The beast entered into a more terrifying phase then. It was the Demonic Berserk Phase. The demonic bear roared. It was no longer the same roar as before. This time, the sound carried madness, pain, fury, and desperation fused altogether. The dark red aura surrounding its massive body flared violently, thickening and becoming denser, like burning blood. Veins bulged beneath its hide, glowing faintly as its life force was forcefully dragged out and burned.
This was a state where demonic beasts entered only when they stood on the brink of death.
By burning its own lifeforce, it gained strength far beyond its limits for a short time. But it was only for a few breaths.
Kerus felt it instantly. "The pressure doubled. No...tripled."
"…So, it chose this," Kerus muttered.
His breathing grew rougher. Blood dripped steadily from the corner of his lips, soaking into his already torn robe. His body screamed in pain. He had only just stepped into this Qi Gathering Realm, but his foundation was still unstable, his meridians still adjusting. Fighting continuously under these conditions was already madness.
And now this beast had become something even worse.
"With my current realm… this is almost impossible." Kerus clenched his teeth
In the Murim world, technique alone did not decide victory.
A sword art in the hands of a Martial Emperor could split mountains. But the same sword art, used by a Qi Gathering disciple, might not even scratch it.
Kerus knew this better than anyone else.
No matter how profound Ninefold Void-Opening Slice was, the power it carried depended on the cultivator using it.
And right now his body was failing. Yet his eyes remained calm.
"Desperation is useless," he told himself.
"A calm mind… that is the first step to survival."
The demonic bear charged.
The ground exploded beneath its feet.
Kerus moved at the same instant.
He dashed forward instead of retreating.
His sword flashed.
"Ninefold Void-Opening Slice!"
Nine overlapping slashes tore through the air, converging toward a single point. Space distorted slightly as the void-aligned blade intent pierced forward.
The bear roared as the slashes struck its body.
Blood sprayed.
Deep wounds carved themselves across its chest and shoulders, but they were not enough.
The berserk aura flared violently, sealing flesh with brute force. Pain only drove the beast further into madness.
Again.
And again.
Kerus unleashed the technique repeatedly.
His sword screamed as his arms trembled from the recoil. His breathing turned ragged. Each strike drained not only qi, but will.
The battle turned brutal.
No elegance. No mercy. Only survival. Claw met blade. Fang met flesh.
The demonic bear swung its massive claws relentlessly. Each strike carried fatal force. Kerus dodged narrowly, parried desperately, rolled across the ground, and leapt through shattered trees.
Blood fell like rain.
From both of them.
Time blurred.
Breath after breath.
Kerus felt his strength slipping away.
His steps grew heavier, and his reactions slowed.
His sword felt like it weighed a thousand jin.
"…If I can just hold it for a few more breaths…" he murmured between labored breaths, narrowly evading a claw that shattered a boulder behind him. "…I could do something."
But the beast refused to slow.
If anything, it became faster.
Its berserk phase pushed it beyond reason.
Another blow grazed Kerus's side.
Pain exploded.
His vision shook.
Blood soaked his robe completely now, turning it dark red. His hands trembled violently.
Yet the beast was also wounded.
Its breathing was uneven. Blood streamed down its body. Its movements, though fierce, were losing coordination.
"One clean blow," Kerus thought desperately. "Just one… precise strike…"
But his body betrayed him.
His legs buckled slightly as he landed.
The demonic bear seized the opening.
It raised his claw.
Aura condensed violently around it.
A killing strike. Maybe a final blow.
Kerus's instincts screamed.
He tried to move fast, but his body refused.
"…So, this is it," he thought calmly. "This… is my final moment."
The claw was landing.
At that instant...
Everything stopped.
The wind froze.
Leaves hung motionless in midair.
Blood droplets suspended like crimson beads.
The bear's claw halted a hair's breadth from Kerus's face.
"…What?" Kerus's pupils shrank.
His heartbeat slowed unnaturally.
"What is happening?" he thought.
"Why… has everything stopped?" His surroundings lost color.
Black and white replaced the forest.
No sound like time itself had been severed.
"…Am I dead again?"
Before he could think further...
A light appeared to his side.
Silver.
Pure.
Cold yet warm.
Kerus turned his head sharply.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
Floating at the same height...
It was a mask.
An ancient silver mask, engraved with strange runes, emitting a calm, overwhelming radiance.
"…Impossible," Kerus whispered soundlessly. "The same mask."
The mask he had found in the ruins of Ancient Myriad Forest.
The mask that had led to his death.
Before he could react, a tiny fragment cracked off from the mask.
It floated toward him.
As it reached his face, it shattered into countless dust-like particles and flowed directly into his body.
His consciousness trembled.
A single word appeared in his mind, as if someone was transferring a technique to him.
Then, before him, a single word appeared.
"GRAVITY."
The word pulsed once.
Then shattered like glass.
Kerus saw the word and said it...
Then time resumed like before.
It happened so fast that he couldn't even react or adapt.
Then everything was back to normal, leaves were falling, and winds were blowing.
But one thing had changed.
The demonic beast...
It was no longer standing before him. Its massive body lay crushed against the ground.
Flattened.
Its massive body pressed into the earth as if an invisible mountain had fallen upon it. Bones snapped audibly. Blood burst from its mouth and wounds.
The ground around it had also collapsed into a circular crater. Stones were embedded deep into the soil.
Absolute suppression.
Kerus staggered backward in shock.
"…Gravity?" he thought instantly.
His chest heaved violently. That was not a normal qi manipulation. That was not a technique he knew. That was authority.
But there was no time to think more.
The beast was still alive.
Barely.
Kerus snapped out and gritted his teeth, forcing his trembling body forward.
"Now," he said quietly, raising his sword. "I have the chance to send you into eternal sleep."
He gathered every remaining thread of qi and hummed his sword.
"Ninefold Void-Opening Slice."
This time, he aimed precisely at the beast's neck without any mistake.
The blade passed through the beast's neck.
Clean.
Decisive.
The demonic bear's head was severed from its body then.
And finally, it died.
Its body dissolved into thick black fog, dispersing into the air as if it had never existed.
Only a red crimson core remained on the shattered ground, pulsing faintly.
Silence returned to the forest.
Kerus collapsed to one knee. Supported by the crippled blade.
His breathing was shallow, and pain flooded his senses.
But he was alive, and that was all that mattered. Next..
"…What just happened?" he murmured.
His gaze fell to his worn hands.
"Gravity..."
The word echoed faintly in his mind. He had a suspicion but...
Before he could confirm his suspicions, a voice came from a far distance...