Aslan stepped beyond the safety barrier.
The hum of the protective field died behind him, cutting off the desperate cries of the civilians. Ahead, the battlefield stretched like a broken wasteland—burning streets, shattered buildings, craters left by monster strikes. The sky above twisted with red clouds swirling around the still-open portal.
And in the distance… they waited.
Monsters.
Dozens of them.
Some stood tall as towers, their claws dripping with blood. Others skittered along the ground, razor limbs slicing through steel like paper. Flying beasts screamed overhead, circling like vultures. At the center of them all stood the SSS-rank monster—a hulking, armor-scaled titan with molten eyes and a mouth that split open sideways.
Aslan's boots crunched against the ash-covered ground.
A low, guttural growl echoed. The monsters turned their heads toward him.
He slowly pulled a single glove tighter over his right hand and whispered:
"It's been a long time…"
Suddenly—BOOM!
One of the monsters lunged.
A massive four-legged beast charged like a meteor, jaws wide open, its roar shaking the very earth.
Civilians screamed from behind the barrier.
Hunters nearby turned to see what was happening—then froze in shock.
But Aslan didn't move.
Not until the beast was meters away.
Then—
FLASH.
He vanished.
A thunderclap burst through the air.
SLASH!
The monster's head split clean off—so fast, it hadn't even realized it was dead.
Its body stumbled, knees buckled, then crashed to the ground with a quake.
Aslan stood behind it, his sword now drawn—black steel humming with power, etched with glowing runes.
Gasps echoed from the hunters watching.
"He's… fast. I couldn't even see the strike…"
"He's stronger than before…"
But Aslan wasn't done.
Dozens of monsters turned their attention to him now.
They surged.
And Aslan charged.
He moved like lightning—blades spinning, shadows bending around him. Each strike was precise, each motion efficient. He danced through death, leaving nothing but silence and falling bodies in his wake.
Within minutes, ten monsters were down.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
A group of mid-rank hunters watched from a rooftop, stunned. "He's clearing the field alone…!"
And yet, in Aslan's eyes, there was no triumph.
Only fire.
The real threat hadn't moved yet—the SSS-rank monster still watched from the shadows, amused, waiting.
And Aslan raised his sword toward it, his voice steady:
"You're next."