The existence standing in front of the Parasite Queen narrowed his eyes at the Queens serious tone.

That doesnt sound very favorable for us.

[Youre right. If we let things continue as is, the future will distort even further, and Eva will be the starting point of this distortion.]

Storm, you say. Arent you overestimating the gravity of this situation?

[It is only a gale now. Of course, if it makes landfall in its current state, theres a huge chance it will stop before long. But]

The Parasite Queen trailed off for a bit as she observed the constellations.

Seeing the several gold-colored threads touching a star, she furrowed her brows.

[There are more than a few elements fanning the Stars rotation.]

I dont know. Even though he killed Undying Diligence

[When a feather touches the surface of the water, it only causes a small ripple.]

The Parasite Queen spoke quietly.

[But even a single footstep of a titan raises a wave.]

The existences eyes turned sharp.

[Even a footstep raises a wave so if he grits his teeth and starts running]

Most likely, a terrifying cataclysm and hail would storm forth.

What shall we do?

The existence loosened his crossed arms at the Parasite Queens lamentation.

If you want, I can charge into Eva immediately. Just lend me two army corps.

[Thats not a bad plan.]

The Parasite Queen cupped her chin with her hand in a relaxed manner.

[But we already failed once. We cannot repeat the same mistake.]

Sending three armies in a hurry to the valley turned out to be a serious blunder.

It wasnt just the loss of military force that hurt. What made the Parasite Queen most bitter was that the invasion had facilitated the dead Stars revival and had even hastened its growth.

As a result, a substantial part of the future that the Parasite Queen was drawing had fallen into utter chaos.

Are you saying you will wait and see how things turn out?

[Im not saying I wont do anything.]

The Parasite Queen smirked faintly.

[Lust and Gluttony seem to have made many preparations. So its about time I draw a card to catch them off-guard. Ill take my time and do it carefully.]

By catching them off-guard, you mean

[It is time.]

Time?

The existence raised his head in the middle of his question.

The Parasite Queen did the same. She tilted her head and looked up at the ceiling.

It wasnt as if there was a huge change. There was no vibration nor a powerful flow of energy.

But, the two of them could clearly see with their eyes.

In the sky beyond the lofty ceiling, a terrifying storm cloud was raging.

It pulsated, quickly but surely.

[Let me introduce him.]

The Parasite Queen grinned.

[This new god will be your partner.]

Partner?

[You and he will make a good pair.]

The Parasite Queen spoke with confidence.

[Because this child is the only one other than you to have digested divinity on his own.]

Hoh!

The existences eyes curled up.

Right, the one who just exclaimed in awe was the sole existence among the Army Commanders who succeeded in accepting divinity alone.

He was the sole survivor of a race long known to have gone extinct, an Army Commander of unparalleled destruction who had the power of a one-man army the last Dragon, Twisted Kindness.

Twisted Kindness abruptly examined his body. The large wings protruding out from his back had been withdrawn, and the long tail stretching out from his sacrum shot up stiffly.

His body had reacted just by seeing the phenomenon of the sky distorting.

Now

Huup. Twisted Kindness took in a deep breath before pushing up his grey, waterfall-like hair. His red, reptilian eyes appeared underneath his hair and split vertically.

This is truly interesting.

The last Dragon revealed an animated smile.

*

Kim Hannah decided to go to Eva again as she needed someone to oversee the construction that would take place.

She planned to room and board at a nearby inn while searching for a qualified person.

Seol Jihu volunteered to go with her to serve as her guard, but Kim Hannah surprisingly refused. It wasnt that she refused a guard. She had rejected Seol Jihu specifically.

She made another request instead.

Get stronger.

?

Its going to take at least 3 months before the construction finishes. It might take even longer than that.

With that, Kim Hannah gestured at Seol Jihu.

You said so yourself, right? That you became a Level 5, but didnt acquire any skills befitting one.

Seol Jihu nodded his head. It was true that he had not paid attention to training since he leveled up.

If the frightening strength you displayed during the war was the result of relying on Awakening skills, raising your true strength should be your top priority. At the very least, you need to get 4 or 5 times stronger than you are now.

That much?

Proper High Rankers are usually at least that strong.

When Seol Jihu thought about Phi Sora, who was supposedly the top 0.01 percent of Level 5 Warriors, he quickly acquiesced.

Were moving to Eva, but we dont know how the established organizations there will react. No, considering your goals, we will clash with them without a doubt. When that happens, strength is the only thing we can rely on.

This was something Sorg Khne touched upon as well.

In the worst-case scenario, there was a chance Carpe Diem would go to war with another organization.

He had been waiting to train anyway. And since the Parasites could invade again at any time, training constantly was only natural.

Seol Jihu happily nodded his head.

Okay, Ill come back far stronger than I am now. Wait for me.

Hey, if you put it like that, it sounds like were the main couple of a drama who has no choice but to say goodbye.

Kim Hannah scolded him while giggling.

Just like that, they decided to split the team into two.

Kim Hannah would go to Eva, and Chohong and Marcel Ghionea would go with her. Given how many enemies Kim Hannah had, she needed someone to protect her, and having one High Ranker Warrior and the Archer of Steel with her made Seol Jihu feel at ease.

Jang Maldong, of course, was going with Seol Jihu to train. There was no need to even mention Flone.

As for the rest, Seol Jihu decided they could do what they wanted.

Ill go train too.

Yi Sungjin was the first to raise his hand.

Me too.

And Hugo surprisingly took it upon himself as well.

I understand Sungjin wanting to come, but you too?

Yeah. Did you eat something strange this morning?

Even Jang Maldong and Chohong were surprised.

No

Hugo looked at each of the High Rankers in the room, stopping at Seol Jihu and then averting his gaze.

Im going to Eva!

Phi Sora shouted while shooting her hand up into the air.

You cant.

But, she dropped her jaw at Jang Maldongs firm rejection.

W-Why!? You said were free to choose!

It cant be helped. We need you for this training.

Phi Sora stopped protesting and blinked.

Grandpa, dont tell me

Stop. Well talk later. Anyway, we need your help.

Hearing this, Phi Sora closed her mouth. The way she kept glancing at Seol Jihu, she definitely knew something about the upcoming training.

Jang Maldong ignored her sideways glances and continued.

What are you going to do?

Um, I

Yi Seol-Ah spoke carefully while rolling her eyes.

I want to go to Eva Im curious to know what the place is like

Go ahead. You and Sungjin went not too long ago anyway.

Jang Maldong readily agreed. Then, he turned to Yi Sungjin and asked.

Sungjin, do you really want to come with us? You can take this opportunity to rest. To be honest, I wont have much time to look after your training this time.

He had revealed straight out that Seol Jihu would be his main focus.

Its fine.

But Yi Sungjin replied firmly.

Ill have more than enough task at hand to try to digest what Ive already learned.

Jang Maldong chuckled.

Okay, go ahead.

Just as Jang Maldong told the trainees to start packing for Huge Stone Rocky Mountain

Um, Master Jang.

Seo Yuhui spoke quietly.

Do you mind going somewhere other than Huge Stone Rocky Mountain?

The unexpected request took Jang Maldong by surprise.

Of course, Huge Stone Rocky Mountain is fine too

Do you have a place in mind, Lady Seo Yuhui?

Yes. Its not a safe zone, but theres a place near Eva that I sometimes go to pray.

Jang Maldongs eyes widened.

There was no rule saying that one had to pray in a temple.

It could be done anywhere so long as it was full of miraculous energy.

But such places were usually only known by Priests.

Seo Yuhui was intending on revealing a secret place of sorts.

Will that be okay? Unless youre at the temple, miraculous energy is a limited resource.

Of course, its fine.

Seo Yuhui cupped her hands together and smiled brightly.

It will be very helpful for the training as well.

*

Haramark Palace.

Father.

Teresa anxiously called the king.

Evas royal administrator just left.

Mm.

Prihi nodded his head while raising a steaming teacup.

Are you really going to sit still and do nothing?

Hmm.

Prihi replied inattentively while savoring the teas flavor.

Father?

This tea is quite excellent. Fufu

Teresa, who was staring at him fixedly, raised her fingernails with a Kyaak.

Prihi escaped, screaming.

Damn it. Just what is Father thinking

Haramarks greatest war hero was about to go to another city. Unable to comprehend what her father was thinking, Teresa headed to the Carpe Diem office.

The way she left last time had been constantly bothering her. She was stopping by to apologize and to hear Seol Jihu out.

After arriving at the building, Teresa took a few deep breaths before walking up the stairs.

After clearing her throat, she knocked on the front door.

Im here.

However, no answer came back.

Hello?

She knocked again to no avail.

Teresa tilted her head and pressed her ear against the wall.

The office was quiet. She couldnt hear a peep.

No way.

Teresas eyes widened as her mind reeled in disbelief.

Seol, Seol! Seol!

Tang, tang, tang, tang!

Even when she slammed on the door crazily and raised her head, there was no answer.

No.

Teresa rushed down the stairs in fright.

Seol! Seoooool!

Calling Seol Jihus name yearningly, she ran frantically.

She went around the east, south, west, and north gates in order, but she couldnt find any trace of Seol Jihu.

She went to the stable just in case and, as expected, every member of Carpe Diem had apparently left for Eva.

When Teresa heard this news, she barely stopped her legs from going limp and left the stable.

He really left? Without saying anything?

She thought he would come to see her at least once before he left. Rather, she thought he would tell her when he would leave.

Didnt you say youd convince me!?

Teresa resented Seol Jihu at the same time as she blamed herself.

I shouldnt have left like that back then. That must have hurt his feelings. I shouldnt have done that.

Murmuring inwardly, she trudged around the streets aimlessly.

In the end, she ended up coming back to Carpe Diems office.

He really left

Teresa looked around with slightly moist eyes.

It was then. Her lifeless eyes caught sight of a piece of paper in the corner.

The wind must have knocked it off the door.

Teresa picked up the paper in a daze.

And she found this written on the paper

Were going to go train! If you need us for anything, contact us through the communication crystal! :D

.

Teresa stopped breathing as her face simultaneously grew stiff.

Plop. She dropped down to the ground.

You!

For some reason, the :D really shored up her anger.

After sobbing for a while

I hope you get absolutely crushed while training!

Teresa shut her eyes tightly and yelled resentfully.

*

Seol Jihu, who was overly excited about training and had forgotten all about Teresa, led the members of Carpe Diem to Eva.

There, he dropped off Kim Hannah, Chohong, Yi Seol-Ah, and Marcel Ghionea before immediately starting back up.

Seol Jihu felt his heart palpitate the whole way.

A part of the excitement came from the fact that this was an entirely new place, but the main reason was that he could finally train as he had been hoping to do for a while now.

Eva is a city that is built at the foot of a large volcano called Mount Peleom. If you pass that volcano

Just like Seo Yuhui explained, the group passed a volcano that was endlessly shooting up into the sky, and a little while later, they saw a ridge spread across a vast plain.

Getting off the carriage at the mouth of the ridge, the team was guided by Seo Yuhui into the valley.

The terrain wasnt as rough as that of Huge Stone Rocky Mountain, but its depth couldnt be compared in the slightest.

One hour, two hours After following Seo Yuhui deep into the valley, the group finally arrived at their destination and was struck speechless.

The scenery boasted an ultimate harmony of nature, and practically no traces of human touch could be seen.

Even though they werent at the peak of a mountain, a holy white fog blanketed the area. The way a transparent stream of water ran down and trees ripe with abundant fruits were densely packed, it was as if they were looking at a paradise for mountain sages.

Incredible!

Jang Maldong exclaimed in astonishment.

Seol Jihu took in a deep breath and couldnt hide his awe at how refreshing it instantly felt.

Amazing! Training in this place must be four times as effective as training on Huge Stone Rocky Mountain. With the vital energy in the air here, the effect of recovery for sleeping should be sizable as well. Ill be able to train you to my hearts content!

The last bit worried Seol Jihu a little, but he steeled his resolve. That was what he had been hoping for anyway.

Mm its a little cold.

Seol Jihu shuddered slightly. He felt like frost was setting on his body.

But in the next moment, he simply chucked it up to his imagination running wild.