"You will end this time."

Crowne immediately raised his hand, activating communication with the other beasts still fighting in the distance. "Beast Golem, listen to me! Use your strength! Seal this area completely, don't let even a drop of water get in!"

A second later, a rumbling sound echoed. The ground beneath the sand began to shake violently. Within seconds, massive pillars of earth emerged, curving upward to form walls. Those pillars fused together, creating a huge dome of stone that enclosed the entire battlefield between Crowne and the sea monster he was fighting.

The seawater that had been flowing violently stopped. It could no longer penetrate the barrier. The pressure inside changed drastically, and the air trembled due to the magical energy locked within that chamber.

Crowne stood in the center of the dome, staring at the monster that now looked restless. The creature's skin was beginning to dry out.

"How about now?" Crowne asked mockingly.

The monster roared loudly, shaking the entire dome. The tentacles on its back struck the earthen walls, leaving large cracks, but not enough to break through. The walls repaired themselves immediately. As long as Beast Golem was still alive, it was pointless.

Crowne lifted his Dwarfwood Chainblade. Mana spun fiercely around his body, forming sharp winds that danced in the air.

"Now, let's finish this… without your pathetic advantage."

The monster roared again and attacked first. Its movements were fast. Three massive tentacles struck toward Crowne at once. Crowne spun backward, then jumped into the air, narrowly dodging. From his position above, he spun his weapon, creating a spiraling gust of wind.

"Wind Step Slash!"

Three rotating wind slashes launched from different directions and sliced through the tentacles in one attack. Pieces of flesh fell, and blood flowed across the dome's floor.

The monster screamed and retreated, but this time its wounds did not heal as fast as before. The torn flesh only closed a little, then dried up.

Crowne landed with one knee touching the ground, then dashed forward again.

"Just as I thought! You really are finished this time."

He quickly began his assault.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Attack after attack was unleashed. Crowne slashed swiftly from all directions, utilizing the short burst of speed from Wind Step Slash. Each time he vanished, new wounds appeared on the monster's body.

The monster screamed in agony, its tentacles flailing wildly, but Crowne was too fast. In an instant, he was already behind it again.

Crowne channeled all his remaining mana into his blade. The air vibrated, and sparks of light swirled around him.

"This is the end of everything."

But before he could unleash the final blow, his head suddenly throbbed with pain. His vision turned blurry, and he almost fell.

Still, he forced himself to move.

"Wind Step Slash!"

"Strom Cleaver!"

Crowne's body vanished in a single flash of light. In less than a second, dozens of slashing trails crossed the air. None could be seen with the naked eye.

Swoosh!

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

The monster's body trembled violently. Silently, its body parts began to split one after another. Tentacles, chest, shoulders, neck—all were sliced clean.

Blood gushed from its massive body. It tried to heal, but the regeneration was extremely slow.

The monster crawled toward the wall of the dome, trying to break through with the last of its strength.

"Grrrrraaaaahhh!!!"

It fired a laser toward the earthen wall, but it failed.

Crowne looked at it expressionlessly. "Useless," he said.

The monster slammed the wall hard, but nothing happened. No water flowed, no regeneration. It screamed one final time before its body stopped moving.

"My mission ends here," said Crowne.

He lifted his sword and began slashing the monster's body repeatedly until it was cut into dozens of small pieces.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

One by one, he stomped on the remains until they were completely crushed. He took the monster's heart and stored it inside his inventory.

"This will be my meal later," he said.

The dome slowly opened, the ground shifting back down. Sunlight broke through and illuminated the blood-soaked surface.

Crowne raised his hand, summoning his beasts back. "Good work, everyone. Rest now."

All of his beasts returned to their new home. Some small monsters still on the shore saw their leader dead and immediately retreated back into the sea.

Crowne smiled faintly. "Mission complete."

Moments later, applause came from the soldiers on night duty. They looked relieved after seeing what Crowne had done.

"On behalf of everyone," one of the soldiers bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your help."

Crowne only nodded slightly. "Yeah," he replied, glancing toward the sea.

**

That night, Crowne stayed again at the old man's house. He woke up when it was already late morning. As he stepped out of the room, he saw a sad expression on one of the old man's wives.

Crowne tilted his head. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The woman turned toward him. "Someone was killed at the beach," she answered.

Crowne was startled when he heard that. "Take me there!" he demanded.

The woman nodded, and they quickly went to the place where the bodies were found.

When they arrived, Crowne's eyes widened. He swallowed hard at the sight of the corpses.

Their bodies were torn apart, and some parts were missing. Not just one body, but three corpses inside a small boat.

"What happened to them?" Crowne asked.

The old man standing nearby looked at him. "I don't know, but it seems they were attacked by a monster."

"Huh?" Crowne was shocked by that answer. "I already defeated it last night. How can this still happen?"

The old man shrugged. "I don't know. This is just an early assumption since there's no proof yet. But one thing is certain…" he sighed softly. "They were a group sent to kill the monster that had been attacking the fishermen. They departed this morning."

Crowne's eyes widened. He remembered the girl who had met him yesterday afternoon. Crowne looked at the three corpses. Two of them couldn't be recognized because their faces were destroyed, but both were men. The other one was not.

That gave him a small sense of relief. "Why could this still happen?" Crowne muttered.

The old man replied, "Maybe the monster you fought wasn't the same one that attacked the fishermen."

Crowne immediately turned to him, staying silent.

"Damn it. If that's the case, my mission isn't over yet," he said in frustration.

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