“But you must stay here obediently.”
Yue Wu certainly wouldn’t let this mischievous child run wild. Just to be safe, he cast a protective barrier around her.
“Now, it’s time to deal with the appetizers before the main course.”
Crossga’s Demon Hand truly had a considerable number of members. It seemed the entire small island was swarming with their people.
Although their strength wasn’t particularly impressive, Hilya could probably dispatch several of them in a one-on-one fight.
Name: Hilya Mycenae
Level: 39 (D-rank)
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Age: 13
Class: Mage
Affiliation: Imperial Royal Family of the European Continent
Element: Fire
Strength: E
Constitution: E
Endurance: E
Magic Power: D
Spirit: D
Agility: D
Description: The youngest daughter of Emperor Agamemnon of the European Continent. She is the youngest among his many children. Her direct speech often leaves her without friends, but she possesses a lively and cheerful personality, always keen to uphold justice.
Most of the Demon Hand members were E-rank or D-rank in strength, so Hilya certainly could have fought them. However, Yue Wu’s actions were ultimately for her own good.
“Big brother, be careful!”
Just then, Hilya’s voice rang out, having spotted someone appearing behind him.
A sharp impact.
Yue Wu swiftly sidestepped, then spun around to seize the assailant. Without a word, he slammed the person to the ground, rendering them completely unconscious, their fate uncertain.
“Hammer of Justice!”
Yue Wu raised his hand, a colossal hammer of light materializing within his grasp. With a single devastating swing, he annihilated numerous foes.
“Rain of Judgment!”
A golden magical array manifested in the sky, unleashing a torrent of arrows that fell like a torrential downpour. It was clear that after this onslaught, no one would remain standing, save for Yue Wu and Hilya.
“Wow! Big brother, you’re amazing! Those two spells just now were incredible.”
Seeing the battle conclude, Hilya promptly rushed over, showering him with praise.
“I need to find someone. You’d best stay here obediently. I’ll have it keep you company.”
Yue Wu temporarily entrusted Xiao Qing to Hilya, both to prevent her from wandering off and to ensure Xiao Qing would keep an eye on her.
****
“There’s no need to hide, you twisted noble. What was your name again? Alaska?”
Yue Wu arrived at the underground altar. The sealed fierce beast remained at its center, but Crossga was nowhere to be found.
“Corrosive Spear!”
“Strangling Hurricane!”
A surge of magic power suddenly erupted behind Yue Wu—Crossga’s magic. He had been hiding there all along, using some item to render himself invisible and mask his presence, intending to ambush whoever pursued him.
While his plan was sound, his luck was anything but. Had he faced anyone else, he might have succeeded, but against the highly-attuned Yue Wu, his ambush stood no chance of success.
“Do all you villains enjoy backstabbing?”
Yue Wu sidestepped, taking a quick step, and smoothly evaded both of Crossga’s spells.
A sharp crack echoed.
Crossga’s magic, however, struck the ice sculpture encasing the sealed beast, causing faint cracks to instantly spiderweb across its surface.
“Did you think I was trying to ambush *you*? You’re far too naive!”
In truth, Crossga’s objective was to remotely break the seal on the already unsealed but still slumbering fierce beast using his magic.
“Oh, ho ho~ I never expected someone as cowardly as you to resort to such a method to break the seal.”
It seemed Yue Wu had already discerned Crossga’s machinations.
“What do you know?!”
Seeing his scheme exposed, Crossga immediately grew tense.
“The demon’s essence blood hidden within the Corrosive Spear. While I don’t know what price you paid the demon, you will ultimately fail in the end.”
Even while he was above ground, Yue Wu had sensed an unusual magical energy emanating from beneath. It must have been Crossga, either sacrificing his own life or summoning a demon.
Since ancient times, demons have been a truly unique existence; they belong neither to the demon race nor the underworld. Their true power remains a mystery, yet their blood is the bane of all seals.
“Did you pay half your life to the demon, or did you sell your soul, Mr. Crossga?”
Yue Wu offered Crossga a friendly smile. If his answer was the former, Yue Wu might temporarily overlook him. If it was the latter, then he would regretfully have to eliminate him immediately.
“I won’t tell you.”
Crossga turned and fled, knowing full well that the man’s strength far surpassed his own. His original intention had been to summon a demon, trade for its essence blood to awaken the ancient fierce beast, use the beast to stall Yue Wu, and then make his escape.
“Do you naively believe you can escape?”
No sooner had Crossga begun to flee than a gust of wind seemed to brush past him. In an instant, Yue Wu appeared before him, blocking his only exit.
“Where are you going? You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“Was it the former, or the latter?”
Yue Wu relentlessly pressed in on Crossga, who was now utterly terrified by the surge of magic power emanating from Yue Wu. He instinctively retreated further and further until a massive, clawed hand seized him.
“Hey, hey, hey! No way! This isn’t the right time!”
“Still, it works out. I won’t even need to intervene.”
Yue Wu was somewhat bewildered by the ancient fierce beast awakening prematurely. Meanwhile, Crossga struggled frantically in the beast’s grip, yet he could not escape his destined demise.
“No!”
Crossga was devoured by the ancient fierce beast, which crunched on him with a sickening sound.
****
“System, search for information on this monster.”
‘[Searching… Search results…]’
“I see. It appears things are rather tricky.”
Yue Wu glanced at the information retrieved by the system, instantly grasping the origins of the monster before him.
In ancient times, there existed a profession that struck terror into hearts—or rather, a single individual. This person possessed the world’s most unique innate ability: fusion.
This power originated from a madman of antiquity, and the ancient fierce beast before Yue Wu was that madman’s creation. He had fused a person with two powerful fierce beasts, and a considerable number of such abominations were created back then. However, they were ultimately sealed away through collective effort.
Why were they sealed instead of killed? It was because these fused beasts were utterly indestructible, possessing extreme immortality and resistance to death; even holy attributes proved ineffective against them.
The most terrifying revelation was that the creature Yue Wu encountered today was merely the weakest of the madman’s creations. Dozens more, far stronger than this one, still existed.
If all of them were released, the world would face an irreversible catastrophe. Furthermore, the madman himself had eventually merged with his own perfect masterpiece, and at this very moment, he slumbered deep within an unknown ocean.