Noah tilted his head slightly, confused.
'I am the one?'
What did that even an?
"You three may leave. I'll have a little chat with this one," the man on the throne said casually.
Without hesitation, Zuhur, Lalie, and Boris vanished—leaving Noah alone.
He tensed. His instincts scread at him.
This man—no, this being—radiated a presence easily in the SS-rank tier.
Soone who could erase him with a single flick of a finger.
Chuckle—!
"Relax," the man said, his voice surprisingly warm. "I won't harm our only hope."
Noah remained guarded, though outwardly he forced himself to stay calm.
"Well," he said coolly, "I'm not so sure yet if I'll be the one saving you all."
Or if I even want to.
Saving people who could beco future problems?
No chance.
"Sit down. Let's talk properly," the man said, conjuring a chair made of shadows.
Without fuss, Noah sat, eting the man's eyes directly.
"My na is Oren," he said calmly.
"Noah Weaverheart," Noah replied.
Oren nodded. "The three who brought you here must have explained a little—the fact that we wish to escape this cursed forest."
Noah nodded again. "They did."
"But they didn't tell you how. Nor the why of all this."
"Exactly. And I was also wondering…" Noah leaned forward slightly.
"Are you trapped here because you caused so trouble?"
A soft laugh escaped Oren.
"Trouble? Depends on the perspective," he said with a grin.
"But for you, no—we're not your problem. In fact, you might find helping us… far more beneficial than you expect."
Now Noah was genuinely interested.
"And how exactly am I supposed to help you?" he asked.
Oren's smile turned oddly innocent.
"I don't know."
Silence.
Noah blinked.
…They don't even know?
His expression darkened. He stared at Oren like he was looking at an escaped lunatic.
Oren noticed and chuckled again. "Let finish before judging."
"I don't know the thod exactly," Oren admitted. "But—soone else does."
Noah frowned. "Aren't you the highest-ranking here?"
"Among the shadows here, yes," Oren confird. "But not the highest."
Noah sighed. "And who am I supposed to et? I'm not exactly comfortable standing in front of beings who can erase with a sneeze, you know."
"Don't worry. No harm will co to you," Oren reassured him—and then his gaze deepened, staring straight into Noah's soul.
"And even if we wanted to hurt you, we couldn't."
Noah's confusion deepened. "Why not?"
Oren studied him for a mont, clearly realizing Noah was truly unaware.
Interesting.
So he doesn't know.
I wonder his relationship with her.
But Oren didn't press. He had his orders.
"We will et my master," he said simply.
"The one responsible for the transformation of this Realm. The one who knows the way out."
Noah hesitated. "You're… awfully confident that I can save you. Why?"
"Our master gave us specific instructions. She described the person capable of freeing us."
Oren's eyes locked into Noah's.
"He would be soone… without a conventional shadow."
"Soone whose very shadow is not of this world."
"A literal shadow—like us."
Sothing none of them had ever seen before.
Noah sat in stunned silence.
'It seems Ester's existence is even more special than I thought…'
He'd always known Ester's presence was incredible, but this?
It changed everything.
"I see," Noah said simply.
Oren smiled faintly.
"Let's go," he said, stepping forward and placing a hand on Noah's shoulder.
"I'll teleport you directly."
"Be respectful."
"And…" Oren's expression softened.
"I hope you can truly… save her."
"Wait—her—?"
Before Noah could finish, the shadows swallowed.
—
In the blink of an eye, Noah appeared elsewhere.
A cavern. Towering stone pillars spiraled up to unreachable heights, arranged in a perfect circle.
From each pillar, thick black chains stretched toward the center—toward her.
At the heart of it all—
A woman knelt.
Bound by countless chains, her head bowed low.
Her skin was pale—almost translucent. Her hair a black so deep it shimred unnaturally, absorbing the faint light.
The mont Noah set foot in the cave—
Snap—!
She raised her head.
Her pitch-black eyes locked onto his silver ones. Her face was blank. Empty. Yet sohow, it felt like all the darkness in the world had been poured into her.
W-what?
Noah staggered, a sharp pain exploding inside his head.
Blood stread from his eyes, his mouth, his ears.
His body convulsed—his very soul seed on the verge of collapsing.
It felt like simply being seen by her was a sin.
And then—
She spoke.
"Finally… you are here."
BOOM!
"Aaaaargh—!"
Noah scread. His body cracked like breaking stone.
His knees hit the ground hard.
Desperately, his Samsara Aura and the energy of Limitlessness surged, barely keeping his body and soul intact.
The woman tilted her head slightly, as if realizing sothing.
"My bad," she said casually.
Instantly, the crushing pressure disappeared.
Noah gasped, laying there as his body healed rapidly, his aura stitching him back together.
He stared up at the hollow dark ceiling.
Then, brokenly, he muttered:
"Fuck my life."
…
anwhile…
BOOM—!
In the inner zone of the forest—
Eric's body slamd into the ground with brutal force.
"Cough—!" Blood spilled from his lips. He barely had a second to breathe before dozens of shadow spears shot toward him.
"Shit—!"
"Shadow Barrier!" he roared, creating a defensive wall of shadows.
But his control was too weak—the barrier cracked under the assault.
As death neared—
"One-Slash Sword Technique: Slash of Sharpness!"
A cold voice rang out.
A single blade cut through the barrage of spears like paper.
At the sa mont, Elizabeth unleashed her Mind Disruption, montarily stunning the wyvern-like beast.
Yuki landed beside Eric, sword ready.
"You good?" she asked, eyes locked on their enemy.
Eric wiped the blood from his lips, rising shakily.
"I'm fine."
Ester appeared seconds later, her body littered with shallow wounds.
Their expressions were grim.
The reality was clear—the beast wasn't even taking them seriously.
He was toying with them.
Eric gritted his teeth, summoning a pair of dark daggers into his hands.
Yuki lowered into a ready stance, eyes burning with silent rage.
Elizabeth's expression hardened—this ti, no more holding back.
Ester stood calm, but the aura around her deepened dangerously.
Eric spoke quietly, voice dead of all emotion.
"I don't usually say things like this," he muttered.
"But I think it's ti we fuck this beast up."
Without any other words—
BOOOOOOM!
All at once, they attacked.
"Daggers Style: Serpentine Shadow!"
"One-Slash Sword Skill: Fusion Edition – Crushing Sword of Space!"
"Mind invasion!"
"Shadow's Bind!"
Silence.
Then—
"Arghhhhhhhhhh—!!!"
The beast roared in pain as their combined assault finally drew blood.
—End of Chapter 67—
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