Kyle observed the battle closely.

With God’s Eye active, everything unfolded in slow motion before him, allowing him to fully grasp just how skilled Charles truly was.

The boy wasn’t just fighting recklessly. He remained constantly aware of his surroundings, carefully keeping the battle away from the others while simultaneously tracking multiple attacks coming at him from different angles.

Without God’s Eye, Kyle knew he would’ve never been able to follow that tempo, let alone defend against six arms attacking at once.

So yes, he was impressed.

"Paah! This is fun!"

Charles suddenly slid backward, and the Majin did the same.

Both of them were injured now.

Several cuts had appeared across the monster’s body, making it clear to Kyle that the rope Charles wielded possessed more than one property.

But the boy wasn’t unharmed either.

Most of the damage he had taken consisted of blunt strikes, with a visible bruise forming along his left cheek.

Clearly, the monstrous creature and the monstrous kid were evenly matched...

Though the human seemed to hold a slight edge.

Just then—

"Charles, fall back," Christopher called out. "Let Kyle take the stage."

Charles clicked his tongue. "But Grandpa—"

"Charles."

Christopher’s firm voice instantly silenced the boy.

Letting out a sigh, Charles straightened himself and stepped back.

Kyle exchanged a glance with Veronica, and after receiving a small nod from her, he finally stepped forward.

[Host, stream?]

’Yeah, sure.’

Not like he’d be doing anything more entertaining today anyway.

[Initializing stream...]

Brawler: [Tch. A fight between insects.]

WarHorse: [Go, brother! Crush whatever stands before you! Start with that little brat!]

[SnakeQueen looks at you with boredom.]

[God of Mischief looks at you with mild interest.]

[Ding!]

[Quest from God of Mischief]

[Quest: Make this interesting. Overwhelm the opponent.]

[Reward: Mask of Fool(SSS-rank).]

Kyle blinked in surprise.

What the hell?

Why was there suddenly a quest to make things more complicated?

Just then—

"Hey, move already or it’ll come after me!" Charles shouted as he dodged another attack and quickly backed away.

Right.

The Majin only targeted the one it considered a threat.

Without wasting another second, Kyle called out inwardly.

’Come forth, Aella.’

"Hmm?" Christopher watched with quiet admiration as a golden bow materialized in Kyle’s hand.

It was long and elegantly curved, intricate patterns engraved along its broad center. The radiance pouring from it alone was extraordinary.

{Papa! Aella is happy to be called!}

A surge of Genesis exploded outward as Aella reacted joyfully to being summoned.

Kyle smiled faintly, but Veronica and Christopher immediately stiffened in alarm.

The Majin had suddenly stopped attacking Charles and now—

"It’s running away?" Charles muttered in disbelief.

Kyle’s eyes widened as he realized the creature was rushing back toward the gateway.

"Hey, wait!"

’Aella, I need firepower.’

{On it, mmmmmm!} 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The moment Kyle pulled back the string, the arrow forming between his fingers began to change.

Regardless of its original nature, Aella forcefully amplified its raw energy output.

The air rippled violently, and the moment Kyle released the arrow—

KHLAAAANG!!

For the first time, they heard the Majin scream.

The arrow pierced straight through its head before stabbing into the rift itself.

The gateway trembled violently as overwhelming Genesis flooded into it.

And then...they witnessed the anomolous change.

A massive arm suddenly burst out from within the Rift and seized the dead Majin by the head.

Crush.

Its skull exploded in the creature’s grip as the crack in space slowly began to widen.

The Absence in the air surged instantly.

Charles staggered backward, a sharp pain stabbing through his chest from the pressure alone.

"What...in the world?" Christopher frowned. "It’s...a ghoul?"

"And a strong one," Veronica growled as she stepped forward, already prepared to intervene.

From the other side of the Rift, a hulking figure slowly crawled out.

One of its arms was missing, while the rest of its body was covered in a black substance that seemed to melt and drip endlessly from its skin. Standing nearly seven feet tall, the creature radiated dreadful pressure.

Two eyes rested on the left side of its face.

On the right was only a long crimson slit.

Its tongue slowly whipped through the air as it sniffed around before locking onto the one who had tempted it to cross the bridge.

And then, they heard it.

The roar of a predator.

MGHHHHAAAA!!

{Raaaaah! Papa, kill the ugly thing!}

Aella apparently hated the creature.

Kyle, however, was too stunned to respond immediately.

To the side, Charles had already fallen to his knees, his face pale with horror.

Christopher instantly appeared beside his grandson, supporting him before shouting—

"Veronica!"

The silver-haired woman stepped forward, only for Kyle to suddenly raise his hand.

"Wait."

Veronica’s eyes widened. "Kyle, but—"

Kyle glanced back at her. "Trust me."

She looked conflicted, but seeing the certainty in his eyes, she chose to trust him.

Kyle took a slow breath and focused entirely on the creature.

It was...pure horror given form.

Yet he didn’t falter.

Why?

SnakeQueen: [Interesting.]

[Ding!]

[Quest from SnakeQueen]

[Quest: Defeat the creature within three minutes.]

[Reward: Overlord (SSS-Rank)]

There was no way he was letting those rewards slip away.

’System, track its movements and identify its weak point.’

[On it, Host.]

Kyle pulled another arrow from Aella and fired it straight toward the creature’s head while simultaneously moving sideways.

The arrow tore through the air and exploded upon impact—

Only for the Ghoul to absorb the blast effortlessly.

It didn’t even leave a dent.

"Is that really a ghoul?" Christopher muttered, his brows furrowing deeply.

Such a heavily Genesis-charged attack had been tanked far too easily.

Kyle didn’t stop moving.

Even while weaving through the abandoned factory floor and slipping behind pillars, he could feel the creature tracking him effortlessly.

He was giving time to the system so it could discern its weak point and allow him to land a desicive blow. Generally, it doesn’t take much time but maybe he was moving so rapidly or the creature was strong, it was taking time.

Suddenly, the Ghoul extended its arm.

Several black tentacles shot toward him. They were withering and hissing violently, clearly not something he could let touch him.

Clicking his tongue he narrowly dodged a few before releasing another arrow. Mid-flight, the projectile split apart into countless sharpened fragments, colliding against the tentacles.

Not enough to stop them.

But enough to buy him time to roll away.

"Agh, fuck!" Kyle cursed as the tentacles closed in again.

In desperation, he fired an arrow made entirely of pure Genesis.

The violent burst of energy finally forced the tentacles to recoil.

Kyle instantly scrambled back to his feet.

His eyes darted toward the timer.

[Remaining Time: 2 Minutes 36 Seconds]

He clicked his tongue.

Not much time left.

And that wasn’t his only concern.

Kyle had a bad feeling.

The moment his gaze landed on Veronica, he knew she was close to stepping in at any second.

Not good. There is no telling when she would lose her cool.

He needed to finish this quickly, or those insane rewards were as good as gone.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment or maybe a review if you have been enjoying the story so far.