Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 562: Behemoth Battle

Calypso scoffed. ”A little scrape is not an injury. An injury is when your legs are cut off.”

Nyx giggled. ”Speak for yourself, masochist demon. I want healing as soon as I have a mild headache.”

Kaiden’s grin sharpened.

”Mode: Pride.”

Something shifted inside him, like a lock turning. His posture straightened, presence expanding outward in an invisible wave that pressed against the battlefield. The crimson glow of the Blood Monarch’s Gauntlet dimmed slightly as another power asserted itself, cooler, more controlled.

His eyes changed.

Violet flooded his irises, deep and luminous, etched through with faint, rotating sigil-lines. Arcane pressure rolled off him, dense and commanding, bending the air as if reality itself acknowledged his authority.

The monster became visible, its plated body grinding against rock as its eyes locked onto the group. It was vast, heavy, and built to endure.

Kaiden lifted one hand.

The world answered.

”[Sigil of Tyranny].”

Three glyphs snapped into existence at once, carved in midair by pure intent and mana. They burned violet-white, sharp-edged and angular, before snapping outward. One slammed into the monster’s foreleg, searing itself into the stone-plated limb. The second was embedded into its chest armor with a thunderous crack. The third vanished downward, sinking into the ground between Kaiden and the creature.

The moment the monster took another step, the landmine detonated.

Scorching energy bit into its joints, arresting its momentum just long enough to matter.

That was the cue.

Aria’s staff sang.

Lunar energy surged forward in crescent arcs, layered volleys streaking across the cave in tight, disciplined patterns. Each strike hammered into exposed seams, silver light chewing at armor and forcing the monster to brace.

Bastet worked in perfect sync with her fellow mage. ”I can already tell that you are not going to be very weak to heat, so...”

A concentrated solar lance tore through the air, dense and crushing, slamming into the creature’s shoulder with enough force to stagger it sideways. Heat warped the space around the impact point as sand and light cascaded outward.

The monster roared in pain. Then, it charged with renewed fervor, realizing it was best not to underestimate its enemies this time around.

”[Arcane Convergence].”

Eight glyph bolts spiraled into existence around Kaiden, orbiting once before launching forward in sharp, controlled bursts. They slammed into the monster’s chest, ricocheted off hardened plates, curved midair, and struck again. Several bolts snapped back toward the same impact points, stacking power with each hit as runes flared brighter and brighter.

The creature’s advance slowed, armor cracking, molten fissures spreading where arcane pressure compounded relentlessly.

Now Luna and Nyx, whose spells had shorter effective range than Aria’s and Bastet’s, made their move.

Thunder split the air as Luna’s Stormblade screamed. It carved lightning-laced arcs into the monster’s side. Each strike detonated with concussive force, electricity crawling across stone plates and digging into joints.

Nyx joined her, blades snapping forward under telekinetic command. They struck from impossible angles, piercing weak points revealed by the casters’ bombardment, ripping chunks free and keeping the monster’s attention fractured.

It was still coming.

Slower but unbroken.

The apex slammed a claw down, making shockwaves tear through the ground as it forced itself closer, using its sheer durability to shrug off damage that would have ended lesser beasts outright.

Kaiden raised his free hand and began carving runes into the air, calling upon his third and final Pride Stance spell.

One layer.

Then another.

Then another.

Each sigil locked into place with mechanical precision, forming a descending lattice of arcane geometry that pulsed with lethal intent.

”[Astral Execution].”

The runes collapsed.

Celestial blades slammed down from above, one after another, each impact crushing into the monster’s body with devastating force. Stone armor shattered in chunks, and limbs buckled. The creature was driven to one knee as the final rune branded itself into its chest.

A heartbeat of silence came.

Then the brand flared.

A massive arcane strike screamed down from above, homing unerringly onto the mark and detonating in a blinding surge of power that tore the ground apart beneath the monster.

Dust and debris swallowed everything.

When it cleared, the apex was still there.

Cracked.

Bleeding.

Burning.

But very much alive. And, finally, it reached the end of the cavern.

Kaiden exhaled slowly, violet eyes steady.

”...Yeah,” he murmured. ”What a tanky boy.”

Then Kaiden’s lips curled upward as he glanced back at them, violet eyes gleaming with sharp satisfaction.

”Let’s do it together, my little angels,” he said softly, voice carrying absolute confidence.

From the apex’s perspective, that word meant nothing. Angels? These women? They all sported sadistic grins!

Five such figures stood just beyond the exit of its cavern with their silhouettes framed by crackling power and killing intent. Their eyes burned bright with focus, mouths curling into expressions that spoke of anticipation rather than fear. Predators, every last one of them.

And then there was Kaiden.

”Mode: Wrath.”

He walked straight toward it with his greatsword, dragging furrows through the ground, eyes turning red and violent.

The apex roared, summoning what strength it had left, hurling itself forward.

It never reached him.

Luna’s Stormblade struck first, carving into a shattered joint and detonating outward, staggering the creature sideways. Nyx’s blades followed instantly, piercing exposed flesh and anchoring it in place. Aria’s spells hammered down in tight succession, collapsing its stance and forcing it lower, while Bastet’s power crushed from the opposite side, denying it any chance to regain balance.

Calypso was already there, axe biting deep, tearing through cracked armor as she never lost her deep grin. Kaiden stepped in with them, each swing of his greatsword precise and merciless, cutting where others had opened paths, turning damage into devastation.

They moved like a single entity.

No wasted motion. No overlap. Each strike fed into the next, pressure building until the apex finally failed, its massive body collapsing to the ground with a quake that sent debris flying.

It tried to rise.

Six figures closed in.

Steel, lightning, force, arcane power, heat, and overwhelming will descended together. The monster thrashed once, twice, then stilled as blows rained down from every angle, its body torn open by a hundred wounds. In the end, it died to blood loss, such was its great endurance. They couldn’t land a single finishing blow and had to conduct a tiresome execution.

At last, it stopped moving.

Silence fell, heavy and absolute, broken only by the faint crackle of lingering power as the six of them stood over the fallen apex, uninjured.

A sharp, crystalline ding echoed inside Kaiden’s skull, cutting cleanly through the settling silence.

The familiar system overlay slid into place.

[You’ve slain Terrashield Behemoth (Level 62).]

[You’ve gained 114,880 XP.]

[You’ve gained 17 DMP.]

Kaiden let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his shoulders loosening just a fraction as the numbers sank in.

Same general level as the prowlers, but the gap was obscene. Where the pack had bled him XP in manageable chunks, this single apex had dumped nearly an order of magnitude more into him in one go. Its sheer endurance and territorial dominance were quantified in these high rewards, and this was shared between seven people!

He could only imagine how it would be if the XP weren’t shared.

Just then, the chat exploded into absolute chaos.