48) The Behemoth Part 2
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{3rd Pov}
Ember no longer knew how many monsters he had killed.
At this point, his body was moving purely on instinct, no longer guided by conscious thought.
The blood of countless monsters covered him from head to toe, soaking into his clothes and armor, while lifeless bodies piled up one after another around him.
He killed, and then killed again, and then kept killing without pause, as if stopping was no longer an option.
He had been pushed far beyond his limits.
In this state, his body moved faster than his mind could keep up with, reacting before his brain even had time to process what was happening.
Attacks were deflected or countered before he could fully comprehend that he was being targeted.
The entire battleground had turned into a scene of nonstop carnage, filled with death, blood, and chaos on all sides.
Adventurers and monsters alike fell one after another.
Ember could hear the cries echoing through the battlefield, the desperate screams of adventurers as monsters overwhelmed them and cut their lives short.
He had glanced toward the city only once, just long enough to see wyverns bombarding it with fire and destruction, before forcing his attention back to the enemies in front of him.
Yet even in this desperate and hopeless moment, the monsters were slowly being pushed back.
The massive herd was finally thinning at a rapid pace, their numbers no longer endless.
Many adventurers had already sacrificed their lives in this brutal war, and Ember knew deep down that even more would die before it was over.
Still, as the battle drew closer to its end, the tide was beginning to shift, bought only through blood, loss, and relentless struggle.
Finally, the monsters that were meant to appear at the very end of this stampede revealed themselves.
Their arrival marked a clear shift in the battlefield, and everyone present could feel it immediately.
A deafening roar shook the entire area, forcing both adventurers and monsters alike to halt for a brief moment.
Every head turned in the same direction as their eyes locked onto the figures that had just emerged.
What stood before them made the situation painfully clear and crushed any remaining sense of ease they might have had.
There were several dozen Level 2 monsters advancing together, their presence alone already dangerous enough.
Behind them stood more than a dozen Level 3 monsters, each one radiating pressure that could not be ignored.
And finally, at the very center of it all, stood the leader of the entire monster stampede, the strongest existence within the herd.
It was a hulking monster that towered at nearly five meters in height, its massive body resembling that of a tyrannosaurus.
Thick, deep red scales covered its entire frame, layered like natural armor, while its enormous hind limbs dug into the ground with every step, leaving cracks beneath its weight.
Each movement it made carried overwhelming force, making it clear that this creature was on an entirely different level.
This monster was feared as the strongest regular spawn found in the lower floors of the dungeon, an existence well known for bringing ruin wherever it appeared.
Its name was Bloodsaurus.
Its roar instantly paralyzed almost every remaining adventurer on the battlefield, including the guild master himself.
The sheer pressure carried by that sound froze their bodies and clouded their thoughts.
Only Ember was different.
He flinched for just a brief moment before forcing himself to recover, his eyes locking onto the monster as he stared straight at his opponent without looking away.
The threat level of the creature had been officially categorized as Level 4.
That already explained everything.
To safely kill such a monster, it would normally require a single, well-equipped mid to late Level 4 adventurer, or at the very least, a coordinated party made up entirely of Peak Level 3 adventurers.
Facing it head-on in their current condition was nothing short of suicidal.
Ember bit down on his lip so hard that he could taste his own blood.
His heart was pounding violently in his chest, and adrenaline was coursing through his entire body like fire.
Every instinct he had was screaming at him to run away.
The monster standing before him was not just one, but two full levels higher than him.
On top of that, its thick scales meant that any attack below Level 3 would be completely useless, and even magical damage would be heavily reduced by its natural defenses.
And as if that alone was not enough, there were still other Level 3 monsters present on the battlefield.
Each one of them was dangerous enough to wipe out what remained of the adventurer forces on their own, even without the Bloodsaurus taking part.
With all of this stacked against them, the situation had turned into a nightmare that pushed everyone to the very edge of despair.
But to Ember, none of those other monsters even managed to gain his attention.
His mind, which normally identified the name and nature of every monster the moment he looked at them, did not even bother searching through its memories for information on the surrounding Level 3s.
They simply did not matter to him right now.
He did not care what type of monsters they were, nor did he care about their specialties or abilities.
Ember’s entire focus was fixed on a single target: the hulking monster standing before him.
That was the only enemy that mattered at this moment.
It was an opponent that demanded a direct confrontation, one that would require a full-powered attack from him, without holding anything back.
“Devoid of any injuries and poison, heal myself!” he shouted clearly, forcing the chant through his exhausted body.
Instantly, his entire body was clad in radiant light.
The glow spread across him as all of his injuries began to disappear.
Minor wounds such as scratches vanished first, followed by deeper cuts and larger wounds that had been dripping with blood only moments ago.
Everything healed in an instant.
In truth, he had not suffered any lethal injuries to begin with, and many of them had only looked severe because his body was completely covered in the blood of monsters.
For Ember, those injuries were nothing more than scratches, barely affecting his fighting ability in any meaningful way.
However, against a monster like that, he was unwilling to take even the smallest risk.
If there was a way to gain even 0.1% more strength or readiness, he would take it without hesitation, because anything less could mean death.
Next, he used another magic without any hesitation.
“O’ howling wind, cover your friend in your swirling protection. Embrace thine child…”
As the chant ended, Ember’s legs were soon clad in rapidly rotating currents of wind.
The grass beneath and around his feet was violently pressed down and blown away as the air surged outward from his position, making his presence even more imposing.
By this point, the weaker monsters had already shifted their focus away from him.
The arrival of stronger monsters had drawn their attention elsewhere, and they instinctively feared higher-level beings.
Rather than challenging Ember, who had already demonstrated overwhelming prowess and slaughtered countless monsters, they chose to avoid him entirely.
Instead, those weaker monsters turned their attention toward the remaining adventurers positioned behind him.
They preferred targeting the injured and exhausted fighters, seeing them as easier prey, rather than risking their lives by attacking someone who had proven himself to be far beyond their level or was too close to the stronger monsters.
Ember heard the unmistakable sound of metal cleaving through flesh. He did not need to turn around to confirm it, because he already knew that the guild master, along with the remaining Level 2 adventurers, had reached his side and joined the fight.
“The wyverns?” Ember asked in a low, steady tone, keeping his eyes forward.
“They’re still attacking the city,” the guild master replied grimly, “but if we don’t stop what’s in front of us right now, I doubt any of us will survive at all.”
He understood the situation all too well.
Even if they somehow managed to deal with the remaining wyverns, they would be completely exhausted by then.
In that state, they would never be able to fight these higher-level monsters.
And once these monsters killed them, there would be no one left who could stop the destruction that followed.
The guild master wanted to praise Ember.
He wanted to acknowledge that it was Ember’s actions that had given them hope, that his presence was the reason even Level 2 adventurers now dared to stand their ground against Level 3 monsters.
They were standing there alongside him even when they all understood a cold and unforgiving truth.
Their chances of survival were minimal, yet none of them chose to retreat or yield only because of the Ember, the power his presence has given them.
“I will take the Level 4,” Ember said in a flat, no-nonsense tone.
There was no hesitation or room for argument in his voice.
The guild master simply nodded and immediately began barking orders to the Level 2 adventurers.
He knew exactly what Ember was doing.
Taking on the Bloodsaurus alone was nothing short of suicide, as it normally required a well-coordinated group of Level 3 adventurers at the very least to bring such a monster down.
Yet Ember had declared that he would face it himself.
The guild master did not say anything further, because he did not have the luxury of time.
At that moment, the Level 3 monsters charged toward them all at once.
The adventurers quickly took their positions, choosing their opponents based on their individual skills and combat roles as the next brutal clash began.
Meanwhile, Ember began chanting once more, his voice steady despite the chaos around him.
“Lord of Flames, hear my call, bestow your power upon this child.”
This was Aurielle’s single-target fire attack magic.
As Ember continued chanting, the Bloodsaurus clearly noticed that Ember’s full attention was focused on it.
The massive monster released a blood-chilling roar that echoed across the battlefield as it drove its limbs into the ground.
The earth beneath its feet cracked instantly as it charged straight toward Ember with overwhelming force.
Ember also stepped forward at the same time.
The ground beneath him shattered as a sonic boom rang out, created by the sheer speed at which he moved as he broke through the sound barrier.
From the outside, it looked as though he intended to meet the beast head-on, challenging it directly without fear.
However, at the instant they closed to just a few meters apart, Ember suddenly twisted his body and turned aside.
The beast was caught completely off guard.
It snapped its massive jaws toward Ember, trying to tear him apart with a powerful bite as it turned its head to follow his movement.
But Ember was faster.
The Bloodsaurus’s jaws clamped down on nothing but empty air, missing him entirely as he slipped past its attack.
“Oh flames grow, oh flames grow, oh flames grow!” Ember chanted repeatedly as the Bloodsaurus finally stopped its charge.
Its massive legs sank deep into the ground, digging in as dirt and grass were violently torn up and thrown into the air.
The sheer momentum dragged its enormous body across the plain for several meters before it began to slow down.
Ember turned around as well, coming to a sudden halt in his own tracks.
He stood his ground and stared directly at the beast, watching it carefully as it finally came to a complete stop.
There was a brief but heavy silence between them.
Ember’s blue eyes met the beast’s glowing red eyes, neither willing to look away.
The Bloodsaurus shifted its massive hind limbs, its claws scraping harshly through the ground as it kicked up more grass and dirt behind itself, clearly preparing to charge once again.
“Pierce through my target…” Ember muttered as he held his sword steady in front of him.
The wind roared violently around and beneath his legs, the currents swirling with increasing intensity as his body balanced both spells at the same time.
His mind was working in overdrive, forcing the magic to coexist without collapsing.
He could feel a sharp pain building in his head as he continued chanting the fire spell, the strain of controlling such power pushing him toward his limits.
Even so, he did not stop.
Ember clenched his teeth and kept chanting, pouring even more mana into the spell, determined to see it through no matter the cost.
The Bloodsaurus roared loudly as it kicked dirt and shattered earth behind itself, then surged forward toward Ember once again.
Its massive tail swayed with each step, helping it maintain balance as it charged.
The beast opened its enormous jaws wide, fully intent on biting down and killing Ember in a single strike.
At that moment, Ember’s figure was completely surrounded by a violent, blowing storm, the swirling wind centered entirely around him and growing stronger with every second.
“Javelin of flames, pierce mine enemy!” Ember roared as the storm suddenly erupted outward.
Fire manifested at the tip of his staff, blazing intensely before merging together with the raging wind.
The two forces combined into a devastating storm of fire, which then condensed and burst forward like a massive flaming javelin, shooting straight toward the dinosaur-like monster with unstoppable force.
The magical attack struck its target instantly and with terrifying precision.
The center of the Bloodsaurus’s open mouth was hit directly, the flames burning through its tongue and reducing it to cinders in an instant.
The feral beast let out a horrifying roar of pain as the fire spread across its face, charring its thick facial scales and burning through even its natural defenses.
Enraged and wounded, its hind limbs moved even faster as it pushed itself harder, the ground quaking violently beneath its accelerating charge.
A sharp glint appeared in its eyes.
Through the haze of red, smoke, and fire, it caught sight of something shining— almost like armor reflecting light as it moved upward in its vision.
Acting on pure instinct, the Bloodsaurus leapt forward without hesitation.
Its jaws snapped shut with tremendous force, clamping down and obliterating what it had targeted.
Blood burst out in every direction as the beast crashed down, slamming into the ground with overwhelming weight.
The entire area shook violently, the earth trembling as blood splattered across the trampled grass and shattered terrain, marking the spot with destruction and carnage.
Ember was standing on the opposite side of the beast, completely intact, while his wand was nowhere to be seen.
Yes, he had deliberately thrown his wand away as a diversion before delivering a decisive strike to the monster’s body.
Ember knew very well that he was not strong enough to physically overpower the beast on his own.
Its scales were far too robust, making direct attacks ineffective.
Because of that, he had chosen to use the Bloodsaurus’s own momentum against it instead of trying to force his way through with raw strength.
Right after releasing his magic, he created a brief opening by throwing his wand to draw the beast’s attention.
In that split second, he slid downward and then drove his sword upward with every bit of strength he had left.
The moment the blade managed to pierce through the thick scales, he did not stop.
He continued to push upward as the beast’s own forward momentum carried it past him, dragging the sword along the underside of its body.
The strike tore through from its belly all the way to the end of its tail in a single, brutal motion.
Setting aside how extremely dangerous that maneuver had been, and the fact that he had just lost his high-level wand in the process, the cost to his own body was severe.
Ember’s knuckles were bleeding heavily.
In forcing the sword through the monster’s scales, he had broken his own fingers, sacrificing his hands to make sure the attack went through.
“Devoid of any injuries and poison, heal myself!” he chanted once again.
Instantly, his entire body was clad in a bright, radiant glow as the self-healing magic took effect.
His broken fingers slowly mended under the spell, bones knitting back together as the pain dulled and his hands regained their shape and function.
Ember looked backward over his shoulder.
He did not know whether the beast had survived the previous attack or if the damage he had dealt was truly substantial.
There was no time to confirm it properly.
Even so, he knew one thing clearly, he could not afford to stop now.
The wind that had been roaring around him earlier had long since died down, leaving the air strangely still.
Without hesitation, Ember began preparing for his final blow.
His posture stiffened, and his focus sharpened as he forced his exhausted body to respond.
“I pray to the Great Father of Gods, Zeus—” he began chanting.
Despite the lingering pain in his knuckles, he continued.
This time, his chant was noticeably slower than before, each word heavy as he deliberately poured the remainder of his mana into the attack, fully aware that this would be his last chance to finish the fight.
He wanted this to be his strongest magical attack yet.
Ember fixed his gaze on the beast, which had fallen heavily onto the ground and was now struggling to stand back up.
It roared in pain, its movements sluggish and unsteady.
The reason for its condition soon became clear.
From its open mouth, hot, sizzling blood poured down continuously.
Its tongue had been completely turned to ashes, and several of its teeth had cracked or broken as it opened its jaws in agony.
Its face was badly charred, the thick red scales cracked and fractured, with blood seeping out from between them.
One of its eyes had been completely destroyed, leaving behind a ruined socket, and with its remaining eye it stared at Ember with a feral, terrifying glare that made its already monstrous head look even more frightening.
Blood pooled along its massive body, flowing freely from its underside.
The deep, brutal cut along its belly was clearly visible, a wound created by the beast’s own momentum forcing Ember’s sword to slice through it from end to end.
“—bestow your thunder upon this child,” Ember continued chanting calmly as he shifted into a proper battle stance.
He positioned the tip of his sword directly toward the Bloodsaurus, his posture steady despite the exhaustion weighing down on him.
The monster finally managed to stand upright.
It shook its head violently, trying to ward off the dizziness and pain clouding its senses.
After a brief moment, it focused its remaining eye straight at Ember, locking onto him as the next exchange was about to begin.
At the very moment Ember was chanting, a Level 3 monster suddenly attacked from his left.
The strike was abrupt and completely unexpected.
Just as Ember was about to be hit, a man instantly leapt between them, placing himself directly in the path of the attack.
His torso was cut off in a single blow.
Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across Ember as the man died instantly without even a scream.
He was just a random Level 2 adventurer.
Ember was taken aback, his eyes widening as, in the next moment, a greatsword crashed into the attacking monster, sending the beast flying dozens of meters away.
Another cry rang out immediately after.
The man who had thrown the greatsword, another Level 2 adventurer, stood there empty-handed.
He looked at Ember one last time and gave him a faint smile before his own opponent tore into him, ripping him apart without mercy.
At that instant, the Bloodsaurus released a piercing, reptilian shriek that echoed across the battlefield.
The sound was so overwhelming that it caused all nearby monsters to halt their attacks at once.
Its remaining eye glared at the Level 3 monster that had dared to attack Ember and was now lying half-dead on the ground.
By then, Ember had already created distance by jumping backward, putting space between himself and the chaos.
The monster that had attacked Ember began to shudder violently.
It understood the meaning of that shriek all too well.
It was a warning.
The Bloodsaurus had declared Ember as its chosen opponent, its prey.
If any other monster dared to interfere in their fight, the Bloodsaurus would kill them without hesitation and without mercy.
The Level 3 monster that had attacked earlier struggled to its feet and then instantly turned and ran away.
The moment Ember noticed its movement, he immediately understood what had happened and did not spare it another glance.
Without hesitation, he continued chanting his spell.
“Let it pierce my foe like a divine Vajra—”
The Bloodsaurus scraped its hind limbs violently through the ground, digging in as it prepared itself, its entire attention focused solely on Ember.
It no longer cared about anything else on the battlefield.
At this moment, both of them were focused only on each other.
The cries echoing across the battlefield, the screams of dying adventurers and monsters, the wyverns being bombarded by magic or burning parts of the city every sound faded away.
It was as if the world around them had gone silent.
For the first time, Ember felt this clear-headed.
His thoughts were sharp, his vision steady, and his eyes were fixed entirely on the beast standing before him.
This feeling had not existed during his battle with the minotaur, the fight that had forced him to break through his limits.
That encounter had merely been a stepping stone.
But this was different.
“I summon the thunder! I summon the thunderbolt of the Great Father Zeus!” Ember roared.
This was Ember’s adventure.
The Bloodsaurus lowered its massive head, locking it straight toward Ember, and then charged forward.
The ground beneath it blasted apart like thunder as it moved, chunks of earth and stone flying in every direction.
Its powerful hind limbs shook the ground with each step, and the sheer force of its charge caused the wind itself to tear apart.
The monster forced its body into a spear-like posture, streamlining itself to increase its speed sharply as it closed the distance.
This blow was meant to kill Ember once and for all.
The final syllable of Ember’s spell stopped on his tongue.
'Not yet,' Ember thought to himself.
He had not poured in enough mana.
It needed more strength, more power, and more magic than he had already given it.
What he was preparing was meant to kill a monster two levels above him, and that demanded far more than an ordinary spell.
It needed at least half of his remaining mind, if not more.
Ember lowered his stance, his body dropping closer to the ground.
He tightened his grip and readied himself to push his sword forward with all the strength he had left, preparing to meet the incoming charge head-on.
Ember knew, on a purely physical level, that the Bloodsaurus was stronger than him. If he tried to run toward it or meet its charge directly, he would be the one receiving the full force of that attack, and there was no doubt what the outcome would be.
So he stayed where he was.
He remained in his position, unmoving, watching calmly as his death seemed to draw closer with every passing second.
The others who had managed to finish slaying the remaining monsters at least those who were still alive slowly turned their attention toward him.
One by one, their focus shifted entirely to the confrontation unfolding before them.
They saw Ember standing in place, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion and strain, while the Bloodsaurus rapidly closed the distance.
Their eyes widened in horror.
They knew all too well that the Bloodsaurus’s charge was its deadliest attack, an attack that had killed even Level 4 adventurers in the past.
To them, Ember was a Level 3 adventurer standing alone against it.
Only Ember himself knew the truth that he was technically a Level 2, even if his strength rivaled that of a Level 3.
Against an attack like this, there was only one conclusion.
This blow could kill him.
It would definitely kill him.
In an instant, the Bloodsaurus was only a few meters away from Ember.
The distance closed in less time than it took for an eye to blink, and then Ember collided directly with the charging beast.
With everything he had left, Ember thrust his sword forward in a stabbing motion.
Combined with the overwhelming momentum of the Bloodsaurus, the blade instantly sank deep into its head, driving all the way in until the hilt was buried against its flesh.
And then the true impact happened.
The collision struck with terrifying force.
Ember felt the bones in his hands snap like twigs under the sheer momentum of the feral monster, followed immediately by his entire body slamming violently against the Bloodsaurus’s massive head.
The shock traveled through him in an instant.
He drove one of his legs deep into the dirt to brace himself, desperately trying to gain support, but it was not enough.
His ribs cracked one after another under the pressure.
His internal organs ruptured in succession, and blood began pouring out of his mouth and nose.
Even his ears were not spared, warm blood leaking from them as well.
His body screamed in agony from every direction.
Ember could feel his consciousness starting to slip away as his femur snapped, breaking completely under the strain.
Pain flooded his senses beyond anything he had experienced before.
Instinctively, Ember let out a roar as he clamped his jaw shut.
Then his vision went dark, and he passed out.
To be continued…