Meanwhile, the battle against the three Rank S monsters was raging on without pause.
Rose Redspine was giving her all to delay them as much as possible, hoping for timely reinforcements from the imperial capital, Velrath.In fact, Rose had requested the intervention of other Rank S individuals the very moment the monsters had appeared.She was proud and full of herself, but not foolish. She knew exactly what she could and couldn't do.
She might have been able to kill one of them by using all her strength and skills, but doing so would have left her wide open to the others' attacks.After all, Rank S beings weren't pushovers. Each of them had developed their own unique Law.
After flying into the sky, the three monsters wasted no time and charged directly at her.She didn't unleash her Domain—it would've been shattered by the combined power of the three creatures.
They had different appearances. Two of them looked like they were from the same race, with the only distinction being the length of their limbs.Their forms appeared humanoid, but were far larger in size.One of them had unnaturally long arms and very short legs. The other was the opposite—unnaturally long legs and short arms.
The last monster had come out of the other Gate. It belonged to a different realm.It looked like a kind of golden lion with white wings.But while the first two monsters possessed only High Potential, this one was a being with APEX Potential—just like Rose.
In truth, if she had only faced the two humanoid monsters, she wouldn't have had any trouble.The same went for the golden lion—if it had come alone.
Rose had barely managed to analyze them before their ferocity erupted.The funny thing was, while the two humanoid monsters fought with unmatched savagery, the lion remained calm, even wise.It didn't charge at the woman right away. It seemed to be studying her.
"Is that all you've got, you two?" Rose taunted.
She was fighting the two strange-looking monsters, and despite being outnumbered, she was holding her ground."Sharpness, huh? Is that your Law?" she continued, dodging their strikes with precision and landing blow after blow aimed at their heads.
She had targeted the one with long arms, simply because they were still shorter than the other's legs.It made him easier to hit.
They began exchanging hundreds of blows, but only a few managed to injure Rose.The two monsters, however, were taking many more hits.
With every strike that landed, Rose's speed and power increased."Maybe I misjudged the situation…" she thought to herself. "If things keep going like this, I should be able to beat them. I just have to keep an eye on the golden lion."
The golden lion kept watching the battle with a focused gaze.It couldn't quite understand the woman's Law. It seemed to be something unique—something that carried power, elegance, and allure.
The lion didn't fully grasp it, but what it saw was enough.Its moment to act had come.
The two humanoid monsters were bleeding from countless wounds.The cuts kept piling up, and just as Rose was about to unleash her most powerful ability—Redspine Severance—to destroy the long-armed monster, the golden lion moved.
It struck with incredible speed, leaping behind Rose in an instant, ready to slash her with its paw. It was a masterful strike, the kind that seemed honed through countless years of practice—a sign of true mastery.
"I've got you," Rose whispered.
Using her ultimate ability had all been a ploy to draw the lion into the fight.After all, he was the real thorn in her side—not those two monsters before her.
She had already noticed the lion had stopped observing and was preparing a sneak attack.But his plan had been read by the woman.After all, reaching her level didn't just require overwhelming power—it demanded exceptional intelligence and cunning.And Rose had all of that.
Just as the lion's claw was about to reach her, she vanished from her position and reappeared a few meters away.
Then, with a satisfied smile on her face—
"Crimson World."
The world around them turned a deep crimson.The two humanoid monsters appeared to be slowed within this Domain.They were the weakest here, after all.
Rose wasted no time and dashed toward the golden lion—her true target all along.
But the monster didn't panic.Despite the woman's plan against him, his expression remained calm.
However, his wings weren't still.The moment Rose charged him, the monster used the raw power of his wings to unleash a blast of pure radiant energy.
Rose was caught off guard.She hadn't expected such a swift reaction from the beast.
But thanks to her dexterity and agility, she managed—barely—to dodge the lion's blast…Only to find herself struck by a massive hand that came from the front.
"Shit—"
She didn't even have time to finish the word before the blow sent her flying dozens of meters away.
"Where the hell did that thing come from?" she muttered, wiping the blood dripping from her mouth with one hand.
Standing before her wasn't just the golden lion anymore. A new monster had appeared—still humanoid in shape, but far more grotesque.
Its arms and legs were unnaturally long, and its head bore a mouth that was disproportionately wide.
"Where did that come from?" was Rose's first thought.
But then, seeing the disappearance of the two previous humanoid monsters and the similarity in appearance, realization struck her like lightning.
"Shit, so they could fuse. I should've killed one of them right away."
With that final thought in mind, Rose braced herself for round two against the fused abomination. They were still within her domain, but maintaining it against two Rank S beings at once was more draining than she had expected. She couldn't keep it up for much longer—she had to win, or at least drag the fight out as much as possible.
Just as the battle was about to resume, they all felt a shift on the battlefield.
This entire time, part of Rose's attention had been monitoring the conflict raging below. Needless to say, the humans were on the losing side, with people dying every second.
The clash was brutal—but Rose could do nothing about it. Her hands were tied by these Rank S monsters.
Her heart ached as she watched the city she had always protected being torn apart like this. But she couldn't afford to show weakness. She had to fight with everything she had, just as she always had.
Yet now… now she had felt a strange power emerging from the battlefield below. It seemed to be tied to a Law—but inherently weaker, less defined. For a moment, Rose feared it meant another Rank S monster had appeared from one of the still-open Gates.
If that were the case, there was nothing she could do to save them.
But fortunately, this Law-like power didn't seem to belong to a monster—it was human in origin. She knew it the moment the monsters began getting wiped out in absurd numbers.
Whoever it was moved with a speed that even surpassed her own. Sure, if she pushed herself to the limit, she could be faster—but it would cost her too much energy. After all, she didn't have infinite stamina.
The battle that had paused for just a few seconds resumed with new fury.
The monsters, realizing their kin were being massacred below, went berserk.
They attacked Rose with reckless abandon, ignoring defense, and managed to land blow after blow. She couldn't react as she wanted, and though her strikes landed, they lacked the buildup needed to activate her skill, Limitless Momentum.
Still, she wasn't overly concerned—this twist of fate was actually working in her favor. She still had two skills left to unleash.
The first was Blade of Reversal, which would reflect every attack she had taken in the last minute with double the force. She didn't expect to annihilate the monsters with it, but she hoped it would wound them enough to set up her final move, Redspine Severance—a skill designed to kill in a single stroke.
But the situation was becoming critical. She was taking too many hits.
The humanoid monster's blows carried terrifying sharpness. Every punch, every kick, every motion was imbued with that Law, and Rose was starting to falter.
She was covered in cuts—some shallow, others deep—but her spirit remained unshaken. Her focus was locked on the task ahead.
She needed to hold out for twenty more seconds to maximize the damage from her skill.
But despite her determination, those twenty seconds felt like an eternity.
After just five seconds, Rose took a devastating blow from the humanoid monster.
"Damn it—" she coughed, blood spilling from her mouth.
The strike had punched a hole through her stomach.