Chapter 251: A Greater Threat Emerges
Seraphine’s smile widened at Leon’s praise, the simple acknowledgment warming her more than any flowery compliment could have. The weight of her past fear had lifted, replaced by a growing confidence that made her hungry for more action.
"You can’t have all the fun," she said, gesturing at the dissolving remains of several creatures Leon had dispatched while she fought her personal battle. "I want to take part too. These things might not leave cores or stones, but the combat experience is invaluable."
Leon agreed without hesitation. His confidence in his ability to protect her was absolute – nothing in this mist had shown itself capable of truly threatening them, and his spatial awareness gave them such an advantage that ambushes were impossible. If Seraphine wanted to fight, to grow stronger through combat, he saw no reason to deny her.
As he nodded his agreement, a shimmering golden screen materialized in front of him, visible only to his eyes. The system notification showed his causality gains – not massive, but steadily accumulating with each creature killed. It wasn’t much per kill, but the numbers were adding up.
At least we’re getting something, he thought with relief. The lack of mana cores and skill stones had been deeply disappointing, but causality was causality. Every bit counts toward future growth and possibilities. It wasn’t the treasure trove he’d hoped for, but it was better than nothing.
They pressed forward through the twisted forest, and the battles became a deadly rhythm. White creatures emerged from the mist with regularity, sometimes singly, in groups, always meeting swift death. At first, Leon eliminated most of them with casual efficiency, his blade moving in patterns that left no room for survival. But as they progressed and Seraphine found her groove, she began taking a larger share.
Her killing speed increased noticeably with each encounter. Where initially she might have taken several exchanges to defeat a single creature, now she was dispatching them with two or three precise strikes. The combination of her Grandmaster Mana Body Enhancement and Rajin Descent, coupled with her Level Two Lightning Aura, made her a purple-white blur of destruction.
They had killed over a hundred of the identical creatures when Leon’s spatial awareness detected something different.
It was still distant, moving through the mist with purpose, but this was no ordinary creature. The signature his ability painted was massive – easily twice the size of the humanoid monsters they’d been fighting. It maintained the same basic shape, that disturbing approximation of human form, but scaled up to threatening proportions.
And it wasn’t alone. Regular creatures moved with it, like an honor guard or hunting pack.
"Alert," Leon said sharply, his casual demeanor shifting to focused attention. "New type incoming. Much bigger than the others – twice the size at least. Same humanoid shape but significantly stronger based on how it’s moving."
Seraphine’s reaction was immediate and professional. The playful satisfaction from her revenge victory vanished, replaced by a warrior’s focus. Without hesitation, she activated both her Grandmaster Mana Body Enhancement and Rajin Descent simultaneously, purple lightning crackling around her form as she prepared for serious combat.
"How many?" she asked, her voice steady despite the sudden tension.
"One large one, maybe a dozen regular ones accompanying it," Leon reported, tracking their approach through his spatial awareness. "Three hundred meters and closing steadily. They’re not rushing – this feels more like a patrol that detected us."
Seraphine’s mind raced through tactical considerations. She knew Leon would handle the large creature – there was no question about that. His power was so far beyond hers that the thought of him struggling didn’t even enter her mind. But she could be helpful by eliminating the smaller threats, keeping them from interfering or flanking during his battle with the larger monster.
I want to be helpful, she thought determinedly. I won’t just stand back and watch. I’ll clear the field so he can focus on the real threat.
What she didn’t know – what Leon hadn’t told her because there hadn’t been time for lengthy explanations – was the true extent of his power after his race transformation. She thought him powerful, certainly, but she had no conception of just how vast the gap between them had become. The Leon fighting beside her wasn’t even using a fraction of his true capabilities.
"Two hundred meters," Leon announced, his Epic-ranked sword humming with anticipation. "Whatever this thing is, it’s confident. Moving straight toward us, no hesitation."
"I’ll handle the smaller ones," Seraphine stated firmly. "You focus on the big threat."
Leon glanced at her, noting the determination in her purple eyes, the way her lightning-charged aura made her hair float slightly, the professional stance that spoke of years of training. She was ready for this, eager to prove herself useful beyond just revenge against old demons.
"Agreed," he said. "But if things get complicated—"
"I’ll pull back," she finished for him. "I know my limits."
Though you don’t know yours, she thought, watching him face the direction of the approaching threats with casual readiness. What would you look like if you actually had to try?
"One hundred meters," Leon said. "Visual contact in roughly ten seconds, given their speed and our visibility range."
The forest around them had gone eerily quiet. The strange insects that normally skittered through the twisted trees had vanished, and even the breathing quality of the forest floor seemed to have stilled. It was as if the mist itself recognized that something significant was about to happen.
"Fifty meters. Prepare yourself."
Seraphine’s grip tightened on her katana, lightning coursing more intensely along the blade. Her enhanced senses, while nothing compared to Leon’s spatial awareness, could now detect something approaching. This presence made the air itself feel heavier.
"Twenty meters."
The regular creatures burst through first, their white forms materializing from the mist like nightmares given substance. But Seraphine was already moving, her lightning-wreathed form intercepting them before they could spread out, her blade singing through the air in deadly arcs.
Then the large one emerged, and even Leon had to admit it was not very safe.
Standing at least four meters tall, the creature was a grotesque magnification of its smaller kin. The same white skin, the same multiple eyes scattered across its body, the same four arms ending in claws. But everything was proportionally thicker, more muscled, more obviously dangerous. Its vertical mouth split open, revealing rows of teeth that its smaller versions lacked.
Most notably, symbols covered its form – not the random scattering on regular creatures, but organized patterns that suggested purpose, perhaps even intelligence beyond mere cunning.
The large creature’s dozens of eyes fixed on Leon, ignoring Seraphine entirely as she carved through its smaller companions. It recognized the actual threat, the apex predator among them.
Leon smiled slightly, raising his sword in an almost casual salute.
"Finally," he murmured, "something that might be interesting."
Leon’s excitement spiked the moment his spatial awareness detected something different about this creature. Unlike every other monster they’d encountered in the mist, this one had distinct traces of mana flowing through its body. Not just the ambient energy that all living things possessed, but concentrated, purposeful mana that suggested something far more valuable than the dissolving corpses they’d been dealing with.
Finally, he thought, his eyes brightening with anticipation. Something that might actually drop loot.
The possibility of obtaining mana cores, skill stones, or equipment from this creature made the entire venture suddenly worthwhile. All those hours of fighting dissolving monsters that left nothing behind – this could make up for all of it.
When the creature fully emerged into their expanded visibility, Leon’s excitement only intensified. The massive monster wasn’t just physically imposing – it carried a weapon.
A sword, white as the mist itself, carved from some unknown material that seemed to drink in the light rather than reflect it. The blade was proportioned to the creature’s massive frame, measuring easily two meters in length. Still, Leon could tell from how it moved that the weapon was perfectly balanced. More importantly, his experienced eye recognized quality when it was present.
That sword is better than anything I’ve looted in the Lower Domain, he realized, a smile spreading across his face. The craftsmanship was evident even from a distance – no rough edges, no imperfections, just pure lethal elegance scaled for a giant.
I want it, he decided immediately. That’s mine now. The monster just doesn’t know it yet.
Leon shifted his stance slightly, preparing for the creature’s attack. With a weapon like that and its obvious intelligence, this fight might actually require him to pay attention. Not his full power – nothing here warranted that – but at least enough effort to make it enjoyable.
But the attack didn’t come.
The large creature stood there, its dozens of eyes moving systematically across both Leon and Seraphine, studying them with an intensity that spoke of calculation rather than blind aggression. The smaller creatures that had accompanied it didn’t charge either – they held position beside their larger companion, waiting for something.
That’s... weird, Leon thought, his excitement tempered by confusion.
Every other creature had attacked on sight, driven by predatory instinct or territorial aggression. But this one was different. It was evaluating them, possibly assessing threat levels, maybe even formulating a strategy.