"...Haa."
"What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"
"It's not that. Just..."
As he looked around, the sight of blood splattered everywhere came into view.
Of course, it wasn’t human blood.
It was the blood of the monsters.
The people who had been laughing and chatting during the meeting were now slaughtering the monsters as if it were nothing.
"They’re all amazing... is what I was thinking."
He couldn’t help but admire how they dodged attacks so effortlessly, even without detection abilities.
They didn’t have intuitive abilities like his, yet they easily evaded attacks from behind. Watching them made him feel a sudden sense of self-loathing.
They were all avoiding attacks just fine without any special abilities.
Maybe he wasn’t even needed here.
He had thought he would protect Arte, but perhaps that was just arrogance.
Seeing others dispose of enemies he had struggled against so easily made him think that way.
And so, without realizing it, he muttered his thoughts aloud.
"That’s a useless worry, friend."
"...Ah. Hello."
"Why is Dad here again? Aren’t you supposed to be working?"
"This dad’s time is more valuable than you think, daughter. Let others handle that kind of work."
"Old man..."
"Tsk tsk."
They were always at each other’s throats.
He had been blankly watching the two of them about to start another fight, but then Lionel suddenly grabbed his shoulder as if remembering something.
"Everyone thinks like that when they first come here. But kid, that’s just arrogance."
"...Arrogance?"
"Those people have survived on this battlefield far longer than you have."
"..."
"So there’s no need for you to feel inferior."
He knew that.
He knew he was just a student, while they had spent a long time on this battlefield.
It was only natural that they were stronger than him. In fact, if he were stronger than them, it would be unfair to them.
But he couldn’t accept it.
Even if it meant turning the entire world against him, he had to be strong enough to protect Arte.
That was his promise, his resolve.
And so, seeing their strength, he couldn’t bring himself to admit that he was weaker than them.
"...You don’t seem like you’re listening."
"I made a vow."
"A vow?"
The overwhelming executive of the Weaver Menace.
Even if that wind-wielding executive were here, they would probably defeat him with ease.
Well, in a way, that was only natural.
If they had the power to defeat him, they wouldn’t have been hiding like that.
So it made sense that he, who had nearly died to that one villain, was still weaker than them.
It was only natural... but—
"No matter what happens, there’s someone I want to protect."
Even so, Yu Siwoo had resolved to protect Arte.
So his self-loathing stemmed from his own weakness and laziness.
He had thought: This much should be enough. If I keep getting stronger, I’ll be able to protect Arte.
And that line of thinking made him ashamed of himself.
Just being consistent wasn’t enough.
Arte had said it. If the Author got serious, the world might end.
And it wasn’t just anyone who had said that—it was Arte.
So he had believed it... but—
Deep down, he must have thought it was absurd. Because he hadn’t truly believed it.
If he had truly believed her words, he would have worked even harder.
He would have grown stronger to stop the being that tormented Arte—the one that might even destroy the world.
"...Is that all for today's schedule?"
"Yeah. From now on, it’s rest time."
"Understood."
Yu Siwoo decided to cast off his own laziness.
If there really was a being capable of destroying the world that was tormenting Arte...
Then he had to become someone strong enough to turn the entire world against him if necessary.
Only then could he free Arte from that being’s grasp.
"That guy keeps calling me crazy, but he doesn’t even realize he’s the one who’s out of his mind."
"..."
Lionel watched Yu Siwoo’s retreating back as he headed toward the lodgings, his expression set with some kind of resolve.
Just like his daughter had said.
He wasn’t in his right mind.
"...Saying he’s not enough."
If he told anyone else who hadn’t heard those words, they’d probably laugh and tell him to stop talking nonsense.
No one at that age had ever achieved so much.
A once-in-a-century genius.
An existence no one in their age group could even hope to rival.
In Lionel’s eyes, Yu Siwoo and his comrades were exactly that.
In truth, Lionel and the main force had been preparing to extract them right before the beast surge began.
Why?
Because it was a hazing ritual.
No matter how short-staffed the front lines were, they wouldn’t just abandon rookies to fend for themselves. Only a madman would do that.
There was no way they’d risk throwing away precious lives like flies.
The reason they’d left them alone was to test their skills.
To assess the combat capabilities of the only available scout with detection abilities.
And so they had been preparing to reinforce them... only to realize it wasn’t necessary.
Most first-timers on the battlefield were usually too busy fleeing in panic and terror. The fact that these kids had not only held their ground but systematically slaughtered the beasts—albeit slowly—had left everyone stunned.
"Does your friend plan on taking down a god or something?"
"No idea."
It was absurd. A guy who looked like he’d start rampaging across the battlefield the moment he got used to it was muttering about not being good enough and making some kind of resolution. It was almost laughable.
"...Still, he’s got a romantic streak, that one."
He had someone he wanted to protect.
No matter how Lionel thought about it, only one person came to mind.
"That black-haired girl with the sharp features?"
"Arte? Yeah."
"Figured."
Lionel clicked his tongue in regret.
"My daughter should snatch up a man like that before it’s too late... Daughter, maybe you should—"
"Are you insane? Why would I date a guy like that? I’m way too good for him."
"Yeah, yeah. Didn’t expect much."
He’d been hoping, just a little, that maybe a guy like that—straight out of one of those novels he’d been reading lately—might become his son-in-law.
But looking at his daughter’s reaction, that hope was dashed.
When would he ever get to see a grandchild?
With her blunt personality, it felt like he might never live to see the day. The future already looked bleak.
"You’re not having weird thoughts again, are you?"
"Tsk. What do you take your father for?"
"A father who reads weird novels."
"Weird?! You just don’t understand the charm…!"
A city drenched entirely in shades of gray.
Between the collapsed buildings, a girl and a massive dog walked side by side.
"…It’s noisy."
"Screams and groans, Annie. Sounds like a battle’s going on."
"A battle…"
Grrrr.
The dog she was petting couldn’t hide its unease, glaring toward the source of the noise.
Beasts sometimes fought here, but it was rare for so many to gather in a group like this.
And there was only one reason beasts would act this restless.
"…The Association bastards?"
"Seems like it, Annie. Maybe they’re after us."
"I see. Mir’s always so smart."
The Association.
Just the name made her grind her teeth in rage.
They never stopped interfering with us.
They always kept us crawling on the ground.
"We haven’t been able to reduce their numbers since then…"
"It’s that guy’s fault, Annie. We should’ve found and killed him sooner."
"…"
The Association had always been a nuisance.
Now that she had power, killing a few of them in a surprise attack after a battle was easy.
And so she did.
But had that been a mistake?
Once they realized her existence, they stopped caring about time delays and started clustering together in large groups.
She could take out one or two…
But the moment she did, she’d be surrounded and captured by the others.
That couldn’t happen.
She couldn’t die—not until true equality was achieved.
"What do I…"
How could she throw them into chaos?
She had snuck into the front lines to grow stronger, and it had worked…
But now, because of them, she couldn’t even go outside.
She’d nearly been caught while hiding before. Bringing along such a large companion made it nearly impossible.
"What do I…"
How could she slip past them when they moved in such tight groups?
The girl pondered as she walked, lost in thought.
"Grrrr…!"
"Hm? What’s wrong?"
"Grr…!"
Then, just as she was about to enter a building—
The beast that had been by her side all this time suddenly refused to go inside.
"You’re scared? …Why?"
"This place… is dangerous…"
Any other beast would’ve sensed this ominous mana and instinctively fled.
The one clinging to the girl’s side had done the same.
But the girl didn’t.
Curiosity had overridden instinct.
"What in the world is in there…"
Curiosity killed the cat.
Or so the saying went.
She decided that was nonsense.
Because the key to escaping this place might be inside.
"…Found it. A way."
Inside the rotting building lay the corpse of a giant spider.
An uncountable number of cocoons were scattered across the floor, making it difficult to step.