Aiden stared at the Butcher Monk before him and thought:
He’s different from the last time I saw him.
Back then, it had felt like facing a tidal wave. The very idea of confronting him was unthinkable.
But now, things had changed.
Thanks to Jun and Thaerdin’s efforts, the Butcher Monk was far weaker than before.
And in contrast, Aiden had grown incomparably stronger than he was back in the third level.
It wasn’t arrogance or overconfidence. It was just the truth.
But… am I stronger than him?
If asked that, he couldn’t confidently say yes.
Even now, he couldn’t find a single opening in the Butcher Monk’s stance.
But I don’t need to create an opening.
All he had to do was buy time until Jun’s next spell was ready.
That was Aiden’s objective.
As expected, it was the impatient Butcher Monk who moved first.
“Asura Salvarta!”
The Butcher Monk knew full well that he was in the worst possible situation.
But he also knew how to turn it around.
“First, I need to get rid of this boulder.”
His first target was the golem. Sand compressed to the hardness of steel.
Vmmm—
In response, the golem made a sound like a snort.
As if to say, “What can a weakened fool like you even do now?”
[Blood Mountain Collapse Fist]
The Butcher Monk had no intention of wasting time fighting the golem.
He poured even the dwindling killing karma into his fist and struck.
Vmmm!!
The golem crossed its arms to block the attack.
Boooom!
That lunatic…!
Seeing what followed, Jun bit his lip.
The Butcher Monk’s fist, tinged with blood-red energy, pierced not only the golem’s arms but its entire torso.
He’s not even trying to conserve his killing karma!
Knowing that it would eventually be burned away by Eleanor’s divine magic anyway, he had made a bold decision…. to spend it all now.
Leaving the collapsing golem behind like a sandcastle crushed by waves, the Butcher Monk shifted his target.
“I’ll be taking your karma, benefactor!”
But in truth, this reckless assault wasn’t without calculation.
His real target was Aiden.
To the Butcher Monk who grew stronger by accumulating killing karma, which was the bloodline of the imperial family, was the ultimate opportunity, and the finest of elixirs.
He launched a full-power assault.
A punch imbued with that resolve shot forward.
It’s coming!
Aiden, barely reacting in time again, raised his sword to block his chest.
“……!!!”
At that exact moment, [Beast Body] reacted violently with rejection.
Fortunately, Aiden trusted the warning his [Beast Body] sent him and raised his sword above his head instead.
And then—
Thud―!
“Khugh…!!”
The punch that had seemed to be coming vanished, and instead, the Butcher Monk’s leg came crashing down like a guillotine.
What the—!
It felt like his mind had short-circuited from the dissonance in perception.
“You’ve got good instincts!”
But the Butcher Monk took Aiden’s confusion as only natural and immediately moved his leg again.
Again… the head!
Launching himself into the air with the leg that had been blocked by Aiden’s sword, the Monk went for a spinning kick.
Aiden tried to raise his sword to block his head once more.
“……!”
But again, [Beast Body] reacted.
Aiden instantly abandoned the block and leapt backward.
[Blood Mountain Collapse Fist]
Krrrrrrrrrrrrrsh!!!
“What the hell…?”
The Butcher Monk’s fist, drenched in blood, smashed into the spot where Aiden had just been.
The ground caved in like it had been hit by a bomb. Cold sweat trickled down Aiden’s back.
That…
Now he understood why Jun’s golem had gone down so easily.
If he hadn’t dodged, he would’ve died.
That’s how deadly the strike had been. But why hadn’t he sensed such a savage aura?
“Ah.”
“Kuhuhu. So it’s true you carry the blood of the First Emperor. Seems you’ve figured it out, benefactor.”
“…Killing intent.”
That’s right.
The killing intent, born from an unfathomable accumulation of killing karma, had been shrouding Aiden’s senses like a thick fog.
Just moments ago, he’d shown clear intent to smash Aiden with his fist….yet now, he extended a leg instead.
“It may be a grappling technique, but you’re hardly in a position to criticize me for it.”
The Butcher Monk charged at Aiden again, just as before.
In truth, even if Aiden knew, it changed little.
Even if he did carry the blood of the First Emperor, his opponent was still only level 5.
He might’ve had a trump card of his own, but controlling a body that reacted on its own to killing intent was an impossible task.
“……!”
An elbow came crashing down from above.
Aiden stepped back in response, only for the Monk’s foot to shoot forward like a spear, aiming straight for his abdomen.
[Shield]
Even Jun’s shield was pierced as if it were made of paper.
Aiden barely managed to pull his sword in like a shield to block it, but the impact still rang through his body.
“Guh…!”
Thud, thud-thud-thud!
He tumbled across the ruined sandy ground several times before barely managing to steady himself.
When he looked up, the sunlight was suddenly blocked.
He immediately rolled to the side just in time, as the Monk’s fist came crashing down where he’d been moments ago.
“Huff, huff…!”
“You’re rather quick on your feet, but that’s all you’ve got? That wind sword strike was a one-off, wasn’t it?”
Aiden’s [Wind Storm] was a technique with devastating power and lightning-fast execution.
But the problem was….it wasn’t fast enough that the Butcher Monk couldn’t react to it.
The first strike had only landed because the spirit of wind had lent its aid. But that spirit, having crossed the island to help, had already fallen into a deep sleep once more.
And I’m not even sure that move could match his technique from earlier.
Even so…
It’s not hopeless.
Why was that?
Even after narrowly escaping death several times just now, he still felt like he could do this.
Why?
“Don’t act tough, you damn bald freak.”
It was probably because of Jun who was still supporting him from behind.
“Tough? Is that what you think this is?”
“You can pretend to stay calm all you want, but you’re the one who’s getting desperate.”
“Ha… calm, you say.”
The Butcher Monk turned his head toward the sea.
That area was currently blocked off by [Iron Rampart].
“Did you really think you were the only one buying time?”
“…What?”
At that moment, an immense swirl of magical power was detected.
The direction toward the city, where the “Wrath of the Sea God” was located..
Beyond the wall of steel, a pillar of light infused with a murky emerald hue shot up into the sky.
“…Damn it. So they were planning to trigger it this time.”
The failed raid.
The very outcome they’d feared had now come crashing down upon them.
“I thought nothing could surprise me at this point, but I see you knew about this incident as well.”
“With two imperial members showing up here, you bastards must’ve lost your minds.”
Just moments ago, the sky had been clear and bright. Now, it darkened in an instant.
The Sea’s Wrath was about to begin.
“Let’s see if you can hold out until then.”
“Haha…”
You bastard.
Jun let out a cold, pale smile.
“You really are underestimating us.”
“Hmm?”
Ignoring the Butcher Monk’s reaction, Jun turned to Aiden.
“Aiden. You pulled yourself together?”
“Yes, senior.”
“You’ve adjusted?”
“Fully.”
“Good. That’s the talent you’ve got. Understand?”
Every day, he’d sparred with members of the Heavenly Dragon Knights.
And each time, what he saw on their faces wasn’t amazement, but fear. What they showed wasn’t admiration, but reverence.
These were no ordinary knights. They were the very pride of the Empire.
Men whose pride pierced the heavens and could almost touch the sun yet they’d look at Aiden with expressions of dread. Every single day.
There’s a reason he’s the protagonist in the game.
The Butcher Monk?
Sure, he was a monster.
He’d climbed from level 7 to 8 in just one year.
But even so, he didn’t compare to the Aiden standing before him now.
“I was a little late because I was trying to visualize it.”
“It’s fine.”
[Deciphering the spell…]
[Deciphering complete.]
[The influence of the spell, ‘Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim’, is reduced by 25 percent.]
[Multicasting]
[Enchantment Type: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute Enchantment: Wind]
[Enchantment Type: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute Enchantment: Wind]
[Enchantment Type: Strengthen Body]
For Thaerdin, who had barely synced with Jun, support magic of this level could actually be a hindrance.
But Aiden was different.
Each and every spell he chanted carried a delicate mental image, and the moment all those spells were directed at Aiden—
“You think I’ll just stand by and watch?!”
The Butcher Monk played his trump card.
As if to end things once and for all, he even unleashed the final technique he had held in reserve.
[Blood Sea Rising]
Once again, his entire body was dyed in a dark crimson color, and an overwhelming killing intent surged forth.
In contrast, a whirlwind erupted around Aiden.
As though standing at the heart of a typhoon, the razor-sharp winds howled violently, ready to tear apart everything before him at any moment.
And when the two finally clashed—
[Blood Mountain Crushing Fist]!
[Gale Burst]!
The Butcher Monk raised the corners of his lips as he saw Aiden thrust his sword precisely at his incoming fist.
The [Blood Mountain Crushing Fist] wrapped around his fist had been nothing but a feint.
Sensing unease during Jun and Aiden’s earlier exchange, he had created [Blood Mountain Crushing Fist] as though he would actually punch but it wasn’t the real deal.
[Iron Mountain Kick]
His long-lost homeland, now gone.
That power, reappearing in the world for the first time in 30 years, gathered in the Butcher Monk’s leg.
He didn’t need [Blood Mountain Crushing Fist] to kill this blond-haired, blue-eyed man before him.
His raw strength alone was more than enough.
But perhaps it was because he had so rarely been pushed to his limits—
Or perhaps because he had become drunk on his life as a dominant force for so long—
The Butcher Monk had overlooked a few crucial things.
First, that his mental strength had already dropped to its limit, dulling his perception of his surroundings.
Second, the innate talent Aiden possessed, steeped in the blood of the first emperor.
And third… the assumption that the sly mage’s schemes would end at just this level.
[Fog of Silence]
“I told you. You’d remember my name.”
“……!!!”
From what had been completely empty air, someone suddenly leapt out.
A knight commander, swinging his sword with a blood-covered body.
It was Thaerdin.
[Will Manifestation – Iron Path]
In a split second, Aiden and Thaerdin’s figures shot forward.
The only one who remained still in place—
was the Butcher Monk.
“Hu hu… huahahaha.”
Standing upon the golden earth, the Butcher Monk looked up at the sky and burst into laughter.
Then after abruptly stopping, he muttered to himself as if speaking in solitude,
“I knew something felt off. So that’s what it was. Benefactor.”
His gaze turned toward Aiden.
“That thing dwelling inside your body… one day, it will gnaw away at you. It will destroy you soon enough.”
“……”
From Aiden’s body, a crimson aura shimmered and surged.
In the final moment of the clash—
The Butcher Monk had deliberately taken Thaerdin’s attack, focusing all his strength on Aiden instead.
Perhaps it was because it was a strike delivered with the resolve to die.
At that moment, Aiden sensed death and briefly drew upon a power he was never meant to use.
And the Butcher Monk saw it clearly.
“I’ll go on ahead and wait. Bloodline of my mortal enemy. I’ll gladly watch your downfall from the afterlife.”
“You bastard. You think I’m just going to let that happen?”
At Jun’s words, the Butcher Monk turned his gaze toward him.
“Well now. If you manage to survive again this time, Benefactor… I’ll resign myself to it.”
With those final words, the Butcher Monk’s body began to collapse.
His severed arm and head cut off by Aiden and Thaerdin fell to the ground, and the rest of his body dissolved into a dark crimson mist.
It was the end of one who, even after drawing upon the last of [Blood Mountain Reincarnation], failed to complete his slaughter.
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