Chapter 352: Are You Crazy?
Chapter 349
Elen entered and found herself in what seemed like an ashen world.
The sky above was blood red, and there were three dark moons hanging overhead.
She hadn’t even gotten the chance to fully explore her surroundings when her back prickled and her instincts screamed danger.
She turned.
And there was a massive ashen hammer swinging directly toward her head.
Reacting purely on instinct, she drew her sword and used the flat side of the blade to deflect the incoming attack.
BANG!
The force behind the strike lifted her completely off the ground and hurled her through the air at an insane speed.
She crashed violently into the side of a nearby tree.
The tree itself was ashen in color, with black leaves hanging from its branches.
An aching sensation spread through every nerve in her body as she pushed herself upright and turned to face her enemy.
Before, she hadn’t been able to properly see the creature that had attacked her.
Now, however, she finally got a good look at it.
And strangely enough, it was the exact opposite of what she expected.
She had absolutely no idea what kind of beast it was.
Yet despite not recognizing it, she couldn’t stop chills from running down her spine just from looking at it.
The beast—
No.
The monster.
It possessed a humanoid shape.
At first glance, it looked almost human.
It had two legs.
Two arms.
And the general frame of a human.
Yet everything else about it was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Its entire body was ashen gray.
Every inch of it.
And scattered across its body were several black spots.
At first glance, they appeared to be ordinary markings.
However, upon closer inspection, Elen realized the truth.
Those black spots were actually black gems embedded directly into the creature’s flesh.
Its head was completely black as well.
Its eyes, nose, and mouth were all crimson red.
If there was one word Elen could use to describe the monster’s appearance, it would simply be—
Wrong.
The creature’s body appeared relatively slender.
Yet somehow it possessed enough strength to wield such a massive hammer with ease.
Her gaze shifted toward the weapon.
The hammer itself was also ashen in color, with black stripes running along its surface.
"Just what the hell is that...?"
Elen muttered through ragged breaths as she forced herself to her feet.
Her gaze remained locked onto the creature standing only several meters away.
This monster wasn’t listed in any of the records held by the Hero Organization.
And yet here it was.
Still, that wasn’t entirely strange anymore.
Over the past year, the number of portals opening around the world had increased dramatically.
The number of beasts and monsters emerging from them had also increased.
But that wasn’t the only issue.
Entirely new species of monsters had begun appearing.
Creatures completely different from anything humanity had encountered before.
And every single one of them was powerful.
Countless heroes had sacrificed their lives just to gather enough information for others to learn how to deal with some of the more dangerous new species.
And among beasts and monsters, everyone knew one simple truth.
Monsters were far more terrifying.
After all, beasts killed humans because of their instincts.
Monsters were different.
They hunted humans.
Butchered them.
And seemed to find genuine amusement in bringing death and destruction wherever they went.
That was why Elen knew, without anyone needing to tell her, that she was in danger.
Extreme danger.
Judging from that last attack, the monster before her was likely at the peak of B-Tier.
Or perhaps it had already crossed into A-Tier.
Defeating such an opponent wasn’t impossible.
But it certainly wouldn’t be easy.
It would take considerable effort before she could bring it down.
Still, she knew she had to finish this fight as quickly as possible.
If other monsters discovered her location, her situation would become far worse.
With that thought firmly planted in her mind, her grip on her sword tightened.
Her gaze sharpened.
Focused.
Determined.
She activated her skill.
Super Charge.
Immediately, she felt her physical abilities surge.
Her strength increased.
Her speed sharpened.
Even her senses became clearer.
She bent slightly, holding her sword at her side.
Then, with explosive force, she launched herself forward.
The ground beneath her feet cracked.
She shot toward the monster at a speed that even many A-Rankers would find difficult to react to.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared directly before the creature.
Her sword sliced toward its head.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
Yet before the blade could connect—
The monster moved.
Its hand rose.
And then it grabbed her sword.
Just like that.
The creature’s fingers wrapped around the blade and stopped its advance completely before it could even come close to reaching its head.
Elen’s eyes shot upward in surprise.
However, she didn’t have time to remain surprised for long.
The monster’s second hand, the one holding the massive hammer, moved.
Fast.
Extremely fast.
It rushed toward Elen with terrifying speed.
She was caught without any defensive skill active, yet with a burst of strength she yanked her blade free.
With an elegant motion, she dodged the incoming hammer and immediately counterattacked.
Her sword sliced toward the monster’s arm.
Yet instead of severing it cleanly, a loud clang echoed through the battlefield.
It sounded as though she had struck an indestructible wall of metal.
Her gaze darkened.
The surprise in her eyes deepened.
But before she could react further, a fist smashed directly into her face faster than she could respond in her stunned state.
BANG!
She was sent flying through the air.
Moments later she crashed back down with a loud impact.
Pain shot through every part of her body.
Elen struggled to rise before forcing herself back onto her feet.
"This monster is strong..."
She muttered through gritted teeth.
Stronger than most A-Rank monsters she had ever encountered.
Not only was its attack power overwhelming, but its speed and reaction time were monstrous as well.
And its defense seemed practically indestructible.
Just how was she supposed to defeat this kind of monster?
The thought filled her with fear.
But she couldn’t give up.
If she did, then she might as well choose death.
So she stood up once more.
She gripped her sword tightly.
Reactivated her skill.
And launched herself directly back into battle against the powerful monster.
The two exchanged rapid blows.
Sword against hammer.
Fist against fist.
To an outside observer, it might have appeared as though they were evenly matched.
At least until one noticed the blood occasionally spraying from Elen’s mouth.
As the battle continued, her injuries only became worse.
Still, she pushed forward.
As long as she could find a weakness.
As long as she could discover even a single flaw.
Then this battle could still be won.
This was the true nightmare of fighting a newly discovered monster.
Countless heroes had died before ever uncovering the weaknesses of creatures like these.
And as much as she wanted to retreat, she knew that if things continued like this and she failed to discover its weakness soon enough—
She would die as well.
That thought fueled her determination.
She fought harder.
Faster.
Stronger.
Yet no matter what she did, it wasn’t enough.
Nothing she did managed to stop the beating she was receiving.
Her body trembled.
Several of her ribs had cracked.
Blood dripped continuously from her mouth onto the ashen ground, serving as proof of just how badly she was losing.
And the monster stood before her almost completely unharmed.
Despite all the attacks she had unleashed with her full strength, the most she had managed to accomplish were a few superficial marks scattered across its body.
Nothing more.
In the end...
The monster was simply too strong.
The face of the blond-haired hero flashed through her mind once again.
Aiden.
She couldn’t help but think that he was probably already dead.
Especially if he had encountered multiple monsters like this at the same time.
"I just hope the S-Class heroes arrive before this portal breaks..."
Her voice sounded weak.
"Otherwise all the cities around this region are doomed."
With that thought, she slowly closed her eyes.
Her fate seemed to have already been decided.
Although she didn’t want such an ending, there was nothing she could do about it anymore.
The monster raised its hammer high into the air.
Its arm bulged with monstrous strength.
Then the hammer descended.
Straight toward her head.
Elen felt the pressure first.
Then the wind.
The sheer force generated by the attack assaulted her face even before the weapon itself arrived.
So this is the end...
She thought.
Yet just before the hammer could reach her—
BANG!
A deafening impact echoed through the battlefield.
Then came another explosion.
BOOOOM!
Elen froze.
Am I dead now?
She wondered.
But something felt wrong.
The mildly warm temperature around her remained unchanged.
More importantly—
She could still feel the pain throughout her body.
Every bruise.
Every broken rib.
Every ache.
They were all still there.
Meaning she was still alive.
And if she was still alive...
Then that could only mean one thing.
Her eyes snapped open.
A lone figure stood before her.
Seeing the familiar blond hair, Elen felt her knees weaken.
She collapsed onto the ground.
Her breathing became ragged as she stared at the young man standing protectively in front of her.
Awe.
Relief.
Gratitude.
All of those emotions surged through her at once.
Aiden, however, didn’t look happy at all.
The calm and gentle smile that usually rested on his face was gone.
In its place was a deep frown.
He slowly turned his head and looked at her.
His expression was dark.
"And why the hell did you follow me?"
His voice carried obvious irritation.
"Are you crazy?"
