The circle of blood now seemed to continue to crawl outwards expanding its center. It was a very odd sight.
The guild branch leader stabs his dagger at the center of the bloody circle.
At this time the observer, who Anne had pointed out was a guild watcher from headquarters, made his move.
Feng Ye and Anne noticed that he was very fast.
Without warning, the guild watcher vanished from his spot in the corner and appeared behind the guild branch leader.
The branch leader stopped his hysterical laugh as he looked down at his chest. A blade has pierced cleanly.
The branch leader spat more blood onto the ground before smiling wickedly. His expression was a mixture of pain and insanity.
"Too late," he utters before kneeling. The guild watcher extracted his blade from the branch leader's chest before sweeping his leg and kicking the branch leader to the side away from the circle.
The guild branch leader flew into the air and hit his desk. He crumpled onto the ground. He was still alive, but incredibly injured.
A silence falls on the room for a brief moment after the observer's strike.
Anne whispers, "Is it over?"
"No," Feng Ye answers. "Look."
Even though the branch leader was kicked away, the blood circle continued to tremble and expand outwards. The bloody lines did not fade away, they actually seemed to become more alive. The dagger at the center seemed to be activating an entrance and an invitation. An invitation to arrive.
Suddenly, a wet sound echoed in the office. Following it was a low thump sound as though someone had dropped a piece of wood on a concrete floor.
The dagger in the middle of the circle seemed to sink down into the ground until it disappeared from sight. It seemed as if it had disappeared into the abyss. The center of the circle now was a swirling pool of blood.
"The dagger's gone!" Anne yells.
"Something's coming! Stand back!" Feng Ye shouts.
At this time a huge gust of wind blasts out from the bloody circle pushing everyone backwards a few steps.
The guild watcher turned his body to face the bloody circle. His blade raised.
He mutters. "It's coming. Prepare yourselves."
The guild branch leader crumpled on the floor revealed a cruel grin mixed with pain from his wounds.
At this time, something seemed to slither out from the bloody circle. A single tendril covered in blood. It was slick and crawled out from the circle.
The bloody circle at this time was an entrance to another dimension.
And this entrance has invited an unwanted guest.
The tendril moved unnaturally like a snake but seemed to have significant strength. Suddenly, more tendrils slithered out from the circles.
These tendrils seemed to be supporting something larger. The main body.
"Quickly, cut off all the tendrils!" The guild watcher suddenly shouts.
Without hesitation, Feng Ye immediately stepped forward and cut several tendrils that had just appeared and crawled out from the bloody circle with his bloody blade.
The guild watcher also continued to swing his blade before he explained. "Whatever it is, these tendrils are pulling the main body into this room! Quickly, cut them down!"
Feng Ye and the guild watcher continue to swing their blades cutting at the continuous onslaught of tendrils coming out from the bloody circle.
These tendrils were abnormal and weren't all of the same quality. Some jerked and spasmed, others crawled a little distance out of the bloody circle before halting their movement completely.
"The ritual is incomplete and unstable!" The guild watcher notes. "We must prevent the main body from arriving, continue to cut!"
Feng Ye grits his teeth as he swings his blade continuously. "How do we prevent that?!"
His blade hissed as it continued to slice through another tendril cleanly. This tendril thrashed before halting as though it had died.
Anne wasn't idling. She continuously supported them from the entrance of the office. She cast numerous enhancement spells onto Feng Ye and the guild watcher. She also cast numerous barriers to intercept the faster tendrils that tried to sneak further into the office.
Each time a tendril touched a surface, it left faint marks behind.
Anne noticed these markings. "These tendrils are leaving markings!"
The guild watcher supplements loudly, "They are anchors! If enough of them take hold, the body will stabilize and be able to force its way in! It's using them to pull its main body here!"
The tendrils seemed to be incredibly adaptive. Another tendril lashed out suddenly. It made a whip like motion aiming for Feng Ye's leg.
"Careful!" Anne screams.
Feng Ye jumped back and twisted his swing to severe it mid air. The severed piece fell onto the ground with a thump. It still seemed to wiggle slowly.
"It's adapting," the guild watcher warned. "It looks like it is being more coordinated."
Tendrils suddenly, merged together forming thicker ones. Each seemed to have sharper appendages and hooks. It lashed out at the nearby guild watcher who had blocked it just in time with his blade.
Anne gasped, "They are evolving?!"
The tendrils continued to merge and shift their shape. Each seemed to have sharper hooks leaving deep marks on the office floor.
"They are being controlled. It's gripping the floor as though it is pulling something in." The guild watcher comments grimly. "It's intelligent."
Feng Ye and the guild watcher continue to cut as many thickened tendrils as possible.
Suddenly, a low raspy voice echoed in each of their minds. There was no sound, but it was as though it spoke directly through thought. An ancient voice.
"You sever my limbs…delay my arrival. But, the door is open."
"What was that?!" Anne rubbed her forehead.
"The main body…" Feng Ye muttered. "It's conscious. It's trying to arrive."
"Quickly! Speed up cutting the tendrils. It's using them to pull itself through!" The guild watcher warned again.
The remaining tendrils thrashed violently. More merged together forming very thick ones. Several nearby coiled together forming a thick trunk that slammed into Anne's barrier.
Other thick tendrils had also formed thick trunks that hammer down on both Feng Ye and the guild watcher.
"Avoid them!" the guild watcher barked.
BANG! These huge thick trunks continuously slam in their direction.
"Go go go! It's trying to prevent us from cutting off the tendrils!"
Feng Ye and the guild watcher continue to cut tendrils while avoiding the thick trunks slamming toward them.
"Almost there!" Feng Ye's sweat rolled down his face.
"Only these trunks remain!" Feng Ye tightened his grip on his red blade which now pulsed violently and brighter than before. He sliced through the nearby thick trunk that was formed by numerous tendrils formed together.
The guild watcher on the opposite side of the room did the same.
As it was cut, the remaining tendrils halted their movements. No more tendrils came out from the bloody circle. The blood pool that was swirling now was gone. Only a shattered ceremonial dagger was at the center of the bloody circle.
"The ritual connection had been cut! The door should be closed!" The guild watcher exclaimed while panting.
However, at this moment, all the tendrils in the room seemed to wiggle together and began to merge. They twisted and entwined with each other and gathered to form a different form. The severed stumps twitched across the ground and wiggled towards the largest collection of tendrils.
The bloody circle's glow dimmed. The ritual stopped. The connection was broken.
Feng Ye lowered his blade slightly. "Is it over?"
"No… it's adapting." The guild watcher replied in a grim voice while pointing to the nearby tendrils collecting at the center of the room.
Anne's eyes widened. "It's fusing together!"
The tendrils continued to coil together in a large bloody mass. It was a fusion. Its flesh merged with each other. A grotesque creature began to take shape. It was an incomplete form.
The creature was like an octopus formed from blood and tendrils. Its head was a bulb like shape, but clearly malformed. It had a single vertical eye that glared at them. The eye was dark black as though one were glancing into the abyss.
The ancient voice could be heard in their minds once again.
"You dare interrupt the ritual and close the gate. The main body will remember this pain."
Feng Ye, Anne, and the guild watcher staggered slightly from the pressure of the voice.