Chapter 366 - 366: Inhumane

"That is quite unexpected..."

The Ice Elf thought silently.

Sincerely sensing the fact that almost all of the subordinates of this Ashen Race had been wiped out by the squad of those pathetic creatures called humans made her question Lord Therion's reason for asking these weakling monsters to join the Monster Union.

In her mind, they weren't really worthy.

Not even close.

But feeling the depth of Guanlik's power through his surging aura made her rethink things.

Just like her, many might think she was only one step away from becoming an Ascendant.

And they would have been greatly mistaken.

After all, she wasn't one step away from becoming an Ascendant.

She was already a Pseudo Ascendant.

And right now, the aura radiating from Guanlik confirmed that he was also a Pseudo Ascendant.

The look of surprise in the Ice Elf's eyes vanished the very next second.

In its place returned the cold, dismissive look of disdain she had been wearing on her face before.

"Are all Ashen creatures this weak?"

Her voice was cold and filled with unmistakable contempt.

"To think all your chiefs and warriors have been wiped out by humans... just how weak must you be for that to happen in barely an hour or so?"

Guanlik's gaze was as dark as his eyes.

Yet he didn't say a word to the Ice Elf in response.

He was beyond angry.

Not at her words...

But at the incompetence of his own commanders and soldiers.

Why couldn't they kill all the human pests that were causing trouble on his land?

Instead, they had been wiped out.

Just how disgraceful was that?

Even if Earth had sent its strongest warriors, they still shouldn't have been capable of wiping out his forces like that.

Guanlik slowly calmed himself.

It had been a long time...

A very long time since the Ashen Race had launched any invasion on Earth.

Not after the Great War from years ago.

So yes...

Maybe that was what had happened.

Maybe the humans had made a great breakthrough.

Maybe they had gotten much stronger during all those years.

And now, they were sending those renowned forces of elite warriors against him, intending to wipe the Ashen World out first.

That was Guanlik's train of thought.

And suddenly, he calmed down.

That would make some sense, at least.

If the humans had hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of warriors with many S-Rank warriors among them, then it would make total sense for his forces to have been overwhelmed.

So that was what happened...

Guanlik slowly leaned back and relaxed in his seat.

No matter how powerful the humans were, they would have suffered a great loss after wiping out his forces.

And if that was taken into consideration, they wouldn't be able to have enough warriors left to face him.

After all...

He was a Pseudo Ascendant.

He would be able to face twenty to thirty S-Rank warriors at the same time and, at the end of the day, emerge as the victor.

There was no way he would lose to the humans.

He would simply let those remaining warriors appear on his doorstep.

And then...

He would end them himself.

The dark eyes of Guanlik flashed with barely hidden malice as he waited.

He would allow the human survivors to reach his doorstep.

He would let them walk directly into his territory.

And then, he would personally send them to their doom.

Several minutes later...

Aiden and Elen walked directly into the Ashen Palace.

The enormous entrance seemed to have been opened specifically to welcome them in.

Seeing this, Aiden's smile widened.

Instead of feeling threatened by the obvious invitation, he became even more playful.

Meanwhile, Elen's heart, which already felt as though it was ready to jump straight out of her body, began racing even faster.

She could almost swear that her heart had jumped into her throat.

This Ashen Palace was extremely eerie.

The entire place carried an oppressive vibe of slaughter and doom.

Even the air seemed heavy.

Dark.

Unwelcoming.

And then they saw the walls.

Great carvings covered them.

Carvings of Ashen Monsters torturing various humanoid creatures.

Some of those humanoids were unmistakably familiar.

Humans.

Their own species.

Humans were being tortured and slaughtered like animals.

Their bodies had been carved into the walls, their suffering permanently immortalized in horrifying detail.

Such a vile and despicable act was being plastered across the walls as if it were some kind of art.

Some kind of heavenly masterpiece.

Elen's stomach churned.

She wanted to puke.

But she didn't.

She forced herself to calm down, trying desperately to convince herself that it wasn't real.

That didn't work.

So she resorted to telling herself something else.

Only vile creatures like the Ashen Monsters were capable of doing something like this.

Only monsters could torture another living being and derive happiness from it.

That thought was the only thing keeping her from completely breaking down.

And the good thing was...

The humans who had been tortured and slain here would be able to rest in peace.

After all, they had already slain numerous Ashen Monsters.

And they weren't moving forward for anything else.

They were moving forward to slay the Ashen King as well.

And when they did that...

Those poor souls would finally be able to rest in peace, knowing that their brutal deaths had been avenged.

Elen turned her face away from the inhumane carvings.

The more she looked at the carved humans, the more painful it became.

They looked as though they were crying out in agony even though they had been reduced to nothing more than images upon the walls.

The sight made her heart ache.

Her eyes became wet.

She almost cried.

But she forced herself to remain composed.

She couldn't cry now.

Not here.

Not when they were so close.

The thought that after slaying this Ashen Monster Boss, she could finally grieve for them crossed her mind.

But right now...

She wasn't worthy of that.

She had to remain strong.

While Elen was being moved to tears, Aiden glanced toward the carvings.

His smile was gone.

His face remained calm.

Completely calm.

But the sharp glint in the corner of his eyes told a very different story.

He was able to retain his usual calmness because this wasn't the first time he had seen this kind of painting.

In fact, saying that he had seen something similar in more than ten different portals wouldn't be a lie at all.

Each one had been similar to this.

Monsters torturing, molesting, and slaughtering humans...

Then carving those horrific acts onto their own skin and walls as though it were some kind of sweet tradition.

Every single time Aiden saw it, his hatred for monsters grew.

And now...

That hatred had reached a staggering height.

Seeing just how inhumane these monsters were toward humans made him want to eradicate every last one of them.

Aiden let out a small sigh.

Then he stopped walking.

Elen, whose head was lowered as she fought the urge to tear up over the inhumane carvings, didn't notice immediately.

She took another step...

And bumped directly into him.

"Ah..."

She whimpered softly and looked up, wanting to ask why he had stopped.

But the words died before they could leave her mouth.

Her eyes landed on the massive dark door standing before them.

It was enormous.

Heavy.

And terrifyingly silent.

But what truly made her body stiffen was the immense dark aura oozing from the other side.

It seeped through the cracks around the door like an invisible fog, carrying with it a pressure that made the air itself feel suffocating.

Elen gulped.

Her mind immediately snapped toward only one explanation.

The Portal Boss...

Was right on the other side.

Aiden looked at the door.

His expression slowly turned cold.

Then, a smile appeared on his face.

But there was no warmth in it.

Not even the slightest bit.

It was a smile filled with killing intent.

"I promise I will make him scream and beg."

His voice was calm.

Yet every word carried an undeniable weight.

He wasn't simply speaking to Elen.

In his own way...

He was making a promise to the tormented dead humans whose suffering had been carved into these walls.

"I promise."

Meanwhile...

On the other side of the door...

The Ashen King stared toward the massive entrance.

A dark smile slowly spread across his face.

His eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Come in, humans."

His voice was low and sinister.

"Come to meet your doom."