Liam and Charlotte remained where they were as they took in the demon before them.

’It’s evolved enough to speak,’ Liam thought as he studied the demon carefully. ’The Berserker during our first-year exam didn’t have speech. More than that, this one seems far faster than that one ever was.’

His crimson eyes stayed locked onto the towering creature while his mind rapidly processed every detail visible before him.

Even though both creatures belonged to the same class of demon, Liam quickly realized the differences between them were enormous, just like the book said.

The Berserker from the first-year exam had evolved around durability and overwhelming defense. Its bone protrusion ability had granted it a nearly impenetrable hide that made killing it an exhausting process even for multiple top students working together.

But this one was different.

Far different.

This Berserker had evolved toward explosiveness.

The dark red lightning crackling across its body wasn’t ordinary elemental lightning. Liam could tell that instantly. The energy felt violent, unstable, almost alive. Every pulse of crimson sparks carried condensed Myst pressure that leaked outward from the demon’s body unnaturally.

Even the air around it distorted faintly whenever the sparks intensified.

And judging from how fast it had crossed distance moments ago when attacking Charlotte, Liam understood something immediately.

This creature’s physical acceleration was tied directly to that violent Myst discharge.

Which made it far more dangerous.

Because unlike the previous Berserker that relied mainly on brute force and monstrous defense, this one possessed explosive movement speed on top of immense strength.

Making those observations, Liam stretched his senses outward briefly toward Smoke.

The shadow wolf was still holding his own against the remaining Advanced Horrors. One corpse already lay torn apart beneath the trees while the remaining three demons circled Smoke aggressively, forcing him to constantly defend from multiple directions.

Even though Smoke’s full-sized form allowed him to overpower them individually, the constant regeneration from repeated injuries was draining Liam’s Myst reserves steadily. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Every time claws tore through Smoke’s body and shadows had to reconstruct damaged portions, Liam felt the consumption directly through their link.

’If this keeps going,’ Liam thought calmly, ’my reserves will drop below seventy percent within minutes.’

That alone was dangerous.

Not because seventy percent was low.

But because Liam still had no idea how strong the Berserker truly was yet.

And wasting Myst before properly understanding the enemy would be stupid.

Liam was tempted to dismiss Smoke entirely so his reserves could stabilize temporarily. However, doing that would immediately free the three remaining Advanced Horrors. And once that happened, they would rush directly toward him and Charlotte.

That would turn an already problematic situation into complete chaos.

’This whole situation is quite annoying,’ he thought.

Yet despite those thoughts, Liam wasn’t truly irritated.

If anything, beneath all the danger and pressure, there was amusement.

A dangerous kind of amusement.

The same kind that always surfaced whenever he encountered something unknown and genuinely threatening.

Just then, his thoughts were interrupted by the Berserker itself.

The demon suddenly began moving again.

Slowly and deliberately.

It circled them calmly, massive clawed feet pressing into the forest floor while dark red sparks crackled around its body. Its eyes never left Liam for even a second.

Immediately, Liam shifted sideways.

Charlotte moved with him instinctively, remaining slightly behind him while both kept their eyes locked onto the creature.

The Berserker continued circling.

Like a predator testing prey before deciding how to kill it.

"This isn’t going well, Liam," Charlotte muttered quietly, her usual teasing edge completely gone now. "We clearly won’t be able to lose this thing even if we run. It won’t allow us to."

Liam remained silent for several seconds while continuing to track the Berserker’s movements carefully.

All three of them continued moving in a slow circle beneath the trees.

The forest itself had gone unnaturally quiet around them.

Even the wind seemed weaker now.

"I know how low your Myst reserves are," Liam muttered at last. "I can’t guarantee the outcome of this situation, but no matter what happens, I don’t want your reserves dropping any lower than they already are."

Charlotte stared at his back in confusion.

The seriousness in Liam’s voice immediately made her uneasy.

"I know you still have enough Myst to enter your full beast form," Liam continued calmly. "But I also know you want to save that Myst."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"And I need you to save it."

He paused briefly before glancing back toward her.

"But to do that," he continued, "you need to get away from that thing."

Charlotte immediately frowned.

"Liam—"

"And like you already said," he continued over her, "it isn’t going to let you leave willingly. Which means the only way you escape is if I distract it long enough."

Charlotte’s eyes widened slightly.

"Are you crazy?" she said immediately. "No matter how strong you are, that’s still a whole Sync-class demon. You can’t win against it, let alone distract it alone."

Liam ignored the panic behind her words.

Instead, he asked calmly:

"Has it made eye contact with you since it showed itself?"

Charlotte blinked.

The question caught her completely off guard.

For a moment, she replayed everything that had happened since the Berserker appeared.

Then she realized something.

The demon had barely acknowledged her existence at all.

Every glance.

Every movement.

Every shift of its body.

Everything had been focused entirely on Liam.

"...No," she admitted quietly.

"Good," Liam said calmly. "Then you’ve realized it."

Before he could continue, the Berserker suddenly growled lowly.

The sound vibrated through the surrounding trees like distant thunder.

Then the demon opened its mouth again.

"...Prey..."

Its broken voice scraped through the darkness unnaturally.

"...talking... too much..."

Liam and Charlotte both halted slightly.

Even the Berserker itself stopped moving.

Its glowing red eyes narrowed faintly.

"...Prey... no... need... talk..."

Dark red lightning crackled brighter across its body.

"...Only... need... fight..."

Then it vanished with no warning or buildup.

One moment the Berserker stood several meters away.

The next, it blurred through the darkness in a violent streak of crimson sparks.

It reappeared beside Liam instantly.

Its massive clawed palm already swinging toward his side.

The speed was horrifying.

Even Liam barely managed to perceive the movement at all.

For the first time since arriving in Nalim, his eyes completely failed to keep up.

The Berserker had already reached him before his body could fully react.

But even then, instinct moved faster than thought.

Liam shoved Charlotte backward violently with one arm, forcing her out of the attack’s path.

And then the claw connected.

The impact was monstrous.

Liam felt several things happen simultaneously.

The crushing force against his ribs.

The violent twisting sensation across his torso.

The explosion of pain ripping through his side.

Then the world disappeared.

Liam was launched through the forest with terrifying speed.

Trees exploded apart around him.

Branches shattered.

Chunks of bark and splintered wood erupted through the darkness as his body tore violently through everything in its path.

The force behind the strike was so overwhelming it nearly felt unreal.

Liam couldn’t even stabilize himself midair properly.

His body spun uncontrollably while smashing through trunk after trunk after trunk.

Every collision sent fresh waves of pain through him.

He could barely breathe.

The forest blurred together into nothing but dark streaks and flying debris.

Then suddenly the trees vanished.

Liam burst out from the edge of the forest entirely.

Ahead of him stretched the massive brown-colored river cutting through Nalim.

His body flew over the water at terrifying speed before finally crashing down violently into the shallow river.

Water exploded upward around him.

He rolled uncontrollably through the riverbed, tearing through mud, stone, and water before eventually skidding to a brutal stop several meters downstream.

Silence followed.

For a moment, Liam simply remained face-down in the shallow water.

The cold river flowed around him quietly while broken branches and disturbed mud drifted past.

Then eventually his body twitched slightly.

Pain rushed through him immediately.

Not dull pain.

Sharp pain.

The kind that made breathing difficult.

Slowly, Liam pushed one hand against the riverbed and forced himself upward.

His muscles trembled slightly from the effort.

Water dripped from his dark hair and sleeveless shirt while his breathing came slower than usual.

Eventually, he managed to rise onto one knee.

Then the pain fully hit him.

Liam remained still for a moment.

And then suddenly he coughed violently.

A mouthful of blood splashed directly into the shallow river water beneath him, staining the current dark red before it quickly dispersed downstream.

Liam stared at the blood quietly for several seconds.

Then he exhaled slowly.

"Guess I broke some ribs."

For a few more seconds, Liam remained kneeling within the shallow river while the current carried his blood away downstream.

Then slowly, he lifted his head back toward the distant forest.

Even from here, he could still faintly feel it.

That monstrous presence.

And it was deliberately approaching him.