CHAPTER 383: UNEXPECTED ATTACK

As the roar slowly faded, all who had heard it forced themselves to get up from wherever they’d fallen on their knees. But amidst the chaos, one person seemed to have fought his way out of the heavy presence.

His eyes burned with resolve and deep seethed hatred as he held a blue device. During the chaos, his real appearance had come to light. His hair was blue with white tips, dark blue eyes filled with malice and sharp elf-like ears. If his adoptive father was to see this, he would die out of heart attack.

Dennise Barnes, his adoptive son and once, heir to the throne of the Barnes house. He also had another identity. He was the child of one of the man’s various exploits in women. The woman was an elf-demon hybrid and Dennise was their child.

Dennise knew all of this and that was why he hated his father, his family and everyone. Why?

His father abandoned his mother when she became pregnant. If that was all, he would’ve probably assassinated the man. The man also had the guts to spill bullshit on his mother, saying she cheated, and child wasn’t his. He never sent them money, food, clothing. Nothing to survive with. His mother worked her life off to cater for them. Then one day, she fell seriously ill. Dennise did everything he could. He begged on the streets and even called his father.

The man ignored his calls for five days. When he finally answered, he threatened to kill Dennise and his mother if they ever contacted him again. Dennise was heartbroken. He couldn’t do anything.

That was when he decided to fight, join thugs. But who would’ve known that his fate would change on that day. He got into a fight in an arena not knowing his bastard father was there.

After he won his battle, he heard the bastard shouting on top of his lungs.

"That is my son! That is my boy!"

The man took him in and lied to him that he would take care of his mother. Dennise although he’d matured was still weak to this man’s cunningness and believed him.

Over the years, his life had turned for the better. He had a little stepbrother who was a failure to his father because he couldn’t awaken. After 30 tries with awakening stones, he saw his father’s emotions change towards his brother, Trevor.

That was when he remembered how he’d lived like a beggar with his mother on the streets when his father was supposedly the leader of one of the four big families at the time. He had become his father’s favorite, but he realized that it was all a play. Should he lose his power or his touch, he would be abandoned once again.

Then it happened. The day his hatred all started.

He asked of his mother and the man answered with a casual tone.

"I took care of her like I said I would."

This answer shook him to the core. What did his father mean? He wanted to ask more, but the man’s next words made him shiver in anger.

"Don’t try to even look for her. She’s in heaven... probably. Hahaha!"

Yes. He had killed his mother like he feared.

...

Dennise held the device with gritted teeth, blood flowing through his nose and ears as he fought to withstand the pressure on him. He didn’t know what was going on, nor did he care. Even he died, he would destroy the Barnes family. He knew his father was still alive due to his stepbrother’s mercy, but not anymore. The Barnes family would be erased. Any casualty apart from the Barnes was just bonus.

His hatred and anger had pushed him to become a psychopath.

"Send them in! All of them! Now!" He shouted into the device as he finally fell on the ground out of exhaustion. Even if he died, he would take them all with him, or that’s what he thought.

’Let’s see how you protect people when the enemies are already in the barrier.’ He thought as he passed out from exhaustion.

...

The heavy, suffocating presence had finally lifted, and for a fleeting moment, everyone dared to breathe again. The world, still trembling from what had just occurred, seemed to begin settling into silence. Soldiers, citizens, hunters—all were slowly returning to themselves, hearts pounding in their chests as though they’d survived the brush of some divine catastrophe.

But fate wasn’t done with them yet.

ROARRRRR!

The new sound ripped across the land like a serrated blade through silence. It wasn’t the overwhelming, cosmic roar from before—it was weaker, closer, and far more tangible. The kind of roar that didn’t announce destiny, but death.

The ground lurched violently, fissures cracking through stone and steel. The AI systems embedded throughout the Empire flared to life, emergency red codes filling every screen, billboard, and holo-display. One name blazed in blinding letters:

[EX-CLASS BEAST DETECTED]

The streets froze. Panic surged. The declaration echoed louder than the roar itself.

An EX-Class beast.

The words were enough to drain the color from even the bravest faces. Everyone knew the weight of that title. The Empire’s records held only three confirmed EX-Class beasts, and all three had long since been subdued—caged, dismantled, or stripped into cybernetic husks. Yet here it was again, an impossible nightmare roaring in their very skies.

Only... the truth was harsher than they could imagine. None of those beasts were truly alive anymore. Not when Trevor, Lamair, and the others had long since reduced the originals to little more than legends. Compared to the true apex predators that once stalked the world, these cybernetic mockeries were shadows—imitations at best.

But the people didn’t know that. They only saw the title. They only felt the earth shake. And fear consumed them.

Dennise stood among the terrified masses, his throat dry, his breath shallow. He had never faced anything beyond a Diamond-rank beast, and yet even those encounters had nearly taken his life. To him, an EX-Class was something beyond comprehension—a living apocalypse.

And still, there was something far worse about them than brute force.

The AI systems screamed again, as if to remind them:

[CAUTION: EX-CLASS PROTOCOLS DETECTED — HACKING SIGNATURE ACTIVE]

That was what made these beasts truly monstrous. They weren’t just engines of destruction—they were predators of the modern age. Hackers. Imitators. Monsters that could mimic anything down to the atomic level. Steel, flesh, circuits, blood—it made no difference. To face one was to face yourself, your allies, your weapons... turned against you.

And then came the most chilling sound of all.

More roars.

Dozens. Hundreds. Rising in a cacophony that bled through the air.

At first, Dennise thought they were outside the barrier—distant enough for safety. But then the ground shuddered again, and a ripple tore through the protective dome overhead. Cracks spidered across the barrier, then fractured entirely as guttural howls and cries reverberated from within.

The AI confirmed the nightmare with merciless clarity:

[WARNING: BEAST SIGNATURES DETECTED INSIDE THE BARRIER]

The impossible had already happened. The EX-Class beast hadn’t come alone. It had hacked its way through the Empire’s last line of defense.

The beasts were already inside.

And the hunt had begun.

...

The alarms didn’t stop. Red warnings bled across every screen, overlapping each other until the Empire’s AI system stuttered under its own panic. The cacophony of sirens drowned out rational thought. Soldiers scrambled in every direction, their armored boots pounding against trembling ground.

No one could see it yet. That was the worst part. The beast’s roar had been close, but not close enough to show its face. It stalked the shadows of the barrier, somewhere just beyond the cracks in their vision. The absence of its form made it all the more unbearable.

"WHERE IS IT?" someone screamed, his voice cracking.

Another voice shouted back, "Shut up! It could be anywhere!"

Erwin clutched his rifle tight enough that his knuckles turned white. His HUD kept flashing ERROR every time it tried to scan the perimeter. The system had been hacked, no question about it. He couldn’t even trust his own visor anymore.

A low, bone-deep growl rumbled across the streets, vibrating through concrete and steel. It was not a sound meant for ears—it was meant for nerves. Every man, woman, and child felt it in their bones. Something was moving. Something massive.

Shadows warped on the walls, shifting against the light in ways they shouldn’t. People stumbled backward, clutching at one another, too afraid to blink.

Then the cries of beasts began. Not one. Not two. But dozens, then hundreds, echoing in every direction. The barrier had been compromised beyond repair, and now the city was a hunting ground.

Erwin’s heart stopped when he realized the truth. The beasts weren’t outside, clawing to get in.

They were already here.

Inside the streets.Inside the alleys.Inside the homes.

And wherever the EX-Class beast was, it was moving among them unseen, waiting to strike.