Evans lay motionless on the ground.
His eyes remained closed as blood slowly spread across his clothing.
The mysterious creature calmly began walking toward him.
Its strange eyes remained fixed on Evans.
One step.
Then another.
But just before it could take a third—
Its instincts suddenly screamed.
The creature immediately leaped backward.
A brilliant beam of light shot past its face at incredible speed.
BOOM!
It struck a large rock behind the creature, causing it to explode into fragments.
The creature landed several meters away.
Its expression finally changed.
It slowly raised its head.
Standing before it was a young woman.
She appeared to be around eighteen years old.
Her long, flaming-yellow hair moved almost as though it were alive, while her crimson eyes glowed with an intense yellow hue.
Despite her striking appearance, there was nothing warm about her expression.
Only cold fury.
A blazing aura surrounded her body.
Flames flickered around her like an extension of her own power.
The mysterious creature narrowed its cat-like pupils.
It studied her carefully.
Dangerous.
The girl slowly raised one hand.
A sphere of fire formed within her palm.
Then—
BOOM!
A powerful blast shot toward the creature.
It tilted its head at the last possible moment.
The attack passed inches from its face before striking a beast behind it.
BOOM!
The creature glanced toward the explosion.
Before it could react—
Another blast came.
Then another.
And another.
The girl continued firing without giving it a moment to breathe.
The creature's movements became almost impossible to follow.
It twisted.
Ducked.
Leaped.
And narrowly avoided every attack.
Yet even its incredible speed wasn't enough to completely ignore the heat.
Sweat slowly formed across its face.
The girl finally lowered her hand slightly.
Her flaming hair whipped violently behind her.
Her voice was quiet.
But every word carried murderous fury.
"How dare you..."
The flames around her intensified.
"How dare you slaughter all these people."
Her crimson eyes burned brighter.
"How dare you cause this much suffering."
She looked toward Evans' motionless body.
Then her expression hardened.
"And above all..."
"How dare you lay a finger on Evans."
The flames surrounding her erupted.
"For these unforgivable crimes..."
She raised her hand again.
"I swear..."
"I'll burn you to ashes."
The girl slowly raised her hand toward the sky.
"Sacred Ability..."
Her flames intensified.
"Rising Phoenix..."
She paused.
"...Sundrop."
The instant the words left her mouth, an enormous amount of flaming Sacred Energy gathered above her palm.
Within seconds, a gigantic sphere of fire formed overhead.
The temperature of the entire battlefield immediately skyrocketed.
The surrounding air seemed to distort from the heat.
Even the nearby beasts instinctively retreated.
The mysterious creature looked upward.
For the first time, genuine surprise appeared in its eyes.
The girl gritted her teeth.
Then, with all her strength, she hurled the enormous fireball toward it.
The blazing sphere tore through the air like a miniature sun.
The creature stared at it for a moment.
Then...
A faint smile appeared on its face.
And it vanished.
The massive fireball continued forward.
Straight into the Rift.
Then it disappeared into the darkness.
The girl remained completely still.
Her eyes rapidly scanned the battlefield.
Where did it go?
Nothing.
Then—
She felt something behind her.
Her eyes widened.
The creature had appeared directly behind her.
Its expression was cold.
Its fingers were already positioned for a lethal strike.
But before it could attack—
WHOOSH!
An enormous burst of flames erupted from the girl's body.
The creature was engulfed in fire.
The girl immediately leaped backward.
The flames surrounding her gradually disappeared.
She raised her palm toward the burning figure.
A concentrated sphere of fire began forming.
But then...
The flames around the creature suddenly vanished.
It stepped backward.
Only a few meters.
Its body appeared almost completely unharmed.
Its eyes snapped open.
Its pupils widened.
Then—
It disappeared.
The girl's expression changed instantly.
"Where—?"
The creature reappeared beside her.
Its claws swept toward her neck.
But before they could reach her—
CRACK!
A brilliant bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
The creature immediately jumped backward.
The girl also retreated.
The lightning struck the ground between them.
BOOM!
The earth cracked violently.
Electricity danced across the shattered ground before gradually fading.
As the blinding light disappeared...
A figure emerged from the dust.
Arthur.
Two sapphire daggers were already in his hands.
His expression was colder than Evans had ever seen.
He charged forward.
In an instant, Arthur appeared directly in front of the mysterious creature.
One of his daggers shot toward its neck.
But the creature caught his wrist.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"Thunderwisp..."
Electricity immediately gathered around his dagger.
"...Lightning Strike."
BOOOOOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning erupted directly from the dagger.
The creature was caught at point-blank range.
The impact was tremendous.
The ground beneath them cracked apart, creating a deep crater as blinding electricity spread across the battlefield.
A deafening thunderclap echoed through the area.
Arthur immediately released himself from the creature's grip and leaped backward.
He landed several meters away.
Dust and smoke filled the battlefield.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
He stared into the fading light.
Did it work?
The smoke slowly began to clear.
Arthur tightened his grip around his blue sapphire daggers.
He waited.
Watching.
Waiting to see whether the creature had finally been defeated...
As the light finally faded, the mysterious creature could be seen several feet away, standing calmly.
One of its arms hung limply at its side, while smoke continued to rise from its body. Its head remained lowered for a moment before it slowly exhaled, releasing a thin stream of smoke from its mouth.
Then it straightened.
Its gaze slowly lifted toward Arthur.
A terrifying killing intent radiated from its eyes.
Arthur's grip tightened around his sapphire daggers.
"How is this possible?" he muttered, his expression becoming increasingly unsettled. "What exactly is this abomination? We might actually die here."
The creature took a single step forward.
Arthur immediately raised his daggers, preparing himself for another attack.
But before either of them could move—
WHOOSH!
A powerful gust of wind swept past Arthur.
Oscar appeared in front of the creature in an instant, his palm already aimed directly at its chest.
The creature quickly dodged to the side.
But Oscar was already moving.
His leg swung forward and struck the creature directly in the chest, sending it sliding several meters backward.
Oscar calmly lowered his leg, his usual relaxed smile now mixed with caution.
"So you're the asshole responsible for this mess."
He stared at the creature carefully.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're one of the Great Beasts, aren't you?"
The creature slowly straightened itself.
A small smile appeared on its face as it prepared to attack.
But suddenly—
A lively female voice echoed from within the Rift.
"Your time's up. And don't forget what Father said, so come on."
The creature's expression immediately darkened.
It glanced toward the Rift, clearly irritated.
After a moment, however, it relaxed.
"Fine."
It slowly turned around and began walking toward the Rift.
But just before entering, it stopped.
The creature looked back at Oscar, Arthur, and the remaining Sacred Warriors.
A sinister smile appeared on its face.
"Until next time, humans."
Its eyes narrowed.
"I'll make sure it will be our last."
With those final words, it calmly stepped into the Rift.
But just before it completely disappeared, its gaze shifted.
It caught sight of Evans' lifeless body lying several meters away.
The creature stared at him for a brief moment.
What a monster.
Then it disappeared into the Rift.
Immediately, Oscar and Arthur stepped forward.
They stood on opposite sides of the Rift and raised their hands.
Powerful streams of Sacred Energy flowed from their bodies and spread toward the edges of the Rift.
Slowly, the enormous tear in space began to shrink.
The unnatural distortion weakened.
Until finally—
BOOM.
The Rift completely disappeared.
Oscar slowly lowered his hand and exhaled.
"We're lucky it decided to leave."
His expression became serious.
"Because there's no decent chance I could defeat one of the Great Beasts at full strength."
He looked around at the devastated battlefield.
"We really lost a lot today."
Arthur remained silent.
His grip tightened around his sapphire daggers.
His expression remained cold, but the pain in his eyes was impossible to completely hide.
Then—
Thud.
They heard something fall behind them.
Both men turned.
The young woman was on her knees beside Evans.
Her once-flaming hair had returned to its original black color, and her body trembled from exhaustion.
She placed both hands against Evans' chest.
Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.
Arthur stared at her quietly.
She used an enormous amount of Sacred Energy during that battle.
His gaze shifted toward Evans.
She must have cared about him deeply.
Arthur's fists tightened.
Even he couldn't completely hide the pain of seeing Evans lying there motionless.
Oscar walked over and gently placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder.
"We can't give up yet."
His voice was calmer than before.
"We'll try to save him."
He looked across the battlefield.
"And we'll search for any other survivors."
Arthur nodded silently.
The two of them walked toward Evans.
The girl continued holding his chest, tears falling onto his clothes.
"You're too damn stubborn to die, okay?"
Her voice trembled
"So get up."
She gently shook him.
"Please..."
Her voice became barely audible.
"Come back."