The remaining four bears hesitated, their primitive intelligence recognising the threat despite their rage.

Moon didn't give them time to regroup.

He slammed his staff into the ground. Earth magic surged through the pavement, and multiple constructs erupted from beneath.

Stone pillars that rose and curved inward like grasping fingers, restricting the bears' movements and pinning them in place.

Moon then raised his staff, fire gathering at its tip, preparing to finish them, before a guttural noise interrupted him.

ROAR!!!

A powerful beast bellowed with rage. Its roar shook the earth itself, ripping across the air through the street like thunder, stunning everyone who heard it.

The sound was different from the others. It was deeper, more primal, carrying a menace that made Moon's instincts scream danger.

The sound reverberated through his chest, making his heart skip a beat for a brief moment.

Moon's eyes darted toward the source.

A bear twice the size of the others had emerged from the rift as Moon was slaughtering the weaker bears.

It was massive, easily four meters tall at the shoulder, its body adorned with dense muscle beneath dark brown fur.

Each step it took shook the ground. A car in its path was crushed like a tin can beneath its paw, metal crumpling and glass exploding as the vehicle was reduced to scrap.

The creature's eyes burned with malice far beyond its lesser kin, and every bear in the vicinity stopped what they were doing, turning toward it with something that looked disturbingly like reverence.

Inside the restaurant, the woman and the man who'd been watching Moon's battle both lost control of their bladders, terror overwhelming every other sensation.

Neither even noticed the warmth spreading down their legs; the presence of this creature was so overwhelming that conscious thought became difficult.

"We're going to die, we're dead. We're all dead," the woman whispered, her voice hollow.

Moon pulled up the creature's status with a thought.

[Forest Grizzly Bear]

[Level: 20]

[Details: An evolved specimen that transcended the limits that normal Forest Bears are bottlenecked by.

Its physical capabilities far exceed its peers, with denser muscle tissue and a reinforced skeletal structure. Recognised and respected by lesser bears as a natural alpha, it commands instinctive obedience from its kind.]

Moon's jaw clenched at the sight. The beast before him was powerful, really powerful. It was at the same level as the Winter Beast.

"I wonder how many lives you will give me…maybe three figures? Let's hope so, evolving skills is expensive after all." Moon muttered under his breath.

♢♢♢♢

Meanwhile, inside the Awakeners Association headquarters, chaos reigned.

"How are you telling me there are no awakeners there yet?! This is a rift in the middle of the damn city! A residential district!" Isabelle's voice cut through the operations room frantically.

The receptionist stood before her desk, pale-faced and trembling. "Manager, there are none near the area. The closest response team is estimated to arrive in ten minutes."

"By then, the casualties will reach hundreds if not thousands!" Isabelle slammed her hand on the desk, the impact cracking the wood. Her strength leaked through despite her attempt at control.

She took a breath, forcing herself to think rather than rage.

Ten minutes was equivalent to an eternity when civilians were dying every second.

The system had failed, awakeners positioned in the wrong districts, response protocols too slow, too far. It was also part of her mistake, she had sent most of the available awakeners on missions to clear out monsters outside the city, but failed to keep some for emergencies.

Her father would have handled this better. But she'd left all that behind, fled to this administrative position to escape their expectations.

And now people were paying the price for her mistakes.

"I'm going there myself!"

She moved toward the door, already pulling up her status mentally. "Keep me in contact. Coordinate the response teams to follow my position."

"Manager, you can't—" Rebecca started.

"That's an order!" Isabelle snapped, not breaking stride.

She burst through the building's main entrance at a run, her body already channelling mana, preparing for combat.

Ten minutes was too long.

But maybe she could buy those ten minutes. She could try to save at least some of them.

Her mind flashed unbidden to Moon. The strange awakener with the impossible story, the one who'd materialised in her apartment, the one who'd registered today with suspiciously high power for his claimed experience.

When she'd asked him for his address, he'd mentioned that he was going to view an apartment near that district. Silverpoint Residences, less than two kilometres from the rift location, according to her mental map.

♢♢♢♢

Moon locked eyes with the Forest Grizzly Bear.

It was, without a doubt, a powerful beast.

An A-Tier First Sanctuary creature, apex predators that sat just below boss-level entities. Even experienced awakeners approached such creatures with full teams and careful preparation. Only the strongest in the first sanctuary could take on such a powerful beast without worrying.

The grizzly moved first, closing the distance with deceptive speed for something so massive. Its paw came down like a hammer, aiming to crush Moon into the pavement.

Moon rolled aside, the impact cratering the street where he'd stood. Concrete exploded outward, chunks of debris pelting his cloak.

Moon retaliated immediately, launching a compressed fireball at point-blank range.

The grizzly twisted, taking the hit on its shoulder rather than its face.

Fur burned away, flesh charred, but the creature didn't even flinch. It backhanded Moon with its other paw, the blow catching his hastily raised earth barrier.

The barrier shattered. The force sent Moon sliding backwards, his boots leaving trails in the blood-slicked pavement.

It's smart, Moon realised. It won't take direct hits if it can avoid them.

The creature was defending intelligently, using its massive body to shield vital areas, minimising damage from Moon's attacks. And when Moon's attacks did land cleanly, the grizzly was injured. Burns appeared, blood flowed, but it was not enough to slow it down.

Then the four bears he'd trapped earlier broke free from their stone restraints, joining their alpha in the assault.

Moon's expression hardened.

He couldn't fight defensively anymore. Not against five opponents with one at level twenty.

His staff spun in his hands, fire erupted from the tip, before erupting as a continuous stream that swept across the charging bears.

The flames washed over them, overwhelming their attempts to dodge or defend.

Whoosh!

Moon didn't stop; he immediately used their attempts at patting the fire to release four fireballs towards them.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Four consecutive explosions found their marks.

The bears died almost instantly, reduced to charred corpses before they could close half the distance.

[You have killed a level 14 Forest Bear.]

[You have gained 50 Lives.]

[You have reached level 16!]

[You have killed a level 14 Forest Bear.]

[You have gained 55 Lives.]

[You have killed a level 14 Forest Bear.]

[You have gained 45 Lives.]

[You have killed a level 13 Forest Bear.]

[You have gained 40 Lives.]

Moon felt the subtle surge of power as his level increased.

The grizzly didn't give him time to appreciate it. It charged through the flames surrounding the corpses of its fallen subordinates, using the moment Moon was distracted by notifications to close the gap.

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