“AAARGHHHH…!”

The beast screamed in pain. Between Eric’s daggers slicing through his shadow armor, Yuki’s crushing sword that disrupted his movements, Ester’s binding shadows, and Elizabeth’s perfectly timed mind attack, the beast was completely immobilized.

He hadn’t expected this.

Until now, he had only been playing with them.

But their sudden, well-coordinated charge had caught him completely off guard.

Anger bubbled inside him. His eyes turned vicious.

“HOW DARE YOU!!!”

He roared.

The shockwave alone sent Ester and the others flying.

Before they could think of a counterattack, the shadows twisted unnaturally in all directions, swallowing them in complete darkness.

“Fuck, he’s imprisoned us,” Eric said grimly.

As a shadow user, he could clearly sense it—

They had been engulfed by deep, powerful shadows.

Destroying it would require attacks as strong as before, but—

Tink!

Yuki deflected a shadow spear with her sword, her orange eyes glowing fiercely within the darkness.

Her senses were pushed to their absolute limits.

Ester and Elizabeth were on full alert too.

But this was the beast’s domain. And little by little, they started to get injured.

STAB—!

“Eric!!!”

Yuki and Elizabeth cried out in panic.

“Arghhh…”

Eric groaned, a shadow spear impaling him. Blood gushed out in streams.

Weakly, he knelt down, breathing heavily.

His vision blurred.

They couldn’t find the beast.

It was as if he was invisible.

Whenever they found a trace and attacked, it turned out to be nothing but a shadow.

They were in serious trouble.

The girls immediately gathered in front of Eric, shielding him.

At first, they hadn’t cared much about him.

Hell, they barely knew him.

But after fighting together, struggling together, surviving together—

They’d bonded, even if none of them would ever admit it out loud.

Eric, after all, was the one who kept things from falling apart when tensions rose—

especially with Yuki and Elizabeth’s craziness and Ester’s “I-don’t-care-about-you” attitude.

So they stood before him.

Protecting him.

Ester raised a shadow barrier around them.

Yuki added her own sword barrier on top of it.

“Drink a healing potion, fast,” Elizabeth ordered, her voice tight with urgency.

She had been the backbone of this team, warning them against fatal attacks with her senses.

But she was reaching her limits too.

She was only an A-rank, after all.

And this beast had concealment intent—powerful enough to hide even his attacks.

Still, Elizabeth refused to accept death.

She gritted her teeth.

“If I don’t push further, we’ll all die here,” she thought grimly.

She sent a mental message to the others:

“I’ll give you an opening.”

Yuki, Ester, and even the bleeding Eric listened carefully.

“Only one chance,” she said heavily.

“One. And you must kill or incapacitate him.”

They nodded. Their expressions hardened.

Eric, after downing a potion, slowly stood again.

His breathing steadied.

The potion barely knit his wounds closed, buying him minutes, not hours.

BOOM—BOOM

The barrier trembled and cracked under the beast’s assault.

“GET OUT! YOU’LL ALL DIE ANYWAY!”

The beast’s voice thundered, echoing in the darkness.

But they stayed silent.

He could rant and rage all he wanted.

Yuki tightened her grip on her sword.

Hot steam escaped from her mouth as she breathed heavily.

She closed her eyes.

The world disappeared.

There was no forest. No darkness.

Only her—and infinite swords.

She remembered Noah’s sword technique during their duel.

The teachings he had given her—

The concepts of trickery, of illusion.

She couldn’t replicate it, not without an aura like his or an affinity for illusions.

But Yuki didn’t care.

She would make it work.

She thought of Noah—

His ever-present smirk.

His confident gaze.

The way he trusted her.

And in that moment—

Her eyes snapped open, glowing with intense light.

Her aura surged: deep, sharp, unstoppable.

She subtly shifted her stance—

Making it harder for anyone to predict her next move.

“I’m ready,” she whispered.

Ester remained silent.

But her heart roared.

She was Noah’s shadow.

She refused to fail again.

Not like in that dungeon.

Never again.

Her aura flared to its peak.

She would prove herself worthy.

Eric simply stood calmly.

No emotions visible.

Only a cold, ruthless will.

“Same,” he said.

Elizabeth watched them all—and prepared.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment.

‘All out,’ she decided.

BOOM—

The barrier finally shattered.

But before the darkness could reveal them, Ester’s full power cloaked them in invisibility for just a moment.

And that moment was all Elizabeth needed.

Her head snapped toward a seemingly empty space.

Nothing was visible—

But she sensed him.

“The beast is there.”

She unleashed her final trump card.

“SOUL DESTRUCTION!”

She screamed, blood pouring from her eyes.

BOOOOOOM—!

“ARGGHHHHH!”

The beast howled as he became fully visible, his body writhing.

Elizabeth collapsed, completely drained.

But the others didn’t waste a second.

Yuki moved.

She had realized long ago that she couldn’t copy Noah’s sword trick exactly.

But she had forged her own path. Her sword was enough.

No need of trick or illusions.

“Yuki’s Personal Sword Technique: Phantom Severance.”

{DING!}

The Akashic Record chimed.

But she had no time to care.

She swung her sword—not once but hundreds of times in less than five seconds.

Each slash blurred with speed and precision—an overwhelming storm of blades.

Only one strike was real.

And it pierced directly into the beast’s eye.

Black blood gushed out.

“ARGHHHH…!!”

The beast roared in mindless rage.

“I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU!”

He trashed wildly, screaming, losing his mind.

And right then, Eric acted.

Without hesitation, he charged straight into the beast’s open mouth.

“KUGH?!”

The beast’s eyes widened in shock.

Before he could react—

Eric was already deep inside, facing the monster’s massive dark heart.

Without a second thought—

“Serpentine Shadow.”

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Eric attacked relentlessly.

The beast convulsed violently, but Eric didn’t stop.

His body was battered by corrosive shadows, but he didn’t care.

He slashed, absorbed the beast’s shadows, and slashed again—

Stronger and faster each time.

Minutes later—

The beast’s colossal heart cracked open under Eric’s relentless assault—

and with a final, gurgling roar, the creature shuddered once… then crashed to the ground, dead.

The beast collapsed.

Eric staggered out, drenched in black blood, and collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.

The others also fell to the ground, completely drained.

And then—

The voice of the Akashic Record echoed inside their minds:

{DING! DING!}

{MAGNIFICENT!}

{You have slain an S-rank beast with a deep Shadow Dragon bloodline.}

{A beast that, if its bloodline were refined, would have become a true dragon.}

{You are worthy.}

{Title acquired: Dragon Slayer.}

They smiled weakly at the notification.

But their smiles didn’t last long.

“Truly incredible,”

a cold voice echoed around them.

They snapped their heads toward the source.

A man with a well-trimmed beard, wearing the inquisitor’s uniform of the Church, approached—

and others followed behind him.

Elizabeth, already collapsed, turned pale.

“Grand Master Elden…?”

Elden smiled hollowly.

A dead, merciless smile.

“Little Eli. It’s been a long time.”

“But what a shame,” he said.

He paused.

“You’re all going to die today.”

—End of Chapter 68—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel