“I accept.”

Once the Beast King voluntarily accepted my proposal, I was able to proceed to my next plan.

I knelt by his side and placed my hand on his throbbing body. Instantly, I felt the rabid Mana within him and activated Resonance.

In a moment, I was connected to his body and decided to direct the flow of the overflowing Mana to myself, absorbing the excesses until his condition stabilized.

Once I was done, his boy was rid of all the rampaging energy within him and his Naan Core was fixed.

This was only a temporary solution, though.

“This much should do… at least for now.”

I canceled Resonance and stood on my feet. The Beast King had returned to his regular look—a bearded man with brown hair and a rough appearance.

And—of course—he was naked.

“I-is it done?” He murmured, feeling the pain in his body vanish.

“Not yet. I only relieved you temporarily.”

“What? Why? That wasn’t the deal.” The Beastfolk appeared flustered.

He definitely didn’t want to experience the same hell he just went through.

“I haven’t forgotten our promise.”

Using Space Magic, I fished out something from my Special Dimension.

“Here.” I threw a pure white substance at the seated Beastfolk.

“U-uh?” He caught the little object, no smaller than a small grain.

The substance was a round pill, glistening with its pure and white color.

“What’s this?” The Beast King murmured, observing the pill with a slightly disappointed gaze.

“It’s the cure.”

What he was holding was the key to liberating the Beast Folk from their endless cycle of suffering.

It was a solvent that expelled the stained Mana within one’s Mana Core and transformed it into a White Mana Core.

‘He can consider it as a reset medicine that’ll return them to the start of his Mana Absorption stage.’

In terms of the quantity of Mana, it would be no different from a White Core Grade—though it would definitely be of higher and more concentrated quality.

But, it still meant that Gerard would be far weaker than before.

‘Normally, I’d stop at this and call it a cure. He’ll be able to live for another 30 or so years with this.’

By then, I would have achieved my goals. Plus, by supplying a stable supply of the medicine, I could wrap him and his people under my thumb.

But, I wasn’t a malevolent individual.

‘Besides, I did promise to make him stronger…’

“Eating that Pill will cause your Mana Core to change. It’ll ascend to a higher plane, and you’ll begin to undergo different training to make sure you get stronger.”

Explaining the whole process to him would be a chore, but the goal was to help the Beastfolk create multiple Mana Cores.

That was the simple solution.

By allocating the incoming Mana to several Cores, it was possible for them to create an indefinite number of Mana Cores and Subcores.

That was my intention for him.

“Ah ah, not yet,” I said, raising my finger to stop him from swallowing the Pill yet.

“What now?” He grumbled.

‘There’s that attitude again. Maybe it’s because he’s no longer in pain, and he holds the cure that he feels this way.’

As I suspected, the best way to control a Beast like him was to break him completely.

‘If I can include her as well, then this should work out splendidly.’

Glancing at the woman beside me, a bright idea popped into my head.

“Before you eat that Pill and begin anew, it’s best to make one thing clear.” I also stared at Serah and gave her a knowing smile.

‘If I can secure both of their absolute respect and reverence, then I should have two indispensable allies to use.’

Serah still didn’t completely trust me, and it was quite obvious who the superior one among us was.

But, I had no intention of letting that last forever. After all…

“Right here and now, the both of you should fight me.”

********************

One of the reasons I pitted Serah against the Beast King was to determine both their capabilities.

It was the same reason I was excited about the match between Serah and Aurora.

While it was interesting to watch two powerful individuals clash with each other, there was another merit to it.

—The Great Sage’s Memoir

My Original Magic allowed me to utilize any Magic I had deciphered, but that meant I needed to record contents within it.

Magic Formulas, Spells, Structures, and Circuits—to the littlest of details—had to be analyzed.

By using Spellcraft while closely observing a match, I could fulfill these conditions and record the Magic I witnessed in the Memoir. My fight with Neron was also to that end.

That was why I waited before utilizing Original Magic.

And so, after watching Serah’s match with the Beast King and obtaining the information I desired, I finally realized something.

“She’s very strong. Her Mana is incredible too. But… it’s too simple!”

Serah Crimson was definitely more powerful than Neron Kaelid, but he would still win if they fought.

She was simply more powerful in a straightforward fight where the victor was determined by sheer power.

Certainly, mere tricks wouldn’t be enough to stop someone who could keep getting stronger until they won, but there were many ways to handle it.

‘And I can think of one right now.’ I smiled, glancing at both Serah and Gerard.

They were both cut from the same simple cloth of destruction.

As a result, if I could beat Serah, I could beat the Beast King as well—after all, he was even inferior.

‘Well, it’s easier to show than tell… right?’

*********************

“Are you sure about this, Jared?” The Queen of Destruction asked me.

“Of course.” I smiled sweetly, glancing at the man who was still stunned by my words.

“I don’t want any excuses.” With the snap of my fingers, the white pill in his grasp disintegrated.

“If you want your cure, you WILL fight. As for you, Serah… you shouldn’t pretend you don’t want to.”

Serah had already displayed enough emotion to let me know of her interest.

“Aren’t you both curious? Just how much power I have to face off the two of you.”

Just like clockwork, glimmers appeared in bother their eyes.

Naked Gerard rose to his feet, ignored by Serah’s gaze completely.

The Grandmaster also stared at me, joining the Beast King to finally express her desire to test my capabilities.

“Now that’s more like it. It’s high time you both realize the meaning of true power.”

Was it a bluff or a genuine fact? Could a young boy like me really rival two of the most powerful beings to ever exist?

‘Who knows…’ I smiled at the pair.