Starting With SSS-rank: I Get A New Skill Every Livestream-Chapter 17: Creatures of Knull

A chill crawled down Kyle’s spine the moment he turned around. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He couldn’t see a clear figure, yet something was there, peeling itself away from the darkened wall. It was tall and unnaturally lean, easily seven feet in height, its form ghostlike and distorted.

He could only make out its silhouette. It stood motionless, yet he couldn’t tell where its head ended or where its limbs began.

"Move!"

A sudden shove sent him stumbling aside. He hit the ground and rolled, breath knocked from his lungs. Only then did he realize how close he had drifted toward that thing.

’S-System?’ His breathing turned shallow. ’What the hell was I doing just now?’

[That is a Ghoul, Host. A being that preys upon dominant human emotions and manipulates its victims accordingly. You felt curiosity. It lured you closer.]

"Fuck..." His throat felt dry.

Layena had already engaged it.

From where he lay, Kyle could see faint, writhing shapes extending from the creature’s body. They resembled shadowy tentacles, lashing toward Layena’s back. She spun with her short blade, deflecting each strike with sharp precision.

[Host, this entity originates from the dimension known as Knull. It surpasses a Nightmare in strength and holds authority over weaker creatures. At your current level, direct confrontation is not advised.]

Kyle swallowed and nodded to himself.

’I wasn’t planning to fight that thing anyway.’

Without wasting another second, he slipped into a nearby alley, putting distance between himself and the nightmare behind him.

....

Layena grunted as she slid backward on her toes, then kicked off the ground to evade the incoming strike.

Clang.

The tentacle smashed into the asphalt where she had stood a heartbeat ago. The road fractured, and a dark miasma bled outward, corroding the concrete.

Her eyes narrowed.

’A strong Ghoul. I need to be precise.’

Ghouls were classified as Stage Two threats, especially when encountered alone. For a Grade One like her, this was a worthy opponent. A proper test.

Once she confirmed no civilians were watching, Genesis flared from her body. A sharp surge of energy rippled through the air around her.

The surveillance cameras would have already triggered an alert. The Commander and backup unit were likely en route.

Until then, this was her fight.

The Ghoul’s featureless face twisted. A void black slit widened into something resembling a grin, like an abyss splitting open.

Layena lowered her stance and launched forward.

She sprinted toward it at blistering speed.

The creature responded instantly. Dozens of shadowed tentacles shot toward her from every angle.

Mid dash, she found herself facing more than twenty razor pointed limbs. They might not kill her outright, but one solid hit would tear through flesh and bone.

Her gaze sharpened.

She traced every trajectory in a fraction of a second.

Then she moved.

Left. Right. Duck. Twist. Leap.

She slipped between strikes with fluid precision, each motion tight and controlled. Years of field experience guided her steps despite her young age.

A tentacle skimmed too close. She parried it aside with her short blade. Another lashed toward her ribs. She deflected it and continued advancing without breaking momentum.

Step by step, strike by strike, she closed the distance.

Her march toward the inhuman creature never slowed.

Scheing.

A single tentacle shot toward her like a released arrow, aimed straight at her forehead.

Layena inhaled sharply and tilted her head at the last possible moment.

The strike shifted.

Instead of piercing her skull, it drove into her shoulder.

She grunted, knees bending slightly from the impact.

The Ghoul let out a shrill, distorted laugh.

"Kukukukukuku~~~"

The sound scraped against the bones.

Layena scoffed.

Genesis surged from her body, swelling outward like a boiling tide. Frost spread across the embedded tentacle, racing along its surface in an instant. The Ghoul froze mid chortle.

Its voidlike form trembled.

It stared at her.

Wide.

The wound was deliberate.

A calculated sacrifice.

She wanted this finished.

Her blade lengthened, light condensing along its edge.

"Lance of Judgement: Execution."

Her voice was low. Controlled.

Yet the authority within it crushed the air heavier than the Ghoul’s laughter ever could.

Golden light erupted forward, piercing through the root of the creature.

A perfect vertical slit carved through its entire form.

The Ghoul went still.

Its limbs slackened.

For a heartbeat, everything paused.

Then—

DOOOOM.

The body ruptured into a violent cloud of black smoke, detonating outward like a smoke bomb.

Layena’s vision vanished in an instant.

She shook her head, trying to clear the smoke.

"Gross—ghk!"

Her breath snapped short.

Something sharp drove into her side.

Layena looked down.

A shadow forged blade had pierced clean through her flank.

Her eyes narrowed.

"A... Majin."

Four feet tall, wrapped in dense darkness, the creature stood grinning at her. Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide, splitting its face into something grotesque.

Layena clicked her tongue and retaliated instantly.

Her dagger slashed toward its neck—

But the Majin vanished.

It reappeared at her other side, blade thrusting again. This time she reacted faster, kicking off the ground and twisting away before it could skewer her twice.

She landed hard.

"Cough."

The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

Her shoulder was wounded.

Her side was bleeding steadily.

’This is unexpected.’

When Majins appeared alongside Ghouls, they were usually under the Ghoul’s authority. Controlled. Subordinate.

But this one had concealed itself.

Even from the Ghoul.

That was abnormal.

Layena pressed her palm against her side and exhaled sharply. "This is going to be nasty..."

Most Majins were feral.

This one was disciplined.

Its footing was balanced. Its movements economical. It wasn’t charging blindly.

It was reading her.

Layena tightened her grip on her dagger and raised it again.

This was going to be—

Her eyes widened.

The same boy from earlier suddenly appeared between her and the Majin.

And he charged straight at it.

"No, wait—ah!"

She tried to shout him back.

Too late.

A blinding surge erupted from his body.

Genesis detonated outward with such force that Layena staggered backward. Her balance gave way, and she dropped to one knee.

The pressure in the air changed.

The Majin lunged at him.

Layena could barely track their movements through the distortion.

Every strike the Majin launched met nothing but air.

The boy moved lightly.

Almost casually.

Like he was playing.

Then he drew out a simple metal bar.

And swung.

The impact cracked against the Majin’s extended arms.

"KHRIEEEK!!"

The creature shrieked.

Genesis flooded from the boy in violent waves. Anything it touched shimmered faintly, as though branded by invisible fire.

The Majin recoiled, smoke rising from the point of impact.

Layena’s eyes widened as she saw the Majin trying to escape in the shadows.

However, the boy suddenly reeled back the steel rod and—

**SWISH**

**CRACK**

The pointy side of the steel stabbed not only the Majin but the wall as well, creating a human size fracture on the concrete.

Layena sat there in astonishment seeing the overwhelming display of strength.

She watched the man’s back with her eyes widened and muttered under her breath, "Just...who...are you?"