The chaos subsided, leaving only the split carcass of the abysmal monster. Its black blood flowed, forming a dark puddle that swallowed the light itself.
A pungent, fishy smell stung Yuto's nose as he stood dozens of meters from the monster's body. Beside him, a black cat shook its head, bothered by the same scent.
Yuto breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, a pang of pain spreading from his hand as he turned and saw blood flowing down his sword.
'When did I get this wound?'
He hadn't realized that in his last attack, the boy had accidentally torn the skin of his own palm.
His hand began to tremble, feeling a hot sensation that consumed his thoughts as the tension eased.
The boy turned forward, at the man named Kaelion, and with a flick of his hand, a silver gleam from a distance flew towards him.
The object flew like an arrow and landed precisely in the man's hand.
Yuto gritted his teeth; it was the first time he felt so powerless in front of someone.
After inheriting the power from the Heavenly Demon, he had never met an opponent who made him feel intimidated, even if they were stronger than he was.
But this time, he felt a vastly different gap.
If compared, Kaelion was the sky, and he was still crawling on the ground, looking up, yearning for the vastness of the sky.
And for some reason, it made his brows furrow unhappily, and he bit his own lip.
'It's not enough, I still have to train harder.'
Light footsteps from the side brought his thoughts back. Yuto looked aside, and the cat was walking away from the battleground.
His mouth hung open, about to utter words that seemed stuck in his throat, and he watched the Jaguar enter the forest. Alone.
Even now, Yuto still didn't know the cat's motive, from being hostile to each other to fighting together in the end.
Who would have thought that a monster called a bringer of disaster could be communicated with?
It was very different from what was written in books.
Or was this cat different from the others?
Then why did it kill those people and not Yuto?
Yuto shook his head, his eyes fixed on the monster's retreating back, which seemed exhausted. Yuto saw his own shadow projected on the cat.
'So that's it. You just want to go home, huh?'
His lips parted. He shifted his attention to the city in the distance.
'Just like me then.'
Most of the monsters had been slaughtered, and some had fled.
The rumble of panicked monsters and the pursuit of the infantry drew his attention.
However, the boy was too tired to think about anything else. All he wanted was something simple that even the black cat understood.
'I hope dinner tonight is a festive one.'
His black sword disappeared, and he took a step, dragging his heavy legs away from the battlefield.
However, his journey stopped when a red silhouette blocked his view.
Yuto glanced up and saw Kaelion's wide smile. He didn't know why, but his instincts screamed 'trouble,' so he gave a slight nod and detoured.
"Wait a minute, Yuto."
Ignoring the man, Yuto continued to walk away. His body froze mid-way when he felt a strong grip rest on his shoulder.
"Don't be in such a hurry."
This time, Yuto's breath hitched, hearing Kaelion's drastically changed tone. He turned his face and widened his eyes, seeing a sincere smile from the man.
'What's wrong with this man?'
In battle, he was clad in a majestic and wise aura, symbolizing true strength, full of compassion.
Yet that image shattered into small fragments, triggering the previous memories of the last attack.
A heavy force that obliterated everything in a blink, recalling that it caused a shiver to run down his back.
'That's right, this person has so much power, yet he still made me and the cat do the heavy lifting. Was he planning this all along?'
Kaelion's head tilted to the side, seemingly oblivious to why Yuto was staring at him intensely.
'No, he's probably one of those muscle-brained types people always talk about.'
Yuto breathed a sigh of relief and opened his mouth.
"What is it?"
Unconsciously, his mouth uttered rudely, with a hint of annoyance.
Amazingly, the man beside him ignored it, laughing.
"Hahaha, no, I'm surprised to see a child like you with such great abilities at your age."
Yuto's brow twitched, fresh blood flowing from his clenched fist.
"Is that sarcasm?"
"Of course not, I'm honestly impressed. You must have great talent."
The moment he uttered the word 'talent', Yuto's expression faded, replaced by an emptiness that whispered of tragedy in his heart.
Although Yuto had taken over, Elias's memories and body still felt the darkness of those cold days.
The day the world cast him aside.
It seemed that invisible chains still bound him, even after escaping despair.
Yuto turned and slapped Kaelion's hand, making the man groan and hesitate to break the ice between them.
Crack
At that very moment, a low groan echoed, exuding a horror that once again assaulted both their consciousnesses.
Yuto and Kaelion turned and found the upper half of the abysmal monster crawling and opening its vertical mouth wide.
Its long humanoid arms pulled its centipede-like body closer, and it bit into it.
The grotesque crunch of flesh echoed like a hellish nightmare, black blood spilled out, killing the surrounding ecosystem.
Fear crawled like a chilling curse down their spines.
Yuto swallowed hard, and Kaelion assumed his stance, gripping his spear again with a frown on his face.
The centipede-like body vanished instantly, leaving small fragments that crumbled into dust.
With half of its humanoid body remaining, the abysmal monster stood and shrieked loudly as if warning the world that it was not yet finished.
Khiiiik!
A tremor occurred beneath their feet, and the ground began to scream in fear of its return.
The atmosphere grew heavy, slowly strangling Yuto's neck, who immediately summoned his sword.
'Calm down, that monster must be heavily injured this time and we have...'
"This is bad!"
"!?"
The hoarse voice in front of him made Yuto's red eyes look at the man.
Cold sweat began to trickle down on his forehead, and his divine aura was faint, like a candle flame that could be extinguished with a single breath.
The boy tensed, realizing that Kaelion's last attack might not be something he could do continuously, but rather his last trump card.
'Tch, no other choice.'
Yuto inhaled the miasma and raw Qi in the air to fill his empty dantian.
Two energies flooded his major meridians, giving his body a significant boost, but even so, his brows remained furrowed.
'This is different.'
Indeed, unlike before, the aura within his body now seemed branched and lacked a consistent direction, making the body strengthening process feel bland.
'Okay, stop the useless thoughts. I need to end the monster right here and now!'
He shook his head furiously and walked forward, his body covered in a crimson aura.
"Stop, Yuto!"
Instantly, Kaelion's words made Yuto stop midway.
From a distance, his ears caught the sharp whistle of wind being torn. Then, an arrow bathed in a green aura struck the abysmal monster's head.
The monster shrieked, followed by four successive attacks that destroyed the abysmal monster's remaining limbs.
'Who!?'
"Hmph, Kaelion, you look pathetic."
A feminine voice came from behind, her sharp tone was like a dagger that scraped even Yuto's hearing.
Beneath the monster, a massive magic circle painted black emitted an ominous glow.
It spread and conjured hundreds of black chains that restricted the abysmal monster's movement.
"That thing's your Leader".
"Stay back, everyone!?".
The birth of golden light, followed by the increasing temperature in the surrounding atmosphere, drew Yuto's attention.
He saw a handsome man in his forties with golden hair approaching. He gripped a shimmering sword like the sun.
Above the man, an artificial sun condensed and molded into towers, forming a sword that pierced the sky.
"Heaven's Law!"
At that moment, Yuto realized he was just a toad in a well.