Chapter94

The monster raised one claw. The air around its body warped with sudden pressure, a dark crystal materializing from nothing and orbiting its wrist with a low hum.
Gazel stared at the single Shard, the cold reality hitting him immediately.
'It was fighting in base form this whole time?' he thought, the golden light fading as the real gap in power crushed down on him.
The monster didn't give him time to swing. It vanished, reappearing directly in front of him before he could even raise his sword, its claw driving cleanly through his chest one last time.
The impact severed his connection to the Brand instantly, the golden light shattering as the monster pulled its hand free.
He collapsed to his knees, his broken body finally refusing to move while his blood poured into the ground.
'I see... this was hopeless from the start,' he thought, his vision going completely black as he realized there was never a way to stop it. 'Sorry... princess.'
He pitched forward, hitting the ground, and didn't move again.
The monster stood over the body and flicked the blood off its claws, "I didn't expect someone without a drop of the bloodline to force that skill out," it muttered, looking down at Gazel. "But in the end, it was just a poor imitation. If you had the actual blood backing that resonance, you might have given me a hard time."
It sighed and rolled its shoulders, turning toward the spot where the princess had fallen. "I would have loved to see how long you could actually burn your soul, but I have to put that off for now. The princess comes first."
It stopped, noticing the crushed grass was completely empty before a metallic clink broke the silence from above, making it snap its head up toward the canopy.
Hajin crouched on a thick branch, holding the unconscious princess under one arm while his other hand gripped the glowing golden chain, his eyes locked directly onto the monster.
He snapped his wrist, shooting the unwrapped chain across the gap to wrap around another tree deeper in the forest. He dropped off the branch and pulled the chain tight, using the momentum to swing them both away into the thick leaves.
The monster didn't chase after them. It just stood in the ruined clearing, watching them disappear with a grin stretching across its face.
"He's stronger than before," it said, its voice rumbling. "I was planning to kill him since he smelled so weak earlier but this turned out quite well. I suppose my pet boar was good nourishment."
It chuckled, the sound vibrating through the ground.
"Good," the monster whispered into the empty clearing, "continue to grow just like that. When you are perfectly ripe, I will rip that divine power right out of your chest and offer it directly to the King."