Inside the barrier, the woman suddenly gasped awake. Her eyes snapped open, panic flooding her face the mont she saw .
She raised her hand as massive pillars of dirt shot upward in front of them, stacking layer upon layer, forming a thick defensive wall outside the do.
Impressive reaction speed.
It’s useless, though.
My daggers sliced through the dirt like paper. The pillars shattered into debris midair, exploding outward in clouds of dust and rock fragnts.
The blades didn’t slow as they pierced the do next.
For a split second, the surface of the barrier rippled violently—like a pond struck by multiple stones at once.
Then it gave way.
Three daggers tore through the man’s back.
One through the shoulder.
One through the lower ribs.
One dangerously close to his spine.
The force drove him forward onto his hands.
Blood sprayed across the inside of the do, staining the transparent surface crimson before dripping downward.
The man coughed as a thick stream of blood spilled from his mouth, splattering onto the dirt, the do flickering.
I thought he would retaliate but instead he remained kneeling as he laughed.
"Ahh..." he exhaled shakily, shoulders trembling. "It’s been so long since I felt this much pain."
’...What?’
He sagged slightly against the invisible barrier, breathing uneven—but smiling.
’Is this man a masochist?’
It was a good thing I was wearing the Jester’s Mask because my actual expression right now would’ve ruined my entire image.
His fingers twitched against the inside of the do. Blood continued to drip down his side.
[Warning! Admin Seraphiel is watching you closely!]
Fuck.
So it wasn’t casual observation anymore.
A thin, unpleasant pressure settled over the clearing, like invisible eyes narrowing from the sky.
Did we fight too close to that psycho Admin?
If we had moved just a little further south... deeper into the jungle...
I might’ve been able to kill him once without triggering that warning.
Just once would’ve been enough.
I let out a deep, tired sigh as I snapped my fingers.
My daggers tore themselves free from the man’s body in unison, spraying arcs of blood before streaking back to . They hovered for half a heartbeat, glinting in the filtered sunlight, then aligned neatly at my sides.
"I’ll let you live just this once."
The words tasted bitter in my mouth.
He blinked.
For the first ti since I t him—
He looked genuinely flustered.
"What?"
"I’m letting you go," I repeated calmly. "I’m quite touched that you even stopped to pick up your friend."
A lie.
A blatant one.
But I delivered it smoothly.
There were three reasons.
First—
The Admin would notice.
Spectral Seal wasn’t mana-based. It didn’t behave like mana. It disrupted it. If Seraphiel was already watching carefully, pushing further might expose sothing I wasn’t ready to explain.
Second—
Even if I killed this guy, he would just respawn.
Third—
I don’t want to make him an enemy. Not yet. He’s unpredictable, obviously strong, and clearly not bound by the original story.
Let’s hope... he’d rember this mont.
And maybe spare once.
Yoru slowly pulled one of the remaining daggers from his shoulder with a wet sound. Blood stread down his arm, but his expression had already returned to that infuriating half-smile.
He studied carefully.
Then he started laughing.
Not loudly.
Just amused.
"Then I’ll let you live once when we et later," he said lightly. "My na’s Yoru. Rember that."
How polite.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," I replied dismissively, waving a hand as if I couldn’t care less.
Inside? Regret.
’Damn it.’
I really should’ve killed him here. Opportunities like this don’t co twice.
In the next mont, the teleportation finally activated.
The faint sigil beneath Yoru’s feet flared one last ti, brighter than before, as if fueled by the last of his stubborn will. Blue particles spiraled upward, wrapping around him and the woman in tightening rings of light.
The ground vibrated as they vanished.
Even the transparent do was gone now, as if it had never existed in the first place. Only the bloodstains on the dirt remained.
I exhaled slowly. ’Should I already plan my funeral when I et him again?’
I shook my head once, dismissing it. For now, I needed to regroup.
I looked at the direction where the nightjars mbers went.
Northwest.
I began walking in that direction, stepping lightly over roots and fallen leaves. The jungle thinned gradually, opening into a wide clearing carved out by brute force.
The first thing I heard was a roar followed by a human shout.
I stepped out of the tree line and froze for half a second.
Dagur was wrestling a ten-foot-tall monstrosity that looked like it had crawled straight out of a fever dream.
A Titancoil Kong.
Its body was that of a massive silverback gorilla—corded muscle layered over thick, dark hide. But instead of normal forearms, its fists ended in writhing serpents. Each "hand" was composed of three thick snakes braided together, their scaled bodies coiling and snapping independently. Venom dripped from their exposed fangs as they struck at Dagur from impossible angles.
Dagur had locked both arms around the creature’s torso, veins bulging across his neck and shoulders as he tried to overpower it.
He had no technical advantage. No agility edge. Just raw strength.
The Titancoil Kong slamd a snake-fist into his side. One of the serpents bit down on his shoulder, injecting sothing that made the surrounding flesh darken instantly.
Dagur roared back, headbutting the creature square in the face.
And sohow—
He was holding his ground.
I shifted my gaze to the right.
Akali was locked in a deadly brawl with a three-headed lion.
A Cerberlion.
Its body resembled an enormous golden lion, but each of its three heads bore different features. One had burning red eyes and a mane that flickered like embers. The second was pitch black, its mouth constantly leaking shadows. The third was pale, almost skeletal, with elongated fangs and hollow white eyes.
They moved independently and attacked independently.
One lunged while another flanked, while the third snapped at her blind spots.
Akali was already bleeding.
Long claw marks ran diagonally across her ribs, staining her clothes dark. Her breathing was uneven, but her movents remained sharp. She darted under one snapping jaw, slashing across the ember-maned head’s cheek before twisting away from a shadow-coated paw strike.
She was outmatched in durability.
But not in speed.
Then—
I glanced upward.
High above, stretched lazily across a thick branch, Ghost was asleep.
One leg dangling over the side, arms folded behind his head, and completely undisturbed by the chaos below.
Unbelievable.
On the far side of the clearing stood Kairos and Thorne. Side by side and watching the two fight, respawn, then fight again.
Kairos had his arms crossed, expression neutral but eyes sharp. Thorne leaning slightly on a huge boulder, occasionally shifting his stance as if evaluating trajectories and stamina drain.
They looked like two professors observing lab experints.
Or two ntal patients enjoying a violent circus.
I wasn’t sure which.
Were they purposely walking slower for ?
Or had they been delayed because of the Titancoil Kong and the Cerberlion?
Hard to tell.
Either way, I had caught up quickly.
Kairos noticed first. "You’re back," he said calmly.
"Had to deal with trash," I replied.
Behind us, Dagur roared again as he managed to flip the Titancoil Kong onto its back, the serpent-fists thrashing wildly.
Akali narrowly avoided having her head bitten off by two jaws at once.
Ghost snored softly above.
Thorne tilted his head slightly. "You look uninjured."
"Disappointed?" I asked.
Thorne’s lips curved faintly. "A bit."
I looked back at the two ongoing fights and rolled my shoulders. "Are we watching," I asked flatly, "or are we finishing this?"
"Go have fun," Kairos said without hesitation. His tone was calm, almost indulgent. "It seems that you need to let off so steam."
I glanced at him briefly.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
"By the way," I added, stepping forward, "we’ll be staying here for a long ti."
Thorne frowned. "What do you an long ti?"
Before I could answer—
"Oi! Kiddo!" Dagur’s voice echoed strangely.
I looked around. He’s not here yet I can hear him? Where is—
"Down here, kiddo."
I looked down.
His head was staring up at us from the grass.
Just his severed head, blinking at us as if nothing was wrong.
"What the...?"
A few ters away, the Titancoil Kong was violently smashing Dagur’s headless body left to right like a rag doll. The serpent-fists constricted around his torso, venom dripping as it slamd him into the ground repeatedly.
His detached head grinned.
"Didn’t the Admin say fifty people could go on each portal?" Dagur continued casually. "So two days should be enough. Can’t you do basic math?"
I stared at him.
Then at his body.
Then back at his head.
"How are you even talking..." I sighed. "Never mind."
Respawn chanics were one thing. But detachable, independently conscious body parts?
I don’t want to know.
"The Admin said fifty people—" I began.
"That’s what I said, kiddo," Dagur cut off irritably.
"Use your brain, dumbass," Thorne added flatly.
"Fuck you—" Dagur’s head suddenly turned to dust mid-sentence.
The next second—
He materialized beside us in full form, completely intact, rolling his shoulders as if he had just stretched after a nap.
Behind him, the Titancoil Kong blinked in confusion, now clutching nothing but air before letting out a furious roar.
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