Chapter 186: King Of The Abyss

The Crimson Abyssal Lion didn’t rush into the fray. It didn’t charge or roar, nor did it announce its presence with reckless fury like lesser monarchs eager to display their dominance.

Instead, the world itself seemed to bend in anticipation, as if reality were holding its breath for something that had ruled this land long before any of them had come into existence.

The air thickened instantly. Waves of mana pressure surged outward from the depths of the Lion’s territory, heavy and suffocating, pressing against their skin, filling their lungs, and weighing down on their minds like molten iron poured directly onto their souls.

Trees bowed and groaned under an invisible force; trunks warped as branches snapped and collapsed inward. The scorched earth cracked open in widening fissures, magma-like heat bleeding through them as if the very mountain were reacting to its king’s presence.

Then it stepped forward. The Crimson Abyssal Lion was colossal, far larger than any creature they had encountered on their journey here.

Its body stretched longer than a siege tower laid on its side, muscles rippling beneath a hide that resembled overlapping plates of obsidian-red armor, each scale etched with abyssal veins pulsing like a living furnace.

Its mane wasn’t mere hair but a living tapestry of flame and shadow intertwined, tendrils of crimson fire laced with pitch-black abyssal smoke that coiled around its head like a crown forged from destruction itself.

Its eyes glowed like two burning suns, deep scarlet and void-black, as they stared down at the intruders, pupils narrowing with unmistakable intelligence.

Every step it took sent tremors through the ground; each pawfall detonated the scorched terrain beneath it into craters that bled heat and mana. Bones scattered across its domain, those of beasts, humans, adventurers from years past, vibrated and cracked under the sheer weight of its presence, many turning to dust before the Lion even reached them.

The eleven warriors stood frozen for a heartbeat. Fear coursed through them not as panic but as instinctive recognition: this creature was not just stronger; it existed on an entirely different axis of power. Even Valeria felt it, the way reality seemed to lean toward the Lion, gravity subtly shifting as if acknowledging a superior existence.

Valeria moved first.

“Formation!” Her voice sliced through the oppressive atmosphere like a blade, sharp, commanding, absolute. “Now!”

The team reacted instantly; months of discipline and weeks of preparation snapped into place. Gregor surged to her right, wind mana swirling around him as he anchored himself beside her with his claymore already humming with compressed energy. Vanthrice took position on Valeria’s left; her halberd spun once before she grounded herself in a low stance. Brutus stepped forward half a pace behind them, cracking his gauntlets as he rolled his shoulders, the muscles in his massive frame tightening in anticipation.

“Defense line, front!” Valeria shouted.

Leona slammed her shield into the ground, golden runes igniting across its surface as Kaela positioned herself beside her, locking her tower shield into place with a resonant clang. Together, they formed an unyielding barrier of reinforced steel and mana, an impregnable bulwark designed to withstand what would obliterate lesser warriors.

“Ranged, high ground!”

Caelis vaulted backward in a smooth arc, his spear already glowing as he repositioned on a fractured ridge. Seris followed closely behind him, mana weaving between her fingers as elemental energy coalesced around her hands.

“Calista,” Valeria said, lowering her voice slightly. “Disappear.”

Calista was already gone, melting into the shadows cast by scorched trees and shattered stone. Her presence faded so completely that even the Lion’s oppressive mana couldn’t detect her.

The Crimson Abyssal Lion observed all of this without interruption. Its lips parted slightly to reveal rows of massive fangs aglow with abyssal heat. For a brief moment, it looked… amused.

Then it moved. The first clash came without warning. The Lion vanished from sight and reappeared directly in front of the defensive line, its enormous paw descending like a falling mountain.

Leona barely had time to reinforce her shield before impact struck; the collision unleashed a thunderous explosion that flattened everything within a hundred-meter radius.

The ground imploded beneath them. Leona screamed as her shield cracked; blood sprayed from her mouth as she was hurled backward like a discarded doll.

Kaela faced the shockwave head-on; his tower shield shattered into fragments while he was driven knee-first into the earth, bones audibly fracturing under the pressure.

“Leona!” Gregor roared.

Valeria sprang into action, intercepting the Lion’s second strike with her broadsword meeting its claw in a blinding clash of crimson and abyssal black.

The impact sent Valeria skidding backward, boots carving deep trenches through the earth as she struggled to redirect rather than absorb the force of the blow. Even so, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth; her arms trembled under its weight.

“This is not an ordinary Sixth Order,” Vanthrice shouted, spinning her halberd and slashing across the Lion’s flank. The blade bit deep into scale and flesh, only for the wound to cauterize instantly as abyssal fire sealed it shut.

The Lion roared, a catastrophic sound that wasn’t just noise but a weaponized shockwave ripping through the battlefield. Trees uprooted, boulders were hurled skyward, and warriors were slammed by an overwhelming tidal wave of sound and pressure. One Master Knight..Aldren was caught mid-step; his body lifted and flung uncontrollably into jagged rocks.

A sickening crack echoed through the air as his body crumpled, armor buckling inward and blood pooling beneath him. His aura flickered ominously.

“He’s down!” Seris screamed, panic breaking her composure.

“Not dead!” Valeria snapped back. “Keep moving!”

With a surge of determination, Gregor propelled himself forward, wind mana swirling around him as he swung his blade in a powerful cleave aimed at the Lion’s foreleg.

The strike landed solidly, carving a deep groove into the creature’s armored hide. Yet the Lion barely flinched; its massive tail whipped around like a blur.

In an instant, the tail struck Gregor squarely. The impact shattered the ground beneath him, sending him hurtling backward into a fractured cliff face with enough force to cause it to collapse entirely. Dust and debris cascaded down as Gregor vanished into the rubble, his aura flickering violently.

“Gregor!” Brutus roared.

Brutus charged forward, colliding with the Lion’s side with all his might. His gauntlets glowed white-hot as he unleashed a barrage of bone-crushing strikes. Each punch detonated against the Lion’s hide like artillery fire, cracks spreading across its scales but still it stood firm.

Slowly, the Lion turned its head to face Brutus directly. Its gaze locked onto him before it opened its mouth wide. A concentrated beam of abyssal flame erupted forth, not spreading out but forming a focused lance of destruction.

Brutus barely managed to cross his arms before it struck; he was engulfed in searing darkness that swallowed sound itself.

Vanthrice reacted without hesitation, hurling her halberd with pinpoint accuracy. The weapon pierced through the core of the beam, causing it to detonate prematurely and deflecting much of the attack’s force, but Brutus was still thrown backward, his armor partially melted and flesh burned black in places.

Chaos erupted on the battlefield. Caelis’s spear rained down from above, striking joints and weak points with surgical precision. Seris unleashed layered spell arrays; ice and lightning collided with abyssal fire in violent explosions that tore chunks from their surroundings.

Calista emerged from the shadows like an embodiment of death itself, her blade slipping between scales to hit vital points before vanishing again, each strike eliciting roars of irritation rather than pain from the Lion.

Amidst this turmoil, Valeria pressed on.

She fought not out of rage but with unwavering control.

Her movements were precise and deliberate; every strike was intentional. She faced off against the Lion repeatedly, absorbing its attention and drawing its fury while her blade clashed against claw and fang in a destructive dance that ravaged the land around them.

The battlefield had transformed beyond recognition in just a matter of minutes. Hundreds of meters of forest lay flattened, the ground now a shattered wasteland marked by molten cracks and broken stone. Above, mana storms swirled ominously, drawn to the clash of such immense forces.

Yet, amidst this chaos, one undeniable truth hung in the air, this was only the beginning.

The Crimson Abyssal Lion reared back, its mane igniting with abyssal fire that surged across its massive form. The pressure intensified once more, heavier than before, bearing down on the warriors like an invisible hand tightening into a fist.

Valeria wiped blood from her lips and locked her blazing eyes on the beast.

“So,” she murmured as she planted her sword into the ruined earth, “you’re finally getting serious.”

The Lion lowered its colossal head, its eyes burning with lethal intent. The real battle was just beginning.

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