Chapter 31: The Battle That Forced Him to Evolve

Adrian had turned the waterfall area into a real training ground, fighting two opponents at the same time—the Bemor and the beast inside him.

While Adrian was deep in the battle, he suddenly noticed a huge ripple in the water. The wave was much larger than the ones caused by the other Bemors, and the sound immediately caught Adrian's attention.

Suddenly, a giant Bemor emerged from the water. Its appearance was completely different from the others. It was enormous, with long ears that reached its shoulders, and its body was blue. But its eyes were not like those of the other Bemors. They looked strangely similar to human eyes.

The Bemor fixed its eyes on Adrian and began watching him closely. At that moment, Adrian felt a shiver run through his body. There was something different about this Bemor, as if it possessed a mind far more intelligent than the others.

The Bemor took its first step toward Adrian, and the other Bemors immediately moved out of its way as if they were afraid to get near it. Then it took another step. With every step it took, the other Bemors moved farther away, while it continued staring directly at Adrian without looking away.

Adrian planted his feet firmly on the ground and pulled the Flagerum from around his arm, preparing to attack. The blue Bemor continued staring at him without blinking. Its gaze was different. It was not the look of a beast searching for prey, but the look of a fighter studying his opponent.

Suddenly, it moved at incredible speed. It was so fast that Adrian barely noticed it coming.

Adrian's eyes widened. "Fast!"

He had only a fraction of a second to react. He quickly turned his body and swung the Flagerum toward the source of the danger.

But the Bemor caught all seven leather straps at once.

The beast pulled the weapon toward itself with tremendous force, dragging Adrian along with it. Adrian slid across the ground until he was pulled directly in front of the beast.

At the same moment, the Bemor grabbed Adrian's wrist—the one holding the handle of the Flagerum.

Adrian tried to pull his arm free, but the beast's grip was incredibly strong. He raised his knee and struck the Bemor in the stomach, but the beast did not move.

Adrian then tried to punch it in the face, but the Bemor grabbed his other hand as well. Both of Adrian's arms were now completely restrained.

Adrian gritted his teeth and pushed with all his strength. The veins in his arms and neck bulged as the ground beneath his feet began to crack from the pressure, but the Bemor did not move even a step.

Instead, it slowly tightened its grip on Adrian's arms until he could hear his joints creaking. Its grip became even stronger, and then the beast slowly forced his arms downward until Adrian was forced to bend forward.

Adrian raised his head with difficulty and found the Bemor's eyes directly in front of him. There was no anger or savagery in them. Only a terrifying calm, as if the beast already knew that Adrian had no way to escape.

Suddenly, the Bemor pulled its head back and slammed it forward with all its strength.

BAAM!

Its forehead crashed into Adrian's with tremendous force. Blood sprayed into the air as the ground shook beneath them.

Adrian's strength began to fade. His body leaned forward, and his vision became blurry again. He staggered for a moment, but before he could fall, the Bemor lifted him off the ground with ease, as if he weighed no more than a child.

Adrian struggled to stay conscious while the Bemor still held both of his wrists.

Adrian tried to regain his focus. His vision was still blurry, and a sharp ringing filled his ears, but he refused to give up. He let out an angry breath, and the black aura around his body erupted once again.

With a sudden burst of strength, Adrian pulled his arms backward, trying to break free. But the Bemor didn't loosen its grip even slightly. Instead, its fingers tightened around Adrian's wrists and dug deeper into his skin. Then it lifted him into the air and slammed him into the ground with tremendous force.

The dirt and rocks beneath Adrian's back shattered, sending a thick cloud of dust into the air. Before he could catch his breath, the Bemor lifted him again and slammed him down.

Then came a second blow, a third, and a fourth. The Bemor kept throwing Adrian from one side to another until the ground was filled with craters, his body crashing against rocks with every impact. Finally, the Bemor grabbed him and threw him with all its strength. Adrian flew dozens of meters through the air, smashing through several trees before crashing into a huge boulder, splitting it in half from the force of the impact.

Adrian dropped to his knees, coughing violently as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He slowly raised his head and saw the blue Bemor walking toward him with steady steps. Every step shook the ground, and the closer it came, the heavier the pressure in Adrian's chest became.

Adrian grabbed a handful of dirt and smiled despite the blood covering his face.

"So that's it..." he said between breaths. "This is what I've been looking for."

He raised his head and stared directly into the monster's eyes. Then he slowly stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

At that moment, the black aura began rising from his body again. But this time, it wasn't unstable like before. It was calmer and much denser.

Adrian no longer saw the Bemor as just an enemy trying to kill him. He saw it as the key to mastering the power inside him.

The blue Bemor stopped walking and silently watched Adrian. The black aura slowly wrapped around his body, but instead of moving wildly, it gradually began to settle, as if it was starting to respond to his will.

Adrian gave a faint smile as he breathed heavily.

"Finally... I've found an opponent who can force me to evolve."

Then he disappeared from his spot.

The ground exploded beneath his feet, and he appeared in front of the Bemor in an instant, his fist shooting straight toward the monster's face.

But the Bemor raised its arm and blocked the punch.

A massive impact echoed through the area, and a shockwave knocked down the nearby trees. The monster's feet slid half a meter backward.

For the first time... the Bemor had moved.

Adrian smiled.

"So... I can hurt you now."

But the Bemor didn't give him a chance to finish.

It disappeared as well.

The next moment, it appeared behind Adrian. Adrian turned around quickly, but he wasn't fast enough. The monster's fist slammed into his stomach.

Adrian's eyes widened as his body bent from the impact before he was launched backward like a cannonball. However, he managed to plant his feet against the trunk of another tree before falling.

He pushed off with all his strength and charged forward again.

The two met in the middle of the battlefield, and their attacks began clashing at incredible speed. A punch met a punch, a kick collided with an arm, and an elbow crashed against a fist. The force of their impacts was enough to uproot the surrounding trees until the entire area gradually became a barren field.

Suddenly, the Bemor took advantage of Adrian's approach. It grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer before driving its knee into his stomach with all its strength.

The impact forced all the air from Adrian's lungs.

Before he could fall, the Bemor spun around and struck him across the face with the back of its fist. Adrian's body spun through the air several times.

But Adrian suddenly released the Flagerum.

The seven whips shot forward and wrapped tightly around the Bemor's neck.

Adrian smiled despite the pain and pulled the weapon with all his strength.

But the monster didn't move.

Anger burned inside Adrian, and a dense black aura appeared around his eyes. He charged toward the Bemor while the Flagerum remained tightly wrapped around its neck, then began delivering powerful punches to its face, trying to weaken it.

Adrian kept attacking until the Bemor's resistance began to weaken.

When he felt the right moment, he pulled the Flagerum with everything he had.

In an instant, Adrian managed to tear the Bemor's head from its body.

The massive body collapsed onto the ground with a heavy crash, while Adrian remained standing with its head in his hand before throwing it away.

A brief silence filled the area, leaving only the sound of the waterfall.

Adrian stood on one of the trees, breathing heavily as the black aura around him slowly faded. He lowered his eyes toward the water and saw the gates reflected on its surface, still trembling. Every few seconds, another Bemor emerged from them, as if the death of one of their kind meant nothing to the others.

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"So... they won't stop."

He continued watching the waterfall for a few moments, trying to think of a way to close those gates. His eyes moved from the surface of the water to the upper part of the waterfall.

"Even if I stop the flow of water, the pool will remain full. Those gates will keep producing Bemors until all the water evaporates."

He sighed and shook his head.

"No... wasting my time here won't help."

Adrian turned on the tree branch and quickly jumped from one tree to another, heading toward the place where he had left Dan and the old man.

As he moved between the branches, his ears caught sounds coming from below. He stopped on a thick branch, then slowly leaned forward and looked through the leaves.

His eyes widened.

Dan and the old man were surrounded by a large number of Nerathion soldiers. Standing at the front was Faldrin.

Adrian gripped the tree trunk so tightly that the bark cracked beneath his fingers.

"Damn it... They caught them."

He remained hidden among the branches, silently watching what was happening below.

Faldrin looked at the old man and Dan with cold eyes before speaking.

"For the last time... Where is Adrian?"

The old man swallowed nervously before answering in a trembling voice.

"We already told you... He went to get some water and told us to hide in the trees."

Adrian looked up at the sky. The sun was already approaching the horizon, and the orange light of sunset was beginning to appear between the treetops.

"Not much longer... And once it gets dark..."

But suddenly, Adrian felt the black aura around him beginning to weaken.

He looked at his hand and watched the energy slowly disappear.

"If I don't fight... this power will disappear again."

At that exact moment, his eyes fell on Dan and the old man standing at Faldrin's mercy.

Anger suddenly surged through Adrian's chest.

The black aura began rising around his body again on its own, as if it were responding to his anger.

Below, Faldrin turned toward his soldiers and spoke firmly.

"Half of you, spread out to the east. The rest go west. Search every inch of this area."

He paused before continuing.

"But no one goes near the river. If you encounter a Bemor, kill it quietly. I don't want you attracting the rest of the herd."

The soldiers bowed respectfully before spreading out among the trees. Their footsteps gradually disappeared into the distance.

Adrian watched them from above.

After several minutes, only Faldrin, Dan, and the old man remained in the area.

Adrian smiled confidently.

"This is my chance. If I can take Faldrin down quickly, I can get them out before the soldiers return."

He waited patiently until the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon and darkness began spreading between the trees.

Adrian took a deep breath.

Then he jumped down from the tree and landed directly in front of Faldrin, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Adrian slowly raised his head and spoke in a calm voice, but the anger in his words was obvious.

"That's enough, Faldrin. Leave my family alone."

Faldrin didn't turn toward him immediately. Instead, he let out a short, mocking laugh.

The next moment, soldiers emerged from between the trees from every direction. Dozens of swords were raised at the same time, and Adrian found himself surrounded by a tight circle of soldiers.

Adrian slowly turned his head, looking at them one by one.

Faldrin fixed his eyes on him.

"Just as I expected... You've been watching us from the beginning. Sending the soldiers away was nothing more than bait. I knew you wouldn't leave them behind."

Adrian gave him a cold smile.

"You've always been a smart man, Faldrin."

Faldrin slowly shook his head.

"No... I've only recently realized that I was the biggest fool in this world."

Silence fell for a moment.

Then his eyes landed on the black aura surrounding Adrian.

"It seems you've started to control that power."

Adrian clenched his fist.

"Not completely... but it's responding to my commands more than before."

He raised his head and looked directly at Faldrin.

"And don't forget... the Adrian you left chained in that mountain is dead."

His eyes narrowed.

"The one standing before you now... is much stronger."

A heavy silence fell between them. No one moved. Everyone simply watched Adrian and Faldrin, waiting for the moment the battle would begin.