Ethan didn't say a word. He just clenched his fists and focused, channeling every last ounce of power within him—then unleashed it all in one explosive surge.

With a sharp whoosh, the energy of the Sacred Realm burst forth, radiating outward in a blinding wave that engulfed Virelgar completely.

And the moment that happened—

All the other creatures living in The Veilmarsh—beasts, monsters, and sentient races alike—froze in shock. Their eyes widened, their bodies trembled, and disbelief spread like wildfire.

"No way! He actually mastered the power of the Venom Law?!"

"What the hell?! That's insane! How did he pull that off? He had nothing before this!"

"Holy shit… This guy's a monster. He awakened Venom Law mid-battle? That's suicide! One wrong move and he'd be dead! But he actually pulled it off…"

"This changes everything. With control over the Venom Law's magic particles, he's basically got the Sovereign of Venoms by the throat… There's no way he can lose now!"

The murmurs turned into a storm of panic and awe. All across The Veilmarsh, chaos erupted. Toxic mists and venomous energy surged toward Ethan, drawn to him like moths to a flame, fusing into his body.

There was no doubt about it—

He had fully mastered the Venom Law.

But that wasn't even the most terrifying part.

The Veilmarsh was home to countless venom-based creatures—many of them low-tier, but all of them governed by the brutal law of survival of the fittest. And now that someone had emerged who could control the Venom Law itself…

They recognized him as their new master.

In droves, they began to gather—low-tier, mid-tier, even high-tier and elite-tier beasts, all converging on Ethan's location. Within minutes, the area was swarming with creatures of every shape and size.

Some of them… were even S-class and above—legendary monsters that rarely showed themselves.

"Damn it! What the hell is this?! How can you control the Venom Law?!" Virelgar roared, his face twisted with rage and disbelief. But deep down, he knew—

This was real.

This was happening.

And with that realization came something else: fear.

Just moments ago, he'd had the upper hand. Now? The tables had turned completely. If this kept going…

He might actually die here.

That thought hit him like a punch to the gut.

Instinctively, he turned to flee.

But—

Just as he tried to escape, Ethan moved.

The Sacred Realm's power surged again, locking the entire area down like a cage of divine energy. Virelgar was trapped.

"Run? Where do you think you're going?" Ethan said coldly, his voice laced with mockery.

"Don't push me!" Virelgar snarled, his face contorted with fury and desperation.

But before he could do anything—

Boom!

A violent ripple of spatial energy exploded in front of him. Ethan had struck without warning, catching him completely off guard. A spear of raw power tore through Virelgar's chest, pinning him to the ground like a nailed-down corpse.

The earth trembled beneath the impact.

"You think I pushed you?" Ethan said, his tone flat, almost bored. "Sorry, but you're out of time."

He exhaled slowly, finally letting himself relax.

It was over.

He'd won.

Barely.

God, that was close.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

All around him, the creatures of The Veilmarsh—those venomous beasts and monstrous soldiers—began to drop to their knees, one after another, bowing their heads to Ethan in absolute submission.

But Ethan didn't even glance at them.

He wasn't in the mood to play king of the monsters or collect followers.

Instead, without wasting a second, he reached down and absorbed Virelgar's Primordial Force, then turned and rushed into the cave.

Inside, he moved quickly, channeling the newly acquired energy with precision—and almost immediately, Elira's condition, which had been rapidly deteriorating, began to reverse course. Her body responded like it had been waiting for this exact antidote.

"Looks like mastering the Venom Law really did the trick," Ethan muttered to himself. "Using that bastard's Primordial Force as a cure… might actually save Elira."

He kept working, guiding the energy through her system, neutralizing the venom that had nearly killed her. And before long, her eyes fluttered open.

"My Lord… thank you… for saving me," she said weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Just moments ago, she'd been sure she was going to die. She'd already accepted it. But somehow, she'd made it through.

"Good. You're awake. Focus on recovering now," Ethan said with a small smile. "I've purged the venom from your system. With your strength, you should be fine from here. But Elira… what the hell happened?"

Elira shook her head, her expression darkening. "I discovered I could absorb the Venom Law's power here, so I brought Seraphina with me. But we were ambushed. I didn't even see it coming. One moment of distraction… and I was down."

"Ambushed? By who?" Ethan's eyes narrowed. Just as he suspected.

"I don't know…" she said, her voice cold. "It happened so fast. I never saw their face. I couldn't stop it."

"I see…" Ethan frowned, frustrated. Without a name or a face, there was nothing to go on.

"Whoever it was… they'll show themselves eventually," he said, trying to reassure her. "When they do, we'll deal with it then."

Elira nodded silently, accepting that for now, there was nothing more they could do.

Their attention shifted to Seraphina, who was still deep in the process of absorbing the Venom Law's energy. Her body glowed faintly, surrounded by swirling venomous mist, her aura growing stronger by the second.

"Elira, how long is she going to be like this?" Ethan asked.

"I'm not sure…" Elira replied, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. "It depends on her. But breaking through to SSS-rank, becoming a Crimson Ultimate Hero… that's not something that happens overnight."

"So it could take a while?"

"Yeah. I'd say a long while."

Ethan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. That meant they'd have to stay here and wait. He couldn't just leave Seraphina unprotected—not when she was this vulnerable.

But then Elira spoke up again.

"If you don't want to stay here the whole time, you don't have to," she said calmly. "One of the Primordial Force orbs you absorbed back in The Dark World had a spatial attribute."

"You can leave a bit of your power here to guard her, and mark this place with a spatial imprint. If anything goes wrong, you'll be able to teleport back instantly."

"And not just you—I can do the same."

Ethan hesitated. "You sure that'll work?"

"Relax. It's not a big deal," Elira said, raising her hand. She released a series of glowing energy points into the cave, each one embedding itself into the walls like tiny stars. Then she turned and walked toward the exit.

Watching her, Ethan replayed her movements in his mind, then mimicked the process. Soon, he felt the spatial imprint settle into place—like a tether connecting him to this exact spot.

He focused on the sensation, testing it.

"Yeah… it works," he murmured, finally feeling at ease.

With that, he turned and stepped out of the cave.

But the moment he did, his eyes narrowed.

Outside, Elira was already standing off against something massive—a towering, nightmarish creature floating in the sky. A giant octopus-like monster, its tentacles writhing through the air like living shadows.

Ethan's expression darkened.

He recognized it.

It was the same creature that had ambushed him when he first entered The Veilmarsh—the one that had tried to strangle him with its tentacles.

And now, up close, he could feel it—this thing was even stronger than Virelgar had been.

Way stronger.

A serious threat.

"Where is Virelgar?" the creature boomed, its voice echoing like thunder across the marsh. "Bring him to me!"

The sheer pressure of its presence made the air tremble. Everyone nearby froze.

Then, a few of the wild monsters rushed forward, bowing low.

"Great Bathorax! You've finally come! Please, save us! Virelgar is dead—he was killed by those outsiders!"

"Is that so?" the massive creature—Bathorax—shuddered, its body rippling with fury.

BOOM. BOOM.

The sky cracked with the force of his rage, and then his gaze locked onto Ethan.

And just like that, the pressure intensified tenfold.

A crushing, suffocating force blanketed the entire area, as if the world itself was about to collapse.

"So it was you…"

"You slipped away last time. But this time, you won't be so lucky."

"Come. Face your judgment."

"Let me show you what death really feels like."

...