Nearly half an hour later, Zael and the others finally exited the Divine Ruins.
The pressure difference was immediate.
The heavy gravity and ancient atmosphere faded the moment they crossed the boundary, replaced by the more chaotic energy of the dungeon outside. Beasts roared somewhere in the distance, groups moved across the ruined landscape, and scattered battles echoed through the area.
But the moment Zael stepped out fully—
He stopped.
Because they weren't alone.
A group was waiting outside.
Not small either.
At least twenty people stood spread across the broken stone plain ahead, blocking the path forward like they had been expecting them for a while now.
And standing at the very front—
Was a familiar face.
The leader of the seven-man group they had crushed before entering the ruins.
Except now, the arrogance from before was gone.
Replaced by something uglier.
Resentment.
Humiliation.
And greed.
Zael's eyes swept across the group once before returning to the man at the front.
"…You again?"
The man's expression twitched slightly at the calm tone.
Clearly, he hadn't appreciated being forgotten that quickly.
"You people really think you can just walk away after what happened earlier?"
Auralis rolled her eyes immediately.
"Oh, shut up already."
She was already irritated before this started, and whatever patience she normally had was basically nonexistent right now.
The man ignored her, gaze fixed on Zael instead.
"You attacked my team, stole our target, and entered the Divine Ruins ahead of everyone else."
Zael stared at him for a second.
Then—
"…Are you stupid?"
The entire group went silent for a moment.
Even Lily blinked slightly.
The man's face darkened instantly.
"You—"
"You tried robbing us," Zael continued flatly. "You lost. Badly. End of story."
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Several people in the opposing group tensed, mana beginning to rise.
But Zael didn't care.
Honestly—
None of them were in the mood for this.
Zane had just left.
Their emotions were already all over the place, even if nobody said it directly.
And now these idiots decided to block their path?
Wrong timing.
Very wrong timing.
Aurelia adjusted her glasses slightly, gaze calm but noticeably colder than usual.
"…Move."
Simple.
Direct.
But the group didn't.
Instead, the leader sneered.
"You think we came unprepared this time?"
Mana surged behind him as several people stepped forward.
Epic classes.
High levels.
All stronger than the earlier seven-man group.
Clearly, he had gathered reinforcements after getting humiliated.
Zael looked at them.
Then sighed.
Actually sighed.
"…I really don't have the patience for this right now."
The air around him changed slightly.
Not explosively.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
Enough for the people ahead to instinctively stiffen.
Because something about him—
Felt wrong now.
Different from before.
And suddenly—
The confidence they came with didn't feel nearly as solid anymore.
Zael stepped forward slowly.
Not hurried.
Angry.
Just done with all of this.
The opposing group reacted immediately, mana surging as several of them prepared their skills. Weapons appeared. Elemental energy gathered. One of them even tried to circle around toward Lily and Aurelia.
Zael saw it all.
And honestly—
He couldn't care less.
"…I'll handle this."
Auralis immediately stepped back with the crimson hammer still resting on her shoulder.
"Have fun."
Lily glanced at Zael for a second, then at the opposing group, and quietly moved aside too.
The leader frowned.
"You really think you can take all of us alon—"
He never finished.
Zael vanished.
Void Step.
The man's eyes widened just as Zael appeared directly in front of him.
Then—
Impact.
A fist slammed into his stomach hard enough to fold his body instantly. The air exploded out of his lungs as he shot backward like a cannonball, crashing through two people behind him before rolling violently across the ground.
Silence.
For exactly one second.
Then chaos erupted.
Skills flew toward Zael from every direction.
Lightning.
Blades.
Compressed mana.
Fire.
Zael didn't dodge normally.
He walked through it.
Abyssal energy flowed across his body as Abyssal Empowerment activated naturally, dark patterns spreading faintly beneath his skin. The pressure around him intensified immediately.
Several attacks distorted before even reaching him.
Others—
He absorbed.
Abyssal Consumption activated effortlessly, swallowing ambient energy and incoming mana alike. Flames disappeared into darkness before they could touch him.
The expressions of the attackers changed instantly.
Confusion.
Then fear.
Zael moved again.
Fast.
Too fast.
One person swung a sword toward his neck.
Zael caught the blade barehanded.
Crushed it.
Then drove a kick into the man's chest hard enough to send him spinning unconscious into the ruins nearby.
Another tried attacking from behind.
Sovereign Instinct reacted before the strike even landed.
Zael tilted slightly.
Avoided the blade.
Grabbed the attacker's arm.
And slammed him headfirst into the ground.
Stone shattered.
The battlefield collapsed completely after that.
It wasn't a fight anymore.
It was domination.
Absolute domination.
Zael moved through them like a monster wearing human skin. Every movement was overwhelming. Every attack carried ridiculous force behind it. His level alone already outclassed them heavily, but with his stats and abyssal enhancement stacked together—
It became unfair.
Someone tried to run.
Zael appeared in front of him instantly.
One glance.
That was all it took.
The man froze completely, body trembling under the pressure before collapsing backward in panic.
Another launched a large-scale elemental attack desperately.
Zael walked through it.
Literally through it.
The flames split around him as Abyssal Consumption devoured the energy mid-cast.
At that point—
They broke.
Mentally.
Completely.
Weapons started dropping.
People stumbled backward in fear.
One of them outright collapsed, muttering nonsense under his breath while staring at Zael like he was some kind of nightmare.
And through all of it—
Zael never killed anyone.
Not one.
But somehow—
That made it worse.
Because they understood.
Perfectly.
He could have.
Easily.
Which meant the only reason they were still alive—
Was because he didn't think they were worth killing.
Zael stopped moving eventually, standing alone in the middle of the destroyed battlefield.
Around him, the entire group was broken.
Some unconscious.
Some injured.
Some just staring at him with hollow expressions.
The leader from before tried to stand.
Failed.
Zael looked down at him calmly.
Then spoke.
"…Next time you want revenge, make sure you can actually survive it."
The man lowered his head instantly, unable to even meet Zael's eyes anymore.
Behind him, Auralis whistled softly.
"…Damn."
Even Aurelia looked slightly surprised.
Lily just sighed quietly.
"…Yeah… he definitely needed to blow off steam."