Chapter 5: Chapter 5 - The Corrupted Beast

Chapter 5 — The Corrupted Beast

The eastern forest smelled wrong.

Rotten.

Like wet soil mixed with something dead.

Moonlight filtered through twisted trees while cold wind moved between the branches.

I walked beside Elena and the hunters silently, pretending to look calm while internally questioning every life decision that led me here.

Seriously.

Twenty-four hours ago I was repairing laptops.

Now I was hunting corrupted magical monsters beside a suspicious saintess in another world.

Life changes fast.

The hunters carried torches nervously.

Nobody spoke loudly.

Fear hung in the air like fog.

Even the forest itself felt uneasy.

The spiritual energy around us had changed.

Before, it felt warm and alive.

Now?

Heavy.

Distorted.

Like invisible poison spreading through the trees.

I frowned slightly.

Interesting.

I could sense spiritual energy more clearly now.

The faith I absorbed earlier must’ve strengthened my perception.

Elena noticed my expression.

"You can feel it?"

I looked toward her.

"The corruption?"

She seemed surprised for a brief moment before nodding slowly.

"Most ordinary people cannot."

Her blue eyes studied me again.

Always analyzing.

Always suspicious.

Honestly exhausting.

The hunters suddenly stopped moving.

One pointed ahead nervously.

"There..."

The trees opened into a clearing.

And my stomach tightened immediately.

The ground itself had turned black.

Dead grass covered the earth while strange dark veins spread across the soil like infection.

At the center of the clearing stood a creature.

Huge.

At least four meters tall.

It resembled a bear...

if bears were born in nightmares.

Black fur covered its massive body while corrupted blue energy leaked from cracked skin.

Its eyes glowed violently.

Sharp claws dragged through the ground as it breathed heavily.

Around it stood the shadow wolves from earlier.

But now they looked submissive.

Controlled.

The corrupted beast was their leader.

One hunter whispered fearfully.

"Blackblood Bear..."

The creature suddenly lifted its head.

Its glowing eyes locked directly onto us.

Then it roared.

The sound shook the forest.

Several hunters nearly fell backwards.

Even my chest tightened from fear.

Okay.

That thing could absolutely kill me.

Very easily.

Elena stepped forward immediately.

Silver light appeared around her hand.

For the first time since meeting her, I saw actual divine power.

Beautiful glowing energy wrapped around her body softly like moonlight.

The corrupted energy nearby hissed in response.

The hunters looked relieved instantly.

"Lady Elena..."

So she was genuinely strong.

Interesting.

Elena raised one hand calmly.

A silver magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

Okay.

That was incredibly cool.

"I’ll restrain it," she said quietly.

"Everyone else stay back."

The hunters obeyed immediately.

I stepped back too.

Very enthusiastically.

Elena glanced toward me briefly.

"You should remain behind the barrier."

Barrier?

A silver wall of light suddenly spread around us.

The hunters sighed in relief.

Protective divine magic.

Honestly, compared to my flashlight scam, this looked much more godlike.

The Blackblood Bear roared again and charged forward violently.

The ground shook beneath its weight.

Elena extended her hand.

"Sacred Chains."

Silver light exploded outward.

Dozens of glowing chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the beast instantly.

The creature slammed into the earth with tremendous force.

The hunters cheered.

Then the chains cracked.

Elena’s eyes widened slightly.

The corrupted bear stood again.

Still restrained...

but barely.

Dark energy exploded from its body.

The silver chains shattered.

The hunters panicked instantly.

"How is it so strong?!"

Elena stumbled backward slightly.

Her blessing flickered violently.

Damn.

Her goddess really was weakening badly.

The bear charged again.

This time faster.

Elena created another barrier desperately.

The creature smashed through it.

The impact threw her backward across the clearing.

"Lady Elena!"

The hunters rushed forward.

Too slow.

The corrupted bear raised one massive claw toward Elena.

And suddenly—

my body moved automatically.

Before my brain could object, I grabbed a fallen torch nearby and sprinted forward.

Terrible decision.

Absolutely terrible.

The hunters screamed behind me.

"Kaiser!"

The bear turned toward me.

Its glowing eyes burned with killing intent.

Fear exploded inside my chest.

But then something strange happened.

The divine energy within me reacted violently.

Faith.

The villagers’ belief.

The hunters’ hope.

All of it surged together.

Warm golden energy flooded through my body.

Not enough to make me powerful.

But enough to strengthen something else.

My confidence.

My presence.

An idea formed instantly.

Technology.

Light.

Sound.

Fear.

Predators understood fear.

And this creature...

was still an animal underneath the corruption.

I pulled my phone out again.

Battery: 11%.

Please survive.

I opened the flashlight and pointed it directly into the bear’s eyes.

Maximum brightness exploded through the darkness.

The creature recoiled slightly.

Good.

Still sensitive to light.

Then I shouted loudly—

"LOOK AT ME."

The divine energy amplified my voice unconsciously.

The entire clearing shook slightly.

Even the hunters froze.

The bear growled aggressively and charged toward me.

Okay.

Very bad.

Very very bad.

I activated another app instantly.

This time—

a police siren.

A deafening electronic scream exploded through the forest.

The corrupted beast halted violently.

Confusion spread across its face.

The wolves whimpered nearby.

The hunters looked completely horrified.

"What divine sound magic is that?!"

I raised the torch high.

Then remembered something important. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Animals feared fire.

Especially corrupted creatures apparently.

The divine energy around me suddenly reacted again.

The torch flames exploded upward.

Bright blue fire illuminated the entire clearing.

The hunters gasped loudly.

Even I stared in shock.

Okay.

That definitely wasn’t normal.

The fire twisted unnaturally around my arm without burning me.

The corrupted bear stepped backward for the first time.

Fear.

It was afraid.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

The divine power inside me was adapting according to belief.

The villagers believed I controlled divine technology and holy flames.

So reality itself was beginning to respond.

Holy crap.

This world was broken beyond repair.

I stepped forward slowly.

The blue flames followed my movement like living energy.

"I command you," I said deeply.

"Leave this place."

The hunters stared at me with worshipful terror.

More faith poured into my body.

The flames grew larger.

The corrupted bear growled uncertainly.

Then suddenly—

it attacked anyway.

Of course it did.

Why would anything ever be easy?

The beast lunged directly toward me.

Too fast.

Way too fast.

My eyes widened.

I couldn’t dodge.

Then silver light flashed before me.

Elena appeared instantly between us.

A glowing silver blade formed in her hand.

The bear’s claws collided against divine light.

BOOM.

The impact shook the clearing violently.

Elena gritted her teeth.

Blood appeared at the corner of her lips.

The hunters shouted in panic.

She was losing.

The weakened goddess couldn’t sustain her power much longer.

And for some reason...

that thought genuinely bothered me.

Annoying conscience again.

The bear roared directly into Elena’s face.

Corrupted energy spread across her silver blade.

Cracks appeared instantly.

Her eyes widened slightly.

Then I noticed something.

The corruption reacted aggressively against divine energy...

but hesitated around my blue flames.

Why?

Technology?

No.

That didn’t make sense.

Then realization struck me.

My power wasn’t truly divine yet.

It was artificial.

Faith-created.

Flexible.

The corruption couldn’t properly identify it.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

An insane idea formed in my mind.

Which probably meant it was going to work.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

I sprinted forward.

"Kaiser, wait—!"

Too late.

I slammed the burning blue torch directly against the corrupted bear’s body.

The moment the flames touched it—

the creature screamed.

Not roared.

Screamed.

Dark energy exploded violently outward.

The corruption began burning away like black smoke.

The hunters stared in disbelief.

Elena’s eyes widened completely.

The blue flames spread rapidly across the beast’s body.

The corruption resisted desperately.

But my divine energy kept growing stronger from everyone watching.

Fear.

Hope.

Awe.

Belief.

Everything fueled the flames.

The bear collapsed onto the ground violently.

Dark smoke poured from its body.

Then slowly...

the corruption disappeared.

Silence filled the clearing.

The massive creature lay breathing weakly on the ground.

No longer corrupted.

Its glowing blue eyes had faded into normal brown.

The hunters looked stunned.

One whispered shakily—

"He purified it..."

Purified.

That word spread instantly between them.

"A purification miracle..."

"A divine cleansing..."

More faith flooded into me.

Stronger than ever before.

The warmth inside my chest expanded rapidly.

For a brief second—

I saw something.

A faint symbol forming deep within my spiritual core.

A glowing blue geometric mark.

Technology.

My divine authority.

It was beginning to take shape.

The hunters suddenly dropped to their knees again.

Even tougher than before.

Their voices trembled with genuine worship.

"Praise the God of Technology..."

The wind moved softly through the clearing.

Blue flames slowly disappeared around my hand.

My breathing remained uneven.

Not from exhaustion.

From realization.

This wasn’t fake anymore.

At some point...

the lie had started becoming real.

I slowly looked toward Elena.

She stood silently nearby, breathing heavily.

Her silver eyes remained fixed on me.

But now...

the suspicion inside them had changed.

Not disappeared.

But changed.

Because for the first time since meeting me—

she looked uncertain.

And honestly?

That terrified me more than the monster did.