"My... Liege?"

The telepathic voice echoed through Hide’s mind, deep and ancient, vibrating with a desperate, overwhelming reverence.

The colossal, teal-furred Calamity Beast pressed its bleeding snout against the cold, filthy stone right in front of Hide’s boots, completely submitting itself.

For a second, the cavernous underground hall fell dead silent. Even the rabid, starving beasts chained to the outer pillars seemed to hold their breath.

Hide stood completely frozen. His glowing blue eyes stared down at the broken monstrosity prostrating before him.

Then, a violent, sickening shiver crawled up Hide’s spine.

His stomach violently churned. The image of the beast bowing to him didn’t invoke a sense of pride or power. It invoked disgust.

These things—these horrific, murderous abominations that spilled out of gates and slaughtered innocent people, the very monsters that killed his mother... how dare it.

The dark mana in Hide’s body spiked erratically, reacting to the sudden, blinding surge of hatred and trauma boiling in his chest.

"Shut up," Hide hissed, his voice trembling with venomous rage.

He didn’t want to be their liege. He didn’t want their reverence. He hated them. He despised every single fiber of their existence.

The very notion that he was somehow connected to them, made his skin crawl.

Sensing the violent rejection and the spike of killing intent, the teal beast slowly lifted its heavy, ribbon-antlered head. Its single emerald eye looked up at Hide.

Instead, a profound, human-like sorrow filled its gaze.

"I... understand, my Liege," the deep voice echoed weakly in Hide’s mind, laced with centuries of agony. "I have been tainted by the humans. I am no longer fit... to serve the Court. Please... grant this servant... rest."

Hide’s jaw locked tight. He didn’t want to hear another word from the monster’s mouth.

He raised his right hand. The Night Singer materialized instantly in his grip. With a single, ruthless, horizontal arc, Hide swung the blade.

SHCKKK.

The sword sheared cleanly through the beast’s thick, teal-furred neck. The massive head detached from the mangled torso, thudding heavily onto the blood-stained flagstones. The colossal body remained propped up for a fraction of a second before finally collapsing, the life entirely leaving its shattered frame.

[Calamity Beast (Doom Overseer) - Eliminated]

Experience points gained: 20,000

Hide’s eyes widened in shock... 20,000? ’Just what in the hell was that beast.’

[Level Up]

Level: 22 → 23

Exp: 17,380 / 4900

Level Up reward has been added to inventory.

[Level Up]

Level: 23 → 24

Exp: 12,480 / 5100

Level Up reward has been added to inventory.

[Level Up]

Level: 24 → 25

Exp: 7,380 / 5300

Level Up reward has been added to inventory.

[Level Up]

Level: 25 → 26

Exp: 2,080 / 5500

Level Up reward has been added to inventory.

Hide stood perfectly still, his chest heaving as the massive cascade of translucent blue system windows flooded his vision.

The sheer volume of experience points he gained was staggering.

But Hide didn’t feel victorious.

He looked down at the severed head of the Doom Overseer. Its single emerald eye was closed, its expression finally completely at peace.

The suffocating agony that had plagued it for God knew how long was over.

Hide slowly lowered his sword, a bitter, ashen taste rising in the back of his throat.

Regret.

He had just put that bastard out of its misery. ’It... it should have been tortured more, why did I just ease his pain?’

His body had lashed out in blind, disgusted prejudice because he couldn’t handle the creature calling him its liege.

Hide closed his eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath to steady his racing heart.

He knelt down next to the massive, severed neck and plunged his hand into the beast’s chest cavity. A moment later, he pulled out a massive, flawless emerald crystal that pulsed with a breathtaking amount of mana. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

An A-Rank beast core or so the ring in his hand told him. That information once again sent a fresh wave of shudder through his body.

An A-Rank beast. A Supreme Calamity Lord as they were classified... how many exterminators had seen one? Probably only a few and fewer still remained alive to tell the tale.

It also raised a myriad of weird questions in his head. What the fuck was such a beast doing here? Had the old man caught it? Why were they torturing it?

And the most important one to him. How did the beast knew him?

He gritted his teeth... just what was going on?

The feral beasts chained to the outer pillars suddenly erupted into a frenzy, roaring and snapping their jaws wildly as the scent of the Doom Overseer’s fresh blood hit the air.

"Mana Press," Hide commanded softly.

Instantly, the mana in a thirty-square-meter radius around him followed his command.

The five surviving feral beasts were slammed brutally into the stone floor, their bones cracking under the sheer, oppressive weight of Hide’s imposed will.

Their roars were instantly silenced, reduced to pathetic, choked wheezes.

Hide didn’t bother killing them. They were starving, trapped, and worthless. He turned his attention upward, staring at the high, dark ceiling where the trapdoor had dropped him.

It was time to go back up.

But the question was how. Well he had a few choices... and one of them was connected to the new talent he had awakened after evolving his class.

He had wanted one of Zenith’s skills for some time.

...

Meanwhile, on the surface, the serene atmosphere of the Sihue Clan’s pristine garden was completely falling apart.

Enji Sihue backflipped gracefully over a smooth decorative boulder just as a massive, dark-plated fist pulverized the stone into a cloud of shrapnel.

CRASH!

Aegis, the towering heavy-infantry phantom, bulled forward like an unstoppable siege engine, entirely ignoring the intricately raked gravel and ancient trees. Every step the behemoth took shattered the ground, its hollow violet eyes locked relentlessly onto the young master.

"Stupid, mindless summons," Enji spat, wiping a smear of blood from his chin as he landed perfectly on his feet.

Zenith was engaged with two of the guards and Aegis was suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, the garden was filled with traps after all.