Light shot up. It was a huge pillar of light like the ancient tower of Babel that desired to reach the sky. The vertex, which kept soaring without end, penetrated the dome. Seeing a big circle open in the flowing clouds, the king quickly turned around, and for some unknown reason, he looked very nervous. Chi-Woo was also puzzled. He couldn’t understand what Evelyn was doing nor the king’s reaction.

‘Why…?’ Just as he thought this, something passed him. Something that was as fast as light, couldn’t be seen like sound, and sharp like piercing wind whipped past him for a fraction of a second. Chi-Woo flinched a moment later. ‘Just now…?’

Although Chi-Woo was confident that he could respond to the king’s attack three or four out of ten times, he believed he would fail to react ten out of ten times with the previous attack.

“Ughhh!” A pained groan ripped through the air, and Chi-Woo’s eyes widened as the king staggered backward while clutching his abdomen, yellow liquid dripping from his wound. Eventually, he dropped down on one knee. It was a shocking sight. They had been unable to land a proper hit despite their best effort, let alone leave a scratch on the king.

‘Who the hell…’

The king’s face crumbled. He seemed to know who his attacker was. “How the hell did you…? You’ve been quiet as a corpse so far…! Are you planning to ruin everything!?”

Chi-Woo blinked as his gaze shifted back to where the king was shouting at angrily. The first thing that came into view were four pairs of white, long legs. Each of the legs were as large as most trees. The body was covered in bright fur that was the color of snow and gave a subtle glow like moonlight. From the back, a soft-looking tail that looked as if it was made out of stacked clouds rose like a crescent moon. A pair of triangular ears were on the head. The being that had just appeared looked too fierce to be a dog, but too noble to be a wolf.

Chi-Woo stared at the white wolf’s elegant figure as if he was entranced and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. He was sure that he had seen her before, or something similar to her. When was it?

“You should have hidden quietly and waited calmly like usual! I respected you too and protected your territory without even touching it!”

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While the king cried out, Chi-Woo finally connected the dots. It was when Evelyn was still an Abyss witch, and he had agreed to battle a god as part of their deal. Although the wolf-shaped god had been captured and modified by the Sernitas, they had briefly recovered their senses for a bit and revealed their original form. The figure that he saw at that time was similar to the being in front of him.

‘Wait. Then—’ After thinking this far, Chi-Woo finally guessed the identity of the existence that suddenly appeared. There was no way it could be true, but that was the only explanation.

“Withdraw immediately! Or do you really want to fight it out here? You should know it better than anyone. Fighting me now is the same as self-destruction for both of us!” The king ferociously shouted.

The white wolf paid little attention to him and let out a cold sneer. Then she revealed her sharp fangs and raised her claws, which were dripping with bright yellow liquid.

The king’s expression distorted at the white wolf’s obvious declaration of war. “You…!” However, he stared at the expedition members with an extremely regretful face for a brief moment before quickly turning around and disappearing into the forest. Chi-Woo as well as the expedition members all looked dumbfounded. Chi-Woo was preparing to use all he had and risk everything, but their fight with the king abruptly ended with a sudden intrusion.

The white wolf seemed to have no intention of chasing after the king. She huffed to release her held breath and glanced at Chi-Woo. Then she turned around to check on Evelyn, who was on her knees and roughly breathing with sweat dripping down her whole body. The white wolf kicked the ground after seeing her.

“Ah…!” Chi-Woo exclaimed, but it was too late.

The white wolf picked up the exhausted Evelyn before anyone could say anything and left. She ran in the opposite direction of where the king had fled in and disappeared in an instant—as suddenly as she first appeared.

* * *

The king stopped running only after he was certain that the white wolf wasn’t following him anymore. After scanning his surroundings, he found a secluded place and headed there.

“Ugh…!” As soon as he slumped down, he frowned and groaned. The wound across his abdomen still remained. Although his life wasn’t at risk, it wasn’t a light injury either. Normally, he should have regenerated quickly, but the wounds he suffered at the hand of the white wolf did not heal easily. “Those damn remnants of the moon…”

Grinding his teeth, the king put his hand on his stomach and organized his thoughts. This wasn’t a good situation for him. There were still three candidates left, including himself. Although one of them was a coward, the other one was a candidate that even he, an existence born out of the sun, couldn't guarantee a victory. It hurt his pride the more he thought about it, but he needed to face the truth. Anyway, it was more urgent for him to recover this wound as soon as possible. To do that, he needed to consume a nutritious meal. If he ate one or two of those blasted humans… The king suddenly shuddered and looked around with trembling eyes. His desperate expression soon morphed into one of despair.

“You…!” The king screamed when he saw the figure emerging quietly through the bushes. “Were you after me…!” His breathing became rough, and after a while, a short reply came.

“No. I saw a light.” The voice was that of a young girl. “I’ve been drawn by the energy emitted by that light.” It was a voice that sounded hollow and empty.

“That’s right! That damn she-wolf came right after that light!” The king cried out in desperation, hoping that the being in front of him would turn her attention to something other than himself.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it must have something to do with that human female!” The king quickly explained what had happened and glanced at the figure in front of him.

“Is that so?” However, his opponent’s reaction was lukewarm. It seemed she hadn’t been very interested.

‘Damn it! What bad timing…!’ Worrying his lips between his teeth, the king hurried to find the next topic. “So, have you reconsidered my proposal?”

“What?”

“To rule the world together as my partner and queen.”

“Ah.” Her eyes immediately narrowed. “No, I don’t want to.” She refused flatly and said, “I turned you down then, too.”

The king clenched his teeth at her consecutive rejections. “Then?” Realizing that his efforts were in vain, the king growled and showed his true colors. “Did you refuse at the time because you’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this?”

She didn’t reply and just tilted her head. After a brief pause, she calmly said, “I was curious. There are three out of five left, but I didn’t expect you to be one of them.”

It could be considered a compliment in a way, but the king did not look pleased or smug; on the contrary, he looked disgruntled.

“You even beat Water… I was genuinely surprised.”

“Ha!” The king snorted. “Do you think that I, who came from the sun, would lose to a thing like Water?”

“Yeah.” She easily nodded, and the king looked taken aback.

“W-What?”

“You were weak. Weaker than Water.”

The king glared at her and said, “…Then you were wrong.” He continued to talk with vehement anger, “I certainly beat Water, and I savored each and every bite. I still can’t forget the screams they let out.”

“Rather than one bite, it was just one gulp. And rather than ate, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say drink? Because wat—”

“Fuck those small details!” Bewildered, the king shouted, “What’s clear is that you were wrong!”

“…Yeah. That’s why I was curious. Because I’ve never been wrong so far.” To his surprise, she admitted her mistake easily.

The king smacked his lips, taken aback once again. “What a shame. I was going to do the same to you soon.”

“You?” She tilted her head. “To me?”

“Aren’t I right?” Feeling hopeless of his situation, the king snidely laughed and said everything on his mind, “Didn’t you come here because you’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this, thinking you couldn’t normally beat me one-on-one?”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know! Can you even call yourself the same king candidate as me!? You coward!” After shouting biting criticisms, the king flinched because she was looking down at him in silence. In any case, he would never be able to beat her no matter what he did in his current state. “Kill me if you’re going to kill me. I won’t go down easily, but even if I do, I won’t think I lost to you.”

“…”

“It’s not just me. If you kill me right now, this Hala Forest will be the witness to your cowardice. Then even if you become the queen, you can’t say that you have the true qualifications to be one.”

“…”

“A king must be fair. You must know what I mean if you have even a little awareness as a king, right?” The king’s expression suggested that he was ready to die, but his mouth said otherwise.

His opponent stared at him as he blabbered away and waited for him to finish talking. “It’s a misunderstanding.”

“?” Doubt shadowed his face. “Misunderstanding…? Then are you going to let me go safely this time?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“Then—!”

“Recover,” she cut him off and said just when the king was about to get angry. “I’ll wait until you heal your wound, and we can fight after you recover.”

“…Are you for real?” His voice slightly changed to a more hopeful tone, but he still sounded doubtful.

“I told you. I just came to see you because I was curious about how you beat Water. You’re right. I don’t think it’ll be meaningful if I fight you as you are now.”

The king’s complexion brightened up at her words, but he soon calmed down and began making calculations inside his head. He wondered whether it was advantageous for him to fight her now. Honestly, he had no choice but to fight. He might have defeated Water, but his opponent had also successfully killed one of the king’s candidates and evolved. And she designated him as her next target and came to visit. It was an inevitable fight. Although she was an opponent he had wanted to fight at the very end…after achieving a dramatic evolution recently, he had a slight change of heart. ‘Perhaps, maybe.’ The king thought he had a winning chance of 50

/50. Although victory wasn’t a guarantee, it was well worth the shot.

If he beat her and ate her, he could expect unfathomable evolution. Then the rest of his future would be smooth sailing, and there would be no need to worry about the white wolf, or the last remaining king candidate.

‘Yeah, it’s just greedy of me to always go the easy way.’ A crisis like this could also be an opportunity. “That’s good with me.” the determined king said. “You at least got some guts. As expected of the only queen I acknowledge.”

“Then go and rest. I’ll wait nearby until you fully recover.” She reacted indifferently to the king’s compliment and turned around.

“Don’t be like that and help me.”

She slightly widened her eyes at his request, “Why should I?”

“That way, my recovery will be faster. Don’t you want to fight me soon, too? And since that day is just around the corner, it’s better for us to settle the victor quickly.”

She fell into thought at his persuasive words and then nodded in agreement. “Yeah, right. I got it. Want me to get some food for you?”

“Then while I’m asking, I’ll request something nutritious.”

“That’s difficult. Good ones are gone these days.”

“I just found several on my way here. Just six or seven—” He needed that guy, that one human who managed to follow his movements by a hair’s breadth and the same person who dared to question his worth as a king. The king was determined to increase his power as much as possible before the upcoming battle.

“No.” She shook her head. “They’re heading to the place where the moonlight gathers.”

The king frowned at her words. Why were those damned humans… Although he was curious, he soon shook it off because there was something more important now. He needed to stay focused. “Then I guess it can’t be helped.” He pointed to one side without any more thought. “If you go this way, you’ll see a cave. It’s a base that I made to kill time.”

“…Yeah.” She turned around and agreed with him. “Two should be enough. Want them alive? Or dead?”

The king shrugged at her generous offer. “I’ll leave that up to your preference.”

As soon as he said this, she disappeared—as if she had evaporated on the spot.

* * *

At the same time.

“Laksia…” Lakshasha, who had gone down the path that the king pointed at, found a cave and went inside. He had been full of doubts while going there and wondered if he was going the right way and if his little sister was still alive. Although he felt constant guilt and doubt, it was too late to turn back.

“Laksia…Laksia…” He called her desperately as if he was possessed, and soon after, he saw a figure sitting helplessly tied to the inner wall of the cave. He grabbed his fiercely beating heart and approached the figure, seeing a face that looked very haggard and gaunt.

“Laksia!” When he shouted loudly, she raised her head. It was really his younger sister, and the king hadn’t lied to him. He had kept his promise. After confirming this fact, all the guilt and doubt disappeared from Lakshasha’s head. “Laksia! Laksia! It’s me!” He ran to her and hugged his sister.

“…Lakshasha?” Laksia asked in surprise. “How did you get here…?” She hadn’t expected him to come back for her at all.

“It’s alright. Everything is alright.” Lakshasha felt as if someone had stabbed him in the chest at her question, but fiercely shook his head. He had already betrayed his teammates, and there was no turning back now. “Let’s first release you and leave the Hala Forest. I’ll explain everything as soon as we go back, so for now—”

While Lakshasha quickly muttered and untied the rope restraining his sister—

“Laksia?”

He felt something strange in the dark. His tearful younger sister’s face became stiff, and his body also suddenly seized up. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t even breathe properly.

“Why…” Lakshasha stopped breathing like his sister as soon as he turned around. And…