Staring into the beating red eyes shining from the darkness of the alleyway almost made Asher lose his sense of focus. There was something so hypnotically frightening about those crimson red eyes.

They spell off a tremendous sense of danger, giving even Asher a violent ominous omen that a disaster was about to befall him.

If it was any other student from Balreth Academy in Asher's place, they would have their minds stalled with fear. Even the more experienced Early Stage Spirit Tier cultivators would want to get as far as away from those glowing red eyes.

But for Asher, he quickly snapped out of his slight daze in a mere split second.

Right then, instead of his instinctive reaction being running away from potential death, Asher felt a blossoming fighting spirit rise from within his chest.

Admittedly, this wasn't the first time he encountered a being that exudes a tremendous sense of death.

There were numerous horrifying Mana Monsters in the Decrypted Woods that Asher sensed could brutally tear him apart in just seconds.

The first times he encountered those creatures, Asher did felt a genuine sense of fear, and he quickly escaped each time.

But it wasn't until one incident where he had narrowly escaped with his life and savagely fought with one of those deadly beasts that a yearning to fight against violent odds birthed in Asher.

This kind of crazed fighting spirit that no other average person would have was inevitable for Asher to develop.

From constantly throwing his life on the line day by day for numerous years, it would be a bit strange if he didn't have a burning fighting spirit against deathly odds.

And his current situation wasn't exempt from his burning fighting spirit.

Honestly, Asher was tempted to face this powerful creature and see the limits of his true power. However, there was one thought that prevented Asher from cutting loose.

His eyes briefly glanced down to the frightened little girl, feeling his protective instincts massively rise. His will to fight was quickly overshadowed by his will to protect.

And considering what he heard from the little girl prior, there absolutely no way Asher would let any more harm befall this pitiful girl.

Without saying anything, Asher quickly scooped the little girl into his arms and firmly held on to her.

Because of Asher's enhanced strength, it was effortless to support the little girl's weight, though she doesn't really weigh much, to begin with.

"Ah?! Mister?!" The little girl, however, was fraught with shock being in Asher's surprisingly warm arm.

Her cute violet color eyes widened in abrupt disbelief. She genuinely expected Asher to run off with the danger coming. It was what she had come to expect out of most people.

But all Asher did was give the worrying little girl a calming smile. He spoke without a hint of panic in his tone, "The name's Asher. And hold on tight; it'll get a little breezy."

The little girl's shock only increased, but Asher didn't give her a chance to react.

He immediately began sprinting off towards his home at the highest speeds he could muster! At this point, Asher just chose what would be the closest safest space in his mind.

While running, Asher continually pumped Spirit Aura energy only into his legs which significantly boosted his speed. He made sure to protectively hold on to the little girl as he became a gust in the wind.

After only a couple of seconds, Asher crossed over thirty feet at his swift speeds.

But before he could he go any further, an even fiercer gust of wind blasted by Asher and the little girl!

'Hua!'

The force behind this gust of wind forced Asher to hold the little girl tighter. He used his body to shield any damage that would have befallen her.

Though it's just a strong gust of wind, to any non Spirit Tier Cultivator, they would've suffocated or experienced significant cuts on their bodies from the violent air currents.

Throughout this entire time, the little girl closed her eyes, finally relenting on any protest she had before. The way Asher uses his whole body to protect her was giving the little girl a genuine sense of comfort.

She felt a soothing warmth bubble inside her chest as Asher's broad chest protected her.

The strong gust of wind only lasted for a split second. Afterward, Asher stood straight up, and he and the little girl reopened their eyes.

Asher immediately narrowed his eyes while the little girl became wracked with worry as she clutched tighter on Asher's shirt.

Standing just ten feet away from them was a horrific being that looked like it came straight out of some slasher film.

It stood at a towering 6'8 feet, completely toppling over Asher in height.  An extremely long red overcoat that was buttoned up to this creature's neck was draped over its body and had reached down towards its ankles.

At the face of this creature, Asher could only make out its two glowing red eyes as it was wearing a blank mask that had chilling red liquid painted all over it.

Asher didn't think that red liquid was mere paint covering the mask.

Out from the creature's sleeves were two horrifying razor-sharp claws that were as big as an adult palm but looked like they came from a demon.

What made those claws even more chilling was the fact Asher could precisely identify fresh and dried up blood staining its sharp claws.

And in the creature's right claw was a long machete that had tiny droplets of blood dripping from the tip of it.

When this masked monster appeared before them, Asher didn't spare any expense at all. He immediately began gathering all of his Spirit Aura and Ghost Lightning energy to its maximum power!

Whatever this horrific monster is, it was giving Asher an immense pressure of imminent death.

Before Asher could do anything, though, he got distracted as the little girl started to rustle in his arms.

"Just leave me, Mr.Asher! It only wants trouble like me! You'll die trying to fight it! You really will!!" The little girl was crying out hysterically.

After that short but sweet moment she had being protected in Asher's arms, the little girl didn't want this to escalate any further. She tried to break free, but against Asher's Spirit Tier body, she had no chance.

However, Asher went against the little girl's expectations again. He only gave a calm smile at her intense reaction.

The little girl paused for a moment, wondering just how he could be so calm even in this situation. But before the little girl could guess what Asher was doing, he gently lowered her to the ground and had then stood protectively in front of her.

Without looking back at her, Asher said, "Listen to me well. You need to hide close to me. I don't know if there's more of this thing lurking around. And I wouldn't want this thing trying to chase after you while I kill it."

Knowing this wouldn't really put the little girl's mind at ease, Asher turned his head around. He stared at the bewildered little girl right in her eyes and gave her a charming smile that blossomed like a ray of radiant sunshine.

"I know I'm a complete stranger, but trust me, ok. I promise I won't let this thing hurt you."

The little girl's body began trembling. Her mouth started to quiver as a mix of emotions burst within her. She wanted to argue more, but right then, the red masked creature started to slowly walk towards them.

Asher looked back at the masked creature, and his pupils dilated a little.

After only a split second, the masked creature started to rapidly increase its speed, going into a full-on barrel dash to them.

'Zzzt!'

Immediately, Asher's Ghost Lightning Spirit Aura burst out of him like a raging thunderstorm!

"Hide now!!"

Asher roared to the little girl, and without looking back, he rushed towards the masked monster, meeting its imposing charge head-on.

A flash of blue sparked from Asher's hand, and he brought out his blue axe that flickered in a slight blue glow. As Asher got close to the masked creature, he bore the full brunt of its immense Magical Aura.

More pressure attempted to crush Asher's body before he even got close to the masked monster. But at Asher's full power, he could resist the creature's aura just enough where it wouldn't affect his overall combat prowess.

Within a foot from the masked creature, Asher quickly swiped his axe towards its massive chest, intending it to be a direct strike. At Asher's full power, he was going at speeds that even surpassed what he showed off during his battle with Zara.

But right then, Asher was warped with surprise when a flash of red swiped at him with matching speeds!

'Clang!'

The piercing sound of metal smashing with each other explosively blared out on the empty night streets. A clashing Magical aura stormed the air, causing the wind to crazily swirl all around Asher and the masked monster.

Asher was fiercely gritting his teeth as his axe locked in a stale, dead mate against the masked monster's machete.

A tremendous force tore through Asher's arm, almost causing a numbing sensation in his arm. That power and that instantaneous reaction already made Asher realize this fight will be one of his most grueling ones.

Forcing the pain down, Asher swiftly strutted his other palm out and was just about burst a powerful stream of Ghost Lightning.

However, right before he could fire it off, Asher sensed tremendous danger shooting his way.

The masked monster didn't make any sort of noise as it poured all of its Magical Power into its machete and swiped its machete upwards. An incredible force had shockingly slightly overpowered Asher, causing him to get flung over six feet back.

Asher violently clenched down onto his teeth as he felt immense pain run through his axe-wielding arm.

Not wanting to get overpowered again, Asher kept forcing down the pain and tried to stop his violent momentum.

But once again, his senses frantically went off with danger. He dangerously narrowed at the masked monster as it lunged straight at him, giving Asher no time to rest.

This time, Asher wasn't going to let himself get overtaken.

Because he already charged his Ghost Lightning energy stream from before, he immediately blasted it from his left palm and struck the masked creature right in its chest, interrupting its lunge.

Ghost Lightning spread across the masked creature's chest, and the sheer force behind Asher's full power sent it skidding back for a few meters.

Asher thought he would have a split second to catch his breath and plan out a better strategy.

But when a single foot touched the ground, the masked monster immediately came barreling down on him again with speeds surpassing anything it showed before!

On instinct, Asher raised his axe to block the creature's machete savagely swiping down towards him, ready to split his head into two.

'Clang!'

Another resounding collision blared out in the streets, and an even stronger wind kicked up into a chaotic fury.

The full force of the masked creature and Asher's power clashed with each other like a raging tsunami. Asher's pupils heavily dilated as pain shredded his arm, and his feet sunken into the pavement.

Before Asher could even think upon his following action, the masked monster shot its other claw towards him at blinding speeds.

Asher only had a second to form a Ghost Lightning barrier as the masked creature's claw instantly reached him.

Despite putting up his best defense, the masked creature's claw shredded through Asher's Ghost Lightning barrier and sent him soaring towards a nearby wall.

'Bang!'

Asher brutally crashed onto the wall, breaking off parts of it. Immense pain shocked Asher's entire body as he puked a blotch of blood and felt numerous bones in his back viciously cracked.

Asher slumped to the ground, nearly wholly dazed from the immeasurable pain wracking his body. The masked creature's power was also trying to make an utter mess of his internal body, but Asher's Spirit Aura was fiercely fighting it off.

As the light quickly came back to his eyes, Asher watched in slight horror as the masked creature started to slowly walk towards him.

But before it could proceed any further, a small figure darted between the masked creature and Asher.