Ariel’s POV
It was completely dark.
Not normal darkness.
There wasn’t even a trace of light anywhere.
Fortunately, my vision had changed since awakening my abilities.
What appeared to James as complete darkness was surprisingly clear to me.
I could see the ground.
The strange structures surrounding us.
Even the distant Goblins moving through the darkness.
James, however, wasn’t having the same luck.
“Ariel?”
His voice echoed through the strange realm.
“Ariel! Luther?”
I began moving toward his voice.
Then-
BOOM!
The ground shook beneath my feet.
I froze.
A low growl followed.
Deep.
Slow.
And close.
I immediately turned around.
Something was behind me.
I hurried toward James and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Calm down.”
“It’s me.”
I lowered my voice.
“Don’t make too much noise.”
“There is something huge behind us.”
James went silent.
Then suddenly…
The darkness began to fade.
A faint red glow illuminated the area.
James’ eyes widened.
Now he could see what I had already seen.
And honestly…
I wished he couldn’t.
Standing behind us was a monster unlike anything we’d encountered before.
It was enormous.
Four massive legs supported its gigantic body.
Rock-like scales covered its skin, making its body look almost like a walking mountain.
Huge bones protruded from its back.
Its tail stretched behind it…
Long enough to be compared to four buses lined up together.
Its eyes glowed a terrifying red.
Each breath it took sounded like a storm passing through a tunnel.
James stared at it.
“…Ariel.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you see that?”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
“As clear as day.”
The creature slowly raised its head.
Its eyes locked onto us.
Then—
Ding.
A system window appeared.
[New Monster Registered]
[Name: Behemoth]
[Class: Tier 5]
[Rank: A]
[Threat Level: City-Level]
[Special Abilities]
[Insane Strength]
[Extreme Durability] This chapter is updated first at g.com.
[Rock-Hard Scales]
“The hell does all that mean?” James asked.
I didn’t answer.
I was too busy staring at the creature.
“Ariel?”
He looked at me.
“Are you seeing this?”
“Yes.”
He went completely silent.
Then I took a deep breath.
“What do we do?”
James clenched his fists.
“We bring it down.”
His body began expanding.
Muscles grew.
His frame became larger and larger until Titan stood before me.
The Behemoth looked down at him.
James cracked his neck.
“Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He charged.
BOOM!
Titan slammed into the creature’s abdomen.
His arms wrapped around its body.
The Behemoth barely moved.
Then it roared.
ROOOOOAAAR!
It swung its massive arm.
WHAM!
James was sent flying.
He crashed into the ground and rolled several meters.
“James!”
“I’m fine!”
He stood back up.
“I’m fine!”
I wasn’t convinced.
I spread my arms.
Metallic feathers formed around my body.
My wings expanded.
Armor-like plates covered my arms, shoulders and torso.
My body lifted from the ground.
Aetherwing Armor.
I took flight.
The Behemoth swung at me.
I quickly moved around it.
From its blind spot, I launched several metallic feathers.
SHING!
SHING!
SHING!
They struck its body.
Nothing.
The feathers bounced off its rock-like scales.
“…Seriously?”
The Behemoth turned toward me.
I immediately flew upward.
Below me, James was struggling.
He was taking hit after hit.
Every time the creature struck him, the ground shook.
I could tell he was forcing himself to maintain Titan.
He couldn’t keep it up forever.
I needed to find a weakness.
Think.
Think.
The Behemoth charged.
James barely dodged.
Its claws tore through the ground.
James stumbled.
The creature raised its foot.
BOOM!
“James!”
He pushed himself up.
The Behemoth charged toward him.
James waited.
At the last possible moment…
He scooped up a handful of dirt and threw it directly into the creature’s eyes.
The Behemoth suddenly stopped.
It roared in pain.
Its massive claws scratched at its face.
I stared at its eyes.
Then it clicked.
“…Its eyes.”
I looked toward James.
“James!”
He turned.
“Hold it!”
“What?”
“Just hold it in place!”
James grinned.
“Got it.”
He charged forward.
Titan grabbed the Behemoth from behind and locked both arms around its neck.
The creature struggled violently.
James’ feet dug into the ground.
“NOW!”
I folded my wings.
Metallic feathers gathered around me.
I dove.
SHING!
One feather shot forward.
Straight toward its exposed eye.
CRACK!
The feather pierced through.
The Behemoth released a deafening roar.
It thrashed violently.
James struggled to maintain his grip.
But the opening was enough.
He tightened his arms.
“MY TURN!”
With everything he had left…
James forced the Behemoth’s massive jaw apart.
Then-
CRACK!
The jaw broke under the force.
The creature collapsed.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire realm shook.
Dust filled the air.
Then…
Silence.
James released his Titan form and dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
I landed beside him.
We stared at the enormous body lying motionless before us.
A system notification appeared.
[A-Rank Echo Cleared]
[Behemoth Defeated]
[Contribution Calculated… Reward Pending.]
James looked at me.
“…We actually killed that thing.”
I smiled.
“Yeah.”
Then I looked toward the darkness beyond the fallen Behemoth.
The Goblins were still moving.
And Luther was still missing.
My smile disappeared.
“We need to find Luther.”
James nodded.
“Yeah.”
“We’re not leaving without him.”