Chapter 55: The Beast

“This evil shall be destroyed by me.”

In calm words, clenched lips, dragon eyes locked on the opponent—this was Li En’s unprecedented awakening.

The silver Sword of Courage was once again coated in a pale silver glow.

Will became power; the knight’s holy arts fully enhanced his body.

It is time to end this chain of tragedy. Victims became perpetrators, perpetrators became undead—this ending he could never accept.

“I promised those children.”

“For those children, shouldn’t you let their mother go?” The woman still smiled.

“Yes, but you’re not her. You’re merely a corpse that has taken her shell. Stop smiling, monster.” His voice, utterly calm, carried a fury he had never shown before.

That loving, gentle smile does not belong to you, monster!

“How unfair—I am Maria.” If a smile increases her hunting success, if it lulls opponents into complacency, why not use it?

She loved to smile, and she would always smile.

A grotesque monster, wearing human skin, mimicking humans with hollow lies.

“Clang!”

This time, in the blink of an eye, the Hero’s Sword pierced her arm.

Li En’s strike severed one of her arms, sending it crashing to the ground.

Maria’s expression turned to shock—unlike her previous human form, her true appearance revealed skin and flesh far stronger than ordinary horned thralls.

But was she still this fragile before his blade?

She glanced at the wound near her shoulder, where faint flames still burned, causing her discomfort.

A threat, but not much. The gap in “quantity” between them was too vast.

She slashed her finger across her shoulder—the limb, still burning with dragonfire, fell away.

She merely shook her left shoulder, twisted and jerked her left arm, and the flesh regenerated instantly.

“Amazing, truly amazing—is this what a Sword Master can do?” She displayed her intact left hand to her opponent.

Yet even now, her smile never faded.

She launched an attack.

Her right hand shot forward in a closed fist—slow in appearance, swift in truth, a punch devoid of technique, like a clown’s drunken blow.

“Boom!”

Li En instinctively sidestepped, watching as that slender fist shattered an entire rock wall.

Cold sweat soaked Li En’s shirt—he had seen nothing, only instinctive survival reflexes saved him.

Pure strength, an insurmountable numerical superiority—this was at least a several-fold difference in physical power.

The Beast’s physical hardware, far surpassing human limits, was merely its most basic ability. Had that punch struck Li En, even his armor would have shattered, driving him straight into the rock wall.

“You talk so big—why dodge?”

The words, laced with amusement, came from behind.

Strength grants speed. With this level of physique, no need to conserve energy or avoid injury—how could speed be slow?

In that instant, the scent of death brushed his nape.

“Shatter Blade. Break the Boundary!”

Li En hesitated no longer. Both hands gripped the sword, adopting the knight’s sword-stab stance, and slammed it violently into the ground.

His entire holy force erupted, forming a spherical burst centered on the blade.

“Boom!” A sphere of light, roughly one and a half meters in radius, exploded around Li En.

The timing was perfect—Maria, whose hand had just touched his back, was blasted backward.

Li En gasped for breath, turning to see the monster’s “burns” healing at visible speed.

This, too, was expected.

“But honestly, it’s frustrating—this level of vitality.”

Li En sighed, donning the Hill Giant Gauntlets—his strength instantly jumped from 13 to 18.

Considering the marginal returns of numerical thresholds, his actual power may have multiplied several times over.

The moment he put them on, he felt intense discomfort and dizziness—this was not equipment he could sustain long-term.

But against such an opponent, taking risks was unavoidable.

“Don’t come near!” Seeing Li En take damage, his teammate seemed ready to intervene.

Though he had been hurt, Li En shouted to stop Dimon and Talia from helping.

“Keep igniting that—this is the greatest help.”

The cave’s incense scent grew heavier—as Maria claimed, it seemed to have no effect?

Impossible. Never trust a Beast’s words.

Li En’s dragon eyes had observed: one small head on her body was yawning.

If even the Beast’s origin was affected, how could a half-Beast inheriting a fragment be completely immune?

Perhaps her Beast factor had overflowed so much that even partial dormancy didn’t hinder her internal functions. Slowing its activity would reduce her strength—that alone was worth it.

Talia, from behind, remained Maria’s greatest threat.

A killer is most dangerous when not striking. Once a flaw appears, Talia will not miss it.

Could that wooden sword truly not kill her? Given that one child’s head never stopped staring at Talia, it was far from certain.

“Keep going.”

Behind, Dimon was not called to assist in close combat.

Not only because his ability was insufficient for this battlefield, but because he had another purpose.

“The docks will have a better tomorrow—but there’s no place for a serial killer like this.”

“We will rebuild the orphanage and find better mothers for the children. This time, we will also build them a school.”

“Kill her—and the children of the docks can sleep in peace!”

Though absurd, Dimon was indeed mocking the enemy while loudly cheering Li En on.

But stranger still, as his words ended, a faint red glow covered Li En’s body and hands.

Li En’s physique and strength each increased by one point; his muscles grew denser and more powerful.

He even felt his blade sharpened, and his chest burned with inexplicable, overwhelming rage.

【Soul Technique: Honored to Be Human (Anomalous Stone): Shout out your soul’s obsession, your rage—fully reinforce your body. Your roar, your flesh, gains the potential to tear through any defense.】

【Note: Your roar has an area effect. Those who endorse your belief gain partial enhancement.】

This aggressive Soul Technique, though beyond Dimon’s combat tier, became his primary support buff.

Simultaneously, a beam of light fell upon Li En—minor healing, weak in effect, yet on a battlefield, having it or not made all the difference.

“The key is whether I can block her.” Li En had his awakening—this time, it would be another direct clash of strength.

Li En raised his sword, preparing his familiar Armor Piercing Strike.

But this time, Maria struck first.

“Clang!”

Her phantom-like movement left no trace—her knuckle-duster clashed against Li En’s parried blade.

But this time, Li En was only pushed back; his blade deflected, yet he did not fall.

The gap in transcendent strength had narrowed.

At this level alone, victory was possible.

Her physical hardware was formidable, her vitality absurd—but as the data stated, she had never undergone combat training, nor held any transcendent class rank.

Then how much of her raw power could she truly wield? With such pitiful combat skill, straightforward attacks were easy to counter.

Strong regeneration? Kill her again and again.

“You’ve grown stronger—why keep chasing me? There are so many other villains.”

Her words had long since proven meaningless to Li En’s group.

So she fell silent.

Recognizing mortal peril, the Beast’s survival instinct activated further.

Horns sprouted from Maria’s forehead; the infant eyes across her body ignited one by one; strange patterns spread over her entire form—the situation grew even more eerie.

“Watch out!”

At that moment, Li En went on high alert.

Had Maria, once an ordinary human, truly possessed no transcendent ability? Not necessarily.

If Beasts were merely stronger bodies that couldn’t be killed, they wouldn’t be so terrifying.

“Beasts are Children of the World—they often possess unique World Authority—or rather, Privilege. Their descendants, their kind, if their Beast blood is concentrated enough, may manifest a weakened version of this Authority.”

This was not from the Sect’s research materials—nor could the Hilda family possibly possess data of this rank.

But those elegant handwriting notes, left specifically as a warning for Li En—he could not ignore them.

Yet soon he would understand what “Authority” meant, what “Administrator Player” meant.

No matter how well you prepare, when facing someone with god-mode permissions, you still get crushed.

“Stand firm. Don’t fall.” Maria’s sudden words startled Li En.

The next instant, he understood.

“Boom!”

He crashed to the ground—no, he was flung straight into the cave’s ceiling.

"Ah!" Dimon and Talia also fell.

Their preparations were interrupted; they were firmly bound to the ceiling.

They struggled, but felt themselves bound even tighter.

"This beast is called the Great Horn Pillar, which governs the boundary between sky and sea."

"Does this mean the sky can become the sea, and the sea can become the sky? Is this gravity?! How can there be such an absurd power?"

Looking at Maria, who appeared to be standing on the "ceiling," looking down at them inverted, Li En was stunned.

How can we fight when we can't even stand?

(End of Chapter)