The clearing was silent.
Too silent.
Ash drifted like snowflakes, swirling through the smoky air. The crater still steamed, glowing faintly with molten cracks where Asura's last attack had torn the earth apart. Not a howl, not a growl—only the faint hiss of cooling stone.
Asura dragged the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping away sweat. His chest rose and fell in heavy, uneven breaths, his small frame trembling with exhaustion.
"Whew…" he muttered, planting the wooden katana into the cracked soil and leaning on it like a cane. His grin flickered despite his fatigue. "Maybe I… overdid it."
He looked out at the devastation—trees erased, ground shattered, smoke choking the sky. His golden eyes burned with quiet satisfaction. For a moment, the boy simply basked in it.
Then—
BOOM!
The ground lurched beneath his feet. A violent tremor shook the crater, sending ash spilling into the air. Birds burst from the surviving treetops in a chaotic swarm, their screeches piercing the night.
Asura straightened instantly, golden eyes narrowing. "What—"
BOOM!
Another quake tore through the earth. The fractured ground cracked wider, glowing veins of mana pulsing brighter. Branches groaned and snapped, leaves raining down in a frantic storm.
The tremors rolled like a heartbeat, deep and slow, carrying through the soil and into Asura's legs. He tightened his grip on the katana, the grin fading from his lips.
"…That's not normal."
A low rumble followed, heavier than thunder, vibrating in his bones. The forest beyond the crater seemed to groan with it, as if something vast had stirred awake in the dark. The air thickened, humming with energy that prickled against his skin.
Asura's instincts screamed. The system didn't need to tell him—something was coming.
And this time, it wasn't just a pack of wolves.
✦ The Presence
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The cheerful chime of the system was gone. This was an alarm. A siren that screamed through Asura's vision in violent flashes of red. Words overlapped, windows stacked over one another, forcing his golden eyes to dart wildly just to keep up.
[Warning: High-level entity detected.]
[Classification: World-Class Monster.]
[Designation: Abyssal Behemoth.]
[Estimated Level: 999+]
[Advisory: Immediate Evacuation Recommended.]
[Advisory: Engagement Probability of Survival – 0.0001%.]
Asura froze, his breath catching in his throat.
"…Level… nine hundred?" His voice cracked, disbelieving. His small chest rose and fell too fast, like he couldn't pull enough air into his lungs. "…That's… that's not just strong—that's broken!"
The ground lurched beneath him again, harder this time. The fissures carved by his Overkill spell widened, glowing brighter, molten mana boiling up in violent spurts. The crater walls trembled as if something titanic was forcing its way through the very bones of the earth.
Then came the sound.
A deep, guttural rumble. Not a roar. Not thunder. Something older, heavier. The sound of mountains groaning, of tectonic plates dragging against one another. It made his teeth ache, rattled his skull, and vibrated down his spine until his knees buckled slightly.
At the edge of the crater, the forest screamed.
Black trees cracked like brittle bones, their glowing veins bursting in sprays of sparks. Ash erupted as entire trunks toppled aside. Birds fled in a panicked frenzy, hundreds of wings beating at once, blotting out the pale moonlight before vanishing into the distance.
And then the shadows split.
Something massive pressed through the wreckage, each movement collapsing trees as if they were no more than blades of grass.
The Abyssal Behemoth stepped into the open.
It towered like a moving mountain, its hulking frame blotting out the horizon. Its body was plated in armor-thick scales, each the size of boulders, layered and jagged, glowing faintly with crimson cracks where mana pulsed like veins of lava. With every breath, heat rippled from its massive chest, smoke curling from its nostrils like the exhale of a volcano.
Its claws sank into the earth with each step, gouging trenches deep enough to swallow a man whole. Its tail lashed behind it, snapping through trees with a single sweep, hurling their remains into the night sky.
And its eyes—gods, its eyes.
Twin orbs of molten magma, glowing brighter than fire, locked onto him. Onto the tiny figure standing alone in the steaming crater.
The system chimed again, weaker now, almost like its voice faltered.
[Entity Identified: Abyssal Behemoth.]
[Classification: One of the Eight World Bosses.]
[Historical Record: Only eight SSS-ranked adventurers together have ever slowed one. None have ever been able to slay one.]
[Warning: Hidden Ability triggered by proximity.]
Asura's jaw slackened. His wooden katana felt suddenly small, absurd, laughable in his trembling grip.
The boy who had just erased a forest with a single move, who had laughed in triumph at being unstoppable, felt his heartbeat stutter with something he hadn't tasted since being reborn.
Fear.
His golden eyes darted up at the towering behemoth, the sheer weight of its aura pressing against him until every instinct in his body screamed to flee. His mouth was dry, his chest burned, yet a single thought looped in his head, louder than the system, louder than the groaning earth.
"…It's staring… directly at me."
The Abyssal Behemoth lowered its colossal head, smoke billowing from its jaws. Its molten eyes narrowed, not with curiosity, but hunger.
The world stirred.
And it had noticed him.
✦ The First Roar
The Abyssal Behemoth inhaled. Its chest expanded, glowing veins of molten mana pulsing brighter across its colossal frame. The air thickened with sulfur, the ground trembling like the heartbeat of something too vast to comprehend.
Then it opened its maw.
The sound that erupted was not a roar. It was destruction given voice.
A tidal wave of force tore through the world, louder than thunder, heavier than mountains collapsing. The pressure slammed into the earth like a divine hammer. Fissures cracked open at Asura's feet, glowing magma spurting from the wounds. Entire trees were ripped from their roots and hurled aside as though plucked by an unseen hand.
The air itself split.
The shockwave ripped through the crater, flattening everything in its path. Stones vaporized into dust. Birds still fleeing in the distance dropped lifeless from the sky, their wings broken by the invisible gale. For miles around, the night forest was silenced, crushed beneath the weight of that single roar.
Asura's ears rang. His small frame shuddered violently, every bone in his body vibrating as though about to shatter. His golden eyes widened, the pupils shrinking to pinpricks. He stumbled backward, clutching his wooden katana with white-knuckled desperation as it vibrated wildly, humming in resonance with the shockwave.
"…Okay," he rasped, forcing air into his burning lungs, "…that's… terrifying."
The system erupted across his vision, not with calm notices but frantic, overlapping warnings in flashing red.
[Warning: Combat not advised.]
[Classification: World Boss — Apex Threat.]
[Recommended Party: Minimum 10 SSS-Rank Adventurers.]
[Estimated Casualties: 80%.]
[Survival Probability (Solo): 0.001%.]
[Advisory: Flee.]
[Advisory: Flee.]
[Advisory: FLEE.]
Asura blinked at the flood of text, sweat dripping from his temple, soaking into the collar of his robes. He could barely hear over the ringing in his ears, yet the warnings burned into his mind.
"…Ten SSS-ranks!?" he wheezed, voice cracking. He barked a half-hysterical laugh, his shoulders shaking. "I'm only four years old! What am I still doing here!?"
The ground groaned as the Behemoth lowered its massive head, molten eyes narrowing into slits of hunger. Heat rolled from its body in waves, scorching the already fractured earth until the crater smoked anew. Its tail lashed lazily, and the air alone from the motion sent another gust that nearly knocked Asura off his feet.
Legends whispered in the Demon Realm had called this roar the "Funeral Bell of Kingdoms." Ancient records told of entire armies scattering at the first sound, fortresses crumbling as their foundations collapsed beneath the Behemoth's fury. To hear it with his own ears was like standing inside the end of the world.
Asura's hands trembled around the katana hilt. His knees wobbled. For a brief, breathless moment, he felt the truth sink into his chest: he was prey. A single child before a force of nature.
And yet…
His lips curled. The fear in his golden eyes burned against something else—a spark, wild and reckless.
"…Guess this is my tutorial boss, huh?"
The laugh that followed was shaky, nervous, almost broken. But it was laughter all the same.
And the Abyssal Behemoth stared, unblinking, as though it had already judged him unworthy of even being devoured.
✦ The Choice
The Abyssal Behemoth lowered its head, magma veins glowing hotter as steam hissed from its nostrils. Its claws dug into the fractured earth, carving trenches with casual force. Then it pawed once. Twice.
And then—
It charged.
The world split beneath its colossal weight. Each stride cracked the earth wide open, fissures bleeding molten mana like rivers of fire. The sheer force of its movements sent shockwaves blasting outward, toppling what few trees still clung to life at the crater's edge. The air trembled, thick with the pressure of its presence, vibrating against Asura's skin until his bones rattled.
It was less a monster's charge and more a natural disaster set in motion. A living avalanche.
Asura's small body nearly buckled under the pressure. His breath came ragged, his chest heaving as his instincts screamed at him in unison.
Run.
Teleport.
Hide.
The system's voice erupted, shrill and merciless, hammering his mind with a wall of red text.
[Warning: Combat not advised.]
[Advisory: Immediate retreat required.]
[Recommended Party: 10+ SSS-ranked adventurers.]
[Estimated Casualties (Full Party): 80%.]
[Survival Probability (Solo): 0.0001%.]
[Hidden Ability Surge Detected — unstable.]
[Risk of collapse imminent.]
The notifications layered over one another, flashing like alarms, crowding his vision until his golden eyes stung. His heart pounded, his ears rang, and every rational part of his mind screamed the same thing:
Flee. Now. Before it's too late.
He could. With a single thought, he could teleport away. Back to his chamber. Back to safety. Grandfather would never know. Selene would never worry. He could bide his time, grow stronger, and face a foe like this years from now, when he was ready.
It was logical. It was safe.
It was what anyone else would do.
But Asura wasn't anyone else.
He licked his lips, tasting iron where he'd bitten down too hard. His chest burned with terror, but beneath it was something else—something hotter, wilder. Excitement. The thrill of the impossible staring him in the face.
"…So this is a World Boss," he whispered, his voice shaking.
He tightened his grip on the wooden katana. The blade vibrated in resonance with his own mana, humming like it, too, craved the fight. His golden eyes narrowed, not with fear, but with defiance.
His lips curled upward, stretching into a feral grin.
"…Or," he breathed, a laugh bubbling in his throat despite the danger, "…I could test just how broken my system really is."
The system continued to scream warnings at him, demanding retreat, but Asura ignored them all. The decision was already made.
The Behemoth's shadow fell over him, blotting out the moonlight. The ground shook so violently it nearly threw him from his feet. Its molten eyes locked onto him, its jaws opening wide enough to swallow him whole.
And still—he grinned wider.
His laughter rang sharp and reckless across the steaming crater.
"Come on, then!" Asura roared, his golden eyes blazing. "Let's see which of us breaks first!"
✦ The Clash
The Abyssal Behemoth barreled toward him, the ground buckling under its colossal weight. Every stride sent fissures racing through the earth, molten mana boiling upward in sprays of crimson fire. Its roar drowned out the night, shaking the heavens themselves, a sound so vast it rattled Asura's bones until he thought they would splinter.
Asura's golden eyes widened. His instincts screamed at him to flee. His system howled warnings in crimson text across his vision.
[Warning: Combat not advised.]
[Survival Probability (Solo): 0.0001%.]
[Immediate retreat recommended.]
He ignored them all.
His small hands cupped together, shaking as he forced mana to swirl between his palms. The pressure was unbearable. Sparks tore across his arms, searing his skin. His chest felt like it would cave in. His horns glowed faintly, the True Demon Lord blood inside him answering the call.
"AGAIN!?" he shouted at the charging titan, voice cracking with both fear and exhilaration. His teeth clenched, sweat dripping freely. His robes flared as if caught in a hurricane of his own power.
A grin split his face, reckless and feral. "Fine! Let's go—Please don't sue me for this one!"
With a roar of his own, he thrust his hands forward.
The night became day.
A colossal beam of condensed mana erupted from his palms, tearing across the clearing with the force of a god's wrath. The torrent carved through the land, splitting the crater floor into a yawning canyon. Forests evaporated in an instant, their remains scattering as ash in the wind. The light pierced the sky, banishing the moon and stars with blinding brilliance.
The Abyssal Behemoth slammed into it head-on.
Its armored chest cracked under the torrent, glowing veins bursting in molten sprays. The ground behind it cratered as its massive frame was forced backward, claws digging into the earth with the strength of mountains. Smoke hissed from its wounds, fragments of scale dissolving midair.
But it did not fall.
Step.
By step.
It pushed forward.
Its claws gouged trenches deeper than rivers, molten eyes narrowing as it forced its way against the impossible torrent. The beam thundered against it, a hurricane of destruction that would have erased armies. And yet, the Behemoth's roar cut through it, defiant, unyielding, unstoppable.
Asura's arms trembled violently. His palms burned raw, his vision blurred with pain. His breath tore ragged from his lungs. Still he screamed, pouring every drop of mana into the beam. His childish frame strained, but his grin only widened.
"…It's—tanking this!?"
The monster roared, its molten breath searing the air, and Asura's concentration faltered. The torrent flickered—then collapsed.
He fell forward, gasping, his arms hanging limp at his sides.
But he didn't stop.
"No… not done yet—"
Slamming his hands together again, he forced mana upward. The air warped under the density, the ground cracking beneath his small feet. A sphere of condensed light blazed into existence, so bright it burned his eyes. His hair whipped wildly, horns glowing brighter, veins bulging against his skin.
"Fine—round two!"
He hurled it down.
The world exploded.
A blazing sun bloomed in the crater, engulfing the land in fire and fury. The explosion consumed everything—stone, trees, air itself—until only roaring light remained. Shockwaves blasted outward for miles, flattening hills, rattling mountains, shaking the skies with thunder.
The earth was gone. Only a smoldering scar remained, molten rivers spilling across the broken land.
Asura collapsed to one knee, coughing violently. His chest heaved, sweat drenched his skin, and his vision spun. His small arms shook as though they no longer belonged to him.
"…Did I… get it?" he whispered, breathless.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
The smoke churned, the air thick with ash. The world seemed frozen.
Then—movement.
A shadow loomed within the haze. Two molten eyes blazed hotter than before, cutting through the smoke like suns.
The Abyssal Behemoth stepped forward.
Its scales were cracked, scorched, and falling away in fragments—but beneath them glowed molten flesh, regenerating before Asura's eyes. Each wound sizzled, hardened, and sealed as the monster advanced. Its chest heaved, smoke pouring from its nostrils. The earth groaned under its colossal steps.
It was wounded.
But alive.
Asura's blood ran cold. His golden eyes widened, breath stuttering in his chest.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
The Behemoth roared, louder than before, a sound so vast it threatened to split the skies. The world shook with its fury, molten rivers bubbling violently in its wake.
Asura's legs trembled, his lungs burned, his system screamed warnings in flashing crimson.
And still—he grinned.
His small hand tightened around the wooden katana, the blade vibrating in his grip.
"Well…" he panted, sweat dripping into his eyes, "…at least I know it can bleed."
The Abyssal Behemoth's molten eyes narrowed. The next clash was inevitable.
✦ The Ripple Through the Realm
The obsidian citadel of the Demon Realm had stood for millennia, unshaken by wars, storms, or sieges. Yet now, for the first time in centuries, the throne room itself trembled.
The black stone floor cracked faintly, fine lines spiderwebbing out from the base of the throne. Crimson braziers flared wildly, their flames bowing as though to some unseen gale.
Demons of rank and station gasped, clutching their jeweled horns and ceremonial robes.
"What is this!?" one noble cried, voice cracking.
"A quake?" another stammered.
"No," a general growled, his armor rattling as he staggered to his knees. "This is no mere shifting of stone. This is mana—mana vast enough to drown a kingdom!"
The walls themselves groaned, as though protesting under the invisible weight pressing against the world.
Atop the towering obsidian throne, the Demon King did not so much as flinch. His crimson cloak swayed lightly from the vibrations, his golden eyes narrowing with sharp, calculating calm.
"…So," he rumbled, his deep voice silencing the chaos, "one of the Eight has stirred."
Every demon in the hall froze. The Eight. Legends whispered their names only in fear. World Bosses, calamities incarnate, creatures said to rival gods. To invoke them was to speak of the end of empires.
But the King was not finished. He closed his eyes briefly, as though listening—not to the quake itself, but to the resonance hidden within it.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter, but carried a weight that shook every soul present.
"…No. Not just the Behemoth."
A flicker of aura pulsed from him, crimson lightning crackling in the air. The nearest nobles flinched and bowed their heads low, gasping under the sudden pressure.
He opened his eyes again, their molten glow sharper, dangerous.
"It carries another signature. Familiar. Foolish. Reckless." His lips curved, not in mirth, but in something sharper. "My grandson."
Murmurs rippled across the hall.
"The prince!?"
"A child—impossible!"
"Yet that mana—"
"Silence."
One word from the King crushed their voices, heavy as stone.
At the far end of the throne room, Selene's breath caught. Her violet eyes widened, her hands trembling as she clutched the hem of her maid's uniform. She knew it too. She had felt it the instant the quake began—an aura sharp, raw, unstable… but familiar.
"Asura…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Memories flooded her—his bright smile at breakfast, the way he clung to his wooden katana like it was a toy, the spark in his eyes when he thought she wasn't watching. That boy—the boy she had sworn to protect—was out there, facing something that shook the Demon Realm itself.
Her heart twisted. Fear, worry, and something deeper she dared not name.
The tremors did not stop at the citadel. Far across the Demon Realm, in its sprawling cities, demons staggered as streets cracked open. Towers of black steel swayed. Rivers of molten mana bubbled more violently, their glow illuminating the night. Even the beasts of the wild howled, sensing the dominance of a greater predator awakening.
In distant caverns, elder demons whispered in dread.
"The Behemoth… it stirs again."
"No—it is more. Something new moves beside it."
The throne room quieted at last as the quake slowly ebbed. But the air was heavy, thick with the weight of what had been revealed.
The Demon King rose from his throne. His enormous frame blotted out the braziers behind him, his shadow swallowing the trembling nobles. His crimson aura coiled around him like a storm barely held in check.
"Prepare the guards," he commanded, his voice like rolling thunder. "Not for battle—but for aftermath. The disturbance is no accident."
He looked toward the distant horizon beyond the stone walls. His golden eyes gleamed with certainty, heavy with both pride and warning.
"Where my grandson walks…"
He paused, lips curving into a sharp grin.
"…calamity follows."