Chapter 595: The Tables Have Turned

They covered the remaining distance at a faster speed.

When they reached the area near the former cave, the scene before them was even more destroyed than what they had seen from below.

The cave no longer existed, the massive stone ceiling that had once covered the hall of the Dreadmaw Sovereign had completely collapsed.

A large part of the mountain wall had also split open, turning the inside of the cave into an open area.

At the center of this area was a huge pit, surrounded by broken pillars, black rocks, and the remains of bones.

The cold wind passed freely through the ruins, and the gray sky could be seen directly above the area.

However, at the far end of the area, a creature was sitting on a black stone pillar that remained among the ruins of the old throne.

It had a massive, red body, and twisted horns like the dry branches of trees that grew out from both sides of its head.

Its mouth was wide and unnatural, looking like a permanent smile even when closed, and its two black eyes were buried deep in its face.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign.

Lian looked at the creature for a few seconds.

[ Name: Dreadmaw Sovereign ]

[ Level: 20 ]

[ Rank: Unholy ]

For a moment, his gaze remained fixed on the number twenty, it was still the same level and still had not undergone its first evolution.

He tilted his head slightly.

So you really couldn’t make any more progress.

Of all the things he had expected to see, this was almost disappointing, while the Dreadmaw Sovereign continued to keep its eyes on them.

At first, it only saw two humans who had entered its ruined territory without permission, but when its gaze settled on Lian’s face, its fingers stopped moving.

A few seconds passed.

Then it leaned its head forward slightly, its gaze moving from Lian’s face to Seris and then back again.

Its permanent smile was still there, but its shape slowly began to change.

"You..."

Its voice came from between its large teeth.

"You two..."

For a moment, silence filled the area. Then the creature suddenly stood up in anger.

"You two damn humans!"

Its voice echoed throughout the open area.

"I’m glad you still remember us." He looked at it calmly.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign clenched its claws, and the remains of the black throne beneath its feet began to crack.

"How dare you come back here again?!"

Its gaze briefly stopped on Lian’s unharmed body.

It clearly remembered what it had done to this human.

It had destroyed his left eye and crushed his bones. It had destroyed almost all of his internal organs.

Even in his final moments, when the young man’s body looked more like a piece of bloody meat, it had still believed his death was certain.

But now? Not only was he alive, there was not even the slightest trace of those injuries on his body.

The monster narrowed its eyes.

So he had healed.

It did not like this.

However, what truly bothered it was their return, the two humans who had destroyed all its plans were now standing before it of their own free will.

The Sovereign spoke in a rough voice.

"Thirty years..."

Its claws slowly tightened.

"I spent thirty years preparing for that day."

Its gaze fell to its empty neck, where the golden key was no longer present, the same key that had once kept the energy flow of its core going almost without stopping.

The key that those three humans had activated while escaping, taking it out of its reach.

"You destroyed my heart, took my key away, and ruined all my efforts!"

The smile on its face grew wider, but this time, it was because of its anger.

"And now you’ve come back on your own just to die?!"

Lian glanced at Seris, the girl was looking at the monster with her usual calm expression, then he turned back to the Dreadmaw Sovereign.

"Honestly, we came to see if you had finally managed to evolve."

Silence filled the area for a moment.

"But it seems you’re still level twenty, that’s disappointing."

The Sovereign’s black eyes remained still for a moment.

The same words, the same old insult, even back then, this weak human had dared to point out its failures.

And now, once again... in its own territory... he was standing before it and insulting it.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign lowered its head slightly, and the air around it grew heavier.

"This time..."

Its voice was low and slow.

"I’ll make you wish you had died last time."

"Try it." Lian only smiled.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign raised its right index finger, making a small movement, the same movement that Lian still remembered clearly.

During their first meeting, the monster had released a red beam with nothing more than a movement of one finger, without even getting up from its throne, the result had been the destruction of a large part of the hall, the burning of Lian’s face, and the loss of his left eye.

Seris had also been badly injured in that attack.

But now, when red light gathered at the tip of the monster’s finger, neither of them stepped back.

[ Crimson Decree ]

The red energy was compressed with a sharp sound and then a thick beam shot directly toward him.

The distance between them was less than thirty meters, and the beam crossed that distance in a fraction of a second, melting a layer of stone along its path.

But just before it hit, Seris took one step forward, and a sword appeared in her hand as she swung it only once.

Shiiing!

A silver crescent separated from the edge of the blade.

The two attacks met a few meters apart, but contrary to the Sovereign’s expectations, their collision did not end in a huge explosion.

The silver crescent passed through the center of the beam.

The red energy split into two parts and moved along two different paths toward the rocks behind Lian.

A moment later, two explosions sounded from opposite sides of the area, on the right side, part of the rocky wall split open, and a stream of molten rock flowed down.

On the left side, the snow covering the rocks evaporated, leaving a long groove on their surface.

But Lian? He was still standing in the same place, he had not even needed to move.

Seris also lowered her sword, and for a few seconds, the Dreadmaw Sovereign did not move at all, its gaze first fell on its own finger.

Then it looked at the grooves on the rocks and finally at the silver-haired girl standing before it.

"What...?" The sound barely came out of its mouth.

It knew this attack, it knew very well how much power it contained, last time, this same attack had been enough to bring those two humans to the edge of death.

But now, the girl had split it apart with a single sword swing.

She had not used any powerful skill, nor had she even pushed her mana to its limit, it had been nothing more than a simple slash.

What exactly had happened? Was it seeing things? Or had it finally gone crazy?

How could a lowly human block its attack so easily?

The Sovereign unconsciously curled the fingers of its right hand.

’Maybe I didn’t use enough power?’

This explanation seemed more reasonable than any other possibility.

Humans could become stronger, and they might even have evolved during this time, but it was impossible for the difference in power between them to have changed this much.

The monster let out a heavy breath.

Even if the girl had survived its long-range attack, that did not mean she could withstand its physical strength.

Its claws opened, and then its entire body moved forward.

The stone beneath its feet broke.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign jumped down from the remaining pillar of the throne and charged straight at Seris.

Despite its three-meter-tall body, it moved extremely fast, its right arm pulled back, and thick black claws extended from its fingers.

But before it could reach the girl, Lian stepped into its path and, without activating any defensive skill, simply raised his right hand.

Thud!

A dull impact echoed through the area.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign’s claws stopped a short distance from the young Vorhelm’s face.

For a moment, the monster did not understand what had happened, then its gaze moved down, the fingers of that human were wrapped around its massive wrist, the Sovereign let out a short growl and tried to pull its hand back.

But its wrist did not move... it applied more force... this time, the muscles in its shoulder and arm swelled, and the stones beneath its feet cracked, yet Lian did not even take a single step back.

What exactly was happening??????

The Sovereign stared at the young man’s face, its permanent smile no longer looked anything like it had a few moments ago.

"You..."

"I remember you did the same thing to me last time." Lian tilted his head slightly, his gaze briefly stopping on the monster’s fingers.

"Of course, back then, you crushed my hand."

Then he clenched his left fist.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign saw his movement and tried to defend itself with its free hand, but before its arm could reach the right position....

BOOM!

The human’s fist struck its stomach.

No special offensive skill had been activated, and there was no Eclipse Energy or End Energy in the punch.

It was only Lian’s physical strength, a strength that now also benefited from the structure of his Indestructible Body.

The force of the punch first sank into the monster’s stomach, and then its massive body was lifted off the ground... and thrown backward at high speed.

The Sovereign passed by the remains of the throne and crashed into one of the half-broken pillars, smashing it in half.

It then fell to the ground and slid several meters across the rocks.

When it finally stopped, dark blood flowed from its mouth.

For a few seconds, it could not breathe, the pain spreading through its stomach could not be compared to any of the blows it remembered receiving from those two humans.

The monster raised its head with difficulty.

In the distance, Lian was still standing in the same place, even his expression had not changed.

Why did it feel as if their positions had been switched? It was supposed to be the terrifying, invincible monster!

But why did it seem like this human was the real monster noew?

Wthat the fuck?