A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 39: Domain Heart

The hidden monster laughed once after Shu’s taunt, then the distortion around it shifted to the side and disappeared again.

Its voice came from behind him this time, closer than before, "you are quite arrogant for a human."

Shu moved before the next attack fully came, but his damaged ribs slowed him just enough for a hooked arm to graze his side. Pain tore through his waist, and warm blood spread under his shirt while he staggered two steps back.

’Damn, that still hurts like hell,’ he thought, forcing his feet to stay planted. ’One more clean hit from this thing and I really am done for.’

The heart pulse hit again and the monster spoke right on the beat, its voice calm, like this fight was boring for it.

"Hold still and I will make this quick, little human."

Pressure slammed into his head with the command, and his body stiffened for a split second. He bit his tongue hard, tasted blood, and forced himself left before the follow-up slash reached his throat.

Its hook carved sparks off the chain behind him instead of his neck. The invisible body flickered for a moment from the failed angle, then vanished again with a hiss.

’So that confirms it,’ he thought, breathing fast while keeping his eyes away from the center pulse. ’It stacks command pressure, then follows with a blind strike.’

The creature circled him in silence for three beats, and spoke again, "it’s strange, you have a scent of monsters coming from your soul," it said, appearing behind him, "what have you done to your body hmm?"

He kept his guard up and gave it a crooked smile even while blood ran down his side, "show yourself properly and I will tell you everything," he said, wiping his mouth with his wrist.

The creature laughed, amused by the offer, then its voice came from another angle before his eyes could lock onto it. "I’m not that stupid," it said, sounding almost pleased with itself.

He clicked his tongue and tightened his grip on the bat, because he already knew this had to end now. His body was wrecked, his breathing was uneven, and every extra second made his limbs heavier.

’Enough,’ he thought, planting his feet and pouring mana into the bat until the purple veins lit up. ’I will finish this right now.’

He smashed the bat into the floor with both hands, blasting dust and black sludge into the air in one heavy burst. The chamber clouded instantly, and the second a clean wake cut through the dust, he moved.

He launched forward, grabbed the hidden creature by the throat, and drove it into the wall hard enough to crack stone behind its head. Its invisibility flickered under the impact, exposing that pale four-eyed face for a second before the shimmer started stuttering.

"I’ve been going through hell the whole day," he said, pinning it there with one arm while his chest heaved. "So yeah, I’m letting that anger out on you."

He pulled back his fist and punched it hard in the face, snapping its head sideways with a wet crack. Black blood sprayed across the wall while it clawed at his wrist trying to break free.

He let go only to step in again and start wailing on it without pause, fist, elbow, knee, then bat handle, every hit landing before it could recover. The creature tried to fade between strikes, but each time the shimmer came up, another blow smashed it down. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

By the time he stopped, it was collapsed on its side with both forearms over its face and blood running from its mouth. "W-wait..." it rasped, coughing hard, "s-stop... enough..."

He stood over it for a second with his chest rising and falling, then let out a long, refreshed sigh. A small smile pulled at his mouth as he rolled his sore shoulder once.

"Phew," he said. "Thanks, I needed that."

The creature coughed blood and looked up at him with shaking eyes. "Y-you’re crazy," it said, voice breaking. "What kind of human fights like this?"

He ignored the complaint and crouched down in front of it with a creepy little smile that made the thing flinch harder. "Yeah yeah, we can talk about my mental health later," he said, tapping the bat against his shoulder. "Let’s talk first."

Its claws dug into the floor while it tried to drag itself back, but he grabbed it by the jaw and held it in place. The smile stayed on his face while his eyes stayed cold.

"Why is the dungeon mutation spreading this fast?" he asked. "That part is not normal, so answer properly."

The creature swallowed hard and looked away for a second, then gave up when his grip tightened. "I-it was because of her," it said in a shaky voice. "A demon woman came and offered a core... after that, the dungeon beasts got stronger and mutation spread much faster."

He stared at it for a moment and slowly let go of its jaw. ’Oh yeah,’ he thought, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. ’Something like that did happen.’

’Honestly, who is going to remember every detail from a thousand-Chapter novel anyway,’ he thought, glancing at the chained heart while his face went flat. ’I remember the big stuff, but all these side mechanics blur together after a point.’

He rolled his neck once and looked down at the half-dead creature, then gave a small shrug like he had already sorted everything out. "Doesn’t matter," he said, wiping blood off his lip. "The main characters will handle the demon stuff anyway."

His eyes shifted toward the chained heart again, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a mocking smile. "Buuuut, I can still help out a little," he said, tapping the bat against his shoulder.

He crouched closer to the monster and tilted his head. "That thing in the center," he asked, jerking his chin toward the heart, "that’s what makes the boss monster stronger, right?"

The creature’s eyes widened and it started shaking its head before he even finished. "W-wait, don’t-" it stammered, coughing blood while trying to crawl backward. "If you break that now, it will-"

"Thanks for the answer," he said, then grabbed its jaw and snapped its neck in one quick motion.

He got up and walked toward the heart with a tired limp, each step pulling at his ribs, but the thought of finally being done kept him moving.

’Finally,’ he thought, staring up at the pulsing mass and tightening both hands around the bat. ’After this, I will just wait for them to defeat the boss monster, then I can leave this place.’

He took a breath, raised the bat, and smashed it into the heart with all the force he had left.

The chamber went silent for a moment, then everything went wrong.

The heart swallowed the impact and flashed so bright the whole space turned white. A second later, pressure exploded out of it in a wave that blasted him off his feet and hurled him across the floor.

He crashed hard, rolled, and tried to get up, but the ground under him was vibrating too violently to stay balanced. Cracks spread across the walls in thin red lines while the broken chains started lifting off the floor by themselves.

"What the hell?" he shouted, forcing one knee under him while the air turned heavy enough to choke.

A single system message exploded in front of his face.

[Domain Heart Energy Detected.]