Hmmm, keeping me waiting ha," he muttered, glancing down. The boss hadn't appeared yet.

"Find where the dungeon is," he added, to finish this chaos.

Without hesitation, Seojun teleported to the first floor. As soon as he appeared, the air felt colder and heavy. It was pitch-black, with only the faint moonlight from the broken windows giving a little glow. He could barely see, but his sharp senses picked up the scent of blood and the rotting mantis bodies scattered around.

The middle part of the second floor had fallen through the ceiling, leaving a big hole above him. Pieces of the broken ceiling hung dangerously, and rubble was everywhere. Old shelves were toppled over, and the aisles were blocked with debris.

From the shadows, several mantises crawled out, their sharp legs clicking against the tiled floor.

He muttered, "Better finish this."

Looking through his inventory, he decided against using the dark flame. With the second floor already collapsed above, one wrong move could bring the rest of the building down. His eyes landed on the flame dagger, but then he noticed the Grim Reaver. The weapon showed a counter for the number of souls required to unlock its power. A smirk crept across his face.

"How lucky," Seojun whispered as he began the soul harvest, pulling the souls from the mantises he had already killed.

Ding!

Soul Harvest initiated. Collecting souls...

[1/100 souls gathered...]

[15/100 souls gathered...]

[37/100 souls gathered...]

[58/100 souls gathered...]

He stood still, waiting as the count rose toward its limit.

[72/100 souls gathered...]

Just then, a mantis charged out of the darkness. Seojun sidestepped smoothly and kicked the mantis, sending it flying into a group of others.

The remaining mantises surged at him, their sharp limbs slicing through the air. Seojun reacted quickly, using only physical attacks to avoid damaging the already weakened structure. One mantis lunged at him from the side, but he countered with a swift punch, sending it crashing into a pile of rubble.

Another swiped at him, but he ducked and kicked its legs out from under it, smashing it to the ground.

More mantises came, but Seojun was faster. He dodged a clawed strike and delivered a powerful elbow to a mantis's midsection, causing it to crumple. One after another, they fell as he fought with precision, each movement designed to disable his enemies without causing too much destruction.

A mantis leaped from a nearby wall, aiming to strike him from above. Seojun spun and delivered a brutal backhand, knocking it across the floor. Another charged head-on, and he met it with a crushing knee strike that shattered its front limbs.

Seojun moved with calculated restraint. The collapsed second floor creaked ominously above him, but it held. He couldn't afford to risk the structure collapsing any further—there was still a chance that someone might be alive here, and he wouldn't take that gamble.

Seojun stood still, ready to strike again when a desperate scream echoed from the far end of the mall.

"Help! Somebody, please!"

His eyes narrowed. "Looks like someone's still alive."

Before he could move, another mantis lunged at him. Seojun swiftly dodged, grabbing its head mid-air and slamming it into the ground. The impact wasn't strong enough to kill it, but the creature lay dazed and twitching. With a firm step, Seojun pressed his foot onto the mantis's back, pinning it down as it struggled weakly. He reached for its arms.

With a sharp tug, he ripped both of its clawed arms clean off. The mantis squirmed in agony, but Seojun didn't flinch. He looked down at the creature one last time, then crushed its head under his foot, killing it instantly.

"This'll do," he muttered, holding the mantis arms like weapons.

He turned toward the source of the scream and started walking, his steps steady and deliberate. More mantises appeared from the shadows, but Seojun was quick to react. One lunged at him, but he blocked its strike with the severed mantis arms and slashed back with the sharp edges. The creature recoiled, and Seojun sidestepped, countering with a swift blow that sent it crashing into a pile of rubble.

Another mantis charged at him, but he deflected it with the clawed arm, cutting deep into its leg. Without stopping, Seojun moved forward, slashing and dodging every attack.

As he turned the corner, he saw a man trapped under a large chunk of the collapsed second floor. The man's lower body was pinned, and a giant mantis stood over him, ready to strike.

"Help! Please!" the man shouted, squeezing his eyes shut, bracing for the end.

For a moment, everything was silent. The man expected to feel the mantis's sharp claws any second, but nothing happened. Slowly, he opened his eyes and gasped in shock. The mantis that had been towering over him was dead, its head pierced through with one of mantis clawed arm. The sight was terrifying—blood oozed from the mantis's lifeless body.

Before he could react, another mantis arm flew through the air, spinning like a blade. It slashed through the neck of another approaching mantis, cutting its head clean off. The headless body stumbled forward and collapsed, landing right in front of the trapped man.

"Ahhh!" the man screamed in pure fear and disgust, recoiling as the mantis head rolled toward him. His breathing was rapid, his heart pounding as he tried to process what just happened.

[85/100 souls gathered...]

[98/100 souls gathered...]

Seojun walked over to the fallen floor trapping the man. Without much effort, he gripped the heavy debris with one hand and lifted it. With a quick motion, he hurled the broken floor toward a group of mantises approaching from the shadows. The debris slammed into them, sending the creatures flying and crashing to the ground.

The man's eyes widened in shock. "H-How did you…?" he stammered, unable to believe what he just saw.

Ignoring the man's surprise, Seojun calmly picked up the mantis arm lodged in the creature's head and then retrieved the other one from the ground. He looked around cautiously, ensuring there were no more immediate threats.

The man blinked, snapping out of his daze. He tried to move but winced in pain. "I-I can't move my leg," he muttered in panic, struggling to lift himself.

Seojun stepped toward him and extended his hand. A soft green light began to glow from his palm, radiating warmth. The man's leg, which had been pinned and fractured, suddenly started to heal. He felt something strange—his leg wasn't just feeling better; it was completely restored.

The man's jaw dropped as he cautiously moved his leg. "I... I can stand!" He slowly got to his feet, completely in awe. "How is this possible? No heal spell can fix fractured bones like this! This should be impossible!"

Seojun, still calm, gave a small shrug. "Doesn't matter now. Focus on surviving. That's what's important."

Final souls required for full activation.

[100/100 souls gathered.]

Ding!

[Grin Reaver unlocked. Soul Harvest complete. Power level increased.]