Chapter 358 - 358: Strong Opponent

"Don't run. The fun is only beginning, after all."

Aiden said with a small smile.

The monsters weren't listening to him. They turned and fled, but that was a really terrible choice.

With a whoosh, Aiden was right behind them.

Then came the sharp swish of his claws.

One after another, the monsters were killed, their bodies dropping dead by his feet as Aiden relished in the feeling of battle once again.

Well, this mostly seemed like slaughter.

Still, it made him feel alive.

The stronger he became, the more he felt the urge to grow even stronger.

It wasn't all because of the excitement that surged through his body, though. There was another reason for it.

Just like the others, Aiden wanted to grow stronger and stronger in order to never feel weak again.

He could still remember the battle between that cursed emissary and Han.

He and several other heroes hadn't been able to do a thing in that fight. All they could do was stand at the side and watch it play out.

Back then, he had felt weak.

When he lost against Magus, he had also felt extremely weak.

And when he lost against that red-haired Cursed Elite Striker, he had felt weak once again.

He wanted to change that.

That was why he fought and fought.

He fought higher-ranked monsters and beasts, killed them, extracted their DNA, and became stronger.

Elen was at another hiding spot.

After seeing that Aiden was done, she came out again.

The few monsters that were still twitching were finished off by her.

Aiden and her had done this two times now, so she was starting to get the hang of it.

Aiden was strong.

Far stronger than she had ever expected.

Well, it was normal.

She had never personally witnessed an S-Ranker in action.

Still...

He was damn strong.

If things continued like this, then she stood a very, very high chance of surviving this and leaving this red portal alive.

She was sure she would cause waves if she returned alive.

Thinking about the faces of her partners when they saw her return, their stupefied expressions made her smile.

Even she would be shocked if she actually made it out of here alive.

She was still in the middle of that thought when she felt a tug on her armor.

Before she knew it, she was pulled away from her position.

Then...

BOOM!

A figure landed right where she had been standing only two or so seconds ago.

The corpse of an Ashen monster that had been there was crushed beneath the creature's feet.

Elen's eyes widened when she realized what had happened.

If she hadn't been pulled away, she would probably have been crushed beneath that creature's feet.

Aiden, who had saved her life yet again, stepped forward.

His smile remained plastered across his face as he looked at the giant Ashen creature.

It was at least eight feet tall, its body practically a wall of muscle.

The feeling this Ashen gave off was also completely different from the other Ashen creatures he had faced until now.

That told him everything he needed to know.

Aiden smiled.

"Finally. A strong opponent has appeared."

Hearing him say that, Elen felt her face go pale.

The reason was actually twofold.

First, every Ashen creature here would have been nightmarish if they were ever to break into the human world.

Yet Aiden was calling them weak.

The second reason was even more terrifying.

He had called this one a strong opponent.

Which meant one thing.

This had to be the portal boss.

An S-Rank monster.

Her heart thumped violently.

She had never faced an S-Rank monster or beast before.

But based on what her guild leader always said...

"If you ever come across an S-Rank monster, get down on your knees and say your last prayer."

And now, due to so many events, she was here.

Facing an actual S-Rank opponent.

Elen gulped as chills ran down her spine.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the fact that she seemed to be the only one startled here.

The blonde monster, Aiden, seemed just as relaxed as he had been before.

In fact, he seemed excited.

She didn't even know what to think about the bestial hero anymore.

Maybe he was simply insane from birth.

Even if he was an A-Ranker, there should still be a level of trouble he would face.

S-Rank portal bosses were monsters that even S-Rankers had to take seriously.

And yet, Aiden didn't have any determined or focused expression right now.

If anything, he looked extremely excited.

Like a kid who had just received a nice new toy.

Aiden stepped forward, smiling.

Finally.

An opponent he could go all out against.

The Ashen warrior looked around at all the dead members of his race.

Then he looked at the humanoid beast before him.

And finally, at the small human figure standing beside the beast.

Is this what remains?

He thought.

The rest of them must have died in the earlier battle.

But he didn't really have the time to question the rats.

They were all going to die anyway.

And he would start with the weakest one first, before focusing his attention on the beast that seemed to be quite strong.

When the monster reached this conclusion, he seemed to vanish.

In the next instant, he appeared right before Elen, who was standing behind Aiden.

His hand stretched forward, and a massive Ashen axe appeared in his grasp.

Without hesitation, he swung it directly toward Elen's body, aiming to cleave her in two.

Before the axe could slice her apart, however, something interrupted its momentum.

"Leave the lady out of this."

Aiden said with a smile as he blocked the monster's axe with his claws.

"This is between me and you."

The monster frowned slightly.

The beast had reacted faster than he could have imagined.

Before the monster could react, Aiden's second hand moved.

Whoosh!

The monster narrowly escaped the claw attack and landed several meters away.

Still, a thin line of bruising appeared across the monster's body.

His skin is thicker than the rest.

Aiden thought.

His claws didn't seem capable of slicing through the monster's defense as he had expected.

Still, he was confident he could take it down.

And although he could tell that this monster was an S-Rank, he could swear that it wasn't the boss of this portal.

Meaning a far more powerful opponent awaited him after he took care of this one.

Naki looked at the bruise once.

Then he scoffed.

Since the beast wanted to die first, he was going to grant its wish.

The monster raised his axe into a strange battle stance.

It was so weird that Aiden almost burst into laughter.

But then...

The monster moved.

Aiden immediately felt danger.

He barely managed to raise his guard before the axe struck him head-on.

BOOM!

He was sent flying, several cuts appearing all over his body.

"Esshh..."

Aiden groaned in pain as the sensation shot through his nerves.

He wasn't able to regain his bearings before he saw the monster's Ashen axe coming barreling toward his head once more.

He moved out of the way just in time.

Then he engaged the monster in a rapid, brutal exchange of attacks.

The ground shook and quaked beneath their battle.

The very air howled.

Elen could only stare at the amazing battle in awe and astonishment.

So this is what it means for S-Rankers to face off against each other...

She thought.

The battle was far beyond her league.

A claw swipe that Aiden threw, which the monster managed to dodge, slammed into the side of a nearby Ashen boulder.

The boulder was torn apart.

Elen knew for certain that if she was foolish enough to enter that fight...

She wouldn't even know how she died.

So, for her own life and safety, she remained at a distance, watching the battle unfold.

The battle raged on.

Faster.

Faster.

And more furious as time passed.

The ground shook.

The air howled.

They both seemed evenly matched.

At least, that was what Elen thought.

But as time went by, the fight began to shift.

It seemed as if Aiden was losing.

Wait.

He is losing.

Elen's heart shook.

No.

That couldn't happen.

He was strong, right?

He wouldn't lose like this.

But reality seemed determined to crush whatever hope she had.

The more time passed, the more injured and weakened Aiden became.

And then it happened.

The two fighters disengaged.

The blonde youth, the beast, was a mess.

Several bloody gashes ran across his body.

All the silvery spikes covering his body, which had made him look so imposing and terrifying before, had been broken.

He was extremely weakened and injured.

Yet the smile on his face never disappeared.

Is he crazy?

Why is he smiling in this situation?

Elen thought.

Then she frowned slightly and shook her head.

She had almost forgotten.

Of course he was crazy.

She thought wryly.

Still, when her gaze turned toward the Ashen monster, she couldn't help but let a small smile touch her face.

The monster wasn't exactly in good condition either.

Several streams of black blood covered his entire body.

And his left hand had been cut off.

If anything, he seemed to have suffered even more damage from the blonde youth.

If the battle continued like this, then they stood a great chance of taking down this portal boss and leaving here alive.

At least, that was what she thought.

As if determined to crush her hope, the Ashen warrior's severed hand suddenly began to regenerate at an insane speed.

A dark skeleton formed the structure of his hand.

Then, like flowing liquid, Ashen flesh poured over it, forming a completely new arm.

Elen blinked.

Stunned.

Then she blinked again in disbelief.

And then she blinked rapidly in terror and shock.

"What..."

They could regenerate?

Not only that, but all the minor cuts across the monster's body were also healing at an alarming rate.

Her heart shook.

This wasn't good.

If the portal boss could regenerate, while the youth didn't seem capable of doing the same, wouldn't that mean that if the battle of attrition continued...

The winner was already decided?

She turned her gaze toward the bestial hero.

But he was still smiling.

Even as he watched the situation slipping out of his control.

What is he thinking?

She thought.

Her legs weakened.

Is this the end?

Was she going to die here?

Well...

At least she had survived and lived longer than she had expected.

Whatever...

She thought as she watched the Ashen creature charge toward the wounded Aiden.

Aiden smiled when he saw this.

Then his body began to glow with blinding silver light.

Every silver stripe across his body glowed in unison.

Then he struck with his claw.

A thick line of silver rushed forward at immense speed toward the Ashen monster.

Seeing this as a last-ditch effort, the monster swung his axe, attempting to destroy the incoming attack.

The two collided.

But there was no impact.

No explosion.

No clash of force.

Instead...

The silver strike completely sliced through the monster, shredding his body into pieces.

The monster didn't even get a chance to react before his life ended.

Elen stared at the shredded body of the monster as it dropped lifelessly onto the ground.

Her brain simply shut down.

Her eyes remained blank as she stared at the scene before her.

"What just happened?"

She muttered.

Her face was blank.

Her mind was blank.

Everything was blank.