Chapter 68: Manabeast
A massive black mass of energy clashed with the paper surrounding Johan and others, instantly the paper dome, something that was supposed to be intangible, shattered.
Sebastian instantly jumped in front of Johan and Orihime, "Black hole!" A black hole consuming every molecule in the surroundings, at first about the size of Sebastian's palm, slowly became bigger than the incoming midnight-dark mass of energy.
Thammm!!
Both clashed harshly. The mass of energy was not immediately swallowed by the black hole, and even almost tore through it, but fortunately, Sebastian increased his Aether output on time, making it big enough to consume it whole.
Johan's eyes widened. It was a lion-like creature, about the size of a golden retriever, but its whole body was extremely dark, with bright red eyes and sharp white fangs more than a foot long, standing out.
It had a very thick silver-colored rib cage-like structure acting as armor, covering most parts of its body.
"That's... a Rouge!?" Orihime asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Johan nodded softly, supporting Sebastian, who looked a bit tired after using such a powerful spell due to his sickness. "It's a stage 1 manabeast... we have to work together!"
Even in front of a group of stage 0 fighters, a stage 1 manabeast still posed an immense threat.
Manabeasts were not normal monsters. They were normal creatures, mutilated through raw Aether or mana. It was like an evolution—but due to a corrupted Aether core, their instincts took over, and instincts are the deadliest thing living creatures have.
A manabeast at this level could basically sense attacks and dangers a few seconds before they were even released, and Rogues were even worse due to their small bodies and extreme speed.