Lucian carefully observed the Divine Beast Dancing Lion before him.
As the creature rose from the ground, the massive red drapery that had concealed its body fell into place, revealing what lay beneath.
There was no true beastly torso under the cloth.
Instead, four thick, powerful legs stood where a body should have been.
Along the back, the indentation where human bodies connected was clearly visible.
At that point, Lucian had already confirmed the truth.
This was indeed a lion dance.
Beneath it were two towering Horned warriors, their immense strength driving the movements of the "beast."
Their size far exceeded any Horned figures he had encountered before, approaching even that of the ancient Horned ancestor's corpse.
More importantly, their presence was formidable. Each radiated a terrifying aura.
They were likely what Ansbach had mentioned before, the strongest among the Horned warriors: the "Braves."
But now, they no longer possessed any will of their own.
They existed only as vessels for the descent of the Divine Beast.
After a moment's observation, Lucian understood even more.
These two… were corpses.
Horned corpses that, after undergoing a divine descent ritual, had risen again—only to continue performing the lion dance, now as instruments of battle.
As for why this was happening, it almost certainly had something to do with the aged voice that had echoed moments ago.
By now, the Divine Beast Dancing Lion had fully awakened.
A ghastly, hungry green light flickered within its eye sockets.
The two Braves beneath its form stepped forward in unison, then broke into a sprint, charging toward the three of them.
Under their control, the lion's movements were indistinguishable from a real beast.
Mid-charge, it suddenly leapt into the air, crashing downward with its head like a falling boulder.
The three stepped back, narrowly avoiding the blow.
The heavy lion head smashed into the ground, shattering stone and leaving a deep crater.
The Braves lifted the head again, the massive jaws snapping left and right as it surged forward.
Under their control, the creature was even more agile than a living beast.
At this moment, it locked onto Lucian, launching a relentless series of lunging bites.
Lucian retreated step by step, each attack barely grazing past him.
From the side, Freyja saw that the creature was ignoring her. She immediately seized the opportunity.
Raising her greatsword, she leapt high and brought it down toward the lion's midsection, the connection point between the two Braves.
If this truly relied on arm strength to maintain cohesion, then that joint should be far weaker than a natural creature's body.
If she could break it, she might split the front and back apart entirely.
But the Divine Beast Dancing Lion saw through her intent instantly.
Just as the lion's head missed its strike again, the front Brave twisted his body violently.
The rear Brave was flung upward, and the entire body snapped like a whip.
The armored "tail" slammed directly into Freyja midair.
In an instant, she was sent flying, tumbling across the ground until she slammed into the wall at the edge of the stage.
Blood spilled from her mouth.
Her armor shattered under the impact, and her internal injuries were severe.
For a moment, even her consciousness wavered.
Freyja clenched her fist and slammed it against the ground.
Gasping, she forced herself back from the brink of dizziness.
Her eyes locked onto the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, filled with frustration.
'Damn it… the suppression of the Land of Shadow…'
If she weren't being suppressed so heavily, she could have endured an attack like that several times over.
But now… she had nearly lost her life from a single blow.
Shaking off the thought, she quickly downed the Sacred Tree elixir Leda had given her earlier.
As her injuries rapidly began to mend, she pushed herself back to her feet and charged toward the beast once more.
—
Meanwhile, Lucian continued to study the creature up close.
It was fascinating.
There was no sign that two Braves were controlling it.
Its movements—the snapping jaws, the shaking head, the fluid body felt completely alive.
And yet, at times, it performed strange, unnatural motions that could only exist through the coordination of two separate bodies.
At this final stage of the divine descent, it was impossible to tell whether the Braves controlled the lion…
Or if the lion was manipulating their corpses.
Beyond that, its strength was undeniable.
Each of the two Braves was already at the level of a top-tier champion.
Combined into this single entity, their power was far more than a simple sum.
And now, a layer of the Land of Shadow's blessing covered it.
That blessing elevated it even further, into a level comparable to lesser demigods.
The Divine Beast Dancing Lion now possessed truly terrifying strength.
As its head lunged toward him once again, Lucian finally drew his sword-spear, thrusting straight into its gaping jaws.
But the creature reacted just as quickly.
With a twist of its head, it avoided the strike and immediately followed up with another sweeping tail attack.
Lucian remained where he stood.
He shifted slightly, bracing himself, and drove his elbow into the incoming armored tail.
The collision shattered parts of the lion's armor, knocking its entire body backward.
Lucian flexed his arm, feeling the lingering numbness.
The strength of this thing… was no joke.
It was still weaker than him, but not by much.
This was finally an opponent worth taking seriously.
A grin spread across his face as he looked at the Divine Beast Dancing Lion.
After mowing through weaker enemies for so long, he had finally found something interesting.
In the Land of Shadow, ever since the Scadutree had fallen into disorder, all creatures had been strengthened by its blessing.
It seemed he would have more chances to truly fight here.
At that moment, taking advantage of the creature being knocked back, Leda swung her knight's sword, instantly forming several piercing needles of pure gold that shot toward the beast.
Freyja, having returned to the fight, planted her greatsword forward and launched into a series of Lion's Claw strikes, aiming directly at the lion's head.
But the two Braves controlling the beast moved in perfect harmony.
With a light sidestep, they evaded both attacks effortlessly.
Then, the front Brave leapt upward.
The rear Brave straightened in sync.
The front one stepped onto the shoulders of the one behind—
And the Divine Beast Dancing Lion rose upright.
The Divine Beast Dancing Lion swayed its head in midair, its massive jaws snapping repeatedly with a bone-chilling clatter.
Then it crashed back down once more, forcing both Leda and Freyja to retreat.
Seeing that the two of them were still circling the beast, searching for an opening, Lucian finally spoke.
"Fall back. This isn't an enemy you can handle right now."
"Staying here will only get you caught in the crossfire. Step aside and watch."
"Once you've gathered more Scadutree fragments and offset the suppression, then you can fight beside me."
Though unwilling, Leda and Freyja could already tell just how overwhelming the Divine Beast Dancing Lion truly was.
They had no choice but to obey, retreating to the edge of the battlefield.
Lucian made no move, and the Divine Beast did not pursue them. Instead, it turned and charged straight at him.
Lucian stood his ground, raising the greatsword in his hand, preparing to meet the charge head-on.
But just before reaching him, the Divine Beast suddenly arched upward and flipped into the air.
The rear Brave was flung forward, delivering a vicious midair kick straight at Lucian.
It was an attack no normal creature would ever use.
Caught off guard, Lucian's offense was interrupted. He had no choice but to bring his greatsword up defensively.
Yet the Divine Beast failed to land cleanly.
Because in that instant, Lucian had already seized the rear Brave by the ankle.
The front half of the lion fell back to the ground, while the rear half remained folded upward, dragged along behind by Lucian's grip.
With a squeeze, Lucian crushed the Brave's ankle outright.
At the same time, he pulled backward, attempting to tear the two bodies apart.
But despite appearing to be held together only by arms, the structure of the Divine Beast was far sturdier than expected.
Even with Lucian's strength, he could not separate them.
It seemed that the highest form of this "divine descent" was far more than simply puppeteering corpses.
There was something else reinforcing them.
At that moment, the front half of the lion lunged again and finally bit down onto Lucian's arm.
A tremendous force clamped down.
Even as Lucian broke free, he was forced to release his grip.
With a powerful jerk, the lion tossed its rear half back into place behind it.
Though its hind legs had been destroyed, they dangled limply for only a moment—
Before twitching violently and forcibly resetting back to their original state.
Lucian released sunlight, and the bite wound on his arm healed rapidly, disappearing in moments.
He flexed his hand, then drew the Sword of Night and Flame, leveling it toward the Divine Beast.
There was an old saying: Large bodies have weak points, and thick fur fears fire.
This thing looked like a lion, covered in fur and cloth.
So why not test it?
Flames erupted along the blade.
Under Lucian's control, their temperature rose higher and higher, until they transformed into blazing solar fire.
At that point, even the sword itself began to strain under the heat.
Any further, and the weapon might suffer permanent damage.
Lucian swung forward.
A sea of fire burst forth, sweeping across the stage and engulfing the Divine Beast.
Realizing how troublesome its opponent had become, the Divine Beast understood it needed greater power.
It stepped through the air itself, taking flight and evading the flames below.
Suspended in the sky, it let out a ferocious roar.
The eerie green glow in its eyes intensified, cutting through the firelight.
With that thunderous cry, it summoned a raging storm, winds spiraling around its body as it soared above.
It locked onto Lucian below, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
As it danced through the air, the winds grew stronger.
Soon, the entire stage was swallowed by the storm.
Gales howled overhead, casting a heavy pressure over the Tower Settlement.
Everyone felt it.
With the sole exception of Lucian of course.
Watching the Divine Beast command the storm, Lucian's eyes widened.
Using storms… in front of him?
Now this was getting interesting.
A smile spread across his face.
"You dare use my own spells against me, Beast?"
He raised his arm toward the sky, slowly clenching his fist.
The storm above froze.
Every current of wind came to a complete halt. The sky fell into absolute stillness.
"You're not worthy of the sky."
"That domain belongs to me."
In the next instant, the dormant storm roared back to life, far more violent than before.
Lucian rose into the air, ascending to meet the Divine Beast.
With a single wave of his hand, the storm turned against it.
The winds slammed into the lion from all directions, throwing it off balance, making it impossible to maintain control.
The power it had summoned now became countless blades aimed at itself.
The crushing pressure locked it in place.
The sky, once its domain, now felt like a swamp dragging it down.
It could not move freely, as if the entire world had turned against it.
As a creature once favored by nature, the Divine Beast had never experienced anything like this.
It stared at Lucian above, powerless as the storm tore at its body.
Before long, the winds dragged it down from the sky and slammed it back onto the ground.
After forcing it down, Lucian no longer used the storm to crush it outright.
Instead, he simply sealed its movement, preventing it from taking flight again.
Floating before it, Lucian beckoned with one hand.
"Go on. Show me everything you've got."
"How long you live depends on what you do next."
As if understanding him, the Divine Beast flew into a rage.
With a furious roar, it spun along the ground, lightning bursting around its body.
Rain began to fall from the sky.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, flashing with violent arcs of electricity.
Seeing its ability to reshape the weather on such a scale, Lucian laughed.
"Hahaha… this lion dance really does please me."
"In this Land of Shadow, you're the first to give me a proper fight."
"In that case, let me see what you're truly capable of."
"Don't die too quickly… or this will get boring."
The Ancient Dragon Communion seal on the back of his hand flared with brilliant crimson light.
In the storm clouds above, a second kind of lightning began to stir.
Crimson lightning surged and churned violently among the dark clouds.