The air itself trembled.
Dust hovered unnaturally still,
as two figures stood facing one another,
one youthful and calm, the other ancient and imposing.
El-Mond's eyes narrowed,
his thoughts steady
despite the pressure bearing down on him.
"If push comes to shove… I can use that form.
Even if I fall unconscious afterward,
there shouldn't be any threat here
to harm me until I wake up"
The two continued their silent standoff,
invisible waves of intent colliding.
"Who are you!?" the white-bearded man demanded, his voice echoing like
thunder through the hollow land.
"Not your enemy."
"Then what are you doing here!?"
"Scavenging."
The answer was calm—too calm.
Before the white-bearded man could respond—
A voice.
Deep. Ancient.
Packed with terrifying power.
"MASTER."
The sound did not travel.
It dominated space itself.
The white-bearded man's pupils shrank.
His breath caught.
"I-Is that…"
"THE COLOSSAL BEAST!?"
El-Mond slowly turned his head.
Behind him,
From four thousand miles away,
something impossible moved.
Eldred.
In his Colossal Beast Form.
A titanic silhouette surged forward,
compressing distance as though
the world itself folded beneath his advance.
Four thousand miles vanished in an instant.
His body alone weighed over
thirty-five thousand tons,
stretching more than fifteen thousand feet long.
A single tentacle—just one—extended three thousand feet, heavier than mountains,
dragging shadows across the ocean floor.
Light disappeared.
Entire radar zones spanning thousands
of miles plunged into darkness.
Eldred loomed behind El-Mond.
His gaze locked onto the white-bearded man.
A predator.
A god-beast.
"Master."
"Is everything alright?"
With his back still turned, "It should be,"
he said calmly, glancing back.
The white-bearded man felt his soul scream.
"Master!?"
"This weak surface dweller is being called
master!?"
Cold sweat slid down his spine.
"So that's why my instincts screamed…
Why I retreated without thinking…"
His gaze trembled as he stared upward at
Eldred's colossal form.
"This thing…
It's beyond dozens of peak Emperor-rank
Evolvers"
"No…
A a Half-Step Mortal-God"
"Fighting it would be meaningless.
I'm not even sure I could kill it in my current
state"
The white-bearded man clenched his teeth.
"Surface dwellers are no longer welcome here."
His aura surged violently.
"LEAVE!"
With a sonic explosion, he rocketed away,
taking his daughter floating
in a bubble of energy toward his kingdom
in a streak of light.
Silence returned.
"You've grown stronger" Spoke El-Mond.
"Hahaha!"
"All thanks to the Master."
"I suppose it's time I grow stronger too."
His eyes sharpened.
"Now that I don't need to hide.
Ranking up should be faster."
He turned his head—
BOOM!
A sonic shockwave ripped through
the ocean floor as El-Mond launched
himself forward, devouring core after core
like a starving predator unleashed.
Ding!
Very High Evolved Creature Devoured.
[Devourer Core Upgraded] +21
Ding!
+22
+23
+24
+25
+26
+27
+28
+29
+30
[Rank Upgraded] — Emperor +5
Hours passed.
Energy storms formed and collapsed around
him, as corpses vanished into nothingness.
Ding!
[Devourer Core Upgraded] 70+++
[Rank Upgraded] — Emperor +9
Another four hours passed.
Then—
Nothing.
El-Mond slowed.
"Hmmm…"
His brows furrowed.
"It seems I can't step into the God Realm yet."
His gaze darkened slightly.
"I still need to raise my Soul Strength to the
Ninth Rank."
But there was a problem.
Soul-nourishing herbs…cost an absurd
amount of Evolver Stones.
Then a faint thought. The darkside of him?.
Evaded his thoughts
"Devourering others essence is
Faster!. Isn't it?.
He clenched his fist.
"I won't kill people who've done me no wrong"
"I'm no hero"
"But I refuse to become the same kind of
monster I'm trying to destroy"
He stood still,
eyes scanning aimlessly.
Then it dawned.
All around him— was Ruins.Beasts. Corpse
Remnants of the battlefield.
Value?.
Evolver Stones.
El-Mond's lips curled into a sharp,
confident smirk.
"Splendid."
The wind howled.
The hunt was far from over.
TO BE CONTINUED…