Fallen Realm Online: Rise of The Fallen Monarch

******

At this moment, a pair of feral, deadly eyes fixed on both Xylen and Lilith, and as Xylen stared at these eyes, a cold terror coursed through his veins, his skin tingling as if it were being touched by death itself.

'Shit! Shit!' His mind screamed in panic, cursing himself for being so utterly lost in thought that he had failed to sense the impending threat.

In fact, had it not been for Lilith, his body would have already been lying lifeless on the ground. Yet even now…

The monstrous Springfox stood before them, its gaze brimming with pure malice, its piercing emerald eyes flickering with an unspoken question—"Where did these two pathetic creatures come from?"

Beside him, Lilith whimpered, her voice a trembling whisper of regret. "My Lord, I should have tried harder to stop you… I should have…"

The atmosphere between the two hung heavy with tension, an invisible force crackling in the air as both sides remained locked in an unblinking stare.

Neither moved. Neither breathed for what felt like an eternity when suddenly,

Bang!

A powerful limb slammed against the earth, sending shockwaves rippling through the ground as the Springfox took a step forward toward Xylen and Lilith.

'This… this is bad!' Xylen's thoughts raced like wildfire.

"It… it's coming to kill us, my Lord!" Lilith stuttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

'As if I need the reminder!' Xylen screamed in his mind, a cold sweat breaking across his forehead, but he forcibly swallowed his fear.

'Royal Scan!' He roared mentally, and instantly, a pulse of shimmering energy radiated from his vision, just like the previous time he had used this same skill.

Immediately following this, A mechanical voice rang in his ears:

[ -3 MP has been deducted to activate Royal Scan ]

Then;

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[ R O Y A L – S C A N – R E S U L T ]

Creature's Name: Springfox

Level: 6

HP: 99

ATK: 70

DEF: 50

SPD: 120

INT: 5

SKILLS: [

 - Tornveil (Lv .1) – A shadowy lunge that has a 20% chance to inflict bleed, which would continue causing damages until forcefully stopped.

 - Phantom Step (Lv .2) – A passive skill that increases evasion slightly when health falls below 50%.

 - Vine Lash (Lv. 3) – The thorny tendril lashes out, ignoring all the enemy's defense, also reducing the enemy's speed and reaction time.

]

Present Condition: Heavily injured

|| E N D ||

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'Fuck!'

Xylen's fists clenched as his teeth ground together.

'A mere Level Six monster, yet even while wounded, its stats are this insane!' He thought anxiously, having no idea whether to laugh or cry.

Just now, he had used his last bit of MP to activate Royal Scan, foolishly hoping that the Springfox's injuries would make it a slightly easy target. However, now that he had assessed its incredible speed, massive HP, and lethal skills, one thing was certain—if it attacked, he wouldn't make it past the first strike.

'Could it be this powerful because it's a demonic beast?' he thought before forcefully shoving the question aside. It didn't matter.

The Springfox was already approaching, its putrid, hot breath slithering over Xylen's skin, thick with the scent of decay.

Even without raising a claw, its oppressive aura bore down on him like an executioner's blade.

'How the hell am I supposed to fight this thing?!' Xylen thought helplessly.

Even though he had the skill, it was useless without the raw stats to support it. Furthermore, after his previous battle with the Brambit, his energy reserves had been completely empty.

Although he had regained a bit of strength, his HP had been severely reduced after being thrown across the ground earlier, leaving him in worse condition than he had initially thought.

Realizing this, Xylen's heartbeat thundered in his ears.

He couldn't afford to die.

He had put in a lot of effort to reach his current level, and apart from the fact that he would lose everything he had gained from this death. And even if he did respawn… would he make it back before the System's time limit expired and gain the required strength for the fight with 'his 'uncle' and his minions?

Unlikely.

To be honest, Xylen might have held some hope if the forest had been teeming with monsters, but after searching for over an hour and only finding a single level-one monster, he couldn't see how he'd gather the necessary numbers before time ran out.

The thought instantly ignited a furious desperation in his chest.

'Damn it all!'

Xylen screamed with rage in his mind, his vision turning red with frustration. He refused to die here!

The overtly injured but still powerful Springfox halted just before them, towering over him and Lilith with an air of disdain, its mocking gaze practically spelling out their doom.

Then, its tendril-like tail curled up, muscles coiling like a whip ready to lash;

"Run, my Lord! I will hold it back!"

Lilith's voice cut through the tension like a blade. Then, before Xylen could react, he felt himself shoved backward, Lilith taking his place immediately after.

"This—!"

Xylen's mind blanked for a moment as he stared at Lilith in utter disbelief.

On the other hand, Lilith, currently trembling from head to toe, had raised her bow, her stance rigid yet fragile.

Even the Springfox seemed caught off guard, its tail halting mid-motion as it studied her for a moment in brief confusion.

As for Xylen.

His shock only lasted a second before fury replaced it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He roared, causing Lilith to flinch, but she didn't look at him.

"Please, my Lord! Run! I will slow it down for you!" She pleaded desperately, causing Xylen's breath hitch.

He could tell that she was terrified of death, even right now… her entire body was trembling badly, but even then, she was hellbent on protecting him.

'What sort of NPC is this?' Xylen couldn't help but suddenly wonder, his shock palpable, but then he shook himself awake.

"No!"

Ignoring the pain in his body, Xylen forced himself to his feet and scrambled to Lilith's side, his sword raised high.

Although he knew well that this was all futile, given that the skill about to be used by the Springfox could pass through any sort of defense, what could he do now?

At the side.

"My Lord, what are you doing?!" Lilith inquired, her eyes widened.

Xylen didn't answer right away.

Instead, he glared at the Springfox and spat, "I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Huh?"

Lilith's lips parted in shock, then her hands trembled, her breath hitching.

"You… you care for me this much?" she stuttered, her voice laced with unexpected emotion and trembling badly.

"Huh?"

Xylen blinked at her, utterly dumbfounded.

'Care for you?' he thought in a daze. 'Why the hell would I care enough to want to die when I have an NPC ready to take the death for me?' He wondered in a daze.

The only reason he was staying was two.

One, Lilith was valuable.

Without her, his mission would become ten times, even a hundred times harder than it already was.

As for the second reason.

Could he even escape if he wants to? With the Springfox's incredible speed and strength? What a joke.

Thinking this, Xylen forced a smile, but before he could respond:

A chilling glint suddenly flashed in the Springfox's emerald gaze. In the following second,

A guttural, mocking sound rumbled from its throat.

"Ek-ek-ek-ek!"

It was... laughing, seeming to mock Xylen and Lilith's effort to defend themselves.

Seeing this, Xylen's grip tightened on his weapon, and just then;

Swish!

A blur of motion. The Springfox's tail lashed out like a whip, the sheer speed of it slicing the air with a razor-sharp hiss.

"This…"

Xylen's stomach plummeted because he could already tell… there was no dodging it.

"Damn it all!" He gritted his teeth and braced himself, raising his sword to block the inevitable strike.

He knew well that this was but a futile effort, but he refused to go down without a fight.

"Shoot it!" He barked, jolting Lilith back to her senses.

In the next second, Lilith nodded her head and, without hesitation, loosed an arrow—but the moment it struck, the Springfox's tail didn't even slow.

It was still coming.

Their death was only seconds away.

Then…

Crack!

The earth suddenly shattered beneath the Springfox, and then, right before Lilith and Xylen's eyes, thick, gnarled vines exploded from the ground, wrapping around the Springfox like an iron snare and hurling it into the distance.

"What the—?!"

Both Xylen and Lilith froze, their chests heaving, their bodies drenched in sweat from their near-death encounter.

"That…"

Xylen turned his wide, disbelieving gaze toward the battlefield—

And there, once again locked in combat, was the Mossling and the Springfox.

"…Why?" Xylen muttered, heart still racing. "Why would the Mossling do that?"

He thought, but just then, Lilith dragged his arm.

"Let's run now my Lord. This is a heaven given chance!" She urged desperately, and hearing her, Xylen sighed.

He did not respond right away, instead, he first looked at the two in the distance before glancing back at Lilith.

"Both of them had already locked their aura on us and no matter how fast we run, they would soon catch up."

"This…"

Lilith freeze, confused for a moment before checking what Xylen had just said. In the following second, she became hopeless, muttering;

"Are we… still going to die?"

Xylen sighed heavily.

"We can only pray that the two of them kill each other," he responded, no longer caring whether he get the last kill or not.