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“…That’s a monstrous being.”

Okyeon’s road, Archer Kim Joo-seop murmured in a whisper. In the place where a strong wave of magical power had arrived, two monsters were clashing. One was a headless aberration—most likely the mage he had been hunting.

And the other was a wolf. At first, he thought it was just a monster from this horrific jungle known as Monstopia’s Area 2, but that wasn’t the case.

‘…The wolf that took down Jin Hong.’

Yeah. That wolf is definitely it. —Kim Joo-seop briefly recalled the wolf’s details, but then shook his head. It hadn’t killed Jin Hong? Was it chasing a traitor? Either way, a monster is still a monster. Nothing changes. Soon, he dropped to the ground, hiding his body, believing that a chance to take both down would come soon.

***

At some point, the regeneration of his jaw had finished.

[Regeneration(D) Lv.6 has reached maximum proficiency. Regeneration(D) Lv.6 → Regeneration(D) Lv.7]

If the explosion had been a tad stronger, perhaps the wound could’ve reached his brain in one go, but the wolf scattered its red glare. The situation was still bleak. Whether it had no head or missing arms, it didn’t matter as long as he didn’t know the location of the hidden medium.

‘…Where’s the medium?’

The wolf’s ability to see through and perceive even this dense magical power was unable to penetrate through. It was like it was armored both inside and out, wrapped in several layers of magic that completely isolated the outside from the inside.

‘It means I need to finish this…’

Despite having its great magic disrupted, it quickly regained its composure. After all, for it, a level 5 spell chant was nothing. It was a spell that could be cast anytime if it just had the time— it was just buying time. Soon, that malevolent black magic spreading from it was calling the night back once again. The cliff they stood on was already dyed black.

It couldn’t be given more time. The wolf charged straight ahead, and the Silent Mouth raised a hand. With just a flick of a finger, magic was completed—an endless array of lightning spears rained down like a storm targeting the wolf. The countless spells that fell were completely absorbed into the mist and vanished without a trace.

‘…I see.’

Watching that scene clearly, the Silent Mouth instinctively realized that the mist had swallowed up its magic.

The gap between them quickly closed. Soon, the wolf’s fangs would reach him. All the magic that had been unleashed was consumed by the mist. As the wolf’s jaws came closer, the Silent Mouth waved his arm.

“……?!”

For just a brief moment, the wolf’s line of sight was blocked. But it soon opened its eyes wide and pierced through with its perception. And the wolf quickly sprang away. —It was already gone. A hand that had stretched out in the dark brushed the spot where the wolf had been.

The thick black magic surrounding that hand held power beyond ordinary magic. The answer to how it had vanished was already clear.

‘…Blink.’

It was like the fairy’s teleportation. The difference being it was used solely with magic, not as a skill. Using such complex spatial magic in battle wasn’t easy. It doesn’t get created as a scroll for no reason.

‘But.’

If it were someone who had once mastered the Square, it would be a different story. The wolf knew this fact. —And even as the waiting magical energy enveloped it…

“…?! “

—The shadows didn’t move.

[Tsk…]

Seemingly irritated, the Silent Mouth dismissed the shadows with a flick of his hand.

—Shadow Control was undoubtedly an excellent skill worthy of the B grade. However, it wasn’t powerful, but rather highly versatile.

Ultimately, using shadows without dispelling the surrounding magic was impossible. The Silent Mouth, who looked down upon the wolf, began the spell chant.

[Flames cover everything]

[Dragon-shaped lightning]

[The root of the trees binds you―!]

At the same time, a voice resounded— a multi-cast. If the sound was produced by the vibrations of magic rather than voice, the number of vocal cords didn’t matter. The raging flames set the jungle ablaze, and enormous tree roots shot up from the ground. Most importantly, the dragon-shaped lightning, surpassing the speed of sound, rushed in with a deafening noise.

‘The lightning…!’

As the dragon reached out its mouth right in front, the wolf evaded using its agility. But the lightning dragon wouldn’t stop there and circled back. The Silent Mouth controlled the dragon.

‘Then…!’

It kicked up a whirlwind, charging towards the Silent Mouth. The violent wind devastated the jungle, and just as it reached the creature, it vanished again, and the returning dragon struck down the wolf, crashing it to the ground.

[……!]

The Silent Mouth’s eyes widened.

‘It didn’t just charge in blindly.’

He had anticipated it would attempt to avoid. It just needed a little more time. In the brief moment where they had closed the gap, the whirlwind wrapped itself in black mist, and the black magic successfully devoured the lightning dragon. The flames of the raging fire spreading along the roots of the trees— it was as if they vanished into thin air, enveloped by the mist.

No matter the phenomenon, ultimately the essence was magic. Just as the dark clouds consumed everything, the black magic had the power to consume magic itself.

[……]

The Silent Mouth couldn’t deny it. He had no way to get rid of that mist. No, more precisely, he didn’t have the luxury to do so.

It was only a matter of time before the mist swallowed all the magic it cast. Before that happened, the Silent Mouth returned the black magic.

At that, the wolf gave a small nod. It could now use the shadow that had been captured by magic once again.

As the mist pushed away the night, the wolf ignited black flames.

—And so, the flames began to spread, engulfing the cliff.

***

“Add! Two at 5 o’clock!”

“Archer! Load!”

Gu Jin-ha commanded as the archers drew their bows. Since it had initially been an expedition to Area 2, there weren’t many arrows left. They needed to regroup and resupply. When the command to fire rang out, the hunters shot their arrows in unison, turning the charging mammoth into a porcupine, but its gigantic body didn’t fall easily.

“Spread out!”

Followed by that command, the hunters swiftly split to the sides, making a path, and the mammoth’s charge hit nothing.

“Disrupt the formation! Archers, reload!”

Those drawing new arrows from the quivers. As the mammoth burrowed deep into their formation, the hunters circled around to keep it from escaping again.

As if about to attack, the frontline hunters maintained a precarious distance, disturbing the mammoth. Thanks to that, it was getting delayed in escaping the formation.

“Fire!”

The arrows shot again, hitting the mammoth all over. Arrows pierced through its thick skin and fur. And just like that, one of the mammoths toppled over.

But there was still one more left. Gu Jin-ha surveyed the situation and realized there were no more monsters and readied his sword. Just before charging, the mammoth collapsed onto the ground, pierced through the forehead by an ice spear.

“…? “

The woman with a cold demeanor, Ha Yeon, Vice Team Leader of Team Dawn. She shook her head slightly.

‘…I’m not really accustomed to this.’

It likely meant that the raiding party leader couldn’t leave their position so easily. Gu Jin-ha nodded and turned his gaze towards the dwindling rear guard when someone— no, the rear guard members came rushing in.

“Add! Seven or maybe eight at 3 o’clock!”

—Gu Jin-ha frowned at the sight of monsters accompanying them. But if they just got through this crisis.

‘We could definitely reach the place where the rear guard was.’

With the thought that it wasn’t far now, Gu Jin-ha raised his voice again.

“Archers, reload!”

—The one who noticed the monsters coming closer, Euna, bit her nails nervously. No way. There’s no way it could be happening…

‘It couldn’t be…’

Each time she felt that unforgettable wave of magic, the pattern— so similar to her own magic made her heart race. Euna took a deep breath to calm herself down and tried to think rationally. Logically, it shouldn’t be possible. It was impossible. They couldn’t possibly be in Neverland, and besides, they were already dead. No matter how she thought, it was something that shouldn’t happen.

‘It couldn’t be…!’

As she gazed at the cliff burning black, Euna unconsciously bit her lips.

It’s impossible. They already died. There’s no way they could be here. She understood it intellectually. But still. But still…

That unease simply wouldn’t settle.

***

Every time their swords clashed, a jolt electrified the air. Baek Gun-tae frowned at the show of strength between the two.

“…This truly is a monster.”

As the two stepped back, just waiting for the chance, the bishop swung a ridiculously huge iron mace. It was hard to believe that this was the form of a woman approaching eighty years old.

The dozens of kilograms of her absurd iron mace swung down upon the armored behemoth, but, as expected, it merely bounced off. The bishop once again spun the mace over her head, looking for an opening.

“This feels strange…”

“What’s strange?”

“Hmm.”

Kang Tae-ho scratched the side of his head. Since a while ago, he had felt an inexplicable sense of incongruity. It was a peculiar sensation, as if he was fighting while looking in a mirror. No, it felt like the basics of handling a sword. As he inclined his gaze downwards.

“…What the hell?”

Kang Tae-ho cursed in disbelief. The legendary sword, Pattaegum, had cracked. He had occasionally maintained it, but it had been fine even after decades of swinging it. It meant the abomination before him was no weaker than him. Kang Tae-ho wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Where on Earth did such a monster hide…”

By Gu Jin-ha’s words, it meant they had taken down Changsung and killed Muno, but surely such a skilled person existed.

The real problem was that it hadn’t shown its full power yet. The armored creature, Chanyeom, was also concerning. With the thought that he needed to act rather than think, Kang Tae-ho charged again, and they collided once more.

“Giant Road!”

At the bishop’s shout, Baek Gun-tae flung a spear, and as it flew through the air, it grew larger. The bishop swung her mace as the attacks came from both sides, and the behemoth swung its sword in response. The mace met resistance, and the spear split apart. The attacks that were seemingly futile were effortlessly blocked. But seeing the opening that was revealed, Kang Tae-ho aimed to thrust in.

“―――!”

Kang Tae-ho had no lethal strike or extraordinary technique. No, he didn’t need one. Every single blow he dealt was a lethal blow in itself. His strikes wielded with overwhelming strength far beyond that of an ordinary human with the Pattaegum, a massive sword extending several meters long.

The creature quickly reacted and brought its sword back, but it hadn’t stabilized its stance yet. And when their swords clashed, a shockwave unlike any experienced before swept through the area.

“……!”

Even for a creature, taking Kang Tae-ho’s full strength head-on wasn’t easy. Finally, as it took a step back, the armor—the part of the helmet broke. In that moment, blue flames blazed as the helmet was immediately repaired, but what Kang Tae-ho saw inside made his expression harden.

In the brief moment of silence, Kang Tae-ho’s expression contorted. The sword’s grip he had held so tightly communicated his emotions. He wanted to think he had misseen it, but… that was impossible. There was no chance he could have seen it wrongly.

“Damn…”

—It was hard to accept, but thinking so seemed to resolve a lot of the doubts he had felt up until now.

—A strange déjà vu. Familiarity. The way of wielding the sword was the same.

—The organization called the “Ingrates”. The reason Changsung and Gwanghui had aided them.

And above all, the words of Alpha from the dungeon in the forest.

“…What kind of bullshit is this?”

Kang Tae-ho gritted his teeth and glared.

***

Breaking the silence, the swordsman asked.

“…So it was like that? Assisting the Ingrate. Hiding them as well.”

“…….”

“You need to tell me. The former swordsman, no.”

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Kang Tae-jun met Changsung’s gaze straight on.

“Why did my father, Kang Hoon, team up with those damn traitors?”

“…….”

“And how the hell was he still alive?”

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