It wasn’t only Chi-Woo. The other expedition members, who were preparing to fight, were all confused.

“I said it’s fine for you to sit,” the king repeated. The expedition members glanced at Chi-Woo. The king had said he wanted to talk, but they couldn’t tell whether he was joking or being serious.

“Hmm. Are you going to keep standing like that? Then do as you please. You don’t have to show that much reverence already.” Mistaking their hesitation as reverence, the king laughed and continued, “It doesn’t mean much. I just wanted to know more about you all.” He softly smiled and shrugged. Then he slightly widened his eyes and spoke with a benevolent expression, “Don’t you have questions about me too? I’ll give you my permission, so fire away. Any question is fine.”

It didn’t seem like he was lying; he really seemed to want a sincere conversation. They could tell him to go ** himself and immediately start fighting, but a hasty decision could lead to death. Chi-Woo decided to organize his thoughts. Their opponent was one of the beings who knew about the Hala Forest the best. In a way, this could be a good opportunity—an opportunity for them to gather accurate and detailed insider information that humanity and the Cassiubia League didn’t know at the moment, especially at a time like this when every piece of information could be useful.

Although according to Ismile, the being in front of them was the enemy they needed to be most wary of, it was also true that this problem wouldn’t be resolved even if they successfully beat him. It was worth a shot to try talking to him and get as much information from him as possible. If they could figure out Sernitas’ intentions at the same time, it would be most ideal. After a brief moment of deliberation, Chi-Woo decided to accept the king’s offer.

His first question was: “Who are you?” It was the most basic and fundamental question.

The king seemed to have expected it. “You ask an obvious question.” He spoke leisurely with a slight smile. “All of you always look up at me.” He talked as if they had met each other before, and very frequently at that. “Of course, I’m also always looking down at all of you.”

There was no way his words could be true. No one among the expedition had met him before they entered the Hala Forest.

‘…No.’ What if he considered the Hala Forest’s unique state of evolution? Chi-Woo’s eyes narrowed.

When no one seemed to have a clue, the king raised his hand with a slight smile and pointed up with his index finger. Looking up at the sky, the expedition team soon frowned; the mellow twilight had faded and was suddenly shining brightly—like the sun was at its peak in the middle of the sky. The expedition members faltered at the abnormal phenomenon. The sunlight was so brilliant that it was blinding.

An existence that humans always looked up at and likewise, one that always looked down on humans. If limited to the sky, there was only one existence that fit this criteria. No way…

“If you’re asking me why I suddenly came down to the ground…” The king tilted his chin and looked up at the sky. “Well, I don’t know, either.” He closed his eyes gently while receiving the pouring sunlight. “I suddenly heard a sound that seemed to be calling me and was drawn towards it…then it felt like I was flowing somewhere…and when I opened my eyes, I was here.” He continued to talk with pauses as if he was recalling a particular memory. “I don’t know who dared to summon me here or what their intentions are. I have no way of knowing, but…” The king’s body glowed faintly as if it was absorbing the light around them. It was like Chi-Woo’s halo, which was sealed and gone for now.

“It doesn’t matter in the first place.” The king lowered his head again before suddenly opening his eyes. “From the moment I opened my eyes, I could instinctively know what to do.” A reddish golden light shone in both eyes. “It’s to shine and brighten the world in every corner.” Then the glow from his body intensified. “As the only Sun King who encompasses the sky and earth!”

Shaaaaaa! While he made the declaration, beams of blazing light erupted in all directions. Everyone was blinded by the intense light. Although the light soon died down, they were still averting their gazes with their heads turned away—just like how people couldn’t directly look up at the sky. The king seemed pleased by their responses, and Chi-Woo was completely shocked inside.

He found out what the Hala Forest was like after entering here. Things like trees, stones, and flowers evolving was understandable, but he hadn’t imagined that even sunlight could become his opponent. The Sernitas even drew out the light of the sun, the largest and only star in the stellar system. If this was true, the Hala Forest was undergoing more than an ecological upheaval. It was more accurate to say that a microcosm was being created here; a space to cultivate a king to rule the universe.

Chi-Woo hadn’t thought that far yet. If Chi-Hyun were here, he would have immediately realized what the Sernitas’ intention was in creating this space and what they were doing to face the Heavenly King. While everyone was left speechless, one person quietly stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, I apologize for the intrusion, but…” Evelyn carefully spoke up.

The king’s smile deepened due to her polite manner and words. He gently urged her with a kind expression, “Oh, yes. It’s all right. Go ahead and ask me.”

“From my understanding, the King of the Hala Forest hasn’t been decided yet.” Evelyn slightly bowed and continued, “I heard there are other king candidates…”

The king’s face hardened briefly. “…Yes, that’s true.” Then he nodded in agreement. “ To be exact, there are three remaining candidates, including me.”

“And by remaining, do you mean…?”

“There used to be five.”

Chi-Woo held his breath. He couldn’t believe there used to be four other beings similar to this king.

“I killed and ate one of them myself. Well, it was quite a delicacy.” The king straightened his posture and said proudly.

Although their enemies had fought each other and decreased their numbers, it wasn’t something to be happy about; as their numbers decreased, the remaining three got even stronger.

‘The Last Dragon was right.’ The battle among the kings had already progressed half-way. If they had arrived just a little later, the situation would have spiraled out of control.

“And the other one…” The king continued as Chi-Woo thought, “She probably took care of it.” His voice suddenly lowered as if he wasn’t pleased by this. Evelyn didn’t miss his reaction, and her eyes narrowed. It was evident that he didn’t want to comment further about this topic. She wanted to dig for more information, but decided to change the subject rather than pressing further. “Your Majesty, I’m curious as to why you wanted to converse with us when you, as the great Sun King, could have swept us all away with your mighty and overwhelming force.”

“Hmm. Yeah, since we’ve talked to some extent, I’ll reveal my purpose.” As expected, there was a reason why he wanted to talk. “In reality, you’re nothing more than food that I could talk to and understand.” The king spoke calmly, as if he was explaining that one plus one was two. “Until not too long ago…until I met that human.” The human the king was referring to was probably Ismile. The king continued, “It was really amazing. I didn’t know that what I thought of as delicious food could push me to that extent…I still can’t get rid of the emotion I experienced then.” The king actually trembled a little while he was talking.

Ismile had made it sound like he was one-sidedly beaten, but it seemed that hadn't been the case. Rather, the king seemed to have been deeply impressed by his battle with Ismile.

“The more I think about it, the more regretful I feel,” he continued to lament. “I shouldn’t have just let him go like that, but chased him down even at the risk of death… One arm is not enough… I can’t get rid of this insatiable hunger…”

He seemed to mean every word judging by the way he smacked his lips and swallowed. Their opponent really saw everything but himself as merely food for survival and growth.

The king continued, “Anyway, it feels like something in me has changed since then. Should I say it’s my perspective or thoughts…?” The king tapped his knee with his index finger, “I want to have something valuable next to me.” Then he summarized it in a few sentences, “It’s okay even if you don’t meet my standards since I can find a way to utilize you properly. Just look. Didn’t that insignificant thing bring you here after listening to me?” He looked at each expedition member one by one and folded his arms. After a brief pause, he continued, “I’m also well aware of the situation that all of you are in.”

Although Chi-Woo wanted to ask how the hell he knew about the current situation when he was just born, it seemed the king had absorbed some of the memories stored in the brains of the Cassiubia League members.

“Especially humanity. They jumped head-on to save a world beyond their galaxy. It’s indeed a noble and excellent mission. That spirit alone is worthy of great praise.” The king generously praised them and suddenly showed signs of pity. “All of you must have suffered beyond words. You must have felt despair countless times facing the dark reality, but it’s alright now. Everything will be alright, since I have finally descended to this world.” The king placed his hand on his chest as if he understood all their struggles and said, “Trust me.”

Then he spread his arms wide and spoke magnanimously, “I’ll lead all of you. I’ll stand in the vanguard for you, protect you, and defeat all enemies who stand in your way. And I’ll save this world for you.” He declared, looking at the expedition team staring blankly at him. With a soft, persuasive voice, he asked, “What do you think?”

Chi-Woo stared at the self-proclaimed king. He said he’d fight their enemies for them and save Liber. It would be a lie if Chi-Woo didn’t find it a little tempting since it was more comfortable to pass on work to others. Perhaps, if everything went well, he could help a bit and go back happily to Earth with his brother. Yes, if there really could be a future like that, that was. However, Chi-Woo’s intuition was shouting at him that this was a trap, which put a bitter smile on his face. As soon as he agreed, he would be dancing to another’s tune.

From experience, Chi-Woo knew that following his guts was best in times like this. But above all, his brother had told him to raid and subjugate the Hala Forest, not to cooperate with the enemy. Chi-Woo believed and trusted his brother rather than the king, who he had met for the first time.

“…I refuse.”

It was a clean refusal, and surprisingly, the king’s response was calm. “Tell me why,” he asked with interest. “I don’t think I’ve treated any of you badly.”

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Chi-Woo barely managed to suppress his laughter. He wondered why he had felt so uncomfortable throughout the conversation, and he finally got it. The being in front of him said he was a king, but he didn’t seem very much like a king. Rather, he seemed more like a child impersonating an adult after his head got a little bit bigger. It was now time to give the naïve kid a taste of reality. Chi-Woo said, “There’s an expression like this—know your place.”

“?”

“You don’t get respect just because you ask for it. You need to earn it.” Chi-Woo smiled and shot out an insult, “Don't you think that a servant would want to serve a king who is actually like a king?”

The king raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that you don’t trust me as a king?”

“No. Rather than a king…” Chi-Woo rubbed his chin and fell into thought. If he had to describe what he was feeling… “You’re more like a cult leader who is frantically trying to attract believers due to pre-existing circumstances?”

The king gave a clear reaction this time; he conspicuously flinched and glared at Chi-Woo. “…I’ll let this slide once, considering that you pleasantly surprised me. But you’ll have to be careful from now on.”

Although this could be considered a threat, Chi-Woo smirked. “I’m wondering what’s the point if we’re going to fight a battle to the death soon.”

“…Haha! Your spirit and will is at least worth watching. Yeah, it’s fun like this.” The king burst into laughter. Rather than looking over this insult, he seemed to be pretending to do so. “What about the rest of you?” He soon moved his gaze from Chi-Woo and looked left and right. “If any of you want to follow me, I’m willing to acc—”

Evelyn snorted while he was talking and said, “Shut up, you moron.”

While Chi-Woo agreed with Evelyn, he couldn’t help but flinch at her bluntness. Evelyn’s attitude changed 180 degrees after judging that she had retrieved all the information she wanted from the king. “You liked it so much that I treated you like a king for a bit. How pathetic.”

Having considered Evelyn a potential servant, the king was shocked speechless by Evelyn’s sudden change when—

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.” Yeriel clicked her tongue. “That’s not how you provoke someone. Hmph! Look at how I do it.” She whispered and cleared her throat. “Woahhh! Our omniscient and omnipotent sun’s—wow, woahhhhhhhhh!” She raised both her arms and fell flat on her stomach. “This humble servant, who has heard the highest truth and gained enlightenment, dare to ask Your Majesty a question!”

“…Hm.” The king, whose face had turned purple and red in no time, schooled his expression into one of indifference, thinking this as an opportunity to save face.

Yeriel continued, “Your Majesty, about the two remaining candidates you just mentioned! I wish to know where one of them is!”

“…What?”

“That candidate! Her! The candidate who succeeded in killing another king candidate like you, Your Majesty!”

“Why do you want to…?” The king looked confused.

“What do you mean?!” Then Yeriel raised her head and said, “It’s to meet her as soon as possible to devote my body and heart and pledge my undying loyalty to the true king, instead of a pathetic self-proclaimed king like you!”

“…” The king’s expression stiffened.

“Ah, please quickly tell me! Come on! Why won’t you tell me? Ah, hurry, hurry up!”

Seeing Yeriel pound on the ground making a huge fuss, his expression distorted. As soon as he realized he was being mocked, he growled, “You want to die?”

“Yes! I want to die!”

“What, what?”

“But I want to die at the hands of your parents, not you!” Then Yeriel quickly said, “Ah!” and tilted her head with wide eyes. “Huh? Wait a minute. That means I can never die…?”

The king fell into deep thought, wondering what she meant. However, after realizing that she was insulting him as a motherless, fatherless bastard, he grew furious. Of course, he no longer tried to convince them with words anymore. “I’m curious. Very curious.” He hit the ground and said with a trembling voice, “If you can keep jabbering with your blasted mouth like that after seeing my true strength.”

“Yes, sir! My own mother tells me often that even if I drown, my mouth will still float up and talk! My name is Yeriel Lily Dula Mariaju, nice to meet you!” Yeriel shouted refreshingly and shot to her feet, returning to her previous position.

Then Chi-Woo opened his mouth as if he had been waiting all along. “Everyone. Get ready for battle.” It was earlier than he thought, but the time had come for a decisive battle.