352 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

Chapter 352: "I Underestimated the Beast Forest." It was due to carelessness. When Logan entered the Beast Forest, screaming wildly to keep up his act as the deranged Gail, he didn't anticipate the predicament he was walking into. He had thought, no matter how powerful the beasts were, now that he had reached the pinnacle of aura mastery, there was nothing that could trouble him. Even in forbidden lands, he'd have no problem taking care of himself. That's what he believed. He had overlooked the fact that the Beast Forest was once a magical labyrinth that devoured an entire army of what was the mightiest kingdom in the northern continent of ages past. As a result, Logan found himself facing a horde of beasts in the forest, all drawn to the presence of an unexpected rival after sensing the powerful aura radiating from his roar. Just as Logan finished cutting down over a dozen two-headed monkeys, he noticed something massive rushing through the golden glint forged by his aura. Rumble. The charging beast knocked over several giant trees, illuminating the gloomy forest and unveiling its fearsome form even more starkly. It was a giant boar in appearance. Its tusks threatened like spears, nearly a meter long, and sharp silver-gray horns protruded from head to tail. A sinister, dark aura flickered around its entire body. "Squeeeal!" Thud thud thud. The massive boar charged forward, making the ground quake. Despite its threatening stance, Logan felt not fear, but irritation and anger. ‘Why are they...?’ How many hours had it been? He had heard that even the beasts fought among themselves, but curiously, they all seemed intent on targeting him alone. "Squeal!" "Shut up!!" His golden aura, infused with irritation and fury, whirled violently. The spiraling aura compressed into a spear-like form, shooting forward in a straight line and piercing diagonally into the charging boar’s side. A skill combining the Devil Spear, demonstrated by Grit Ainzhein, with the Whip Blade technique. The giant boar tried to twist its massive head agilely to dodge the attack, but Logan, already accelerated, leapt and deeply sliced the beast's nape. Neither the enormous tusks and sharp horns, nor its tough hide and fortifying magic stood a chance. Before the destructive power of aura, everything crumbled helplessly. "Eeeyaaah!!!" Thud! As Logan landed back on the ground, the boar let out an ear-splitting scream and collapsed. Whoosh! Thick blood gushed out like a fountain from its half-severed nape. "Come on, then! I’ll wipe you all out!" His voice resounded loudly. The superhuman who had abandoned stealth and concealment flared his killing intent in all directions. Was it the right choice? Or perhaps it was the sudden flood of light through the trees felled by the monstrous boar. The relentless ambush that persisted for hours ceased as if it had been a lie, leaving the forest eerily quiet. “…Huh?” Momentarily perplexed by the unexpected calm, Logan recalled another legend about the Beast Forest. – Though beasts do not retreat from powerful threats, they will not attack a victor who defeats the ruler within a certain domain. After hours of intense combat, even a superhuman’s nerves would fray. Relieved to finally break the chain of attacks, Logan exhaled deeply. But it was a misconception. Crack. Suddenly, with the sound of something snapping, a tree from the side collapsed toward him. Logan instinctively withdrew, but another tree fell, moving to cover him at an unbelievable speed. ‘What–!?’ Logan realized a bit too late that the enormous tree approaching him was shaped like a club, targeting him. The clubs he knew were about the size of his forearm, not enormous trees with a circumference of dozens of meters. Boom! Rumble. The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck where the massive club swung through. Only then did Logan understand the source of this upheaval. – Screech!!! A thunderous noise, pounding his ears, momentarily unbalanced him. Within his blurred vision, a massive figure loomed that he could not fathom how it had approached so quietly. It resembled a human form but stood at a towering height of approximately 20 meters. Muscles packed from tip to toe with menacing density. Its vital spots were covered by leaves or vines, resembling a member of a primitive tribe, and the creature had not one, but two monstrous heads. Recognizing that formidable presence, Logan recalled a familiar name. Ancient monsters rarely seen on the current continent, a beast once deemed the mightiest on land. ‘An ogre? And it has two heads?’ Although it was larger than those of legend, and it had two heads, no other name came to mind. Fortunate was the fact that the creature did not attack while Logan momentarily lost coordination, leaving himself open. "Grunt?" "Roar." The two heads exchanged bizarre sounds in what seemed like a conversation, then, leaning down, it reached out towards Logan. Rather than swinging the enormous club taller than many towers in its other hand. ‘Hmm?’ It was like picking up an item fallen on the ground. An act brimming with confidence that Logan wouldn’t be able to move. Odd as it was, Logan had no obligation to comply with such an assumption. Slice. "!!?" "Ra?" The enormous hand, large enough to envelop a person, and with just four fingers unlike humans’, had its thickest finger severed, allowing Logan to spring through and race up its arm. "Roarrrr!!" "Roaaaaaaar!" Too late to pain, the monster roared in fury, but by then Logan had already reached its shoulder, leaping into the air, brandishing the golden destructive power. As Logan gazed into the frightened and confused four pairs of eyes, each as large as his upper body, he felt another victory was within his grasp. However, in that very moment, "Roar!" The eyes on one of the heads turned completely black, emitting a strange vocalization and an eerie wave that spread in all directions. This mysterious wave stopped the aura rotating fiercely before the monster's eyes dead in its tracks. Boom! "Tch!" Suddenly, Logan found himself floating mid-air like a bird that had been unexpectedly unmoored. Clicking his tongue in frustration, Logan noticed the massive club descending with enough force to seemingly split the earth beneath him. Even without detecting mana or magical energy, the sheer mass and volume it possessed made the threat undeniable. ‘Damn it.’ Logan longed for the Boots of the Wind God he'd left behind in Granpia for his disguise as Gail. In the air, his sword traced a straight line, forming a golden circle of protection around his body. Swoosh. Without making so much as a sound, the club passed right through the spot where Logan had been, part of it vanishing as if a segment of space itself had been cut away. As the club struck the ground beneath it, Crash! Rumble. The terrain shook once more with a resounding impact. Simultaneously, the overwhelming might of the monster caused its club to shatter, scattering debris everywhere. Amidst the raining debris, Logan kicked off a nearby tree, diving once more towards the monster's heads. "Roar?" "Rar?!" The creature's eyes reflected alarm and confusion, but Logan's irritation was equally evident. ‘Damn it.’ A third of his aura unexpectedly evaporated, leaving him with a sense of depletion. He had tried to save energy by avoiding the Sky Slash, but it meant he faced a surprising counterattack. It wasn’t even used to finish the creature but merely to nullify its assault. Now, this time he needed to ensure the creature's downfall. "Perish!" "Roar!" "Rrragh!" Once more, the odd black wave surged toward Logan, but the power of the Sky Slash, which severed space itself, should have prevailed over such waves. At least, it should have. Crackle. Unexpectedly, the black wave withstood the power of the Sky Slash for a brief moment. Slice. "Shriek!!!" Ultimately, only one of the two heads was severed, and the effect of the technique ended there. ‘Damn!’ Even so, the wound was devastating and potentially incapacitating. For a fleeting moment, many thoughts whirled through Logan’s mind, but he learned from the remaining head that his hopes were borne of vague unease. "Roooaaaar—!!" The piercing wail wasn't just a shout but a scream of fury. In the instant the monster's eyes caught sight of its other head rolling on the ground, its entire body turned a fierce crimson. ‘Berserk mode!?’ A dying monster unleashing several times its normal strength. A phenomenon not uncommon in monsters inhabiting the present world, easily recognized. As Logan landed on the ground, he immediately sprinted along the tree trunks, staying out of reach of the berserk creature. ‘There's no need to fight it now. I’ll just wait for it to collapse.’ There’s no sense in facing a berserk beast head-on. "Rarrrrooo!" His prediction seemed accurate, as the monster's raging cries resounded behind him. Crack. Boom! Rumble. What kind of havoc was being unleashed? Trees collapsed erratically around the sprinting Logan. Repeatedly leaping from one falling trunk to another, he finally escaped the chaos and reached the branches of the tallest tree. Rumble. "Rooooar—!" As Logan watched the monster’s display of destruction, he sighed in relief—only to be overwhelmed by a chilling surge of murderous intent. ‘Above!?’ Startled, he looked up to see, through darkened skies overshadowed by the beast, the sight of something rapidly descending toward him. A creature with three heads protruding from a massive lizard-like body. Wings three times the size of its torso. A tail bristling with spikes. Except for the wild eyes devoid of sanity, it resembled the legendary creature deemed the mightiest of all— a dragon. ‘A drake?’ While the ogre was known as the strongest on land, the drake reigned supreme in the skies. However, he had never heard of a drake with three heads. Just as shock registered in Logan’s mind, the colossal drake unleashed its fiery breath. Fwoosh! The tri-headed flames, spanning dozens of meters, engulfed everything. “Damn it!!!!” Enveloped in his golden aura, Logan shot skyward. Whoosh. But awaiting him was a massive tail, swung with such force it seemed to rend the space itself. ‘Damn it.’ If only he had the Boots of the Wind God. Lamenting the absence of his cherished item, Logan executed another Sky Slash. Swoosh. "Shrieeek!!" Like a lie, the drake's tail was severed. Amidst the rain of monster blood, Logan plummeted toward the ground. Consecutive use of his ultimate techniques had drained his aura to its limits. Gritting his teeth, he extended his Whip Blade to grab onto a tree trunk nearby. But then, Rumble. With a quake that felt like an earthquake, the ground trembled, and darkness enveloped his vision. Regaining his senses, Logan's view brightened, revealing an emergence of red all around. When his eyes finally discerned the massive flesh spreading out at the edges, ‘Damn it! What the hell!’ Logan realized he had been swallowed into the maw of an unimaginably colossal serpent.