Dion Saw a Village.
He Could See the Moonlight Shining on the Village With a Crimson Red Glow.
The crimson moonlight illuminated the ground, casting reflections on every roof and wall of the scattered houses.
In the village, there were small wooden houses. Some of them were simple, with fragile plank walls. The thatched roofs drooped low, as if ready to collapse with just a small gust of wind.
Not far from the wooden houses, there were several houses with stone walls. The stones were rough, uneven, stacked carelessly. Their roofs were made of dark tiles, some broken, leaving small holes.
Seeing the houses in the village while floating and flying in the air made Dion confused about what he should do.
He looked around the village. From the right side of the village, near the river usually used by the villagers, he saw a monster standing beside a tree.
The monster looked like a gorilla, but on its back grew six tentacles. The monster was enormous—so large that the tree beside it looked smaller in comparison.
The monster stared at the village for quite a while. For some reason, it seemed interested in it.
Dion was intrigued by the monster's behavior below. But suddenly, a voice he had heard before echoed again.
[Welcome to Helzon, You Will Now Experience the Trial. Prepare Yourself…]
Startled by hearing the voice again.
'What the hell now…'
Dion came back to his senses. Now he found himself lying on a rough wooden bed.
Getting up from the bed, his eyes quickly swept across the room.
The room was almost empty.
The walls were made of worn wooden planks. In the right corner of the house, there was a short wooden table with a surface full of scratches. On it sat only a clay bowl.
Seeing this, Dion didn't want to waste any time. He wanted to leave the village immediately.
He walked toward the door of the house.
He could see the wooden door looked thin and fragile.
But somehow, Dion's foot slipped on water dripping from a small hole in the roof.
As his foot slipped, Dion reflexively swung his hand, trying to grab something. But all he caught was emptiness.
His body fell hard, and his head struck the wooden floor. His vision was immediately swallowed by darkness.
'What the hell is this, Goddamn it…'
With that last thought, Dion instantly lost consciousness.
Darkness.
After staring into the void for a while, Dion suddenly felt heat all over his body. He opened his eyes, waking from his faint. Dion realized the house he was in was on fire.
Without delay, he rushed out through the wooden door already consumed by flames. His body felt the scorching heat from the fire at the door, making him scream in pain.
Luckily, it was raining outside. He immediately felt the heat vanish at once. Dion then looked around; a massive fire was spreading to many houses.
He was bewildered by the sight. Dion had no idea what caused such a massive blaze, but he knew he had to leave the village because of the monster.
He was already lucky to still be alive after fainting. So he didn't want to waste more time. Dion immediately ran.
On his way out of the village, Dion saw human corpses scattered everywhere.
'It seems the monster already Attacked the village while I was unconscious.'
With that thought, Dion strengthened his resolve to leave the village.
Dion ran through the narrow village paths that had now turned into a sea of fire. The smoke made his lungs ache, each breath felt heavy.
All along the way, human bodies lay lifeless. Some burned to ash, others torn apart. Their faces frozen in their final expressions of terror.
Dion's steps grew faster. His heart pounded hard, his head filled with only one thought: to escape the village as soon as possible.
But in the distance, behind the clouds of smoke, he could hear a low roar—deep, heavy, full of power. The sound made the ground tremble, raising the hair on his neck.
'That must be… the monster…'
He clenched his teeth, his body trembling. But his legs didn't stop running.
As he kept running, his eyes caught a massive shadow moving among the flames, a giant silhouette with tentacles whipping through the air.
Dion quickly slipped through the ruins of a half-burnt house, hoping the darkness and smoke were enough to conceal his presence.
His heartbeat raced, cold sweat streamed down his face despite the heat around him.
Dion kept running toward the edge of the village, breaking through rain and smoke, hoping his steps would carry him out of this hell.
Suddenly the sound of the ground shaking came close to Dion. When he looked back, he saw the monster chasing him.
'Goddamn it, it's chasing me!!'
Dion screamed in his heart, his chest almost bursting with fear.
Seeing that, Dion ran with all his strength, his breath ragged, his legs heavy from the muddy ground mixed with blood and rain. But the sound came again—closer, clearer.
*THUD! THUD! THUD!*
Then suddenly, in front of Dion, beside the ruins of a burning house, appeared a man with the appearance of a knight.
He drew his sword from its sheath and aimed it at Dion. Dion knew he wasn't the target, but the monster was.
The knight stood firm, holding his sword with both hands. He spoke in a language Dion couldn't understand, his tone filled with anger.
He then charged forward toward the monster, passing by Dion.
Seeing that, the monster immediately focused on the knight, swinging two of its tentacles down at him.
The two massive tentacles crashed from above, smashing the wet ground and burning wood around the knight. Mud and fire splattered into the air.
But the knight wasn't afraid. He easily dodged to the side, evading the monster's strike. His steel sword gleamed under the crimson moonlight and blazing fire, then slashed at the tentacle that had struck the ground.
*CLANG!*
The strike sparked fire, but the monster's tentacle skin was as hard as steel. Only a small wound was left.
The monster roared loudly. From its back, four tentacles whipped violently, smashing houses and sweeping the ground like giant whips.
Dion, watching closely, could only freeze. His heart pounded, his body trembled. He felt like nothing more than an ant between two forces that could crush him at any moment.
The knight then shouted loudly.
He dashed forward so fast he sometimes disappeared from Dion's sight. His sword thrust toward the monster's chest. But the monster raised its massive right arm, as thick as a tree trunk, blocking the attack.
*CLANG!*
The sound of metal striking hard flesh rang out sharply.
The monster immediately countered with a punch. The knight was forced to twist his sword to block, but his body was sent flying, crashing into the remains of a burning stone wall.
*BAM!*
Dion swallowed hard at the sight.
"This is insane."