Arthur, Felix, Veydran, Hades, and the others emerged from the Sect, expressions tense.

Neo waved his hand.

"Go back and rest. I'll be back by evening."

Then he looked at Apollyon.

"Let's go somewhere else. If we fight here, the Sect will be caught in the aftermath. I don't think either of us wants unnecessary deaths."

"Okay."

Elizabeth and Vivi did not move.

Neo glanced at them.

"Let him be. Those swords won't stop him if he really wants to fight here."

They hesitated, then withdrew their blades.

Apollyon turned and began walking toward the forest.

Neo followed.

Only a few steps and a hand grabbed his.

Neo turned.

It was Moraine.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"No."

"But—"

"Moraine," Neo said softly.

He raised his other hand and gently cupped her face.

"There's no need to be nervous. I will win."

Before she could react, he lightly squished her cheeks, as if they were standing in the courtyard on an ordinary day.

"So stay here with the others. Only Elizabeth and the Martial Artists from the Righteous Martial Alliance will come with me."

"I… I can help too."

"Moraine, it's fine," Neo said with a small smile. "Don't push yourself to fight. You'll get hurt."

She bit her lip.

Moraine was not foolish.

She understood her limits better than most.

She knew she was not strong enough to stand in a battle between beings like Neo and Apollyon.

She also knew Neo was not mocking her or underestimating her.

He was being sincere.

That sincerity made it harder.

His opponent was Apollyon.

The man who had defeated Hades, Void, Death, and Ouroboros while still being only a Martial Artist.

And now, Apollyon was a Stage 9 God as well.

Even if his elemental powers were sealed within the True Blessed Lands, he still possessed his Authority.

Moraine could not imagine defeating Apollyon even with her true body, let alone in her current state.

Of course she was worried.

She had already lost Neo once.

She did not want to go through that again.

"Moraine," Neo called again.

She raised her head and looked into his eyes.

What she saw there was not recklessness or blind confidence.

It was certainty, built on preparation and resolve.

After a long moment, she nodded.

Her hand loosened, and she stepped back.

Neo patted her head gently, then looked toward the others in the Sect. No one followed him.

They all understood.

In a battle at that level, they would only become a burden.

"I'll be back soon," Neo said.

"Good luck!"

"Come back safely!"

"I'm cooking your favorite dish tonight, so don't be late!"

Neo chuckled at the overlapping voices and turned away.

Apollyon had been waiting patiently a short distance ahead.

When he noticed Neo approaching, he resumed walking.

Neo followed.

For a brief moment, Neo activated his World Energy as he walked behind Apollyon. It was subtle, barely a ripple, but intentional.

He wondered if Apollyon noticed what he had done.

Apollyon did not turn.

Whether he had noticed and chosen to ignore it, or whether it truly meant nothing to him, Neo could not tell.

The Golden Threads, however, noticed immediately.

They began buzzing with excitement, their voices overlapping in chaotic enthusiasm.

Heheheheh! He came prepared this time!

You're going to lose, Apollyon!

Apollyon remained silent, continuing forward at an unhurried pace.

Neo walked beside him now, with Elizabeth following slightly behind.

Her expression was unusually serious, her hand never straying far from her spear.

She was ready to act at the slightest change.

Unlike her tension, Neo wore a calm smile.

And like him, Apollyon radiated a warm presence.

It was not oppressive or overwhelming.

His presence was like the Sun's cozy warmth just before it was about to set.

Contend. Happy.

"So," Neo said, breaking the silence as they walked through increasingly barren land, "how long were you waiting at the Sect gate?"

"I came today after sensing you leave the cave."

Elizabeth's posture shifted instantly.

Neo noticed and spoke before she could react.

"Relax. Paul or Veydran didn't betray us. This guy always knew our location."

Elizabeth frowned. That explanation only raised more questions.

If Apollyon had always known, why wait until now?

Why wait until Neo recovered?

"Can you tell me about Ultris?" Neo asked.

"Why?"

"It's a long walk. Might as well talk about something."

"You could ask Veydran."

"I think you'd know more."

Apollyon fell silent.

He closed his eyes briefly, as if sifting through memories he rarely revisited.

"Ultris was the shrewdest person I've ever met."

"Not the craziest?" Neo asked.

"You take first place in that category."

Neo chuckled.

"I'll take that as praise. So why was Ultris the shrewdest?"

"When he returned from the True Blessed Lands, he realized I was searching for him. He also knew he was too weak to fight me."

"So he hid?"

"Yes, but not in a simple way. He used the knowledge he gained in the True Blessed Lands to conceal himself. Even that wouldn't have been enough in the long run. Sooner or later, he would grow stronger, and I would notice. That's why…."

"That's why he started a time loop?"

"Yes. And in every loop, he removed almost everything from his memory. He left behind only the bare minimum required to survive and progress. That way, I couldn't track him at all.

"He also ensured that each loop gave him a completely new identity," Apollyon continued. "Different name. Different background. Different connections. He layered countless mechanisms to avoid detection. Despite being far weaker than me, he managed to evade me for a very long time."

"But you caught him in the end," Neo said.

"Yes. I became the Fate Supreme. That was the only way to locate him for certain."

Neo nodded slowly.

"And?"

"By then he was at the peak of Third Step. Preparing to advance to the Fourth. The battle was… significant."

Apollyon's voice remained even, but the weight behind his words was unmistakable.

"I lost my eyes. I was forced to retreat into the Forbidden Lands. Ultris lost his Cosmos and was crippled.

"The aftermath of our battle disturbed the River of Time itself. All the timelines Ultris had lived through fused together."

Neo raised a brow.

"…Is that why?" he asked.

"Yes. That is why he had so many wives. In each life, he loved only one woman. He was loyal, in his own way.

"But because he erased his memories every time, he fell in love again, each life believing it was his first.

"And when timelines collapsed, his children from other timelines appeared, and many of his wives gained their memories of him."

…

Mars' POV

Mars stood at the center of a vast lake, his feet resting lightly on the water's surface.

The lake was unnaturally still.

Ripples formed beneath him and vanished before they could spread.

To anyone watching from afar, it would have looked peaceful.

Mars knew better.

He was waiting.

The cultivators had located Neo the moment Neo left the cave. That much had been expected.

What Mars hadn't expected was how quickly they moved after confirming it. Their objective was simple—capture Neo alive.

Machine God had relayed the information from within the Heavenly Sect, and Mars had immediately come here to intercept them.

Zeus and Veydran were supposed to arrive as well, forming a loose net to cut off every approach.

But neither of them had shown up yet.

"I'm not worried about Neo and Apollyon, Neo will win. I trust him," Mars muttered to himself, staring across the lake.

He paused, then added, "And Veydran isn't reckless. If he hasn't appeared, it's because he's already handling something."

Mars frowned slightly.

"But where is Zeus?"

A few months ago, Mars and the Martial King had discovered that Zeus had been fighting cultivators in secret.

When they confronted him about it, Zeus hadn't denied anything.

Instead, he had said something strange to Mars.

"You should be able to see it too. Something is wrong with these cultivators. I'm fighting them to confirm it."

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