"Where is she?"
The voice did not simply echo.
It descended.
It crushed the air as though the forest itself were being forced to its knees.
A violent impact shook the ground as a massive silhouette slammed into the earth several meters away from the team, splintering roots and stone alike. The shockwave rippled outward, knocking loose branches from ancient trees and sending dust spiraling into the air.
Ael felt it first—not the sound, but the presence.
Oppressive. Ancient. Hungry.
The demon straightened to its full height.
At least four meters tall.
Its form was a grotesque mockery of life: skin the color of dried blood laced with blackened veins, stretched tight over corded muscle that looked more like forged steel than flesh. Two enormous horns jutted from its forehead, jagged and twisted as if grown through centuries of violence rather than nature. Its face—if it could be called that—was a nightmare of sharp angles, sunken pits, and a mouth lined with multiple rows of uneven, serrated teeth, all visible when it smiled.
And it was smiling.
A wide, manic grin that spoke of cruelty perfected over lifetimes.
Massive wings unfolded behind it with a leathery snap, each membrane torn and scarred, exuding a faint corruption that warped the air around them. Its eyes were void-black, deeper than shadow—eyes that reflected no light, only the promise of suffering.
Cold sweat broke across every awakener's back.
This was no mindless beast.
This was intelligence.
Malice.
Intent.
They all knew it instinctively: this wasn't a creature you rushed. One mistake—one misstep—and death would come instantly. Demons were monsters not because of raw numbers, but because their bodies were weapons themselves. Their skin could shrug off blades. Their blood burned with corruption. Their elements twisted reality.
And this one could fly.
Ael felt his Ether stir violently, curling in warning.
He stepped forward before fear could claim his team.
"I don't know who you're referring to," Ael said, steady despite the storm raging in his chest. "The element you're sensing is mine. I call it Ether. No one else here wields anything like it—and there is no she among us."
The demon's head snapped toward him.
Those void eyes locked onto Ael, peeling him apart layer by layer. Its grin stretched wider.
Then it laughed.
A harsh, broken sound—like metal scraping bone.
"He… he… he…"
"So… you are her offspring."
Ael's pulse spiked.
"Kael'thar will be pleased when I bring him your head."
The words hit like a hammer.
Offspring.
The demon had said offspring.
Ael's thoughts spiraled instantly. What the hell is he talking about?
"Listen," Ael said, tightening his fists. "I don't know what you think you know, but I was born on this planet. My mother is alive. She lives here. So unless you've started hallucinating, you've got the wrong person."
His voice was confident—but his mind was unraveling.
Dreams flashed through his thoughts. The unknown name etched into his status screen. The undeniable fact that his surname didn't match his parents'.
Every instinct screamed the same truth:
You don't know where you come from.
The demon chuckled, savoring it.
"She did send her offspring away… before my master could finish killing her."
"Some filthy little backwater world, I imagine."
"But don't worry."
Its voice dropped, saturated in cruelty.
"After I kill you, I'll find that planet—then I'll kill your second bitch of a mother too."
Something inside Ael snapped.
Not cracked.
Not bent.
Shattered.
There was no thought. No restraint.
"Etherbolt."
Silver fire roared from his hand in a blinding flash.
BOOM.
The blast slammed straight into the demon's face, detonating with explosive force. The creature staggered backward for the first time, blood-black ichor splattering the ground as its grin twisted into fury.
It hurt.
Ael saw it clearly—rage flooding the demon's features.
"I'm going to make sure you die screaming, little boy."
The demon vanished.
Then reappeared in the same breath, lunging toward Ael with terrifying speed.
Exactly as Ael intended.
Felicia didn't hesitate.
"Formation Seven! Kill this bastard!"
The team moved instantly, snapping into a precise defensive formation that carved space around Ael instead of restricting him. They knew better by now. When Ael moved, no one could follow—not at his rank, not even one above it. His speed, amplified by his doubled stats, was beyond them.
So they adapted.
Spells erupted.
Fire, wind, earth—blades of magic ripped through the air toward the demon.
It dodged all of them.
Its focus never left Ael.
"Oh? You can run and hide," it sneered mid-air. "Guess you didn't inherit that from your father."
"Such a shame. I wonder how disappointed he is while in the afterlife."
Each word was a blade.
Ael faltered.
Doubt clawed at his chest.
Who were they?
Who abandoned me?
Why does this monster know them?
The demon capitalized instantly.
Ael skidded, planting his feet and forming a spear of pure Ether, flames coiling along its edge like a living sun. He thrust—
Too slow.
The demon twisted, the spear tearing along its chest instead of piercing its core.
A shallow wound.
But it was damage.
Twice now.
The demon roared in fury.
"DAMN YOU, BOY!"
Darkness surged from its mouth in a concussive wave that slammed Ael into a withered tree, bark exploding on impact. Before Ael could rise, the demon was already on him—
A blast of mana struck its side.
"Hey, ugly!" Felicia shouted, eyes blazing. "You're not killing Ael while we're alive!"
The demon turned its gaze to her.
Then laughed.
"Oh, I will."
"I'll kill the boy first."
"Then I'll slaughter every male here."
"And you?"
Its eyes crawled over her.
"You and your friends go to my master. He'll enjoy you very much."
Terror rippled through the team.
But they didn't retreat.
They attacked harder.
The demon lifted a claw—
And Ael moved.
Ether flared.
The spear emerged again, driving clean through the demon's chest from behind.
"You should've paid attention," Ael snarled.
"You stupid demon."
The creature screamed, blood raining from its mouth as it staggered forward.
"My master will find you!" it roared. "Kael'thar will—"
"Well then," Ael said coldly, exhaustion gripping his limbs, "either we die now… or we take our chances with fate."
"I'm pretty sure everyone here chooses the second."
Ael knew the truth.
This had to end now.
Sun of Oblivion.
His Ether gathered, spinning into a collapsing sphere of silver void. The demon backed away, panic flickering across its monstrous face.
"No… what is this?!"
"You're too weak for this kind of power!"
Felicia felt it then—and her blood ran cold.
"Ael, stop!" she shouted. "We can still fight together!"
Ael didn't look back.
"They're coming for me," he whispered. "And I won't let anyone else die because of it. Not again."
"NOW GET BACK, FELICIA!"
The world emptied.
Mana vanished.
Air vanished.
Only nothingness remained.
The demon trembled.
"This… I've felt this before," it whispered.
"At the battle of the end…"
"No—I refuse—I was a Transcendent, I will remove the shackles—!"
"Sun of Oblivion."
The void consumed everything.
"You bastard—!!!"
Then silence.
Ael stood alone.
And collapsed.
The screams of his team and the soft chime of the system faded as darkness claimed him.