Chapter 2094: Despair And Hope
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"This world is one of despair, unless you have the strength to fight back."
He seized the wolf’s head and lifted it, its hundreds of tons of weight nothing to him, then smashed it down onto the Death Walker. The impact crushed the grinning, emaciated monster into a pulp.
CRAAASH!
The three-headed Fenrir coughed up blood as a massive thunderbolt crashed from the sky, frying the creature alive.
"SHYEEEEEH!"
Behind him, the Abyssal Goo let out a ferocious hiss. Dozens of skeletons floated within its gelatinous body—victims it had already devoured. It clearly intended to add him to the collection.
Or not.
"In this world full of despair, there is no path other than that of the warrior."
He stepped forward, his aura surging with overwhelming power. The girl gasped as the young man transformed into a gigantic, six-armed bear formed of emerald winds and golden thunder.
"GROOOAARRR!"
The titanic beast roared. Thunder and winds vaporized the monstrous slime creature, leaving only the bones of its victims clattering onto the paved street.
More monsters surged forward: Nether Wyverns, Infernal Dogs, Miasmic Crystal Golem Warriors, Magicians, Archers, and countless others.
Yet the young man met the giants head-on. His titanic bear form summoned six thunderous axes that cleaved through the horde, blasting monsters apart and shattering them into pieces.
"A-Ah... wow..."
The girl stared in awe as the young man single-handedly dispatched nearly a hundred monsters, their corpses now littering the city streets.
He did not forget her. Returning to her side, he lifted her into his arms.
"Wait! My mom!" she cried.
"We can retrieve her later," he said with a heavy sigh.
He carried her to the castle, where a powerful barrier still held against the monsters, and left her in the guards’ care.
"Take her inside," the young man ordered before racing back into the fray, where more monsters were already converging on the barrier.
"Wait! Who are you?!" a guard shouted. "You’re a hero, right?!"
"A hero?" The young man gave a bitter smile. "No. I was never chosen for anything. I have no divine blessing either."
"W-What?" the guard stammered in disbelief. "Then who...?"
"I am a friend of Princess Sylph," he replied. "If you see her, tell her we’ve returned. My name is—"
He leaped into the sky, thunder and winds swirling around him as he faced dozens of titanic beasts capable of tearing even the strongest adventurers to shreds.
"Zack!"
His axes swung down. Six giant bear maws manifested from his evolved beast aura, crushing the monsters before him into piles of blood and pulp. Those foolish enough to strike him only injured themselves.
In that moment, the unchosen one became a legend.
Darkness deepened across the city of Evercraft as monsters poured endlessly from the cursed dungeons. Even the strongest adventurers struggled against so many high-tier threats at once, being pushed back and slaughtered in droves.
Until a single figure emerged and began to turn the tide. He did not come alone. Accompanied by three others, they pushed back against the relentless monster army invading Evercraft.
While Zack battled dozens of gigantic monsters by himself, the creatures swarmed together. Golem magicians hurled deadly spells from every direction, while the rest spewed curses that weakened him.
"Tsk!" He roared and swung his axe, cleaving through several, but more immediately took their place, grabbing his arms and legs. "Damn it! Just how many are there?! Thousands?! Hundreds of thousands?!"
As fury boiled within him and he prepared to draw on even greater power—
"ROOOAAARRR!"
A tiger’s roar thundered from above. A giant half-human, half-tiger warrior descended, white fur gleaming and golden aura blazing. His massive claws tore into the monsters’ faces as divine spirits in the shape of tigers, blazing birds, and dragons erupted outward, devastating the horde.
"Hey Zack, what are you doing fighting all alone?!" the young man roared, spreading a pair of blazing wings and soaring through the sky.
"Luck!" Zack smiled. "Thank you. I was about to get myself in real trouble."
"Nah, you would’ve been fine either way," Luck replied with a grin. "But don’t charge into too many at once! Come on, let’s fight together. Ninhursag and Arafunn are handling the southern district!"
"Got it!" Zack roared.
Then they heard screams from civilians nearby.
"Luck!"
"I know!" Luck nodded.
Both warriors dropped to the blood-soaked streets. Zack’s wind-and-thunder axes cleaved through monsters while Luck’s beast spirit transformations tore through the horde, reducing them to corpses in seconds.
They soon reached a group of adventurers desperately shielding a small cluster of civilians—innocent families and children. At their forefront stood the Adventurers Guild Master, a tall demon with small wings. His giant fists were drenched in blood, his body covered in scars, one eye missing, and a deep, bleeding wound slashed across his shoulder.
"Guild Master! Please, that’s enough! We have to run!" one adventurer begged, his sword flashing as he barely held the monsters at bay.
"There’s no point running if we’re all going to be slaughtered anyway!" the Guild Master roared. "We fight! We hold the line! We must protect the citizens!!!"
Cursed energy surged from his body, pushing his physique to its absolute limits. With a mighty punch, he hurled a giant Death Walker backward. A wyvern dove at him; he kicked it aside with brutal force.
Yet though his strength was formidable, it was not enough to kill them—only to delay the inevitable.
Still, he could not stop. He could not abandon these people. These trembling children, mothers, fathers, and elders.
If he gave up, what would become of them?
"We have to... hold on until... Unnggh!"
His wounds were too severe. With no healer nearby, he coughed up black blood, agony burning through his shoulder. As a demon, he possessed natural resistance to miasma and curses, but even that had finally reached its limit.
His legs buckled. The Guild Master dropped to one knee, black blood dripping from his mouth as the curse gnawed deeper into his veins. The monsters sensed weakness and surged forward with renewed hunger, claws and fangs gleaming.
"Guild Master!"
The adventurers cried out in despair, their defensive line on the verge of collapsing.
A thunderous roar split the air.
"ROOOAAARRR!"
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