Editor : Amethyst00



Azonia's fist aimed for Aaron's head.

A punch carrying the force of a meteor crashing down.

That immense power vanished in an instant.

Aaron responded by swinging his hand into the air.

Dududududududu—!

An invisible barrage of punches rained down like a storm.

But Azonia's fist didn't land on Aaron.

Watching Aaron perfectly block her attack, Azonia grit her teeth.

'Right. He's the Brave.'

Brave Aaron.

He wasn't just the bravest man in the world.

From the distant past to the present.

He had risen to the pinnacle of martial power among beastfolk.

A man worthy of being called the God of War.

'Cheap tricks won't work.'

Azonia kicked off the air.

With it, her aura surged into a massive storm.

Aaron was swept up and thrown back.

In terms of raw physical power, Azonia held the advantage over the current Aaron.

Whoosh—!

Azonia charged at Aaron.

Vmmm—!

Light burst from Azonia's body, and suddenly, she became four people.

Aaron flinched at the sight.

'Which one's real?'

He used his extrasensory perception to identify the real Azonia.

'They're… all real?'

It wasn't an illusion or summoning spell.

All four were real versions of Azonia.

Aaron's eyes widened.

'She created clones using aura?'

Aaron was stunned by Azonia's precise aura manipulation.

"To think aura could be used like this."

"This isn't the time to just admire it, is it?"

The four Azonias ground their teeth and surrounded Aaron.

Then, they launched a furious attack.

Pababababat—!

Punches and kicks flew in from all sides, too fast to see.

Sharpening his senses, Aaron narrowly dodged Azonia's flurry.

Seeing that, Azonia bit down harder.

'He's gotten even stronger!'

His body might not be fully developed yet, but his mind was from the final arc of his journey.

No—

Having experienced the future, he had surpassed even that version of himself.

Azonia realized that through their exchanges.

'As expected… this man is—'

Azonia's body trembled.

'Incredible.'

More than jealousy, she felt admiration.

'I thought he had already reached the peak…'

But he had gone even further.

Watching him blaze a trail into the unknown, she couldn't help but respect him as a fellow warrior.

And that's why, in part, she resented him.

'You're this strong… and have the courage to save the world!'

Then why—why couldn't he find the courage in that moment?

Rage surged in Azonia's eyes.

At that moment—

Golden aura burst from Aaron's body.

And he too split into four versions.

Seeing it, Azonia let out a hollow laugh.

The clone technique using aura was Azonia's original aura skill.

A technique she created through years of trial and error, right before entering the world of Dawn.

A skill that hadn't even been recorded in history.

Yet he copied it after seeing it once.

She wasn't even surprised anymore.

And she knew exactly what Aaron would say.

"It works."

"Knew you were going to say that!"

Azonia bared her teeth and released her aura.

She wasn't without anger, no matter how unsurprising it was.

Especially when he did it so easily and looked genuinely fascinated.

"I'll knock you out and save Raysar!"

"No. I'm going back to Godthrone."

"Shut up!"

Aaron and Azonia's fists clashed mid-air.

"Uwaaah! What do I do, what do I do!"

Watching them, Aru was panicked.

She desperately wanted to stop them, but they were too strong.

Just approaching could mean getting caught in the shockwaves and suffering serious injuries.

As people screamed and ran away—

"This way! Everyone, over here!"

Aru rushed to help them evacuate.

The Raysar guards, tasked with maintaining order, were the first to flee.

Some even threatened civilians with weapons to clear the way.

'Those bastards!'

Fire flared in Aru's eyes.

Just then—

Thud—!

A child tripped while being swept up by the crowd.

Aru ran toward the child in a panic.

But someone had already helped the child up.

"Th-thank you…"

Just as the child thanked the man, a woman who seemed to be the mother ran over, shoved the man's hand away, and pulled the child along.

"A simple thank-you wouldn't hurt."

Aru muttered under her breath.

Then she spotted the man disappearing into the crowd.

His back looked strangely familiar.

"Agon… sir?"

At her words, the man stopped walking.

"That's strange."

Agon turned around and muttered in a low voice.

"There are two beastfolk who know me… and yet I have no memory of them."

When he turned his head, Aru's eyes widened.

Agon's face, half-hidden by a hood, was filled with killing intent.

His gentle demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

Startled, Aru spoke quickly.

"Agon, sir! Aaron is here! He came to Raysar to meet you!"

Without hesitation, Agon turned.

"Ah—wait!"

Aru hurriedly chased after him.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Why are Aaron and Azonia fighting…?"

In the back alleys, shadows watched the chaos at the city center with troubled faces.

Damien squinted toward the scene.

"Damien-nim."

The shadow lord of beastfolk, Kirin, spoke cautiously.

"Shouldn't we stop them?"

A sudden clash between the Brave and the Grand Warrior.

The entire city was thrown into confusion.

Their battle was enough to wreck the surrounding area.

If it escalated, Raysar itself might collapse.

'Though they're holding back…'

At this rate, the central authorities of Raysar would intervene.

For those tasked with protecting Raysar, internal chaos would be a major issue.

To Kirin's question, Damien answered.

"Let them be."

"Sir? But…"

"Azonia must have her reasons."

Damien had known Azonia for a long time.

She was endlessly frivolous, needlessly noisy, had terrible drinking habits, and a trail of broken hearts.

But if there was one thing she could be trusted in—it was battle.

If Azonia asked for his life, Damien would give it to her without hesitation.

That's how much he trusted her.

"This might actually be a good thing."

Damien glanced toward Raysar's main castle.

"Thanks to them, we'll be able to infiltrate it easily."

bl

"So you're making this warp gate to prepare for saving Raysar?"

"Yes."

"…"

Lysinas pressed her temples.

"You want to mobilize Godthrone's full force and head to Raysar?"

"Yes."

"Dweno, do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Lysinas."

"What?"

"Trust me."

"…"

Lysinas fell silent at Dweno's words.

Then sighed deeply and clutched her head.

Just then, Lunia, who had been watching nervously, spoke up.

"Um… Lady Lysinas?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

Lunia had decided she had to persuade Lysinas.

So she said,

"In our time, the Hero of Beginnings, Kyle, is reincarnated. Dweno knows this, and that's why he's doing something so reckless."

Lysinas's eyes widened.

Dweno quietly continued building the warp gate.

"I see. That explains this absurd plan."

Lysinas nodded.

Watching her, Lunia asked gently.

"Would you like… to meet him?"

"…No."

"What?"

Lunia's eyes widened in surprise.

Lysinas gave a wry smile and said,

"I don't want to meet him. No—I'm afraid to."

She hadn't kept her promise. What right did she have to see him again?

And hearing that Kyle had reincarnated, Lysinas realized something else.

'Kyle… is fighting alone again.'

Kyle had kept his promise to save the world.

But Lysinas hadn't kept her promise not to leave him alone.

"Don't tell me who Kyle is."

"…"

"Kyle probably doesn't want me to know, either."

Leaving those words, Lysinas took a deep breath.

"Alright. I'll consider a full mobilization."

With that, Lysinas left Dweno's workshop.

"Lord Kyle… does Leo not want Lady Lysinas to know his identity?"

Lunia asked, confused, and Dweno stroked his beard.

"That seems to be the case."

"What kind of promise could it have been…?"

Lunia, knowing how important Lysinas was to Leo, was understandably perplexed.

To her murmuring, Dweno said,

"Lysinas may be avoiding Kyle because of that promise. But Kyle not revealing himself to her is probably for another reason."

"What reason?"

"I don't know. But I do know this—he definitely did something stupid."

While Dweno focused on crafting the warp gate with keen insight—

"Miss Lunia! Sir Leo is here!"

"Lunia, get ready. We're going to battle."

"Huh? Okay."

Though puzzled, Lunia began to prepare.

"If you need anything from the workshop, take it."

"That's perfect."

Leo grinned and headed inside.

Lunia, staring at him, said,

"Hey, Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Did you do something wrong to Lady Lysinas?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

Leo's brazen response made Lunia tilt her head.

"Oh right. I told Luna I'm a descendant of Kyle and Luna."

"Why?"

"So she wouldn't question how I can use all classes."

"…"

Lunia gave him a skeptical look.

Hearing the conversation, Dweno muttered,

"He definitely did something stupid."