"Damn it—" Rose muttered as she spat out a mouthful of blood. The attack had punched a hole through her stomach.
The monster had a satisfied smile on its face, licking its blood-soaked hand. It was in ecstasy. The feeling made it even more frenzied as it launched itself at the woman without a second thought.
The lion did the same, charging from the opposite side. Even though victory had become only a matter of time, neither of the monsters hesitated.
After all, they could feel it in real time.
The monsters that had once occupied every inch of the city, slaughtering humans left and right, were all dead. The Gates, too, were disappearing one after another at an astonishing speed.
They couldn't afford to delay. They had no time.
And, ironically, Rose thought the same.
"I don't have any time left," she murmured resolutely, then—
"Blade of Reversal."
A dazzling surge of sword energy erupted, crashing into the two monsters before they even had time to react, swallowing them entirely.
Pain twisted across their faces. They hadn't expected such a devastating attack from the dying human.
They had been foolish.
The power behind the blow was far greater than they had anticipated—but not enough to kill the two monsters outright.
Rose had expected as much. After all, the monsters' resistance to damage was far superior to that of humans.
But the attack came at a steep cost. Rose spat out another mouthful of blood, weakness beginning to overtake her body. Although Rank S beings like her weren't bound by numerical stats like the lower-ranked humans and monsters, that didn't mean they were immortal, nor that their bodies were fundamentally different.
Rose was still a human, after all. Blood loss was no trivial matter.
"I can't give up—"
Her mind was growing fainter with each passing second, but with the sheer will and strength born from her Law, Rose refused to be stopped.
Then, a light illuminated the surroundings—but it didn't come from her.
It was the golden lion, unleashing the power of its Law.
It was an aura of healing.
"Shit—" Rose said. "That's why he never used it before… he never needed to."
It was true. The lion had never needed to use its Law-infused skills—after all, it had never suffered fatal injuries.
But despite all of that, she couldn't back down.
She still had one last attack to deliver.
"I can do this!"
And so, gripping her sword tightly, she unleashed one final, devastating attack against her two enemies.
"Redspine Severance."
Then, a strike that seemed to materialize directly upon the monsters shattered any hopes they had of recovering.
Or at least, that was what Rose had hoped.
Unfortunately, the truth was far harsher.
The healing power had restored the two monsters to near-perfect condition. The fatigue of battle and the exhaustion remained, but the pain and injuries had been wiped away, as if they had been mere illusions.
All that remained was the trauma from having faced Rose's explosive attack.
But not even a second after their brief relief, they were struck by a damage far greater—an impact that almost annihilated any chance they had left at survival.
If the healing ability hadn't restored them beforehand, that single strike would have killed them both.
Even though they had survived, the attack was so powerful it left them paralyzed for an instant.
Watching the scene, Rose smiled, shaking her head and coughing up another mouthful of blood.
"In the end… I didn't make it," she whispered.
The Crimson World faded away at the same moment her ability collided with the monsters.
But she wasn't dying. The vitality of a Rank S was not so easily extinguished, after all.
She was simply losing consciousness from the overwhelming exertion. Her body was healing itself in real time, albeit very slowly.
Unfortunately, fainting in front of two monsters who were still alive, strong, and furious about what had just happened was no different from suicide.
To make matters worse, the three of them were currently in mid-air, and if Rose truly lost consciousness, she would crash to the ground without any protection. She would die.
Sadly, there was nothing she could do.
And just as her body began to fall victim to gravity—
"Headmistress, you've done enough." A pair of strong arms caught the woman's falling body.
Rose's eyes opened slightly. She recognized the voice, but she couldn't understand. How could it be him?
"Let me handle this."The voice echoed powerfully in her ears, as if it were a command she couldn't disobey.
"Thank you…"And so, without questioning the authenticity of his words, she closed her eyes and lost consciousness in the boy's arms.
The two monsters watched the tear-jerking scene with a fierce gleam in their eyes.
They hadn't been fast enough to kill the woman, but this was enough. Now the fight would once again be two against one, just like before. They would win again.
Or so they thought.
"Are you two the infamous Rank S monsters?" the boy's voice shattered the tension in the air.
Jeremy smiled. This was going to be a fun fight.
He wanted to test his power against Rank S foes, and what better way than against these two half-dead monsters standing before him?
But first, he had to take care of the woman in his arms. He couldn't fight like this.
So, with a decisive yet gentle gesture... he tossed her downward.
"…"
The monsters stared at him in shock. How could he just let her fall like that? She would die!
But Jeremy didn't care about their thoughts. He had his own plan, which involved letting SuperCannon catch the woman mid-air.
"What are you staring at? Come on, attack."Jeremy smiled.
The two monsters remained on guard. The golden lion couldn't reuse his healing ability so soon. It needed time to recharge. Sure, its Law still worked passively, constantly healing him, but it was incredibly slow.
Then, the humanoid monster exchanged a glance with the lion, who nodded in response.
The strategy was clear.
They needed to stall until the lion's ability was ready again, so they could return to their peak.
However, while the plan sounded feasible in theory, it was difficult in practice. The two monsters had just finished an exhausting battle and were still fatigued. But they couldn't retreat. Their pride wouldn't allow it—and neither would the strange human standing before them.
Besides, they had another advantage: time itself. Beyond the lion's healing, they were also waiting for something else.
The closure of all those Gates would destabilize the space around them once more. Another Rank S Gate would inevitably spawn, and another monster would come to their aid.
All they had to do was buy time, and everything would fall into place.
"Are you done?"Jeremy's voice was calm. He was waiting for the two monsters to understand the situation and come up with their battle plans.
Was he being arrogant? Maybe, but he could afford to be. After all, his level had reached 90, bringing him a step closer to his enemies, who had surpassed level 100. But that wasn't the true source of his confidence.
He possessed a potential far, far greater than the two APEX beings before him. And since potential indirectly improved the quality of one's level, Jeremy, despite being of lower level, was much stronger.
The monsters stared at him furiously, feeling mocked. And technically, they were right—Jeremy wasn't taking them seriously at all.
After exchanging another deep glance, the two monsters charged toward Jeremy. They wanted to wipe that arrogant smile off his face.
But then, as if fate itself was mocking them, the humanoid monster with unnaturally long arms began to glow with light, and soon, two smaller monsters appeared from his body.
They were the two humanoid monsters from before. Their fusion ability had ended. Their potential had dropped by a tier, returning to High Potential.
"Huh?"Jeremy looked at them curiously, resting his hand under his chin."Don't you have even less of a chance now? How are you going to entertain me?"
The three monsters were even angrier than before. The long-armed humanoid monster clenched his fists, the long-legged one bounced around, and the lion growled furiously.
The battle was about to begin.