Creating A Succubus Army In A Fantasy World!-Chapter 74: Rift Exploration! (4)

The silence in the rift was absolute. A deep, eerie stillness that felt too heavy, too unnatural for a place filled with over a dozen living, breathing people.

Yet nobody dared to speak. Nobody even dared to move.

All eyes were locked onto the dead woman’s body, their expressions a mix of fear, confusion, and dread.

Even the Stage 5 Awakened who had just moments ago killed Axel with the same ease as swatting a fly looked grim, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Creed, on the other hand, was having some very different thoughts.

’This... this is straight out of a horror movie!’

The eerie lighting, the terrifying unknown, the random mysterious death... all they needed now was for one of them to start whispering "Did you hear that?" and some ghostly monster to drag someone away screaming!

Creed swallowed, his gaze narrowing at the woman’s perfectly intact body.

There wasn’t a single visible wound. Not a single obvious cause of death. No slashes, no holes, no burns, nothing that could explain why she had just dropped dead.

Except...

His eyes flickered to her neck.

There, just barely visible, was a small, faint scratch on the skin. The exact same spot Axel’s fingers had touched when he tried to strangle her earlier.

A scratch. That was it. His stomach churned uneasily.

Could it be poison? It made sense, right? Some kind of venom had entered her system when Axel scratched her? But then Creed’s brows furrowed.

No... that doesn’t fit.

If it had been poisoning, she would’ve shown signs before dying; twitching, foaming at the mouth, struggling to breathe. Instead, she had stood there, completely fine... and then just collapsed.

And if it was poison, there would be visible traces in her body; discoloration, swelling, or even something weird like blackened veins. But her corpse looked untouched.

The whole thing was wrong.

"Everyone, calm down," the silver-haired man suddenly said, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.

Creed glanced up.

The man stood straight-backed, steady, his sharp gaze sweeping over the group. His tone was firm but not harsh.

It was commanding, reassuring. A voice meant to anchor them back to reality.

"If someone dies mysteriously like this inside a rift," he continued, slowly, carefully, "it means they triggered the rift’s taboo."

A shudder ran through the group. Someone inhaled sharply. Creed felt his stomach drop even further.

The taboo.

"But what is the taboo?" one of the Stage 4s muttered, their voice tight.

Silence.

The entire group tensed as the same question loomed in their minds.

What had she done? What had she done differently moments before she died?

Creed’s mind raced. He tried to replay everything. She had just recovered... She had been standing, breathing, looking around like the rest of them...

Then, suddenly—boom. Dead.

What had she done?

What had she done?!

His brain twisted itself into knots as he scanned the scene, trying to grasp at something, anything.

Nothing. He couldn’t see anything different. But then, a tiny clue caught his eye. Creed’s gaze snapped back to her neck.

The scratch.

A single drop of blood oozed from it. And then...

Drip. The drop fell. And Creed’s mind exploded.

His heart pounded in his chest as his gaze darted to the exact spot where she had been standing before she collapsed.

And sure enough, a single, dark red drop sat on the cavern floor. Creed gasped, his breath hitching.

’No. No, no, no. Of all the taboos in the world, why did it have to be this?!’

His fingers tightened around his spear, a sudden horrified realization slamming into him like a hammer to the skull.

His voice almost cracked when he finally spoke.

"I... I think I figured it out."

Every head snapped toward him.

Creed felt all their gazes pierce into him, some confused, some skeptical, and a few just plain desperate.

He took a slow breath, forcing himself to stay calm despite the absolute nightmare of a situation they were in.

Then, he gestured to the cut on her neck. "Look. Axel scratched her earlier, right?"

They nodded slowly. Creed crouched and pointed at the drop of blood on the ground.

"And now look here."

Realization dawned on a few faces. Others still looked confused. Creed straightened, his voice steadying.

"This was the spot she stood before collapsing. She died the moment her blood touched the floor."

A cold, horrified silence filled the cavern. His next words rang like a death sentence.

"The taboo is... our blood must never touch the ground."

The moment Creed finished speaking, the cavern fell into a deathly silence. Everyone just stood there, frozen, as if their minds were desperately trying to reject reality.

Because what he had just said... was completely insane.

Not a single drop of blood could touch the ground? Inside a rift? A peak low-level rift?

One of the Stage 4 Awakened, the same guy who had spoken earlier slowly turned pale as a ghost.

His mouth opened, but for a second, no words came out. Then, in a voice that was almost a whisper of horror, he muttered,

"So... if we fight any of the creatures here... we can’t get even slightly injured?"

The group stiffened. The silver-haired Stage 5’s expression darkened in realization.

Another Stage 4 sucked in a sharp breath, his face twisting in disbelief. Creed felt a sharp tingle run down his spine as the full weight of the situation sank in.

This wasn’t just bad, this was a nightmare!

A rift of this level almost always contained Stage 5 monsters. Creatures that were so strong that even a glancing blow from their claws or tails could draw blood.

Even the Stage 5 Awakened in their group would struggle not to take any damage in a fight. And if even the smallest drop of their blood touched the ground...

Instant. Death.

Creed’s stomach twisted into knots. ’This rift is actually insane!’

What kind of sick, twisted rule was this?! Not only were they trapped, but now they couldn’t even afford to get injured?

It was like being thrown into a pit of lions while wearing a suit made of steak!

And then—

RUMBLE.

A deep, shuddering tremor ran through the cavern, making the walls shake and the ground vibrate beneath their feet.

Loose pebbles and dust rained down from above, and somewhere in the distance, a low, ominous groaning noise echoed through the underground space.

It was like massive stone slabs were being dragged against each other.

The group tensed instantly. Something was happening. Creed felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

Oh, come on. As if this rift wasn’t already a walking death trap, what now?!

He didn’t even get the chance to finish the thought before—

"RUN!"

The silver-haired Stage 5’s voice boomed like thunder.

Creed’s brain barely had time to register the command before the man spun around and bolted.

And then Creed saw what he was running from. His head whipped around, and his eyes widened in horror.

From the cracks in the cavern walls, a crimson flood erupted.

Thick, molten liquid gushed out like an unstoppable tidal wave, surging toward them at terrifying speed.

The deep, glowing red mass lit up the cavern walls as it devoured everything in its path. The air grew hotter instantly, and the stench of something burning filled Creed’s nose.

Crimson magma!

A flood of the same terrifying substance that had turned Axel into a rabid, brainless monster!

And it was rushing straight for them. Creed cursed violently. ’Oh, fantastic! Just fantastic!’

A rift that traps them inside. A taboo that kills them if they bleed. And now?! Now the whole place was trying to drown them in crazy, brainwashing lava?!

’What kind of bull—’

But there was no time for outrage. Creed was already running.

Before his brain could even fully process the danger, his legs had already started moving. Survival instincts took over.

He was halfway across the cavern before he even realized what he was doing.

The moment the silver-haired Stage 5 shouted "RUN!", Creed had turned and booked it before even checking what was happening.

And now everyone was still standing there, frozen in shock, while he was the only one sprinting away at full speed.

It didn’t take even a second, but the rest of the group finally recovered from the sight of the crimson magma flood behind them.

And suddenly, all hell broke loose. Screams. Shouting. Panic. And then, they all started running.

And Creed, who had been leading the charge just seconds ago suddenly found himself being overtaken.

Instantly.

The Stage 5s blitzed past him like lightning. The Stage 4s shot ahead with effortless speed.

Even one random, skinny-looking Stage 3 guy who had been trembling in the back sped past him with a desperate burst of energy.

Creed’s eyes bulged in betrayal.

Wait—WHAT?!

How was this fair?! He started running first! He had the head start!

He had stage 3 speed!

So how the hell was he getting left in the dust like a slowpoke grandpa while these people zoomed past him like they had rocket engines strapped to their backs?!

Creed gritted his teeth and pumped his legs harder, pushing every ounce of strength he had into his sprint.

Although he was ahead of most stage 3’s and the remaining stage 1’s he didn’t feel safe at all!

He had to run faster!