While Ardur, Ozdor, Liliane, and the others made their way through the Worm Mines to reach the left bank of the eastern river via abandoned paths, nothing less than a slaughter was taking place at Varthon.

Although the Wurhen Family was mostly tyrannical, they still wielded enormous power and influence in the region, mainly because Ardur was among their ranks.

Neither the Arakta Worms nor any other monsters, even the strongest in the region, dared to go against Ardur. It could cost them their lives.

But, even so, neither he nor anyone else could have imagined what their enemy was willing to do to win.

Whooooooooosh!

The Arakta Worm swept past the man, destroying his house and the family that remained inside before his eyes.

"No... No!" The man ran forward, but all that remained of his family was his wife's severed arm.

With trembling hands and a face full of horror, he touched the ring on her finger, a long-ago gift to his beloved.

Rhk!

Behind him, teeth chattered as the man slowly turned around.

In the next moment, the jaw with rotating teeth engulfed him, turning him into mincemeat.

Similar situations were happening all over Varthon. In less than five minutes, hundreds of residents had died, and dozens of buildings had been reduced to nothing.

What were Fran and Elvira doing?

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Fran exclaimed, dodging another attack from the Arakta Worms.

Several worms constantly attacked them from different angles, preventing them from defending themselves, but for some reason, they did not injure them.

They knew that Vaarh was watching them, his gaze following them like a predatory wolf enjoying the fear of two fleeing rabbits.

But, in an instant, Vaarh directed his glare elsewhere and, with the earth shaking, descended upon Varthon.

"AAAAAGGHH!!"

"Run!"

"Hurry! We must leave the town!"

Crash!

The Arakta Worm that emerged from the ground separated the little girl and her mother, who was desperately trying to escape the town like the other residents.

"Mia!" The mother cried out, crawling to the edge of the rift. The gap was too big for her to step or jump across.

The girl with big, confused eyes reached out her hand.

"Mommy!" She cried out, not understanding the situation she was in. She was too small.

"Mia, everything will be fine, you just have to—!" Her voice was cut off when a shadow loomed over the girl.

The mother's face paled, she couldn't say anything as all the worst scenarios were already playing out in her mind. Her heart ached with pain, since she understood that it was impossible to escape this fate.

Mia slowly turned around, still more puzzled than frightened, as several green, old eyes met hers along with a jaw capable of devouring an entire mountain.

Vaarh, the Elder of the Arakta Worms, had chosen his next victim. The blood dripping from his teeth showed that this girl would not be the first.

With the earth shaking, Vaarh rose, slowly opening his wide jaw.

The first tears appeared in Mia's eyes as she finally realized that she was facing a monster, a terrifying beast from her nightmares.

Whoooooooooosh!"

Vaarh lunged forward, cutting through the wind at tremendous speed and moving straight toward the girl. In a moment, there would be nothing left of her.

"MOMMY!" Mia screamed at the top of her lungs, closing her eyes.

But... when she opened her eyes, instead of a terrifying monster, she saw something else:

The long, dark coat fluttered in the wind as a tall figure stood before her.

"Agh...?"

The young man with black hair and eyes looked ahead, holding his sword with both hands.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine now." His confident voice rang out.

There was no hint of fear in his gaze, even though he was facing a huge monster.

This scene stood out so much that the other residents involuntarily stopped running. They couldn't believe it, but in an instant, the unknown young man became their only light in this nightmare.

"You..." Mia mumbled. "Will you defeat this monster?"

The young man nodded deeply as he stepped forward.

"Be sure of that. I will protect you!"

Whooooosh.

Without fear in his eyes, he leaped forward as his sword sliced through the monster's jaw.

Blood gushed from the Arakta Worm's jaw, flooding the ground.

People's eyes widened in disbelief. The young man had actually managed to wound a monster that was hundreds of times larger than him! He was the only one who could save them!

"You are strong."

Kreyn's deep voice boomed as he aimed his sword at the monster. Gusts of wind blew his coat and ruffled the ends of his hair.

"Our battle will only bring more casualties. I cannot allow more innocent people to die. Go away, or we will have to fight! If I show you my full power, nothing but death awaits you!"

If the people of the Origins or even ordinary guards experienced in fighting monsters were there, they would have realized that this was complete nonsense. Kreyn had no chance against Vaarh. He was an opponent from a different league. Their powers were incomparable.

But most of the inhabitants of Varthon had only seen monsters a few times in their lives from a distance or had only heard about them.

If Ardur could defeat any monster, why couldn't someone else? For example, the young man who appeared at the most crucial moment?

"Grh..." Vaarh's low growl sounded as he approached Kreyn.

Their eyes met, keeping the entire town and every resident in intense suspense.

Then, the giant monster stepped aside and rose up to cover all of Varthon with its roar.

GRRRRHHHHOOOO!!!

All the Arakta Worms stopped and listened to the call of their leader.

In just a few moments, all the Arakta Worms stopped rampaging and returned to their burrows, leaving the town.

For the townspeople, it was nothing short of a miracle, a rescue by a hero!

But...

Kreyn knew that miracles don't exist, and neither do heroes.

'Alright, now we're almost at the end, aren't we?'

He looked at the blue moon, waiting for his plan to come to fruition.

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