Back in the forest, the Berserker dashed through the destroyed path left behind by Liam when it had struck him earlier.

Broken trees, shattered bark, uprooted roots, and torn earth stretched through the darkness like a scar carved violently across the eastern forest.

Moments earlier, the demon had still been heading toward Liam, but it had been moving more deliberately then.

This was because it had intentionally wanted Liam to recover from that earlier hit.

As much as the Berserker wanted to tear the human apart, it also wanted to witness what the "strong" prey was capable of before actually killing him.

That instinctive curiosity had rooted itself deeply within the evolved demon the moment it scented Liam’s Dark Myst.

Then suddenly, the Berserker increased its pace.

Its body blurred forward through the forest at a terrifying speed, though not yet at its absolute limit. Trees flashed past as dark red lightning crackled faintly across its limbs and shoulders while the ground exploded beneath each step.

And the reason for this sudden increase in speed was simple.

It had felt Liam moving toward it as well.

Fast.

Far faster than before.

The Berserker could feel it clearly now.

The prey’s scent had become hotter. More violent. More chaotic.

Which only intrigued the demon even more.

As the Berserker continued dashing through the eastern forest, it suddenly caught sight of sparks of flame rushing toward it at terrifying speed through the darkness ahead.

The flames moved like a blazing spear tearing through the woods.

Instead of retreating or preparing to dodge, the Berserker only accelerated harder to meet the incoming flames head-on.

Dark red lightning streaked through the forest from one direction while blazing sparks of flame tore through from the other.

Both forces rushed toward one another at full speed as the forest around them distorted from the sheer pressure alone.

With the distance between them closing instantly, the Berserker launched forward aggressively, its massive clawed arms stretching outward to collide directly into Liam.

However...

The only thing the demon struck was empty air.

The sparks of flame passed directly through it and vanished instantly like an illusion collapsing apart.

The Berserker’s eyes widened slightly.

Then its own momentum carried it violently into the ground.

The demon crashed through the earth and rolled several times across the forest floor before finally regaining its footing. Dirt and broken roots exploded outward beneath it as it skidded to a halt.

Immediately, the Berserker snapped its head backward toward where the flames had supposedly come from.

But there was nothing there.

Only darkness.

Only trees.

Only the cold eastern forest.

There was sign of Liam or sign of the flames.

The Berserker released a low irritated grunt.

It had realized instantly that it had been tricked.

Its head turned sharply from side to side while its nostrils flared repeatedly, searching for the scent of the prey hiding somewhere nearby.

Then only mere seconds later, it found it.

The familiar scent returned.

But now there was something slightly different about it.

The prey’s Myst smelled more unstable now.

More violent.

More compressed.

The moment the Berserker picked up that shift, it immediately twisted its head sharply toward its blind spot behind it.

And the demon froze briefly.

Just behind the Berserker, Liam appeared midair.

Flames flared lightly around his frame while his body twisted into a fully committed striking posture.

Held tightly within both hands was a blackened weapon shaped between a spear and a javelin.

A hybrid javelin.

The weapon looked forged from compressed shadow and concentrated flame simultaneously. Dark cracks spread across its surface while molten heat glowed from within those fractures like lava trapped beneath volcanic stone.

Thin trails of fire leaked from the weapon’s edges while dark Myst warped faintly around it.

Liam’s glowing crimson eyes stared coldly down at the evolved demon beneath him.

Then he swung.

The hybrid javelin smashed directly into the Berserker’s side with thunderous force.

Instantly, compressed fire and shadow detonated outward upon impact.

The explosion tore apart the surrounding forest as the Berserker was launched violently through the trees at terrifying speed.

The evolved demon crashed through trunks, branches, and stone as the force carried it across the eastern woods like a living projectile.

But before the Berserker could even regain itself—

Liam appeared beside it again.

Midair.

Another burst of flames erupted behind him as he swung the hybrid javelin downward once more.

The weapon slammed into the Berserker’s torso again with another violent explosion erupted on contact.

The demon was blasted sideways through another section of forest before it could stabilize.

Trees shattered apart like brittle sticks.

Earth exploded upward.

Chunks of bark and stone scattered through the darkness.

Then Liam appeared again.

And again.

And again.

Each reappearance came almost instantly after the previous strike.

Each swing of the hybrid javelin carried terrifying force behind it.

Each impact unleashed another compressed explosion of flame and shadow that blasted the Berserker from one section of forest into another.

The demon became trapped within a relentless sequence of impacts.

One moment it was flying through broken trees.

The next Liam appeared above it.

Then below it.

Then from its side.

Every strike altered its direction violently while explosions ripped apart the eastern forest around them.

Entire sections of trees collapsed beneath the repeated shockwaves.

The ground split open repeatedly beneath the force of impact.

The Berserker roared furiously several times as dark red lightning burst wildly across its body, but Liam never allowed it enough stability to properly retaliate.

The demon crashed through another thick section of forest before finally digging its claws violently into the earth.

This time, the Berserker forcefully regained its balance.

Its feet carved deep trenches through the ground while dark red lightning exploded outward from its body in violent arcs.

The moment Liam appeared again above it, ready to strike once more—

The Berserker reacted.

Its massive claw swung upward with explosive speed.

Liam’s eyes narrowed instantly.

Instead of committing to another direct strike, he abruptly shifted his movement midair and created distance with a burst of flame beneath his feet.

The Berserker’s claws tore through the space where Liam had been only moments earlier.

The pressure behind the swing alone shattered nearby trees apart.

The evolved demon roared furiously now.

Its dark red eyes burned with genuine rage.

And this time, Liam saw it clearly.

The Berserker had adapted already.

Fast.

Very fast.

Which only confirmed how dangerous its evolution truly was.

Liam landed briefly atop a collapsing tree trunk before immediately launching himself forward again.

This time, instead of swinging the hybrid javelin—

He threw it.

The weapon tore through the air like a blackened meteor wrapped in fire.

The Berserker reacted instantly and twisted slightly to avoid a direct core hit.

But not fully.

The hybrid javelin pierced directly through the demon’s chest, missing the exact position of the core by mere inches before violently erupting from the opposite side of its body.

The Berserker staggered backward as dark blood exploded outward from the wound.

Then the weapon activated differently.

This time, instead of exploding outward—

It imploded.

Instantly.

The effect was immediate and catastrophic.

Space around the embedded weapon collapsed inward violently as compressed flame and shadow folded toward a singular point inside the Berserker’s body.

The surrounding forest bent inward toward the implosion.

Trees ripped from the earth and stone shattered apart.

Chunks of terrain were violently dragged toward the center before everything erupted outward again in a half-bright destructive flash that illuminated the eastern forest like artificial daylight.

The pressure wave flattened everything nearby.

Dozens upon dozens of trees were uprooted instantly.

The ground collapsed inward before exploding outward again beneath the force.

Then silence followed.

As the light gradually faded away, an enormous clearing nearly fifty meters wide remained carved directly into the eastern forest.

At the center of that destruction, the Berserker lay twitching violently.

Nearly its entire right side had been erased.

From portions of its face and shoulder all the way down through its torso and leg, huge sections of flesh were simply gone.

Bone, muscle, and blackened tissue twitched violently while dark blood flooded the ruined clearing.

Even part of the demon’s core had been exposed through the destruction.

But then—

The regeneration began.

Immediately.

Dark red lightning exploded more violently across the Berserker’s ruined body as flesh began rebuilding itself in real time.

Muscle fibers stretched outward.

Bone regrew visibly.

Dark tissue crawled across exposed areas rapidly while the missing portions of its body reconstructed themselves piece by piece.

Far above the clearing, Liam crouched silently atop one of the few remaining tall trees near the destruction.

His crimson eyes studied the demon calmly.

’Its regeneration is stronger than the Berserker from the first-year exam,’ he thought quietly.

And even though the regeneration still wasn’t anywhere near the absurd level possessed by Blood Demons...

It was still extremely fast.

Far too fast for something that was a less regenerative species.

As Liam remained within his thoughts, the Berserker finally finished regenerating.

The evolved demon slowly rose back to its feet.

Then immediately—

It roared.

A deafening roar exploded outward through the eastern forest while dark red lightning erupted violently from its body in all directions.

The shockwave flattened already broken sections of trees while the ground cracked beneath its feet.

The Berserker’s rage had fully surfaced now.

Liam watched the display calmly from atop the tree.

Then he began creating another hybrid javelin within his hand.

Flames and shadows twisted together slowly around his palm while molten cracks formed across the weapon’s dark surface once more.

Seeing the demon finally lose composure made Liam comment quietly to himself.

"Now you’re acting like you need to."

After releasing that roar, the Berserker immediately located Liam atop the tall tree.

Its dark red eyes locked directly onto him.

Then without hesitation—

The demon launched itself toward Liam in a blur of violent motion.