And it was only after several hours that Ronald finally awoke.

The first thing he saw was the worried expression of his fiancée. He could only smile faintly, pretending as if nothing had happened, and tried to scratch his head, but even the act of raising his hand made him feel the pain coursing through his body.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. How long has it been?" Ronald felt parched, as if his whole body wasn't his own, like someone who had just clawed his way back from the brink of death.

It wasn't until he realized that a quarter of his life had been permanently lost that he lowered his head. The weakness and pain that his body transmitted constantly reminded him of how fragile he was now, how insignificant life really was.

And when he barely raised his head, he noticed that besides his fiancée, there was Cloud Star with that all-too-familiar grim face.

"Four hours, maybe you could sleep a bit longer; there's still more than three hours until the next time slot," Cloud Star said, though everything he said seemed like sarcasm.

"I..." Ronald didn't know how to respond to his senior brother. He struggled to lift his hand and noticed it trembling. Even losing just a quarter, his body felt as if life had been drained from it, and he even found it painfully difficult to control his muscles to make a fist.

"Sorry, I want to talk to my brother alone..." he said apologetically to his fiancée. The young lady, seeing the tense atmosphere between them, was worried but still left the room.

The atmosphere became overwhelmingly oppressive. Ronald shrank his neck, not daring to meet his brother's eyes for some reason.

"It seems the teacher really didn't teach you how to control the power of the Giant Beast. Yet, even so, why did Zero choose you instead of me..." Cloud Star looked at him, his pupils filled with reluctance and a slight sense of acceptance.

At this moment, Ronald stared blankly at his senior brother. He felt that this power was a punishment for him, but he didn't expect his brother to desire this power so much.

"Brother, the cost of this power..."

"I know, the teacher once told me, and I've accepted it long ago." Cloud Star immediately interrupted him, "Bearing the power of a Giant Beast with a human body, just enduring the physical pain—such an obvious price is already the greatest mercy."

Cloud Star suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder: "You only know the tip of the iceberg of the weight of this power now."

Ronald froze, seeing his brother's resolve identical to the teacher's, and suddenly felt he was ridiculous for lamenting over losing just a quarter of his life.

"There's still time, but not much. Since the teacher can no longer guide you, I'll teach you how to use the power of the Giant Beast—to use the strongest power with the smallest burden on your body, and even how to borrow part of the Giant Beast's power without transforming." In Cloud Star's hand appeared a cane.

"If you continue to fight with an attitude of resigned despair, indifferent to any injury, then after just a few times, you'll utterly perish, just like the teacher."

Ronald looked at Cloud Star, and at that moment, he seemed to see the teacher's shadow in the back of his brother holding the cane.

Since the teacher's death, his brother was the only one among the three of them who didn't cry, and he was also the most serious, as if he had suddenly matured from a fourteen-year-old body into a soul in his forties.

But in reality, his brother was the one who suffered the most, yet he buried everything deep within to keep standing from the teacher's perspective, always protecting the other two of them.

"Brother, you've become just like the teacher, whether in attire and demeanor or in every action and mannerism, your entire being seems to mimic everything about the teacher when he was alive..."

"But, brother, you might not know that no matter how much I struggle or control the power of the Giant Beast, I only have two uses left... I absolutely won't use the last one!"

"So, there's nothing left to fear..."

...

"Abnormal Technique fluctuations detected in the K3 area, the second coordinates given by the Monarch are still accurate!" A technician's voice came through the earpiece.

"Explosives have been set!"

"Cloud Burst Bomb is ready!"

"Twelve Siege Cannons have been aimed at the target!"

A string of messages came through the earpiece. Ronald was currently in the army's medical tent, with the girl who always took care of him by his side.

It seemed that in an instant, their roles had reversed, so quickly that he hadn't even realized it. In the past, he was always taking care of her, but unexpectedly, in just a few days, it was now her turn to take care of him.

"Fool!"

"Here, senior sister!" Ronald stood up straight at the familiar voice. Thanks to his super-speed regeneration, he was barely able to move like a normal person now.

"This time, don't use Zero's power again. Leave it to us." His senior sister made an encouraging gesture, "And Cloud Star is just harsh on the outside but soft on the inside—don't take his words too personally."

"Mm, mm, I know."

He smiled slightly, hoping that everything would go smoothly this time. Learning from the last time, they had set ten times more explosives and prepared Cloud Burst Bombs with a two-kilometer radius for individual soldiers, as well as a dozen 300MM caliber siege cannons.

Even a Super Beast with such firepower wouldn't stand a chance, and the fool thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief this time. With this setup, perhaps he'd only need to transform twice to keep the enemy entirely at bay.

Thus, I have the last quarter of my life left, and by then I can return home with success and fame, get married, inherit my mentor's laboratory and manuscripts, since I don't have much desire for power or other ambitions.

Inheriting the mentor's title of Monarch, Xediles II, seems like a pleasant title. Continuing the research on the Magic Ring, teaching other kids how to harness the power of the Giant Beast, and perhaps setting up a Xediles II classroom — maybe that's all I'll need in this lifetime.

He thought to himself, tightly gripping his fiancée's hand.

The young lady seemed to sense his anxiety, and she also tightened her grip.

"2 minutes left, get ready!" The sound of the operator came through the earpiece.

A roar sounded, and the next moment, a Giant Beast over fifty meters tall appeared on the battlefield.

Cloud Star transformed into the Giant Beast once more. Although his body still bore wounds, the penetrating injury seemed insignificant to the Giant Beast's form, especially as he appeared to grow stronger once again, from forty meters before to now over fifty meters.

"You don't need to fight this time, right?" The young lady said as she held his hand.

"I suppose not." Ronald looked towards the sunset, seemingly transported back to the day in the classroom when his teacher for the first time wrote out the "Magic Ring System," leaving him deeply impressed.

"What kind of person was Monarch Xediles I?" The young lady sat with him, looking at the sunset, seemingly picking a topic he liked to discuss. "From the news and reports, I know he was a man who created a new system and saved the world."

"It seems that rainy night when you came to see me, the Monarch was right outside the door. I didn't get to see him, which is a bit of a regret." The young lady spoke with an even tighter grip on his hand. "I really wish I could meet that Monarch."

"Haha, maybe it really is just bad luck." Ronald awkwardly laughed and scratched his head, realizing she hadn't yet met the teacher. His mood deflated thinking how he would wish for his teacher to stand as the parent at his wedding.

"Among the friends I often contact, they all argue that the Monarch is a stunningly handsome guy." The young lady said, "But I think it's impossible. The Monarch seems to be over forty, and I imagine he should be like the Great Sage from a thousand years ago, a wise elder?"

Ronald was silent. In his impression, although the teacher seemed aged, his mentality was extraordinarily youthful, almost like an older brother, not at all figure of an elder.

Driving while playing songs in languages they couldn't understand, the image of him waving in the heavy rain, and casually holding a few bottles of drinks in hand, thinking about it, the teacher seemed no different from them. Ronald suddenly said: "No, the teacher is actually just like us."

"Just like us?" The young lady was taken aback.

"Yes, I always feel that if the world had no Giant Beasts, maybe the teacher would be the kind to learn medicine, then spend the whole day devouring medical books." Ronald shared his thoughts.

The sunset was before them as they sat on this high hill, which also served as the army's field command campsite, looking at the layout in the distance and at the vibrant sunset, the two seemed to huddle even closer.

"Ten seconds left, all units prepare!" The voice rang in the earpiece.

The entire wilderness seemed instantly shrouded in a killing mood.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

A flash of light, and a four-man squad appeared at the site, all clad in full-body armor with black capes fluttering like flags in the wind.

"0!"

"Boom!" The mushroom cloud fireball from the explosives soared hundreds of meters high in an instant.

Having learned from past lessons, they held back none of their ruthfulness, with 12 300MM Siege Cannons starting a barrage. In the distance, a person aimed a handheld Cloud Burst Bomb.

White smoke filled a kilometer radius, followed by a secondary ignition causing a dust explosion within the same radius!

The attack hadn't ended; a frenzy of water currents seemed to transform into billions of spikes rushing toward the site, with the Siege Cannon's high-explosive ammunition creating even broader impacts and damage in the water.

After several minutes of frantic bombardment, the barrel overheated before they ceased firing.

As the thick smoke cleared, only powdered remains were left at the site, completely indistinguishable.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, cheering for the victory, clapping and hugging each other.

However, a sudden Teleportation Gate struck again, and the cheering froze, witnessing another Hell Vanguard Army squad falling onto the scene.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment, all their pupils shrinking together. Ronald even forgot to breathe, his mind going blank.

Inside him, the Giant Beast stirred restlessly, as if laughing, extending a fist and asking: "Do you want to borrow my power a second time? Borrow the Demon's strength."

"I'm not afraid anymore." Ronald said with a bitter smile, extending his fist to collide with the monster's fist within him.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.