Liam had already fused two Ethers into his system. Now, that enhanced strength was finally paying off.


Even though Liam had tossed the Ghoul, the thing's hands were still locked around his neck. Its grip had weakened, though. Liam seized the chance, clawing at the dead fingers and ripping them away from his throat with a desperate yank.


Finally able to breathe, he gasped, sucking in sweet oxygen. But there was no time to rest. He planted his right foot, lunged forward, and pinned the Ghoul to the floor.


He raised his hammer high.


Wham.


He brought it down straight onto the Ghoul's face.


Squelch.


Flesh, blood, and a gross white slime splattered everywhere. The Ghoul's body went stiff as its forehead caved in. Liam wasn't holding back—that strike had packed over three hundred pounds of force. He swung again, and again, until the Ghoul's head was basically pulp. Half its face was just... gone.


Only when the monster stopped twitching did Liam stop, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.


On the corpse, the strange white fur on its skin began to retract, sucking back into the body. A moment later, a glowing White Essence Orb floated up and shot straight toward Liam's forehead.


He didn't flinch. After the last two times, he was actually kind of looking forward to it. More orbs meant more power.


The orb hit him and dissolved, turning into a warm current that washed over his entire body. It felt like sinking into a hot tub. The warmth concentrated on his bruised neck, soothing the pain like magic. The sensation lasted for about three seconds before vanishing, leaving a hum of new power buzzing in his veins.


His breathing steadied. The pain in his neck was gone.


Healed, Liam realized.


A message popped up in his mind, clear as a text message:


[Ether: 3/5]


Liam gripped his kitchen knife and hammer, preparing to stand up, when the sound of shattering glass echoed from the balcony.


Oh, come on.


He knew exactly what that sound meant. He spun around and sprinted toward the living room.


Thanks to his recent fights, Liam didn't panic. But when he saw the balcony, he hissed a sharp breath through his teeth.


The window was gone. And climbing through the broken frame were two Mutated Ghouls.


Two of them? Seriously?


In the faint starlight coming from outside, Liam could just make them out. One looked like a middle-aged woman, maybe fifty; the other was a guy in his thirties. But they didn't look human anymore. Their faces were bloated and pale, like dough left in water too long, and that creepy white fuzz was sprouting all over their skin.


And they were fast. From the moment the glass broke to Liam reaching the living room—maybe two seconds—they were already halfway inside.


This was bad. Liam could handle one, but two at once? He didn't like those odds.


He didn't wait for an invitation. He charged, hoping to catch them while they were still tangled in the window frame.


With three Ethers in his system, Liam was faster and stronger than before. He crossed the room in a blur, raising the iron hammer and bringing it down hard on the woman-ghoul.


He was fast, but she was surprisingly quick. She jerked her head to the side, and the hammer slammed into her shoulder instead.


The bone crunched, collapsing under the blow. She paused for a split second, but these things didn't feel pain. She just opened her mouth in a silent snarl and swiped her claws at him.


Liam followed up instantly with his left hand, chopping the kitchen knife down right onto her face.


Because her skin was so waterlogged and swollen, the blade sank deep. Liam watched with disgust as the pressure of the strike made one of her eyeballs bulge out, nearly popping from its socket.


But just as he landed the hit, the second Ghoul—the man—scrambled through the other side of the window.


He didn't move like the stiff, shambling zombies Liam had fought earlier. This guy was agile. He gripped the window frame, vaulted through with terrifying speed, and launched himself straight at Liam.


Liam didn't stand a chance of dodging. The thirty-year-old guy slammed into him like a freight train. A massive force surged through Liam's body, knocking the wind out of him and sending him sprawling sideways.


At almost the exact same second, a thunderous SPLASH erupted from outside the balcony.


Liam was close enough to see it. Out of the corner of his eye, amidst the spray of water, a massive black shadow exploded from the depths.


The fifty-year-old woman, who had been hanging halfway out the window, didn't even get to scream. With a sharp whoosh, she was yanked down. It happened in a blink—one second she was there, the next, she had vanished beneath the churning surface.


The sudden violence froze everything. Liam's heart was hammering against his ribs, but he wasn't the only one freaking out. The creature that had just tackled him—the guy in his thirties—froze too. The monster seemed stunned, staring blankly at the water as if the scene had terrified even him.


Liam wasn't about to waste a miracle.


While he was still stumbling back, Liam planted his right foot against the wall behind him. He used the wall as a springboard, launching himself forward with every ounce of strength he had. He raised the kitchen knife and slashed straight at the guy's face.


But this guy wasn't stiff and mindless like the other Mutated Ghoul. He reacted fast. Just as the blade was about to split his skull, he leaned back. The knife missed his face by a millimeter, slicing down his chest instead and carving a deep gash all the way to his stomach.


The Mutated Ghoul's torso was practically ripped open, but the thing didn't seem to feel pain. It didn't even slow down. The monster's right arm swung around like a baseball bat, his palm connecting squarely with the left side of Liam's face.


The impact was brutal. It felt like getting hit by a sledgehammer.


A massive buzzing noise exploded in Liam's brain. Half his face went instantly numb. Blood gushed from his nose, and the force of the blow literally knocked the tears out of his left eye, blurring his vision into a watery mess.


This Mutated Ghoul was terrifying—way deadlier than the one Liam had fought in the bedroom. It was a nightmare made flesh.