The roar stopped as abruptly as it had begun.
From the dark heart of the forest, the sound of ancient trees splintering and crashing to the earth echoed through the stillness. The ground shuddered with every heavy, rhythmic footfall. An invisible weight settled over the clearing, a crushing pressure that paralyzed everyone in its wake.
Then, out of the shadows, a gargantuan maw slowly emerged.
It was grotesque. Revolting.
The creature had no skin; its raw, pinkish-red muscle was exposed to the air, steaming in the cool night. Its teeth were flat and white—horrifyingly human—lacking the jagged fangs of a typical demon, which only made its appearance feel more profoundly wrong. Thick saliva dripped from its gums, sizzling as it hit the dirt.
The monster stepped fully into the clearing, knocking aside the final row of trees. Its breath was a scorching mist that caused the surrounding leaves to wither and curl instantly. It slowly turned its head, its hollow, vacant eyes locking onto Ragna—who stood frozen, a statue of terror.
Shinji realized the anomaly immediately. Giant-class demons were usually ten to fifty meters tall. This thing wasn't tall enough to be a Giant, yet it was far too massive to be a Common. It was something else—a mutation. An outlier.
Shinji screamed at the top of his lungs:
"Ragna! Run! Get out of there! That's not a common demon!"
But Ragna was too proud to flee. Even as his knees knocked together, he forced his trembling fingers into a fist.
"Run? Why the hell should I run?!"
His metallic gauntlet began to warp, sprouting two long, jagged horns. Intense flames roared up his arm, the temperature around him skyrocketing as he poured every ounce of his Essence into one final strike.
Shinji and Lio could only watch in horror.
"Ancient Ox... Ragnarok!"
Ragna lunged, putting his entire life's worth of power into a single blow aimed straight at the monster's chest. The earth cracked beneath his feet as he soared through the air.
"Die, you freak! Take my strongest hit!"
The fist connected.
But... nothing happened.
The blow felt as if it had vanished into a void. There was no impact, no recoil. The flames on Ragna's arm flickered once and died out completely.
In that moment, Ragna finally understood the true meaning of fear. His legs turned to water as he looked up. The monster's face was a distorted mask of agony and malice. Its skinless mouth peeled open, and hot saliva dripped directly onto Ragna's face.
The creature's hand shot out. It grabbed Ragna by the arm like a child picking up a doll.
It lifted him high.
And slammed him into the earth.
Shinji and Lio turned to run, but the path back was already swarming with lesser demons, their red eyes gleaming in the dark.
The monster continued its assault, methodically pulverizing Ragna against the ground. Armor shattered like glass; blood sprayed across the grass. Finally, bored with its toy, the creature tossed him aside. Ragna skidded across the dirt, trying to crawl, but the lower demons were waiting. They descended upon him like starving wolves, tearing at him without mercy.
The skinless monster let out a low, guttural huff and beat its chest in a display of raw dominance before turning its attention toward Shinji and Lio. The surrounding lesser demons shrieked and scattered, too terrified to remain in its presence.
Shinji was terrified. No one could look at that thing and not feel their soul shrivel. But he knew that if he ran now, death would only find them faster. He bit his lip until it bled and shoved Lio behind him.
Standing alone, Shinji faced the nightmare.
His limbs shook uncontrollably. To his sides, the demons waited; before him stood the thing that had just crushed the strongest man he knew. But as the monster lurched forward, the fear began to settle into a cold, desperate resolve.
Shinji gripped his sword, lunged, and swung with everything he had.
CLANG!
The blade struck the monster's arm with the sound of steel hitting an iron anvil.
"I hit it! I actually hit it!"
But a heartbeat later, the sword shattered, snapping in half in his hands. The monster backhanded him with a casual, lazy motion, striking Shinji square in the ribs.
He was sent tumbling through the air, crashing hard into the dirt.
The pain was immediate and absolute. His left side was a ruin of shattered bone. Every breath felt like a jagged shard of glass being driven into his lungs. Shinji coughed, spitting a thick glob of blood onto the grass. His left arm hung at a sickening angle, broken in multiple places and completely numb.
He gritted his teeth, clawing at the dirt to force himself upright. His vision blurred. He looked around frantically for Ragna, praying for a miracle—praying to be saved one last time.
But the sight before him made his heart stop.
Ragna was gone.
There was no human shape left. His body had been torn into unrecognizable pieces, his blood and flesh scattered across the clearing. The lower demons were still huddled over the remains, fighting over scraps of meat and bone. The only thing left intact was a single severed arm, tossed carelessly into the weeds.
Shinji was paralyzed. The strongest person he had ever met had been erased like an ant under a boot.
Then, he remembered Lio. He spun around.
Lio was pinned against a stone wall at the edge of the clearing. A pack of demons circled him, snarling and snapping, their muzzles dripping with fresh gore. Behind them, the skinless monster stood tall on its hind legs, its massive silhouette blocking out what little light remained.
The demons didn't strike immediately.
They waited.
They were savoring the moment before they tore the final piece of prey apart.