The Mammoth King was known for its overwhelming strength—its trunk alone could crush steel with ease. Yet Kaien had managed to block its attack with just his body. Was this guy made of steel?
The Mammoth King's eyes widened. It raised its right leg high and then slammed it down hard.
BOOM—!!
A terrifying shockwave burst outward from under its feet.
The earth split apart with a thunderous roar.
"Uwahhh!!"...
Everyone staggered, struggling to stay on their feet.
Kaien flapped his wings and soared into the air.
He pointed his index finger at the Mammoth King, and black energy rapidly gathered at its tip, forming a compressed dark sphere.
"Cero Oscuras!"
Buzz~~~! Zing—!
A beam of black light shot toward the Mammoth King. Its towering figure, more than ten meters tall, had no way to dodge—it had to take the hit.
"ROOOOAR!!"
BOOM—!!
The black Cero enveloped the beast's body, forming a hemispherical dome that expanded outward. Everything in its path was obliterated.
When the light faded, a massive crater remained, with the Mammoth King lying unconscious at the bottom.
"That was incredible!!"
"Mr. Kaien is amazing!!"
"He took down five Nine-Star Beasts all by himself! That's just insane!!"...
All the soldiers and swordsmen erupted in cheers. With those five beasts gone, the pressure on the human side dropped drastically.
"So strong!"
Allen was shaken. He had been struggling just to hold his own against one Nine-Star Beast, and this man had defeated five in about a minute. That level of power was unimaginable.
He had always considered himself a genius—but now he realized he'd been a frog in a well. Whether it was Kaien or the Yoriichi in the arena earlier—those were true geniuses.
"What's going on today? Why are there so many monsters?!"
Clay was feeling annoyed. Usually, he only viewed Arthur as a rival. But today, two absolute freaks had shown up.
Arthur was just as stunned. Kaien's strength was easily on par with the Ten Wizard Saints—and more importantly, he looked so young.
"So this is Kaien's true power?"
Erza finally understood how Kaien could complete an S-Class Mission. With this level of strength, it was only natural.
Kaien returned to the top of the city wall with a flap of his wings.
Swoosh!
He deactivated his transformation and began gasping for breath.
"Mr. Kaien, are you alright?"
The king hurried over with concern.
Kaien waved him off. "I'm fine. I just burned through too much magic power. I probably won't be of much help in the rest of the battle."
The king replied earnestly, "Please don't say that, Mr. Kaien. You've already contributed more than anyone could ask. Leave the rest to us!"
With five Nine-Star Beasts down thanks to Kaien, human morale surged. Under covering fire, the swordsmen fought with renewed courage.
Meanwhile, the monsters, demoralized by the loss of their five most powerful allies, began to falter.
"Judgment of Light!"
Arthur unleashed his ultimate move, severely wounding the Nine-Star Beast, Quillion Lion.
"Thunderflash!"
Clay seized his opportunity to strike as well.
His body became lightning, flashing between the remaining heads of the Hydra. In an instant, he decapitated every one of them.
Erza's battle with the Silvermoon Wolf was nearing its end.
"Purgatory Shatter!!"
She Requipped into her black Purgatory Armor, wielding a serrated greatsword.
The massive blade slammed into the Silvermoon Wolf.
"Awoooo—!!"
The beast cried out in pain before collapsing, unable to continue.
Only one remained—the Bloodhorn Ape that had been fighting Allen. But after seeing all the other Nine-Star Beasts defeated, it lost the will to fight. It sent Allen flying with a heavy palm, then turned and fled into the forest without a backward glance.
The rest of the monsters, seeing their strongest flee, didn't dare stick around either. They all scattered and ran.
"Oooooooohhh!!!"
Seeing the monsters retreat, everyone raised their weapons and roared in triumph.
"Yes!!!"
"We did it!!!"...
Tens of thousands of monsters—that number alone was terrifying. Combined with the Nine-Star Beasts, they could have wiped out the entire kingdom. If Kaien hadn't appeared and eliminated five of them, the nation might have been destroyed. He had saved them.
Kaien let out a breath of relief. Looked like his reward was safe.
Suddenly—
A spherical object flew out from the forest.
Thud! It landed in the crowd with a heavy smack.
When people realized what it was, they all recoiled in shock.
"The Bloodhorn Ape!!!"
It was the severed head of the Nine-Star Beast that had just fled.
"Wh-what's going on?!"
"Didn't that thing run away? Who killed it?!"
"That was a Nine-Star Beast!"...
While everyone was still confused—
Clap clap clap!
Applause echoed out.
"Wonderful! Wonderful! What a delightful show! That was truly entertaining!"
Accompanied by the voice, a strange-looking young man emerged from the Forest of Monsters. He had long purple hair, wore purple clothes, and had slightly dark skin. He looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
"Who are you? Did you kill the Bloodhorn Ape?"
Arthur stepped forward to question him. Even if this man had helped kill a Nine-Star Beast, his tone and words rubbed people the wrong way.
The man sneered, "Who am I? I'm certainly not some lowly human. Don't compare me to your pathetic species. As for that little monkey, he disobeyed my orders—so naturally, he had to die."
Erza narrowed her eyes. "Orders? Are you saying these monsters were attacking the city under your command?"
The man raised a finger. "Bingo! Congratulations—you got it!"
"Why would you do this?"
"Why? That's easy. Revenge, of course!"
"Revenge?"
"That's right! I'm here to repay a little debt—a grudge for being sealed away for 400 years."
At first, the king was puzzled. It wasn't unusual for a ruler to have old enemies, but he couldn't recall crossing paths with someone like this. But when he heard "sealed for 400 years," realization struck.
His face changed dramatically.
"Watch out!! That man is the Demon Dragon—Alazham!!!"