Reon stood frozen, his breath catg in his throat as he took in the monstrous sight before him. Cloudia, beside him, had stilled pletely, her body tense as if paralyzed by the sheer dread emanating from the creature.

  Every detail of the beast struck like a thunder his mind.

  The creature was enormous—taller than any being Reon had ever entered, its hulking form ed in thick, matted fur that g to its skin like shadows woven with the night itself.

  Its sickly yellow eyes glowed with a menag iy in the dimming twilight, casting ahly gleam through the darkened forest.

  The shoulders of the beast bulged with muscle, eaent sending a ripple through its frame as it prowled forward, the ground quakih its weight.

  An acrid stench radiated off it in waves, thid suffog, masking the familiar st of the pirees and turning the air into something foul.

  Even in his shock, Reon could feel the parison building in his mind—Cloudia, even irue form, was already a t force of nature, as tall as a two-storey building.

  Yet this beast was rger still, looming over her with a presehat swallowed the surrounding trees.

  The thought turned his fear cold and heavy; this was something beyond natural, a predator that beloo the realm of nightmare for him.

  The forest around them seemed to shift, the shadows stretg and deepening as if bending in revereo the creature's power.

  Its hide, like fused stone and shadow, formed a near-imperable armor that faintly gleamed in the dusky light.

  But what gripped Reon most was the creature's eyes. They glowed like embers, a dark crimson that burned with a feral hunger.

  Those eyes locked onto him and Cloudia, narrowing with a focus that sent a tremor of dread through his veins. He reized the creature immediately; its silhouette was unmistakable.

  It was the Shadow Cw Bear, a beast spoken of in hushed whispers, feared even among the Inner Disciples.

  This was the very creature the protagonist of the novel had battled during his own mission. He had entered it after pleting his training and while searg for the herb.

  Although he ultimately triumphed, the fight had pushed him to his limits.

  Now, as Reon stood before it, he could tell that this was no ordinary Shadow Cw Bear.

  Its massive size and oppressive aura indicated that it was at least a Mid-Ranked Demonic Soldier Beast—a nightmare made flesh, poised to unleash its wrath.

  A quice at Cloudia firmed his worst fears. She was a High-Ranked Demonic Beast, a formerength in her ht, yet Reon could feel the tremor of her breath beh him.

  For the first time, he sensed hesitation in her, her muscles taut with a fear she could barely suppress.

  She let out a small gasp, her gaze flig up to meet his. In that fleeting moment, they shared a silent, desperate uanding.

  Her eyes reflected the same mixture of fear aermination that he felt, a wild urge to protect each other, despite the overwhelming threat that loomed before them.

  Reon's hand closed around the hilt of his sword, though the weight of it felt almost mog in the face of the creature's enormity. His fiingled with numbness, his grip faltering as he forced himself to hold steady.

  He knew, as did Cloudia, that every ounce of strength they possessed would barely be a match for the beast's brutal power.

  A single misstep, a fra of hesitation, and they'd both meet a brutal end. Yet in the silent exge betweehere was an unspoken promise: they would make it out of this forest alive, no matter what.

  "Cloudia," Reon's voice was low but urgent. "Run as fast as you ."

  The moment the words left his mouth, Cloudia dashed to the side, her movement fluid and swift, but not enough to escape the notice of the Shadow Cw Bear.

  The beast's monstrous paw swung at her, cws slig the air with a lethal whistle. It missed by a few meters as she picked up speed, her form a blur through the dense undergrowth.

  Her movements flowed like water, graceful and unyielding, her speed almost as swift as the wind itself. But the Bear was relentless—fast and deadly, far faster than anything that size should be.

  With a rumbling roar, it charged, closing the distas massive frame crushing everything in its path.

  A paw arced down toward Cloudia; she leaped to dodge, but this time, she wasn't quiough.

  The Bear's blow struck with a force that echoed like a thundercp.

  Reon lunged forward, sword raised to intercept, but the beast's strength was overwhelming, and the impact sent them both hurtling backward like ragdolls.

  They collided with a tree, the shock reverberating through their bodies.

  "Aaarrgggh!"

  Reon's scream out as paied within him, hot aless. Blood trickled from his mouth and nose, and he could feel shards of bone grinding inside him, his ribs and arm splintered from the impact. Cloudia y nearby, equally battered, struggling to rise.

  Reon's vision blurred, the edges darkening as his grip on sciousness slipped. But he knew ohing: giving i death—for both of them.