Chapter 223 — When Death Answered Despair

The settlement lay buried beneath a mountain of shattered wood, stone, ice, and corpses.

What had once been a fortified goblin settlement was now little more than a graveyard.

Yet somewhere beneath the wreckage, a faint crimson light continued to pulse.

Within the broken remains of a collapsed structure, a battered figure lay motionless.

Evan.

His body was almost unrecognisable after the monster's relentless assault. Blood covered his clothes, several bones were fractured, and his flesh was torn in countless places.

His consciousness had already slipped into darkness.

Yet his hand still refused to release the Crimson Edge.

The blade trembled faintly.

Then its flames began to pulse.

A strange warmth seeped from the weapon into Evan's body, burning through the pain and slowly knitting together damaged flesh.

The blade was using its own flames as a source of healing, consuming Evan's remaining mana to sustain the process.

Evan knew nothing of it.

He was too deep in unconsciousness to feel anything.

And while his body slowly recovered beneath the rubble, something far more dangerous was approaching.

Boom.

A distant tremor shook the ruined settlement.

Boom.

Another followed.

The wooden monster was coming.

It had not forgotten its prey.

Inside Evan's consciousness, there was nothing.

All that existed was endless darkness.

Evan floated within it, his thoughts barely holding together.

'Is this really the end?'

The thought surfaced slowly.

'I've already used almost everything I have.'

The image of the wooden monster flashed through his mind.

That overwhelming strength and absurd regeneration.

Those countless vines.

And the terrifying ability to manipulate the very forest around it.

Evan's expression became grim.

'I'm not even halfway through this trial, yet I'm already being pushed this far.'

A bitter breath escaped him.

'Is this what an EX+ trial is supposed to be?'

For the first time since entering the trial, Evan felt something dangerously close to doubt.

Not fear or surrender.

Just the cold realisation that his current strength might genuinely be insufficient.

Then...

A tiny light appeared in the distance.

Evan's eyes shifted toward it.

The light grew brighter.

Larger.

Closer.

Until the darkness itself seemed to burn away.

A bird emerged from the void.

Its entire body was wrapped in brilliant flames, each feather appearing to be forged from living fire.

Evan's eyes widened.

He recognised that presence.

'Velma...?'

No.

That was impossible.

Velma was sealed by the System's restrictions.

She couldn't appear here.

Then who was this?

His expression slowly changed.

'Vela...'

The Death Phoenix flew directly toward him.

Evan expected it to stop.

It didn't.

The blazing bird continued forward, its flames growing brighter until they completely filled his vision.

Evan instinctively raised his arm.

But instead of colliding with him...

The Phoenix opened its beak.

And swallowed him whole.

Flames engulfed his consciousness.

Pain erupted through his entire body.

Then—

Evan's eyes snapped open.

"Hah... hah..."

His chest rose violently as he dragged in a breath.

He was still beneath the rubble.

For a moment, he didn't understand what had happened.

Then he looked down.

The wounds covering his body were rapidly closing.

Broken flesh was repairing itself.

The terrible pain inside his body was fading.

A faint crimson glow surrounded him.

Evan's gaze immediately shifted toward the blade in his hand.

The Blade was glowing.

Its flames were slowly fading now that he was awake.

Evan stared at it for several seconds.

Then understanding dawned.

"Vela..."

A faint smile appeared beneath his exhaustion.

"Thanks."

The blade returned to its normal state.

Evan stored it away for a moment and immediately activated his healing talent.

Green and golden light spread across his body.

The remaining injuries began closing one after another.

The healing wasn't instant, but it was enough.

Enough to let him stand.

Evan pushed away the broken logs covering him and finally crawled out from beneath the ruins.

His body still hurt.

Every movement sent pain through his bones.

But he could move.

That was enough.

Then he heard it.

BOOM.

Evan stopped.

His gaze slowly shifted toward the forest.

BOOM.

The sound was closer this time.

Something enormous was approaching.

Through the ruined settlement, Evan saw it.

The wooden monster.

It was moving toward him.

The damage Evan had inflicted upon it was already being repaired.

Its severed arm had almost completely regrown.

Burnt sections of its body were being replaced by fresh wood.

Then Evan witnessed something that made his eyes narrow.

The monster reached out toward a nearby tree.

The tree violently tore itself from the ground.

Roots snapped.

Branches twisted.

The entire mass of wood was dragged toward the monster before wrapping around its damaged body like living armour.

Within moments, the missing portions of its body had been reconstructed.

Evan's expression hardened.

'So it can manipulate the forest itself.'

The entire forest was effectively its battlefield.

Every piece of wood could become another layer of its body.

Evan briefly considered retreating.

'Should I create some distance and recover my mana first?'

His eyes narrowed.

'No.'

Running wasn't an option.

Not against something that could control the environment.

The moment he entered the forest, he would be fighting the monster on its own ground.

And there was another problem.

His mana regeneration was painfully slow because of the lingering curse.

The sun was already sinking beyond the trees.

Soon, darkness would cover the forest.

That would only make things worse.

Evan sat down on a broken log.

He closed his eyes.

He began recovering every drop of mana he could.

There was no room for waste anymore.

No unnecessary spells or reckless attacks.

He needed everything he had for the next confrontation.

Because he finally understood something.

He couldn't defeat this monster by simply overpowering it.

He needed his flames.

And he needed to find the weakness hidden beneath that wooden body.

Minutes passed.

The forest grew darker.

The last traces of sunlight faded between the trees.

Then—

BOOM.

The monster reached the outskirts of the settlement.

Its massive head slowly turned.

It searched through the ruins.

Its dark green eyes eventually locked onto something.

A lone figure sitting upon a broken log.

Evan.

The monster released a thunderous roar.

ROOOAAARRRR!

The remaining trees trembled.

Birds scattered from the distant forest.

Dust rolled across the ruined settlement.

Evan slowly opened his eyes.

For several seconds, neither side moved.

The monster stared down at him.

Evan stared back.

The fear he had felt earlier was gone.

So was the hesitation.

He stood.

His body still carried injuries.

His mana was far from full.

The forest was descending into darkness.

And before him stood a monster he still couldn't properly measure.

Yet Evan's grip tightened around the Blade.

Flames slowly crawled along its edge.

He raised the weapon toward the monster.

A cold smile appeared beneath his bloodstained face.

"Then let's finish this."

His eyes sharpened.

"Either I cut you down..."

The flames around his blade suddenly surged.

"...or I fail here."

The monster lowered its massive body.

The ground cracked beneath its feet.

For one breath, the entire ruined settlement became silent.

Then both sides moved.

Evan had recovered barely 10% of his mana, but he had no intention of retreating. His body was already pushed to its limits, the settlement behind him had become a graveyard, and the wooden monster before him was still recovering as if the previous battle had meant nothing.

There was only one option left.

Finish it here.

Flames erupted from the blade, but this time they didn't remain confined to the weapon. They crawled up Evan's arm, wrapped around his shoulders and torso, and finally engulfed his entire body in blazing fire.

For a moment, Evan looked like a human-shaped inferno standing against the descending darkness.

The last light of evening was disappearing between the trees, leaving the forest shrouded in shadows. Yet wherever Evan stood, the flames illuminated the ruined settlement in a flickering orange glow.

It reminded him of Kael's final battle within the Zeroth Expanse.

Except this time, there would be no one coming to save him.

The wooden monster suddenly raised its arm.

Dozens of thick vines burst from its body and shot toward Evan like enraged serpents, tearing through the ground as they came.

Evan's eyes sharpened.

He stepped forward and swung the blade.

The flames exploded from the edge.

The incoming vines were incinerated the moment they touched the fire, turning into ash before the attack continued forward and carved a burning slash across the monster's chest.

Wood exploded apart.

Roots were severed.

A deep, charred wound appeared across its torso.

Yet the monster didn't even stop, except to cover its crimson glowing chest area where the totem was.

Evan gaze remained fixed on that crimson glow.

It charged through the flames with a furious roar and swung its massive fist.

Evan twisted his body aside at the last moment.

The fist passed close enough to create a violent gust against his face.

Evan countered immediately.

His blade swept across the monster's leg, flames tearing into the thick wood and leaving another deep burning mark.

But the monster barely reacted.

Fresh roots were already crawling over the wound.

New wood began replacing what had been destroyed.

Evan's expression tightened.

'My mana is too low.'

He poured more power into the blade.

The flames brightened.

He rushed forward.

Slash after slash tore into the monster's body.

Its shoulder was cut.

Its torso was burned.

One of its legs was nearly severed.

Every time Evan opened a wound, however, fresh wood and vines grew over it, replacing the destroyed parts before the damage could become fatal.

It was like fighting something that possessed an endless supply of flesh.

Evan gritted his teeth.

'How much can this thing regenerate?'

Every time his flames destroyed a large portion of the monster's body, the crimson lightning intensified.

And every time the surrounding wood rushed toward it...

The glow weakened.

Evan's expression became colder.

'So that's what you're protecting.'

He attacked again.

And again.

Until he felt the familiar emptiness inside his body.

His mana was running out.

The flames around his blade began to weaken.

Evan immediately backed away as a massive fist smashed into the ground where he had been standing.

The earth ruptured.

Fragments of stone and wood flew through the air.

Evan steadied himself, staring at the monster through the flames slowly fading around his body.

'Vela.'

His eyes dropped toward the blade.

'I don't know whether you can hear me, but I need more power.'

The monster began approaching again.

'I can't let this thing survive. If I leave it here, it could become an even greater problem later. It could even cost me the entire trial.'

The blade remained silent.

Evan's grip tightened.

'I don't know if this will work.'

His gaze hardened.

'But just like you did for Kael back then... take my vitality.'

He could feel his body weakening already.

'If that's what it takes, then take it.'

'This is my last shot.'

The flames around the blade flickered.

Before Evan could make another move, something enormous appeared directly in front of his face.

His pupils contracted.

The monster's fist.

There was no time to dodge.

Evan raised his arm.

BOOOOM!

The impact exploded through his body.

His arm nearly went numb instantly as the force launched him backwards.

He crashed through several broken logs before slamming into what remained of the settlement wall.

CRAAASH!

The already weakened wall collapsed completely.

Evan fell among the debris.

For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.

Pain spread through every part of his body.

His injuries had never fully recovered from the previous battle, and now another devastating blow had been added on top of them.

His vision blurred.

Blood covered half his face.

Evan slowly pushed himself up.

His hand trembled.

He drove the blade into the ground and used it to support himself.

His blood ran down the weapon's edge.

Across the ruined settlement, the monster continued approaching.

Its body was already healing.

Burnt wood was being replaced.

Broken roots were twisting together.

It looked almost untouched.

Evan stared at it.

For the first time, his mind struggled to find an answer.

'What Tier is this thing?'

He had fought Tier 1 beings before.

This wasn't one of them.

At least, not an ordinary one.

'Is this trial even possible?'

His breathing became heavier.

He looked down at his blade.

Vela wasn't responding.

His mana was almost exhausted.

His body was barely standing.

And the monster was still coming.

Step by step closer.

Evan slowly raised his head.

The creature's enormous shadow covered him.

His eyes narrowed.

A strange feeling settled within his chest.

Despair.

Not the kind that made him want to surrender.

The kind that appeared when reality itself seemed to be telling him that victory was impossible.

Evan had faced death countless times.

But this was different.

This time, even he couldn't see the path forward.

The monster raised its fist.

Evan slowly straightened his back.

His legs trembled beneath him.

One eye was almost completely covered by blood.

The skin across half his face was torn and damaged, while his hair hung wildly around his face.

Yet his hand still held the blade.

He raised it toward the monster.

"The trial thinks this is my end?"

His voice was hoarse, barely carrying through the ruined settlement.

"So this is where you expect me to break."

Evan lowered his blade.

His breathing was ragged.

His body was failing.

But his eyes remained fixed on the monster.

"Then you're going to be disappointed."

The flames around the blade flickered weakly.

Evan's eyes gradually became colder.

"Don't make me laugh."

The monster continued forward.

Evan forced himself another step ahead.

"I'm not falling here."

His voice grew firmer.

"Not today."

Blood dripped from his chin.

"If I have to spend everything I have..."

Evan tightened his grip.

"...then I'll spend it to take you down today."

Silence followed.

For a single heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then Evan's heart suddenly slammed against his chest.

THUMP.

His entire body froze.

His pupils contracted.

THUMP.

Another heartbeat.

Stronger.

Deeper.

Something inside him had awakened.

Evan's expression changed.

The pain disappeared from his awareness.

The sound of the forest faded.

Even the approaching monster seemed to become distant.

His heart beat once more.

THUMP.

Darkness suddenly spread across his eyes.

Not the darkness of unconsciousness.

Something else.

Evan stared ahead.

The blackness within his eyes deepened until his pupils seemed to disappear entirely.

And then...

Someone appeared in front of him.

A figure standing silently between Evan and the wooden monster.

Evan's breathing stopped.

His eyes widened.

He knew that presence.

He knew that silhouette.

His lips parted.

"You..."