E-Rank or SSS-Rank: I Awakened a Skill That Shouldn’t Exist

"It's not dead yet," Clara said a second later.

Aiden's brow furrowed. So that's it, he thought grimly. His four extra limbs, which had already retracted into his body, shot out once again, darkened as the essence surged through them.

His expression was heavy with uncertainty. Just what kind of monster were they facing? Those two combined attacks—few beings could withstand them, if any at all.

As the dark smoke began to clear, Aiden's tension eased slightly. What he saw wasn't bad news—in fact, it might even be considered good. The massive scorpion beast hadn't escaped unscathed. Far from it.

The creature lay several meters away, its enormous frame drenched in thick, flowing blood. Its four remaining limbs were shredded, and large portions of its body were scorched to the point of incineration.

Harrowing wounds covered it from head to tail, chunks of flesh missing as if carved away.

Aiden swallowed hard. If Clara's attack could inflict such devastation on a beast of this scale—likely at least Gold-ranked threat—he didn't even want to imagine what it would do to him.

But even with its body broken and bleeding, the scorpion still lived. A monster through and through, Aiden thought, to endure even that…

The Dark Emissary was nowhere to be seen. The most reasonable assumption was that he had been incinerated in the explosion. Not even one of those freaks could have survived such a blast.

For now, the situation leaned in their favor. Without the Emissary coordinating them, the swarming beasts would grow disorganized.

Only the higher-ranked ones had the intelligence to pose a serious threat. The rest would scatter or attack wildly.

And yet, as Aiden gazed at the scorpion beast, an uneasy dread coiled inside him. He couldn't shake the feeling that if it managed to recover, the real battle had only just begun.

I need to end this now.

With quick, precise movements, Aiden surged forward, his four extra limbs raised high, their clawed tips glowing faintly as the essence wrapped around them.

His plan was simple: deliver a finishing blow and crush the beast before it had a chance to rise again.

But just as he closed the gap—only a few meters away—he froze. His instincts screamed. His limbs locked together instinctively, forming a shield above his head.

The danger struck an instant later.

A massive force slammed into him. The impact shattered his limbs and sent a shockwave exploding outward.

The ground trembled as Aiden's body was blasted back, tumbling across the floor until he came to a violent, jarring stop.

He staggered to his feet, groaning. "Ouch…" The pain throbbed through his body, and his mangled extra limbs dripped with blood.

With a snarl, Aiden tore them free, only for four more to burst forth from his back, turning jet black as dark essence course through them.

Aiden fell to his knees, his chest heaving with sharp, ragged breaths. Forcing out those graceful extensions had already pushed his body to its limits, and the extra limbs he had created—further amplified by the lingering effects of his Dark Essence Mode—strained him even more.

"Are you alright?" Clara's concerned voice came from the side.

For a moment, Aiden said nothing. Then, with effort, he rose to his feet and turned toward her, forcing a smile.

"See? Better than ever," he said lightly. But the false cheer didn't last. His expression hardened as his gaze shifted to where the last attack had come from.

Quint.

The man stood close to the beast, his figure steady. His eyes, once sunken and weary from exhaustion, now blazed with blinding fury.

Aiden narrowed his gaze. Something about him had changed. The Dark Emissary hadn't looked that dangerous before—beast-taming alone didn't make him much of a threat. But if this was the same man who had just delivered such a devastating blow, then he was no ordinary human. No… he was beyond the limit of a normal man. Perhaps at the peak of human limit ( Prime Human)—maybe even worse. A superhuman.

Aiden's jaw tightened. He wasn't afraid of fighting Quint. If it came to a clash, he was confident he could hold his own. Yet deep down, he felt something colder.

A sense of dread gnawed at him, telling him Quint wasn't planning to fight directly. He was planning something else. Something Aiden and Clara would regret.

Wait… he's not going to heal the beast, is he? The thought struck Aiden like a thunderclap. His face grew grim. If Quint healed its wounds somehow, then this battle was far from over.

Clara must have realized the same thing. Her posture stiffened, her eyes sharp. She had calculated that their last strike would have been enough to kill the Dark Emissary outright.

But not only had he survived, he stood there unscathed. And the look in his eyes carried only one message—this isn't over.

Quint's gaze slid from Aiden to Clara. His face remained calm, but his voice was deathly cold.

"I warned you… you should've just given up and died painlessly. But no—you just had to resist. You even dared to drive my pet into such a pitiful state." His tone sharpened, laced with venom. "Any thought I had of sparing you—of granting you a quick death—is gone.

I will end not just you two…" His finger pointed toward Aiden, then Clara. "…but every last hero who set foot on this island. The ones still alive? I will kill them all myself."

Aiden's throat tightened. He wanted to retort, to throw something back in Quint's face. But the words never came.

A chilling coldness wrapped around his heart, and for the first time in a long while, he felt the creeping weight of true fear.

In a low voice, Aiden whispered, trying to make sure his words reached Clara.

"Wait… is it just me, or do I actually prefer the version of him that was bored and exhausted—over this one that looks hell-bent on tearing us apart?"

Clara didn't reply, but Aiden could already guess her thoughts. Yeah, you're right, Aiden. This guy is definitely more terrifying than before.

He shook his head. No, Clara would never call him a genius. What was he even thinking about right now? They didn't have time for jokes—shouldn't they be attacking the Dark Emissary before he tried anything worse?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Quint moved. Calmly, he walked to the scorpion's side and laid a hand on its broken carapace.

"Sorry, buddy," he murmured, almost tender. "Let me patch you up."

The yellow orb in his other hand flared with blinding light, and his eyes ignited in resonance. A dome of energy expanded outward, swallowing both him and the beast within its shimmering walls.

Aiden's jaw clenched. "No you don't."

He exploded forward, Dark Essence surging through his limbs. He slammed into the barrier with everything he had—slashing, stabbing, punching, hammering blow after blow into the dome.

His claws raked its surface, darkness eating at it in waves. The result? A handful of shallow scratches that healed instantly.

He refused to stop. He poured more Essence into each strike, his body burning, the corruption gnawing at his veins. At last, faint cracks began to appear. Aiden's lips curled into a fierce grin. He was close. He was breaking through.

Then Clara's voice cut sharply through the chaos.

"Aiden—get out of there!"

A chilling sense of danger slammed into him a heartbeat later. He tried to leap back, but he was too slow.

The scorpion's red tail shot through the barrier like a spear. It struck dead-center, and the instant it connected, a violent explosion erupted—pure fire blooming outward in a shockwave.

The blast hurled Aiden through the air like a ragdoll, slamming him into the cave wall with bone-rattling force. Stone cracked. His back smoked from searing burns as he crumpled to the ground with a groan.

"How many times am I gonna get slammed into walls today…" he muttered, dragging himself up on shaking arms.

He lifted his head, eyes narrowing on the dome. The cracks were widening, splintering. The barrier was falling.

Then his breath caught. His burned face twisted in horror as the truth struck him.

No… no, it can't be…

The dome shattered.

Through the settling fragments of light, Aiden and Clara finally saw the truth.

Standing atop the massive scorpion beast was Quint, elegant as ever, his gaze dripping with murderous intent and grim satisfaction. But it wasn't Quint that froze their blood.

It was the beast itself.

The scorpion that had been at death's door minutes ago now stood fully restored, its gargantuan body gleaming as though newly forged. Its carapace was whole and polished, no trace of wounds left.

Six enormous tails arched above its body—red, green, icy blue, silver, yellow, and the final gleaming black. Every one of them was back, intact, pulsing with lethal elemental energy.

The dreadful abomination they had bled themselves dry to bring down was alive again—in full, terrifying glory.

And Aiden and Clara were in no condition to fight.

Aiden let out a dry, broken chuckle, dragging a trembling hand across his face. His lips parted around a single, bitter word.

"Damnation."

TO BE CONTINUED…....

Author's Note:

Phew… that ending was brutal. Quint standing on top of a fully restored Scorpion Beast is the last thing Aiden and Clara wanted to see. Writing this scene made me feel their despair too — after all that effort, after nearly dying, their enemy just pressed "reset" like nothing happened.

Now, I really want to hear from you all. Let's dig deeper together:

Questions for You:

1. Did you see Quint's move coming, or did the restoration completely blindside you?

2. Do you think the glowing orb was just a healing item, or something far more sinister (maybe tied to Quint's power itself)?

3. If you were in Aiden's shoes, would you keep fighting here — or retreat and regroup?

4. The Scorpion Beast's six tails are back. Which tail (red, green, icy blue, silver, yellow, or the final black one) do you think is the deadliest, and why?

5. Clara's warning saved Aiden from deep trouble — but what role do you think she'll play now that they're cornered?

6. Finally, be honest: did Aiden's last word "Damnation" hit you as desperation, or defiance?

Your theories keep me fired up while writing, so don't hold back! Drop your thoughts below, and let's figure out together just how much worse things are about to get…

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAP AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!!!!