The monster’s roar echoed through the cave like a death bell.
"I... will tear you apart."
At that moment, the entire atmosphere of the cave changed.
If a few seconds ago the Dreadmaw Sovereign seemed like a calm and confident creature, now it looked like the embodiment of rage and madness.
Black cracks spread across its red skin. Traces of dark energy flowed through those fissures.
The ceiling of the cave began to shake. Massive stones fell one after another. The air around became heavier and heavier.
It was truly angry. Angrier than anything. The plan it had worked on for years. The heart it had waited years to nurture.
All its efforts to finally obtain a human body. All its efforts for the day it could take revenge for its race.
And all the efforts it had made to start its evolution were ruined because of these lowly humans.
Lian felt his breathing become hard. As if an entire mountain had been placed on his shoulders.
Even Seris, for the first time since they entered this realm, fell to one knee on the ground. Cold sweat was on her forehead. Her eyes were locked on the monster.
Then the Dreadmaw disappeared. So fast that it seemed like it was never there. Lian’s eyes widened. His instincts screamed wildly.
But it was too late.
BOOM!
The monster’s massive fist hit him directly in the stomach. The sound of the explosion echoed through the hall. Lian felt all his internal organs crush.
His body shot back like a cannonball. The ground under him split. Stones shattered. He was dragged dozens of meters on the ground, finally hitting a massive stone pillar.
The sound of breaking bones echoed in the cave. Blood sprayed from his mouth. The ribs on his left side were almost completely crushed.
But before he could even get up...
BOOM!
Seris also charged at the monster. She understood that if she did not do something now, Lian would certainly die.
The Frostfang sword flashed in the air. But the Dreadmaw did not even look at her. It just flicked the back of its hand.
That was it.
A hit that meant nothing to it sent Seris flying like a rag doll. The young girl hit the cave wall directly.
The sound of more bones breaking was heard. The sword fell from her hand. Blood sprayed on the stones.
The Dreadmaw calmly walked toward Lian.
Its steps were slow, but each step made the cave shake, as if an ancient king was walking through its domain.
It stopped in front of Lian, then placed its massive foot on his chest.
CRACK!
The sound of bones crushing was heard. Lian coughed up blood, but his gaze was still fixed on the monster’s neck.
On the key.
Only the key.
The Dreadmaw smiled.
"No human has ever made me this angry. Even those savages who killed my race. But congratulations, you succeeded."
"Is this all you had?" It pressed its foot harder.
"This pathetic creature ruined my thirty-year plan?"
Blood flowed from the corner of Lian’s mouth, but a faint smile appeared on his face. This made a frown appear on the monster’s face.
On the other side of the hall, Seris was breathing with difficulty. Her whole body screamed in pain, but she raised her hand.
The system panel appeared, and without any hesitation, she spent all her remaining fragments.
A silver light formed around her body.
[Tyrant’s Fall upgraded]
[Sovereign’s Judgment (+)]
[Rank: Divine]
Not just one upgrade, but two upgrades! All her fragments were used, but it did not matter. Now it was a matter of life and death.
If she did nothing, both of them would die.
A royal aura formed around her body. Even the Dreadmaw turned its gaze toward her for a moment.
But at that same time, Lian also opened his panel. His eyes fixed on the Frozen Cataclysm skill.
There was no hesitation.
[Are you sure you want to upgrade Frozen Cataclysm?]
[Confirmed. 20 Fragments used.]
[Frozen Cataclysm upgraded]
But Lian did not stop there. He immediately clicked on the next upgrade. One upgrade was not enough. He had to upgrade it again so the skill could at least inflict damage on this bastard monster.
[35 Fragments used]
[Fragments: 0]
[Eternal Frozen Apocalypse]
[Rank: Divine]
[Description: An apocalypse of snow and blizzard descends, covering a radius of one kilometer and freezing everything. The more mana used, the stronger it will be.]
Still not enough. He looked at his stat points.
[Stat Points: 66]
Just a few seconds of silence, then without any pause, he put them all into Mana. Now he only needed Mana to use this skill at full power.
Maybe then they would have a chance.
[Mana: 90 → 156]
A massive energy flowed through his body. For the first time, the Dreadmaw frowned.
It sensed danger. Not from power, but from something else. From determination. From madness. From the fact that these two humans had still not given up.
Why? Why could it still see hope in their eyes? What else did they have that they had not used yet?
Seris struggled to stand. Her whole body was soaked in blood, but she picked up her sword again.
Then she shouted.
"Right now!"
The entire cave exploded.
Sovereign’s Judgment activated.
Thousands of cracks appeared on the ground. An invisible pressure descended from the sky onto the monster’s body.
And the Dreadmaw stopped. Just one second. Again, one second. But in this second, unlike the previous time, the monster could not even move its eyes or hold its thoughts.
It was as if time had completely stopped for it for one second.
But for Lian, that was enough. His eyes shone, and all his remaining mana erupted.
[Eternal Frozen Apocalypse]
[Thunder Calamity]
Both activated at the same time.
Ice and lightning energy exploded around his body. His skin began to crack. His veins tore one after another. Blood burst from his entire body.
Suddenly, the entire cave began to freeze. A terrifying blizzard covered everything.
Everything froze. Even the monster’s entire body was suddenly covered in ice. Seeing the situation, Seris dragged herself toward where Lian was to stay safe.
Seeing this, Alisa also understood and ran toward them.
And the ice covered the entire cave, then spread further to cover the whole mountain.
Lian’s body could no longer handle this amount of force, but he still did not stop. He charged straight at the Dreadmaw.
For the key. This was the only chance to get that damn key.
At that moment, the monster realized his real target and frowned deeply. It moved its body to break free from the ice.
But it was too late. Lian’s ice claw landed on the golden chain.
CRAAAAACK!
The sound of metal tearing echoed in the hall. The chain broke. The key was freed.
At that same moment, the monster also broke free from the ice, and the Dreadmaw’s fist hit Lian’s body.
A massive explosion shook the hall. Almost all the bones in his body were crushed. Nothing remained. His body was thrown into the distance like a bloody meteor.
It passed through pillars, broke through several stone walls, and finally fell to the ground.
The force of the fist was so strong that the ice covering the hall cracked.
The golden key shone in Lian’s bloody hand. A heavy silence ruled over the cave. Seris had fallen to one knee, unable even to stand.
Alisa was still where Lian had been. Her face had no color. The terrible cold made her whole body shake, and her lips had turned black.
And in the middle of that destruction... the Dreadmaw slowly raised its hand to its neck.
Nothing was there. The key was gone. It stayed motionless for a few seconds, then let out a roar that shook the entire mountain.
Stones collapsed. Walls cracked. The roar caused the ice to crumble, and the air around trembled from its fury.
Its red eyes locked onto Lian. They darkened with hatred. Hatred that seemed born from thirty years of waiting and failure.
Its voice echoed through the hall like the howl of a creature from hell.
"Give me back my key."
And while Lian lay half-dead on the ground with the key clutched in his fist...