The figure was enormous, just as big as the previously standing Gold Runed Rapax had been, and yet somehow far heavier.

Standing at four meters tall and with a body covered in hair and beast skin, he looked like a goliath straight from biblical tales. His waist was as wide as a barrel, his arms as thick as legs and his legs as thick as pythons.

He was covered in hair from head to toe, down to his legs and arms, and most definitely his chest and torso. His hair was a wild mane of white and his beard followed suit. But, what was the most shocking was the fact his eyes were nothing but orbs of white

Immediately, everyone understood.

Variant Invalid.

The Variant Invalid took a breath and it suddenly felt as though all the air in the surroundings had surged toward it. Some of the weaker youths were forced to grab a hold of something before they were inadvertently sent flying toward what was clearly an enemy.

The Variant Invalid exhaled and patted its torso. However, the sound was a lot more like metal crashing against metal than flesh meeting flesh.

"This air smells like shit. How do you Rapax live here, have a little sense of pride. Ah, fuck it."

The Variant Invalid took another large sniff and its head finally locked in a particular direction before a wide, white smile plastered itself across its face. At that moment, the Variant Invalids white hair and beard looked almost ethereal. If one wanted to depict a perfect representation of Zeus, maybe there would be no one better than it.

"Excellent. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT!!"

The booming voice of the Variant Invalid caused the cavern to rumble.

"My Queen! My Blood Sovereign! I have finally found you!"

The uproarious laughter of the Variant Invalid rocked the cavern, its gaze of wild lust locked onto Aina and refusing to move to another place.

In that moment, Aina seemed to be plunged back into a well of memories she wanted nothing more than to forget. That familiar feeling of weakness and helplessness, when her life hung in the balance and yet she could do nothing to take control of it It all came back.

However, this Aina was no longer the Aina of back then. That crippling feeling of fear and apprehension suddenly became nothing more than an unfettered rage.

Almost the instant the Variant Invalid had laid eyes on her, her hair began to billow in the winds, her canines growing another length as even the dark, black tattoos that covered her body gained themselves a tinge of crimson.

Her battle ax trembled, a crimson light wafting from it. She and it wanted nothing more than to hack this bastard before them to shreds.

At that moment, hearing the words the Variant Invalid spoke, Leonel's gaze slowly looked up from the Gold Runed Rapax. All that had been left of it was its head, its tongue still hanging out as though to freeze its feelings of excitement in its final moments, only for it to be robbed away.

"You may call me the Steel Beast Master! Come, tell me, my Queen. What is your name?! Our offspring will be legendary!"

BOOM!

The laughing of the Variant Invalid suddenly came to a grinding halt, its body shooting out like a speeding bullet. One would have thought that it weighed no more than a feather would instead of being heavy enough to crush a Rapax to death given its outgoing speed. And yet, reality was right before them all now.

Leonel hadn't moved a single inch, but his Scarlet Star Phoenix most definitely had, sending another barreling beam of Scarlet Star Force right into the chest of the so-called Steel Beast Master.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Steel Beast Master crashed into the walls, surging out into the tide of green liquids once again.

Leonel stared into the distance, his gaze lowering down to the Rapax once more. The green waters around it lapped at its body, beginning to dissolve it already. Soon, the Rapax would become much like its Ancestors before it, completing the cycle and becoming the nurturing liquid of future generations.

Leonel watched this scene silently, not saying a word and not moving in the slightest.

The human experience wasn't all he wanted to capture. He had Oryx beneath his wings now and how easy would it have been for him to dehumanize them? There were countless lived experiences in a place as large as the universe, who was he to decide which ones mattered more than the other.

'I'll make sure no one touches your junior.'

BANG!

In that moment, another hole in the wall shattered and a familiar enormous figure landed heavily on the ground. Its chest was charred and the white hairs in the area were entirely singed. In some areas, wounds as deep as bone lay. But, just as quickly as they had appeared, layers of skin and cracked bone fell to be replaced by a healthier, stouter flesh.

Leonel's head raised again. In the blink of an eye, the Steel Beast Master had closed the distance, standing over the dissolved corpse of the Gold Runed Rapax and towering over Leonel.

"You have!"

BANG!

The Variant Invalid was sent flying once more. However, this time, before it could crash through the walls, Leonel's figure had flickered and vanished, appearing above its head.

SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING! SHIIING!

Leonel reinforced his Spear Force, controlling his phoenix to flood into his spear and fuse it until it glowed a fierce red gold color that radiated enough heat to burn a person to ash.

He swung down, his momentum not falling even the slightest bit.

The expression of the Steel Beast Master warped. One of its behemoth sized legs kicked at the air, causing a strong wind pressure to knock it to the side. However, it was still too slow.

PCHU!

All the defenses in the world couldn't save its arm.

The limb flew and spiral through the air, a spurt of blood following its trajectory as the Steel Beast Master crashed heavily to the ground.

Leonel landed as light as a feather, his soft steps ringing out as his Crown and Halo continued to glow.