The colossal figure’s head was slightly raised.

The moment Leon saw it clearly, a chill ran down his spine.

It was a gigantic humanoid nearly 10 meters tall, its body covered in dark gray skin that looked harder than steel. Massive curved horns extended from both sides of its head like a crown. Cracks spread across its face and body, glowing faintly with an ominous crimson light from within, as if molten lava flowed beneath its skin.

Its eyes...

Its eyes burned like two blood-red suns in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Every breath escaping from its nostrils carried black smoke, distorting the air around it. Thick muscles bulged beneath its skin.

And behind it...

A gigantic black battle axe rested against its shoulder casually, despite being large enough to split a house in half with a single swing.

The creature stood there silently among the other monsters.

Yet the difference between them was overwhelming.

The minotaurs looked dangerous. This thing looked like death itself. Even the surrounding beasts instinctively kept their distance from it, not daring to approach too closely.

’This pressure...’ Sweat rolled down Leon’s forehead. ’This monster is on an entirely different level from everything I’ve faced so far.’

"Ready?" Emily asked one last time.

"Ready." Everyone whispered. Noah looked a bit terrified, but he replied as well.

Then Emily charged forward like a predator. Her body moved like lightning, dust exploding with every step.

Sol shot toward the left. After Emily, he was the strongest. A B-Class knight.

Leon and Noah were already on their feet, rushing toward the right.

"System." Leon whispered slowly so that only he could hear.

The frost blade’s black, intimidating hilt came out from thin air. Leon grabbed it while running and slowly pulled it out.

But the moment he did... Something unexpected happened.

The monsters who had been paying no attention to Emily charging toward them, snapped toward Leon as if threatened by something otherworldly.

Even the S-Class monster at the back. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Emily saw it. The fear in the S-Class monster’s red eyes... It was unmistakable.

Before Emily could turn her head and see what was happening, the giant raised its axe high above its head.

Lightning crackled in the sky. The monster brought its massive axe down, slamming it into the ground with explosive force.

Boom!

Dust and chunks of land erupted, lightning bolts following instantly. White-blue energy hit the ground in a zigzag line.

Emily was blown away by the sheer force. She coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Sol, Leon and Noah were in no better shape. They were sent tumbling backward.

Noah’s body slammed into a tree, breaking it in half.

Crack! A few of his ribs broke.

Sol was sent away into the distance.

Leon came to a halt after a long time, his whole body aching. "What the fuck! What the hell just happened?" He cursed.

The S-Class monster had reacted so fast that anyone had barely any chance to defend. Even Emily was caught off guard.

Emily slowly raised her head.

The dust smoke started to fade. Her eyes widened. There was no jackal. No minotaur. Not even the S-Class giant. Strangely, all the monsters were gone.

"Did..." Emily whispered. "Did all of them just run away?"

Emily slowly got up, brushing the dust off her cloths. She wiped the blood on her lips. Sol had also gotten up. He was slowly walking toward Emily. Leon walked up to Noah and helped him to his feet. Then, they both walked toward Emily.

"What just happened? Where did all those monsters go?"

Emily shook her head. "No idea."

Leon and Noah arrived.

Then...

Emily’s eyes landed on the sword Leon was carrying. It had no blood in it. It hadn’t slain a single monster in front of her. But still... A chill washed over her. Just looking at the blade filled her heart with a dread.

"That sword." After staring at the weapon for a while, Emily finally regained her composure and asked.

"Where did you get it?"

"This one?" Leon raised it slightly to confirm if Emily was asking about his sword.

"Yes." Emily spoke.

"Well." Leon hesitated. ’Why is she suddenly asking about my sword in a situation like this? Don’t tell me she grew a liking to it and wants to have it.’ "I was lucky to be gifted this sword."

"Oh?" Emily raised an eyebrow. "That someone must be absurdly rich but equally foolish to hand over something like this to someone."

"What?"

"Don’t act dumb. That sword just freaked the monsters out. They ran with their tails tucked between their legs." For a moment, she lost her composure. ’What kind of weapon is this to make an S-Class monster tremble just by its existence?’ She wondered.

"I know this sword is cool." Leon couldn’t help but grin. "But claiming that it had something to do with those monsters running like that... That’s absurd." Leon protested. ’I know this sword is cool and all. But to make an S-Class monster flee, that’s ridiculous.’

Meanwhile, Emily was also lost in her own thoughts. ’Someone gifted it? Yeah, right. He’s clearly lying. I have never seen a weapon like this. Not even the disaster class knights have something like this. Not a single weapon like this is mentioned in the entire history. Then did he.....

Retrieve it from here?’

Leon quickly inserted the sword into the panel. It vanished into thin air before everyone’s eyes.

Somewhere else at that same time...

Two figures were sitting beside a fountain and playing chess. Or that’s what the game looked like.

"You are taking too much time. Make your move already." One of these two figures, a female, spoke.

"What’s the rush? Like you have anything better to do." The male one said.

"Everyone isn’t so lazy like you. I have things I need to take care of."

"Like what? Training that apprentice of yours so she can stand against Verham? You know he’s the dragon queen’s favourite, right? No way she can....." The person couldn’t finish.

A creature stormed toward them. It had limbs like humans, but its head resembled a dragon’s.

"Your sire. Something big happened."

The male person smacked the intruder on the head. "How many times have I told you not to act like this. Just act normal and say what you wanted to say."

"The Frost Monarch’s Blade... It’s out of the river."

The female had just raised her hand to make a move. The male person was planning his next moves. But those few words froze them.

For a moment, nobody moved.

"Don’t tell me..." Then, the male one started with a trembling voice after a long time.

"He... he has returned." The creature finished for him.