Aiden let a small smile touch his lips as he bent slightly, his five sharp claws spread apart while black blood dripped from their silvery tips.

"I should steal one of Ronan's quotes this time," Aiden thought with a smile.

Eventually, he would find his own catchphrase for slaughter, but for the moment...

Aiden's smile widened into something predatory and terrifying as he uttered two simple words.

"Let's roll."

The moment those words left his mouth, he rushed directly into the horde of monsters that had begun hesitating to fight him.

He struck them down one after another with a speed that was nothing short of terrifying.

Their supposedly unbreakable constitutions proved completely ineffective against Aiden's merciless assault. Again and again his claws flashed through the air, and with every movement another monster fell.

The creatures fought back vigorously.

They used everything at their disposal.

Their abnormal strength.

Their insane speed.

Their frightening reaction time.

Everything that made them a nightmare for ordinary heroes to face was brought into play as they desperately fought for their lives.

Yet they were losing.

And they were losing badly.

It wasn't as if Aiden wasn't getting hit.

In fact, many attacks landed on him.

Massive hammers smashed against his body.

Sharp claws scraped across his skin.

Powerful punches crashed into him from every direction.

Yet none of it mattered.

What was the greatest perk of Dark Mane Tyrant Mode if not its extraordinary offensive and defensive capabilities?

Its durability was simply monstrous.

And when that was combined with Aiden's own overwhelming speed, battle instincts, and combat skills, the result became absurd.

Compared to these A-Rank monsters, Aiden simply existed on another level.

The monsters were abnormal.

Sincerely, they were.

Any one of them would be capable of threatening a powerful A-Rank hero.

Yet Aiden was even more abnormal than they were.

Adding Dark Mane Tyrant Mode on top of that was nothing short of overkill.

Soon, the monsters realized something horrifying.

They couldn't win.

The realization spread through their ranks like wildfire.

And so they made a choice.

They tried to flee.

Unfortunately for them, that turned out to be an even worse decision.

Because fleeing only made them die faster.

Aiden, like many heroes, hated monsters to the core.

There was absolutely no way he was going to allow these creatures to escape his grasp.

More and more monsters fell.

Aiden tore through the horde like an unstoppable force of nature.

Black blood sprayed into the air, dyeing portions of the ashen world in darkness.

His claws carved through flesh and bone.

His kicks shattered bodies.

His punches reduced monsters to mangled corpses.

Aiden reveled in the slaughter.

He killed.

And killed.

And killed.

His crimson eyes became even redder with every monster that died beneath his claws.

That was yet another terrifying perk of Dark Mane Tyrant Mode.

The more monsters he killed, the greater the physical boost he received.

Every death strengthened him.

Every kill pushed him further.

The pained howls of the ashen monsters echoed throughout the battlefield.

Soon those howls were replaced by dying screams.

And then even those screams disappeared.

Only silence remained behind.

Elen stood frozen in place.

Her face was completely blank.

At some point, her mind had simply stopped processing what she was witnessing.

The overwhelming domination Aiden was displaying had completely short-circuited her thoughts.

How could someone be this powerful?

She couldn't help but ask herself that question as her eyes trembled violently.

These were monsters capable of threatening A-Rank heroes.

Monsters that had nearly killed her only moments ago.

Yet before Aiden, they looked no different from helpless prey.

No.

Even prey would probably put up a better fight.

The blond youth was not fighting a battle.

He was carrying out a massacre.

And for the first time since entering the red portal, Elen began to wonder whether Aiden had been telling the truth all along.

Perhaps...

Just perhaps...

He really was capable of clearing this entire portal by himself.

This kind of power and presence...

No.

She might have been wrong about him this entire time.

This guy wasn't an A-Ranker.

He had to be an S-Ranker for sure.

When that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but feel her heart tremble violently.

An S-Ranker...

That was a title only a handful of people across the entire world had ever attained.

They were beings who stood above countless heroes.

Gods among men.

And right now she was standing beside one who looked more like a demon among men.

Elen gulped.

A chill ran down her spine as she remembered the way she had casually spoken to him ever since they first met.

"I should apologize to him," she thought nervously.

"For my sake... and for that idiot Mike as well."

If Mike ever found out that the person he had attacked was actually an S-Ranker, he would probably never want to wake up from his unconscious state again.

Because if this terrifying blond youth decided to hold a grudge against him...

Then Mike was doomed.

Soon the battle finally came to an end.

Every single ashen monster that would have undoubtedly caused massive destruction if they had reached Earth had been completely exterminated.

Not a single one remained alive.

Aiden calmly looked over the battlefield.

Then he began walking toward the corpses one after another.

He crouched down and placed his hand on the chest of each monster.

Well...

At least on the ones that still had chests.

Quite a few of them had been sliced into so many pieces that there wasn't much left to extract anything from.

After several minutes, Aiden finally finished.

Only then did he turn around.

His gaze immediately landed on Elen.

The moment their eyes met, she flinched.

Aiden's crimson eyes looked even more intimidating in his transformed state.

"I'll be moving somewhere else soon," Aiden said in his deep bestial voice.

Despite sounding monstrous, there was still a strangely pleasant tone hidden within it.

"You should follow me. If you don't, I might not be able to ensure your safety."

Elen immediately snapped out of her thoughts.

Of course she should follow him.

If she stayed behind and Aiden left...

And even one of those monsters appeared again...

Her death would be all but guaranteed.

No.

Not guaranteed.

Certain.

Swallowing her nervousness, she hurried over toward him.

When she reached his side, she didn't even dare look him directly in the eyes.

Lowering her head respectfully, she spoke in a hesitant voice.

"Sorry about what happened earlier, sir."

Her voice almost came out as a stammer.

After all, if someone of this level wanted her dead, she would be completely powerless to resist.

Thinking back to how she had once suspected he might be trying to force himself on her made her feel even more embarrassed.

Looking back now...

The thought was utterly ridiculous.

If Aiden wanted anything from her, there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him.

Several thoughts raced through her mind as she waited for him to respond.

For a few moments, Aiden said nothing.

Then, when he finally spoke, his words completely caught her off guard.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Aiden asked.

Elen blinked.

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

"The show?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow.

In his current bestial form, that simple action looked surprisingly intimidating.

Then he pointed behind himself.

Toward the countless corpses scattered across the battlefield.

"I said I'd show you something fun."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"So what do you think? Was it fun?"

Elen stared at him blankly.

Then she looked at the sea of monster corpses behind him.

Then back at him.

Only now did she realize he had been serious when he asked whether she wanted to see something fun.

To him...

Massacring hundreds of powerful monsters was entertainment.

The realization left her speechless.

Still, after a moment of hesitation, she nodded.

Aiden's smile widened immediately.

"I know, right?"

He sounded genuinely pleased.

"Don't worry."

"We'll get to see even more fun things."

Aiden casually patted her head before turning around and continuing deeper into the ashen world.

After all...

He was only beginning to have fun.

Elen remained rooted in place for several seconds.

Her brain was still struggling to process everything that had happened.

Eventually, she shook her head and hurried after him.

Meanwhile...

Far away from Aiden's current location.

Deep within the heart of the ashen world.

A massive dark palace stood silently beneath the blood-red sky.

At its center sat a figure upon a throne carved entirely from black gemstones.

The throne radiated an ancient and dreadful aura.

The moment the last ashen monster died...

The figure slowly opened its eyes.

A strange light flickered within them.

Primal.

Ancient.

Terrifying.

Yet there was no raging fury in those eyes.

Only calm.

Cold.

Composed anger.

The ruler of the ashen world leaned slightly forward upon his throne.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Then he spoke.

"To think that a mere rat would dare invade the lair of death."

His smile widened ever so slightly.

"Interesting."