The Monster Monarch System-Chapter 236: Guardian And Beast

"Wonder why I can’t catch a break," Rem muttered under his breath, rolling his shoulders as he faced yet another set of adversaries.

The dungeon seemed relentless.

Before him stood another Mutated Guardian, its stone-carved body riddled with glowing cracks of corrupt energy, its form even bulkier than the previous ones.

But what truly made this fight different was the beast beside it — a monstrous creature resembling a hybrid between a lion and a serpent, its body covered in jagged, obsidian-like scales that pulsed with eerie blue light.

Its fangs dripped with molten liquid, sizzling against the cavern floor.

Rem exhaled through his nose. He had already dismissed Verdant Gale. This time, he’d handle things differently.

Far more differently...

Slowly, his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword.

The familiar weight steadied him.

Then —

The Guardian moved first.

It lunged forward, its stone fists crashing down with a force that sent tremors through the cavern. The sheer impact shattered the ground where Rem had just been standing.

But he was already moving.

A sharp pivot, a smooth sidestep — he narrowly avoided the crushing blow. If he had been hit by that, he could have been a pancake by now.

But the beast was waiting.

With a guttural snarl, it lunged, its massive jaw unhinging unnaturally wide as it attempted to clamp down on him.

Rem twisted, barely managing to dodge as the fangs grazed the air just beside his face.

He landed a few feet away, eyes flickering between the two enemies. His eyes began glowing, soul energy rotating around them as he weighed his options.

Individually, they were dangerous.

Together?

They were a much bigger problem.

The Guardian roared, its arms glowing with molten energy as it slammed its fists together. The force created a shockwave that sent jagged spikes of rock shooting toward Rem.

He reacted instantly.

His blade flashed.

A single, precise swing cleaved through the incoming rock spikes, shattering them mid-air.

Then, with a shift in stance, he kicked off the ground — closing the distance.

His sword whipped through the air, aiming for the Guardian’s exposed core.

But just as his blade was about to connect —

The beast interfered.

It slammed its tail against the Guardian, using its own ally as a launch point to propel itself toward Rem at a terrifying speed. It was coming at him crazily, it’s fangs lay bare and it’s tongue whirling wildly.

Rem’s instincts screamed.

However there was no time to dodge.

So — he met the attack head-on.

With a fierce snarl of his own, he twisted his grip, redirecting his blade. Instead of going for the Guardian, he brought his sword up just in time to clash against the beast’s descending claws.

The impact rang through the cavern.

A burst of wind exploded outward from the sheer force of their collision.

Rem gritted his teeth. The beast’s strength was absurd — it was pressing down, trying to force his blade lower, trying to overpower him.

But he wasn’t about to lose.

With a sudden shift, he disengaged, twisting his body to redirect the momentum.

Using the beast’s own force against it, he slid under its body — and slashed, sword hitting it’s mark in an instant.

A deep gash tore through its side, glowing ichor spilling onto the cavern floor.

The beast howled in pain, thrashing violently as it stumbled backward.

Rem landed smoothly, his breath steady despite the intensity of the fight.

But he had no time to celebrate.

The Guardian took advantage of the brief distraction, its massive fist barreling toward him in an attempt to crush him.

Rem barely managed to raise his sword in time —

BOOM!

The impact sent him skidding backward, his boots scraping against the cracked stone floor. His arms burned from the sheer force.

The Guardian was strong. Too strong.

If he kept trading blows like this, he’d waste unnecessary energy.

He needed to be smarter.

As the Guardian prepared another strike, Rem suddenly dropped low.

Using the dust and debris from the earlier impact as cover, he vanished from the Guardian’s line of sight.

The hulking stone creature hesitated for just a moment —

And that was all he needed.

Rem exploded forward from the dust cloud, twisting mid-air as he brought his sword down in a brutal arc.

His blade struck true.

It cleaved deep into the Guardian’s exposed back, cutting straight through the corrupted energy core pulsing within.

The effect was instantaneous.

The Guardian froze, its molten veins flickering violently — before it suddenly collapsed, its body crumbling into lifeless chunks of stone.

But Rem had no time to breathe.

The beast was still alive.

And it was furious.

The moment the Guardian fell, it pounced.

Rem twisted at the last second, avoiding the claws that would have torn straight through his chest.

But he wasn’t unscathed — one of its talons grazed his arm, tearing through fabric and flesh.

Pain flared, but Rem didn’t let it slow him down.

Instead — he countered.

Hard.

Before the beast could recover from its lunge, he shifted his stance — and drove his sword straight into its throat.

The monster let out a strangled snarl, thrashing violently as Rem twisted the blade deeper.

Then — he ripped it out.

A violent spray of glowing ichor followed, and with one final, guttural growl, the beast collapsed.

Silence fell over the cavern.

Rem exhaled, rolling his shoulder as he wiped his blade clean. His arm still stung from the wound, but compared to what he had just fought through, it was nothing.

He glanced at the two defeated enemies, shaking his head.

"This dungeon’s really making me work for it," he muttered.

Still — he wasn’t about to complain.

Because every battle, every victory, only made him stronger.

And if this was the kind of challenge waiting for him?

Then he welcomed it.

With one last glance at the fallen monsters, he sheathed his sword.

[You have defeated the Guardian And His Beast]

[Proceed unto the Final Stage of the Mutated Dungeon]

The System was being awfully interactive, it never did that... which meant this was important.