Nameless King

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The new spear in the monster's hand was quite different from the previous ones. It was as though it was alive as it consisted of many eyes and bones of long-dead creatures that floated among the thick, dark water.

"Wain! Wake up!" Gladius tried to wake Wain, but it seemed that the damage from the blast was too severe for Wain to continue the fight immediately afterward.

"He won't wake up..." The monster uttered in a creepy voice, "This is the end for him and the greatest achievement for me..."

Step.

The monster stepped forward as it threw its spear at Wain.

'Damn! I must save Wain!' Gladius inwardly exclaimed as he soared toward Wain.

Gladius had no choice but to sacrifice himself to protect Wain, for without his energy Gladius did not have the same power as usual.

'Shit... This wasn't supposed to happen. After all, Death Shore turned out to be too dangerous a place.' Gladius said to himself while looking at the spear approaching him, 'Although, it was to be expected. You can't get through Death Shore without losing something.'

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Cracks appeared on Gladius, which was expected due to the tremendous pressure coming from the spear, but the real reason was something else.

"Bastard..." A powerful voice filled with majesty and hatred erupted.

At the same time, a hand covered in darkness, with jaws swimming in it, grasped Gladius's hilt with such force that cracks appeared in some places.

"You managed to catch me off guard. My mistake, but... None of that matters because I can just destroy you like everyone else here!" Wain exclaimed in a thunderous voice as a powerful stream of energy burst out of him as though dark flames covered Gladius.

Wain's left eye became as dark and deep as the abyss as scarlet blood gushed from it while an eerie crown appeared on his head.

Whooooooooosh.

Wain swung his sword as two massive bursts of energy collided with each other. The eerie eyes in the spear tried to overpower the jaws in Wain's attack, then opened three eyes with red vertical pupils on Wain's crown. The spear's energy immediately weakened as the two attacks destroyed each other.

"How could you stand it...?" The monster muttered with a dazed look while in disbelief, "You were in the midst of an explosion... The human body cannot withstand such pressure especially the Fourth Chronicle one..."

"Hah, so you can talk? Well, I was probably saved by my coat, of which only a small part remains." Wain uttered as he looked at the coat that was slowly recovering and thought, 'Looks like Ceozi saved my life. I'll have to thank her properly when I get a chance.'

"That won't help you... Every second I can control more and more energy from the river while your strength runs out..." The monster mouthed as he held out his hand.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The water in the river trembled as a massive stream headed toward the monster that quickly turned into a new spear that was just as strong as the previous one.

Wain stood still, looking at the monster with a calm expression. Then, his silhouette blurred and he appeared right in front of the monster as his ice-cold gaze made the monster shudder with fear.

"You know how to use the river to get stronger, right? Well, in that case, I'll help you with it." Wain said before grabbing the monster by the neck, then he jumped high up creating platforms of darkness beneath him.

It all happened too fast for the monster to have time to do anything as he didn't expect Wain to be able to move so fast despite his wounds.

"I hope you can swim, otherwise this might not end well for you." Wain spoke in an indifferent voice that made its way to the monster's heart, restraining it with terror and throwing the monster down with all his might.

Falling into the river at Death Shore was practically the same as condemning himself to eternal suffering, Wain understood this as soon as he saw this miracle of nature, so the monster knew it better than most and was willing to do anything to keep it from happening.

Whoooooooooosh.

The monster's wings came into motion as he gradually slowed his fall. Each flap of his wing created a powerful current of wind that caused a wave in the river that was hundreds of meters away from him.

"Looks like I was right. Though you can use the water from the river, you are incapable of curbing it all." Wain said with a calm look as he stretched out his hand, "Wings are the symbol of freedom, aren't they? So, let me take it away from you."

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

At the same time, two massive dark piranhas appeared next to the monster, each with a massive jaw and three red eyes with vertical pupils. They began devouring the monster's wings, grinding skin, bone, and feathers between their teeth, bringing the monster incredible pain.

"ARGHHHH!!!" The monster cried out while in agony as he tried to get rid of the piranhas, but no matter what he did they wouldn't unclench their jaws as though it was the most important goal in their lives.

Splash.

The piranhas gnawed their wings and scattered into several clots of darkness, then the monster reached the river and plunged into it, heading for the bottom.

"Is it over...?" Wain muttered in a quiet voice while trickles of blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.

'Wain, I don't know where you got all that energy, but your wounds aren't going anywhere. You'll need a few days to fully recover from the effects of the blast and that's the most optimistic prognosis.' Gladius said in a serious voice while the cracks in the hilt slowly recovered.

"Well, you've been through a lot, too." Wain smirked as his gaze drifted toward the river, "I can still fight since from the looks of things, it's not going to be as easy as I thought."