The Birth of a Monster

Inside the weapon shop, a deadly fight between survivors was taking place. The scent of blood hung heavily in the air, and the tension between both sides had reached its peak.

The General charged forward with his axe, swinging it at the trio, who barely managed to dodge the attack.

Mila seized the opportunity and threw several knives, but just as they were about to hit, the General deflected them effortlessly with his axe.

Leo dashed toward the General, hoping to land a fatal blow, but one of the General's subordinates jumped in the way, sacrificing himself.

"Hahahah, you're all going to die today!" the General shouted in frenzy, his skin glowing red from the use of his ability.

Taking advantage of his subordinate's sacrifice, the General attacked, splitting the man's body in two and striking Leo. Leo barely managed to raise his short sword in defense but was thrown several meters away, his life or death uncertain.

Clara and Mila, desperate and furious, charged at their opponent, determined to kill him in revenge.

But the General's strength and agility were clearly on a higher level, leaving them little chance, though they refused to surrender.

Mila attacked from the left while Clara struck from the right, confusing their opponent. Despite his superior agility, it wasn't enough to easily fend off attacks from both sides at once.

Cuts began appearing on the General's body, but he seemed unfazed, wearing a mocking smile.

With each blow he received, his muscles grew larger, and his skin turned even redder.

Despite the successive wounds, the General only grew more monstrous. The ability flowing through his veins increased his strength and brutality, making him ignore pain as if it were nothing more than a nuisance.

"Do you think you can kill me?" he roared, spinning his axe with terrifying speed.

One swing nearly hit Clara, who stumbled back. Mila tried to seize the opening and stabbed a dagger into the General's shoulder. But before she could retreat, he grabbed her brutally by the neck.

"Useless!" he shouted, crushing her neck with horrifying force.

The cracking of Mila's bones echoed through the room as he hurled her against a shelf filled with weapons. She collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

"Mila!" Clara screamed, charging forward, her fear replaced by burning rage.

The General smiled like a predator. Before Clara could strike, he spun around and hit her with the back of his axe, slamming into her stomach and sending her flying like a rag doll. Clara rolled across the floor, groaning in pain, blood dripping from her lips.

She lifted her hand, and red embers sparked to life in her palm — her rage and all her negative emotions fueling something powerful inside her.

A ball of fire formed in Clara's hand, the heat so intense it could melt iron. She aimed at her opponent.

The fireball shot forward at incredible speed, surprising the General, who instinctively raised his weapon to defend himself.

Boom!

An explosion echoed through the shop as the fireball struck the General's axe, shattering it into countless pieces, slicing and burning him slightly.

Clara couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed, unconscious. Her mind was still burning with fury, but her mana had left her disoriented and drained.

The General stood, despite his wounds. His body was resilient enough thanks to his class, which gave him bonus vitality, and he had invested most of his points there. Combined with his berserker ability, his strength and agility reached terrifying levels.

"Haha! I told you all you'd die! Hahaha!" he laughed loudly, surveying his fallen enemies and allies.

The room fell into heavy, suffocating silence.

And then… footsteps echoed.

Dean emerged from the rubble, walking slowly. His eyes, once calm, now burned with a dark intensity. Each of his movements exuded a cold, lethal aura.

He said nothing.

He didn't shout.

He didn't ask what had happened.

The sight of Clara unconscious and Mila's unmoving body was enough to ignite something deep within him. Something that had been planted inside his soul since the start of this nightmare.

The General, seeing Dean approach, laughed.

"Another one? Come, come die with your friends!"

Dean didn't respond.

In a blink, he unleashed all the power he possessed. His figure seemed to blur into the air, reappearing right in front of the General.

The General threw a punch to intercept him, but Dean dodged with supernatural precision, as if he already knew the attack before it came.

Then, with a brutal move, Dean drove a cutlass between the General's ribs, forcing him to take a step back — for the first time since the battle began.

"You will pay," Dean whispered, his voice as cold as ice.

There was no mercy in his eyes anymore.

He was no longer just a survivor.

He had become a predator.

The General, now consumed with insane rage, roared and attacked with even more ferocity, but Dean moved like a phantom, dodging and counterattacking with precise cuts. Each strike left a new mark on the General's massive body, and the physical advantage the General had begun to crumble against Dean's pure technique and rage.

The General staggered back, tasting fear for the first time in his life. Every one of his assaults was effortlessly countered or evaded.

Dean pressed forward like an unstoppable storm. His blows were fast, brutal, and accurate, slicing flesh and breaking bones as if the General were made of paper.

The General's arrogant smile vanished.

In a last act of desperation, the General picked up another axe dropped by his fallen subordinate for one final attack — but a loud crash interrupted him.

Rising from the ground was Dean's Skeletal Knight, its dark armor glinting under the broken light of the store. Its eyes, two spectral purple flames, stared at the General with inhuman coldness.

With brutal speed, the knight charged, bringing its sword down like a divine hammer.

Clang!

The General blocked the blow, but his knees buckled under the crushing force. The Skeletal Knight pushed harder, forcing the General further back, every impact cracking the ground beneath them.

"What... What the hell are you guys?!" the General shouted, coughing up blood.

Dean simply walked calmly until he stood beside his knight.

And then, the temperature dropped suddenly.

The air grew heavy, cold, and freezing.

From the midst of the ruined shop, through a mist of frost, emerged a majestic creature: a colossal white tiger, its fur shining like snow and its golden eyes sparkling like twin suns. Ice runes glowed across its body, and every step it took froze the ground beneath it.

It was the Guardian of the Ice Dungeon — now, a beast completely tamed under Dean's will.

The General fell to his knees, terror overwhelming him.

Facing Dean, his immortal knight, and the legendary tiger, the General realized he never had a chance.

"This... this is impossible..." he muttered in disbelief.

Dean didn't answer. His cold eyes were the only response needed.

At Dean's silent command, the Skeletal Knight slashed with full force, shattering the General's axe as if it were glass. Weaponless, the General tried to flee — but the White Tiger lunged at him like a frozen bolt of lightning.

With a deafening roar, the tiger sank its icy fangs into the General's arm, who screamed in agony as his flesh froze and shattered into pieces.

Dean then drew his bow, preparing his skill — he wanted to end this enemy while showing his overwhelming superiority.

"You are not worthy of mercy," Dean said, firing his ability.

"Silent Heart Arrow activated!"

The arrow shot forward, piercing straight through the General's chest, with no flashy explosion, no sound — just terrifying, pure force.

In seconds, the once-invincible man had a hole the size of a fist through his chest.

Silence.

Only the heavy breathing of Clara and Mila — still alive but wounded — and the low growl of the tiger filled the devastated store.

Dean closed his eyes briefly, controlling the fury still burning inside him.

Then he rushed over to Mila, who was struggling to breathe.

The General had crushed her throat, but she was clinging to life thanks to the vitality she had increased with her allocated points.

Dean quickly pulled out a healing potion and poured it into her mouth. As the potion touched her throat, the wounds rapidly healed, allowing her to breathe again. Though still injured and weak, her life was no longer at risk.

Next, he went over to Clara, who was unconscious but stable. With a little rest and a potion, she would be ready to fight again.

He gently brushed her hair back as he helped her drink a potion. "I'm back," he whispered in her ear. Clara's hand twitched slightly, as if she had heard him.

Looking around, he then moved to a particular spot, removing rubble and stones.

"There you are," Dean said as he pulled a large piece of debris off a person.

Leo was badly cut, broken, and battered — but he was alive.

Just like the others, Dean gave him a potion while waiting for them all to recover enough so they could find a safe place to regroup.

A fury still burned inside Dean — something that even this revenge couldn't extinguish. It was like a flame that had been ignited and was now being fed by something darker.

The Skeletal Knight stood silently by his side.

The White Tiger approached Dean and bowed its head in a gesture of respect and submission.

They were his monsters now.

And Dean... Dean was beginning to turn into something truly terrifying — something the apocalypse itself might one day fear.