CHAPTER 22 — The Beast in the Dark
"OH MY GOD!!"
Zodac screamed, stumbling back as the monster emerged fully into the green-lit cavern.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
He just stared—petrified—at the towering, two-headed abomination before him.
The familiar panel flickered shakily in front of his vision.
Name: Cyberious Dog
Status: Lv. 25
"Level 25…? But I'm only level 6…" he whispered.
He didn't get another second.
The monster lunged.
A blur of black fur and red eyes.
Zodac barely jumped back—driven by raw survival—hands digging into the dirt as he threw himself away from the strike.
He was too slow.
The beast's massive paw smashed into him with terrifying power.
CRACK—!!
Zodac flew like a ragdoll, smashing spine-first into a rock wall before collapsing face-first to the ground.
He coughed violently.
COUGH
COUGH
Blood dripped onto the stone.
"It's… really strong…" he gasped.
He pushed up—but his legs trembled violently and he slipped back to his knees.
The Cyberious Dog charged again.
He couldn't dodge this one.
"Hectogon!!"
A tiny, dark-green, translucent barrier flickered to life in front of him—barely the size of his hand.
Zodac's eyes widened in horror.
The ground trembled as the monster thundered closer.
More hexagonal shapes formed beside the first—locking together into a thin wall just as the beast struck.
The impact was catastrophic.
BOOM—!!
Crawling fractures split violently across the shield's surface.
Zodac didn't wait for the second hit.
He rolled desperately aside—
CRASH!!
The barrier shattered into dust.
The Cyberious Dog snarled, snapping its two heads around, searching for him.
Zodac was already behind it.
He pulled Kogetsu free, blade trembling in his hand.
One head twisted toward him—then the other.
The monster roared, the sound vibrating through the cavern walls.
It launched.
Zodac stood his ground.
"I won't last long if I keep running…"
The beast swung down with its left paw.
Zodac ducked back—barely—its claws grazing his forehead.
BARK! BARK! BARK!
The roars shook his bones.
He stumbled backwards in fear.
Too slow.
The paw came down again.
Zodac threw both arms up in a cross-block—
THUD—!!
The force nearly shattered his skull. His vision went white.
He almost blacked out.
But somehow… somehow… he stayed standing.
Then the left head lunged.
Zodac felt the jaws sink into his right shoulder.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
His scream echoed through the cavern as blood poured into the monster's mouth.
"It… bit through… my Hector Aura…" he thought, horrified.
His strength…
His level…
His defenses…
They were nothing.
The right head lowered toward his face.
Zodac gasped.
"H-Hectogon!!"
Another shield materialized directly in front of his face.
The monster chomped down on it, jaws grinding, cracking the barrier inch by inch.
"Is this… how I die…?"
His arms trembled.
His legs shook, barely holding.
"The earlier the better…" he whispered.
Despair sank into him.
Hopeless.
Worthless.
Futility.
His mind spiraled.
"Weak. Pathetic."
—Unknown voices. The world's judgment.
"Best way for a scum to die."
—someone else.
Then Aiden's voice:
"A man who can't control himself doesn't deserve to lead. Couldn't even keep a woman."
Aiden laughed coldly in his head.
Another voice.
Princess Mira.
"He died? Useless than I thought. A hero killed by a lowly monster—good riddance."
Her smug smile burned itself into his memory.
"Useless."
Something inside Zodac snapped.
SNAP.
His eyes flew wide open, filled with raw fury and pain.
"NO!!"
He ripped his left hand free from the monster's grip—ignoring the flesh tearing from his shoulder—and grabbed Kogetsu with trembling, rage-fueled fingers.
"Useless?
Scum?
Trash?"
Every insult.
Every humiliation.
Every betrayal.
All of it burned inside him.
"I'll show you who's useless…"
The beast hesitated—just for a second—confused by his sudden change.
"I'll show you who's scum…"
His voice was low. Broken. Ruined.
Then he roared—so loud it rivaled the monster itself.
"I'LL SHOW ALL OF YOU!!!"
His scream echoed violently through the cavern—
And he drove Kogetsu straight into the head biting him.
STAB—!!!
One head shrieked, convulsed, then collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
The other head howled in agony.
Zodac didn't stop.
He ripped the blade from the beast's jaw—its mouth hanging open permanently—and dashed in before it could recover.
Fueled by nothing but rage and searing pain—
He stabbed straight through its chest.
SHUNK—!!
The blade pierced bone, muscle, and the glowing core of its body.
The second head screamed…
Then fell silent.
The massive beast collapsed with a thunderous thud, its two lifeless heads hitting the stone floor.
Zodac stood above it, panting, drenched in blood—some his own, some the monster's.
Kogetsu trembled in his hand as he used it like a cane to stay standing.
His vision blurred.
His breath shook.
He had won.
Barely.
Before he could even breathe—
The system panel flickered violently before his eyes…