Chapter 51: The Breach
The heavy iron door at the bottom of the hot pool exploded with a loud boom.
A tall wave of dirty black water blasted high into the air, splashing across the stone room.
Seraphina screamed in fear. Her body shook as cold, muddy water hit her skin.
The warm bath was over in an instant.
Three long, dark monsters jumped out of the black water, landing on the wet stone floor.
They were deep-water beasts with long snake bodies, sharp claws, and big black teeth.
Leo moved without waiting for even one second.
He grabbed Seraphina by her waist with his strong left arm and lifted her out of the water.
He set her down safely on the dry upper steps of the stairs, standing in front of her to block the monsters.
"Stay behind me," Leo said in a firm voice.
He stepped forward into the pool, standing tall like an iron wall.
Seraphina held her wet white dress tight against her chest, her blue eyes wide with fear.
Her teeth clicked together from the cold dirty water, but the warm heat coming from Leo’s back gave her courage.
All her life, church priests told her that a holy maiden must face danger alone.
Yet here, a strong man stood in front of her, protecting her life without asking for anything.
Leo stepped down into the shallow water, watching the three beasts move around him.
He knew what these monsters were because he remembered the story of the original novel.
In the original timeline, this underground channel broke during the third school term, leaking dark poison into the city’s water supply.
That poison weakened the magic barrier protecting the imperial capital of the Vaeloria Empire.
The final boss of this world, the ancient Primordial Void God, was trapped four kilometers deep under the eastern ground of the Vaeloria continent, sealed beneath ancient stone plates.
These three beasts were merely scouts sent up from the deep cracks to test the city’s magic barrier.
In the old story, Hero Noel came with a big army to clear this room weeks later, but half his soldiers died.
Noel let his friends fight and bleed while he stayed safe in the back line.
Then Noel took all the reward money and fame for himself.
Leo knew the truth that church priests never told anyone.
These three monsters were scouts sent by the deep void rift to test the city’s magic walls.
If the black poison reached the city streets tonight, the magic barrier would break too soon.
That would start the final war before Leo was strong enough to fight the big bosses.
The first monster bent its long body and jumped straight at Leo’s neck.
Its sharp black teeth snapped shut, trying to tear his throat open.
Leo did not take a single step back.
He shifted his weight to his back foot, dodging the monster’s head by just an inch.
His right hand shot forward like an iron claw, catching the beast by its throat in mid-air.
With a hard twist of his body, Leo slammed the beast’s head into the hard stone floor.
Crack!
The stone broke under the heavy hit, sending small rock pieces flying through the water.
The beast clawed at his arms with sharp nails, but Leo’s hard skin stopped the claws like iron armor.
Leo raised his right foot and stomped hard on the beast’s head, crushing its skull into black mud.
The bone broke with a wet sound, and the monster stopped moving completely.
Black blood poured out of the broken skull, mixing with the water around his boots.
Leo pulled his foot back, his face hard and focused.
He watched the dark water closely to see where the next attack would come from.
Hiss!
The other two beasts jumped at him from both sides at the same time.
One beast went low for his legs, while the other beast jumped high for his face.
Leo turned quickly on his front foot, hitting the jumping beast in the chest with his open palm.
A heavy blast of magic power shot out of his hand, breaking the beast’s ribs inside its chest.
The hit threw the heavy monster five meters across the room, smashing it dead against a stone pillar.
The third beast bit down hard on Leo’s left leg, its teeth digging into his leather pants.
Leo did not cry out in pain.
He grabbed the monster’s top jaw with one hand and its bottom jaw with his other hand.
He pulled the jaws apart with all his physical strength.
Snap!
The jaw bone snapped with a loud crunch, and the beast let out a dying cry before Leo’s fist crushed its heart.
Black blood spread through the water, turning the pool completely dark.
Leo felt the dark power inside his chest drink the black energy from the dead monsters.
The living core inside his heart became warmer and stronger with every beast he killed.
Seraphina watched him from the stairs, her breath fast and shallow.
She had spent two years fighting next to Hero Noel, but Noel never fought like this.
Noel always hid behind Valerie’s big shield, staying far away in safety while others got hurt.
Here, Leo fought right in the dirty water, killing deadly monsters with his bare hands to keep her safe.
He did not ask her to use her holy magic to heal him.
He did not ask her to step into the dangerous water.
He took all the danger onto himself with quiet power.
Before Seraphina could speak, the whole underground room shook with a heavy, deep roar.
Rumble!
The deep hole in the floor ripped open twice as wide, breaking the ancient stone floor apart.
A huge shadow rose from the deep water, filling the whole room with dark purple smoke.
The giant Mother Beast had arrived.
Its long tentacles whipped through the air, smashing into the stone walls with heavy thuds.
Leo looked up at the giant beast without any fear, getting ready for the next round.
The hot air grew heavy with the smell of acid and poison.
He planted his boots firmly into the stone floor and waited for the monster to strike.
He would protect the Saintess and kill every beast that came out of the dark.