A deep growl reverberated through the surroundings.

Though it wasn’t particularly loud, it somehow felt overwhelmingly so.

Was that Yusa’s growl? No. His mouth remained shut.

Then, where was this sound coming from?

It didn’t take long for me to realize.

It was his growl.

Just... not from his mouth.

More precisely—

"It is coming from his mouth... just not that one."

It wasn’t the voice emerging from his lips.

The sound came from behind him.

From the vast shadow stretched out beneath him.

That’s where the growl was originating.

Unbelievable.

"To think I hadn’t seen this until now."

Something so immense and violent—only now, after breaking through to a higher realm, was I able to perceive it.

Ridiculous.

"No, even that’s wrong."

If anything, it meant the difference between us had been so vast that I couldn’t see it before.

The fact that I could see it now meant that I had finally reached a level where I could perceive what he had hidden.

Which, in turn, meant—

"Before now, the gap between us was too great for even that."

"Hmph."

Rumble.

The low vibrations from his growl sent tremors through my body.

The sheer hostility woven into it was suffocating.

"What did you just say?"

Yusa’s eyes sharpened. His slit pupils, his swaying tail—everything about him exuded the presence of a true predator.

A beast that devoured everything in its path.

I had felt it the moment I first laid eyes on him.

His ravenous gaze had the power to lock a person’s body in place.

But I couldn’t afford to freeze.

No, more than that—I couldn’t let him see even a hint of hesitation.

"You didn’t hear me? With ears that big, I’d be disappointed if you missed it."

I tilted my head slightly.

Partly to exude arrogance, but also to force my body out of its rigid state.

"I said I want to know the location of the Sacred Tree in Yahwol."

"...."

Yusa’s face contorted, twisted into something monstrous.

BOOM—!

GRRRR—!

His aura flared, his growl deepened, and the sheer force of it made my body tremble.

Well now.

"Am I more sensitive to this because I advanced?"

Or was it simply my first time experiencing an aura like his?

Either way, it was something completely new.

Every hair on my body reacted instinctively.

A warning.

The enemy before me was targeting me.

That if I wasn’t careful, I would be devoured.

My instincts screamed at me to run.

Feeling that, I laughed.

"Bullshit."

My instincts told me to flee, but I knew better.

"Can’t even be honest with yourself, huh?"

He didn’t want me to run.

I knew it.

Deep down, he was pushing me forward, urging me to fight.

And yet, he was playing at intimidation.

"Like hell I wouldn’t notice."

The thrill of a battle between strong opponents made my heart race.

More so than when I had fought Shin Noya.

That hadn’t been a real fight.

But this?

"If things go wrong, I might die."

I wanted to see it for myself.

To confirm just how much stronger I had become.

Even though I had come here with a purpose, that purpose kept slipping to the back of my mind.

No—not slipping.

"This is part of the process anyway, isn’t it?"

Framing it that way made it easier to accept.

"Why are you asking about that?"

Yusa spoke, his voice dripping with hostility.

"Obviously, I have business with it. You see, I..."

I stepped forward.

Through the killing intent.

Pushing my body straight through it.

"...have a reason to seek the Sacred Tree left behind by its master."

"The Sacred Tree? Why?"

"Hmm. I suppose you could say it’s connected to the goal I’m striving for. And perhaps... to what you seek as well?"

"...."

At my words, Yusa’s expression twisted further.

"My goal requires the Sacred Tree?"

"Yes. I want it."

"Hah."

Yusa let out a hollow laugh.

And then—

CRACK—!

The immense hostility he had been emanating vanished in an instant.

At a glance, it seemed like he had calmed down.

But that wasn’t it.

This was the silence before the storm.

"Two of my precious ones were erased by your hands."

"Speak properly. Only one."

I had killed the White Leader.

But the Blue Leader was still alive.

In fact, killing the White Leader had been unintentional.

I had just broken through a realm, my senses thrown into disarray—

And I had incinerated him before I even realized it.

A waste.

"I should have tested Demonic Energy on him first."

I had used it on the Black Leader.

I should have seen whether it worked on the White Leader as well.

If it did work, I needed to test its speed, its efficiency—

But—

"Tch."

I had killed him before I could even check.

That was disappointing.

And beyond that—

It had made things... a little complicated.

"I shouldn't have killed the leader back then." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Killing the leader would lead to too many complications.

Especially with Yusa.

If I wanted to use him, I needed him to waver.

"And yet, I killed his subordinate."

I had barged into his domain, killed his subordinate, and walked right out.

How would Yusa react to that?

There was no way he would take it well.

Even if he trusted me, he would hesitate now—knowing he could end up the same way.

And the bigger issue...

Even more than that...

Yusa’s perception of his master was also a problem.

I had caused an incident, yet his master hadn’t interfered.

Yusa knew his master was somewhere in Yahwol.

He might even know the exact location.

And yet, despite all this, his master had done nothing.

"Even I don’t know why."

Why hadn’t he interfered?

Part of why I caused that mess was to see how he would react.

And part of why I was here now was to find out.

"One was discarded, another was erased. And the last one... you abandoned him for your own schemes. Did you really think I wouldn’t know?"

"..."

The one discarded was the Blue Leader.

The one erased was the White Leader.

And the one abandoned... was the Red Leader.

I knew Yusa had used the Red Leader.

I just wasn’t sure what had happened to him afterward.

"For someone who calls them precious, your actions don’t seem to match your words."

Grind.

A rough sound came from him.

"...Why do you need the Sacred Tree?"

Ignoring my remark, he cut straight to the point.

Why did I need the Sacred Tree?

Hearing that, I smirked and responded with a question of my own.

"Oh? If my reason is good enough, will you tell me?"

"..."

Silence.

And silence always meant yes.

Then I might as well tell him.

"In order to change the course of Mangye, the Sacred Tree is necessary. For the paradise I will create. And for the position you should take."

My answer was vague at best.

Nowhere near clear enough.

As expected, Yusa furrowed his brows again.

"Explain properly. What is this paradise, and how does finding it get me what I want?"

"Hmm."

I ran a hand through my hair.

My black hair, now longer and fuller, swayed as I moved.

He was mistaken about something.

"General. If you want a proper answer, shouldn’t you first give me one?"

"...What?"

"Will you get on the ship? Or will you crawl away like an insect?"

Would he take my hand—

Or would he stay out of it?

He needed to make that choice first.

Only then would I have a reason to answer him properly.

"...So if I make my choice, you’ll tell me?"

"Of course. Why should I waste an answer on someone who isn’t mine?"

"..."

"So? I believe I’ve given you plenty of time to decide."

What answer would Yusa give?

Now that I had mentioned the Sacred Tree, how would he respond?

Would he take my hand, as I had suggested at the start?

If he did, I would have to explain why I needed the Sacred Tree.

How should I phrase it?

To meet my mother and return to my original world.

To fulfill the arrangement my mother had spoken of.

And beyond that, to save Shin Noya, whom he despised.

Would that be the right way to put it?

"That’s nonsense."

That explanation wouldn’t work.

It would only provoke him.

Which meant I needed an excuse.

But unfortunately—

I didn’t have one prepared.

If he took my hand, I wouldn’t have much to say to him.

Should I start thinking of one now?

"No need."

I /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ was sure of it.

Even though I had no excuse ready, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Because, in the end—

"He’s not going to take my hand anyway."

I had already predicted it.

And just as I expected—

"This is pissing me off."

Yusa let out a long sigh.

And with that sigh—

BOOOOM—!

The sheer pressure he unleashed was twice as intense as before.

"...Enough. I’ve had it with this nonsense."

His sharp fangs bared, his slit pupils narrowing further.

"You called yourself Cheonma, right? Drop the act. I don’t know what you’re after, but I hate complicated things."

The shadow behind him writhed.

"I’ll make things simple. I’ll just tear you apart right here."

Yusa growled, his killing intent flaring.

Watching him, I laughed.

"Ahh."

I rolled my shoulders.

As I moved, the sound of bones cracking echoed in the air.

"A regrettable choice. What a shame."

But despite my words, I felt no regret.

If anything—

This was exactly what I wanted.