Chapter 99: Guiding Initiated!

The red-eyed Sentinel calmly turned away from the battlefield and dusted his hands together with a casual clap, as though he had just finished dealing with an irritating chore.

Ethan was still trying to process what he had just witnessed when the supposedly dead monster suddenly moved.

Before the Sentinel could even turn around, the monster released a powerful burst of corrupted energy directly toward his back.

The attack struck him instantly.

***

The impact was so powerful that Ethan instinctively threw an arm over his face as the force sent dust and debris flying through the air.

"Fuck!"

It had hit him.

The corrupted burst of energy had struck the red-eyed Sentinel directly in the back.

No matter how powerful he was, taking a direct blast of miasma like that was bound to harm him in some way. Ethan stared through the cloud of dust, his heart tightening as he waited for the dust to settle.

What if he had been seriously injured?

What if the corrupted energy had—

However, when the dust finally settled, Ethan’s eyes widened.

Red eyes was still standing.

Perfectly fine.

Not a single visible injury marred his body, and the powerful aura surrounding him hadn’t weakened in the slightest. Yet something about him had changed. Those crimson eyes, which had been devoid of emotion from the moment Ethan first encountered him, had now turned terrifyingly cold, their sharpness sending an instinctive chill down Ethan’s spine.

He looked genuinely pissed.

The Sentinel immediately attacked the monster again, moving with such frightening speed that Ethan could barely follow his movements. But this time, something was different. Just before striking, red eyes suddenly stopped.

He stopped for a brief moment, his crimson eyes scanning the monster’s enormous form from head to toe. His gaze eventually settled on its five horns, and his eyes narrowed dangerously, as though he had suddenly figured something out.

Ethan watched in confusion.

What did he notice?

Without wasting time, the sentinel charged forward again.

This time, however, he didn’t summon his shadows.

Instead, a powerful surge of spiritual energy gathered in his hand, rapidly forming into a long, curved blade resembling a cutlass. Blazing red energy swirled violently around the weapon, its sharp edge glowing with such intense spiritual power that Ethan could feel the pressure from where he stood.

Ethan’s eyes followed his movements.

The Sentinel swung the spear directly toward the monster’s five horns. The moment it made contact, the monster released a deafening roar that shook the entire area.

"ROOOOAAARRR!"

A violent surge of corrupted spiritual energy suddenly poured out from its horns, scattering violently through the surrounding area.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

The horn!

That was its core!

It suddenly made sense.

The horns weren’t simply part of the monster’s body.

They contained miasma.

Meaning the horn itself was acting as its core. Just like some high-ranked monsters, its core had to be identified and destroyed before the monster could truly die.

And judging from the way the creature’s enormous body immediately collapsed after the red-eyed Sentinel’s spiritual-energy slash struck its horns, Ethan’s guess had been correct.

His eyes followed the monster’s massive body as it staggered.

Then it collapsed.

His thoughts had been correct.

The Sentinel had really destroyed its core.

He watched as the monster’s body slowly began to crumble.

Its massive form gradually turned into ash before scattering into the air and disappearing completely.

Ethan finally released the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding.

Thank goodness!

He nearly sagged with relief.

At least it was finally over.

With the monster finally dead, Ethan quietly stepped out from the side, already preparing to slip away before the red-eyed Sentinel noticed him and decided to continue from where they had left off and kill him.

Unfortunately, his plan lasted approximately two seconds. The next second, the Sentinel spotted him.

Ethan’s body stiffened.

The man immediately began walking toward him.

Shit.

Ethan was just about to consider making a run for it when something strange happened.

The red-eyed Sentinel wasn’t red-eyed anymore.

His eyes had turned completely black.

Not just the irises.

His entire eyes had become pitch black, with no trace of crimson remaining.

Even his long dark silver hair had turned completely black.

His fierce, steady steps gradually became unsteady.

One step.

Then another.

His movements became increasingly unstable until he eventually stumbled forward and collapsed right in front of Ethan.

"Shit!"

Ethan immediately stared at him.

Had he been corrupted?

Well, that was definitely possible.

The monster had blasted him with a powerful burst of corrupted energy, and the Sentinel had also absorbed a huge amount of miasma when he destroyed the monster’s core.

He had really been corrupted.

Ethan’s expression immediately became serious.

He knew the only way to save him was to guide him, and he wasn’t going to hesitate.

Yes, the man had nearly choked him to death earlier.

But Ethan was still a Guide, and he wasn’t about to stand there and watch another Sentinel die from corruption when he could potentially save him.

The only thing making him hesitate was the fact that he had absolutely no idea what rank this Sentinel was.

What if he was beyond S-class?

What if Ethan’s current rank wasn’t high enough to guide him?

Could Ethan even guide someone like that?

There was a chance his attempt wouldn’t work.

But Ethan didn’t think about it for too long.

It was better to try and fail than to stand there and do nothing.

He immediately knelt beside the unconscious Sentinel and carefully pulled him into his arms, establishing direct physical contact so he could begin the Guiding.

The moment their bodies touched, Ethan’s eyes widened.

A familiar screen appeared before him and It was the exact same screen he had seen back at the infirmary.

But this time, the information displayed on it was different.

Ethan stared at the words appearing one after another.

[Guiding Initiated with Xavier Thorne]

[Guiding History: (0) Never been guided before]

[Compatibility with former attempted guides: LOW]

[Compatibility with current guide: HIGH]