Steven bit his lips hard, bracing himself for the worst that could happen. He knew one thing from their encounter with the Disaster-ranked Shadow Eater. It was a morbid beast that loved to toy with its prey, powerful and vast, but it wasn’t that smart.

That was the only thing they could use to win against it.

Their wits.

That was why Steven had added a few details to the plan, informing Lin to use her crescent beams to strike the ground in the distance anytime they got close to being caught. That way, it would buy them some time to reach the other door.

At least, that was what Steven believed.

So now the group readied themselves. Favour was placed on Steven’s back, and to prevent her from falling since Steven had lost partial use of his arm from earlier, so he used his other hand to hold her firmly to himself while she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

’Oh fuck! How heavy can she be?’ Steven complained inwardly, and soon all his complaints vanished as Favour activated her buff, adding an extra ten to his physique stat.

{Physique 30/20}

Steven felt lighter almost instantly from the buff, his injury suddenly starting to dull as the pain he originally felt drained away, his healing process noticeably speeding up.

"Sorry again..." Favour whispered into his ear as low as she could.

Steven, hearing this, furrowed his brows in curiosity about what she was up to again. "Why?" he finally asked.

Favour dug her head into Steven’s shoulder, opening her mouth to speak when—

"Let’s go," Lin ordered, cutting into the fragile moment the two were having.

Steven hesitated, craning his neck toward Favour, feeling the warmth of her breath against his skin. Then he turned back to Lin and nodded.

Ahead of them, the King Beast lurked somewhere within the fog. Past the shattered pillar, Lin could barely see anything.

It was like moving blindly. They could not see through the fog—but that did not mean the same applied to the King Beast.

She turned to the next pillar closest to them, just a few spaces away. She would be able to reach it within a few seconds, but that time was enough for her to get spotted by the King Beast.

’We might as well be screwed.’

She gulped, a wave of goosebumps crawling up her arms as she dimmed her eyes, her heartbeat slamming violently against her chest. She was scared, terrified maybe, as her mind played countless images of her taking just three steps forward, only for the King Beast to lunge and kill her in one bite.

"Get your head in the game, Lin," she whispered to herself, her mouth turning bitter as she took another peep at the endless, thick fog.

Then—

She ran.

With all her might, she ran, her boots digging into the brown sand with a crunching noise that echoed loudly in her ears, making her stomach churn. Her eyes darted toward the flickering fog again and again, half-expecting death to burst from it.

And then...

She reached the other pillar safely, without anything bad happening.

Lin leaned against the pillar, her right hand immediately flying to her chest as she breathed in heavy heaves.

’I made it.’

She turned around, her pale expression meeting Steven and Favour, who stood by the previous pillar, ready to do as she had done.

Steven looked even more terrified than she had while crossing. He bit his lips hard, probably trying to suppress the crude thoughts replaying relentlessly in his mind.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

Then he ran, faster than Lin had crossing the space between the first pillar and the next in just a few powerful strides.

Reaching Lin, he let out a heavy breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

Afterward, the two stayed silent, waiting for the cursed Disaster to react to the noise or at least for something to go wrong.

But nothing did.

Steven, Lin, and Favour were all okay, still hidden from the monstrous Shadow Eater.

They took their time to regain their composure before scouting toward the next pillar, knowing fully well that just because the first attempt worked didn’t mean the second would.

Lin moved again with insane precision, this time making less noise in the sand than before. Surprisingly, she reached the next pillar without being attacked. Still, there was no reaction from the fog, much to her confusion.

Now it was the duo’s turn.

Steven gulped down air into his lungs and, with the same forced bravery as before, hurried even faster to the next pillar, escaping the attention of their predator once again.

They kept this pace several more times. Lin leading, then the two following. And throughout the many pillars they hid behind, there was still no reaction from the fog, making it feel as though the Disaster was no longer in the hall with them.

But that assumption was very wrong.

Steven knew this plan would eventually blow up in their faces at one of these pillars.

And it did.

Lin took the lead once again, racing at full speed to the next pillar ahead of her. She reached it safely as usual, and now it was finally the duo’s turn to cross.

Steven neared the edge of the pillar and peeked out, and then noticed, something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

Right before him was pitch-black darkness that dazed him into confusion. At first, he wondered what it was as the darkness rapidly closed in on him. But as his eyes focused, settling on rows of yellow, rotting teeth and the pale white tongue nestled within those massive jaws, realization struck him like a hammer.

This was the mouth of the King Beast.

His face twisted in sheer terror, eyes widening as he tried to scream but it was already too late.

BOOM!

The mouth of the King Beast snapped shut not by its own will, but as a blast of high-pressured water collided violently into its throat, causing the Disaster to cough and stagger backward in a daze.

Steven didn’t let this opportunity slip.

Adrenaline surged through his body as he bolted forward toward Lin, his mouth stretched wide as he screamed with every ounce of strength he had.

"Fucking run!"

Lin hesitated for a split second, then gathered herself, spinning around and sprinting toward the door, Steven right behind her, quickly catching up.

The daze on the King Beast didn’t last long.

The heinous monster snarled, jerking its head back as its bloodshot eyes burned with loathing and disgust. It burst into a frenzied sprint after them, unleashing all of its gruesome tendrils at once.

The tendrils were fast closing the distance far quicker than expected.

Steven stole glances backward and spotted them immediately, maneuvering sharply as he sidestepped the first few blows, narrowly dodging them.

Lin dodged one thanks to her agility, then used her crescent energy beam to block two more before continuing her sprint, Steven staying at her side.

The King Beast roared at the top of its voice, retracting its tendrils before preparing for another assault.

Steven was fast enough to keep distance between himself and the King Beast thanks to the buff and would likely reach the door before it could catch him.

But he couldn’t say the same for Lin.

Even if they barely made it thanks to the buff, the tendrils were already slowing them down.

Steven’s thoughts froze as he recalled what had happened to his shoulder earlier.

"I’m sorry," he said to Favour.

She raised her head, staring at him in surprise, not understanding why he was apologizing.

Then it became clear.

Steven wrapped his hand around the back of her clothing and, with all his strength, hoisted her forward and hurled her ahead as he shouted—

"Use your legs!"

It was sudden, so sudden it stunned both Lin and Favour.

Favour’s landing sent a jolt through her entire body as she rolled several meters before stopping on her side. Her face turned pale as she lifted her head, staring at Steven, completely at a loss for words.

Steven came to a halt.

The man who had just thrown Favour summoned his red, jagged dagger into his grasp and turned to face the fiendish Disaster and its lethal forest of tendrils.

Lin stared back at him, her expression twisting into disbelief.

This man—

He was insane.

A singular force standing against the strength of a Demon.