Silas sat atop a tree, casually lounging as the overwhelming breeze grazed his face.
"This is the last day," he muttered, standing up.
He looked at the small egg in his palm, a smile forming on his lips.
"To think a void parasite was being nurtured here."
In this world, void beasts were created by void parasites.
They attach themselves to a host animal at stage 1, then consume another animal to gain its traits at stage 2.
Although Silas did not know the full details, he knew for sure that void parasites sold for a lot in the Virtual Server, especially to Life scientists.
"Master Silas, there's a problem."
Just then, Rion's voice echoed in his mind.
"What is it?" Silas smiled. To him, there was no problem he could not face in this part of the secret realm.
"A pseudo tier 6 beast is near the cave."
Silas's smile froze. Pseudo tier 6, comparable to an Ascendant realm's Monarch rank expert.
He did not even linger for a second. As the void parasite was returned to the AI space, he shot forward, the tree beneath him exploding from the force generated from his movement.
Near Amelia, Alfred also looked in the direction of the beast.
A sleek, blue spear appeared in his hand as he shot forward towards the beast.
"I just hope they are able to escape while I buy them time," he whispered.
He knew for sure that Silas, with his several protective measures, was already aware of the beast and would come to get Amelia.
But what he did not know was if he could survive long enough till they escaped.
In less than an instant, Alfred reached the beast, a fully humanoid beast with hollow eyes.
Its body was pitch black from head to toe.
"This thing is a pseudo tier 6 beast," Alfred murmured in realization as he saw his opponent. "It has started to configure its body."
Before he could even register it, a flicker of black appeared before his face, fist shooting towards his head.
Alfred's body jerked to the left, instincts honed by countless battles kicking in.
Before he could even balance himself, the beast's leg slammed into his chest.
Alfred's body was sent flying, breaking through trees and rocks alike.
His body smashed against a mountain before coming to a halt.
A strained cough was released from his mouth. Blood slipped from the side of his lips, the crimson hue dyeing the floor red.
His eyes were shaky as he tried to leave them open. He saw the beast walking slowly towards him.
The face was shifting between forms, a swirling mass of black.
Alfred knew the beast's aim for sure.
His grip tightened around the shaft of the spear. Raising it, he pierced it into the floor.
Using it as a lift, he pushed himself up. His body staggered for a few moments before he got a grasp on himself.
A grin was plastered on his face. Instead of feeling fear, pure, untamed battle intent surged through his body.
Aether flooded his body, his muscles coiling, getting firmer and more refined as he burst forward.
The mountain behind him burst into fragments of dust from the force of his movement.
The beast, prepared to receive the attack, clenched its fist. Its body dipped backward as it charged its fist with pure, untamed void energy.
Aether flooded into Alfred's spear tip as he closed the gap.
The surroundings began to freeze from the aether he exuded.
"Mirror Strike," he said calmly.
The reflection from the ice surface created thousands of spear illusions. Before the beast could even pinpoint the real attack, the sharp tearing sound of blade piercing through flesh echoed through the forest.
"It is still only at tier 5 in the end," Alfred smirked as he saw his attack take effect on the beast.
However, in the next instant, his smirk froze, replaced by pure horror as he saw the flesh, which his spear had torn through, regenerate fully within a breath.
Not wanting to allow it to rest, Alfred pierced forward in a straight line. From the tip, aether, thin and compressed beyond imagination, shot out.
The beast sidestepped, closing the distance between itself and Alfred.
The force of its push against the floor destroyed the trees within a hundred-meter radius.
Alfred was barely able to dodge the punch aimed for his head.
The shockwave from the punch destroyed everything in its path, even creating a deep cut in Alfred's cheeks.
The beast's body rolled, delivering a kick to Alfred's head.
Alfred felt like all the bones in his head had broken from the impact.
Again, the beast appeared above Alfred in a blur of motion, leg descending with pure, unbridled power.
The kick connected, pressing Alfred's head deep into the massive crater formed beneath him.
For a moment, there was silence between them, one born of their individual thoughts.
A red vial appeared in Alfred's hand, a potion to restore his aether and health to its peak.
The beast, on the other hand, began to shift, a large hole appearing in its stomach.
Tentacles began to shoot out, each one about to wrap around Alfred.
Alfred's spear sliced around them as he rose smoothly from the floor.
A smirk was on his face.
The beast, annoyed by its prey's resistance, got serious.
It began to multiply, from 2 to 4, then 8.
It began to multiply rapidly.
Alfred's eyes dilated when he saw this.
Over a thousand void beasts.
"Which one is even real?" he muttered but was not given time to think.
The void beasts began to rush towards him.
Swoosh.
A sound tore through the air, faster than either party could even register.
One of the void beasts fell to the floor, lifeless.
All the clones dispersed immediately.
Alfred's eyes widened. He looked towards a tree instinctively.
There, he saw Silas, casually holding a rifle with a smile.
"Amelia broke through to the Master stage," Silas said, noticing Alfred's gaze.