Chen Chu stepped into the array's range. The dimming array suddenly trembled violently, as if a small room had suddenly been invaded by a colossal dragon. As Chen Chu stood in front of her, the purple-haired girl, even though only a spiritual projection, felt the world darken around her and a suffocating pressure seize her chest.

So strong!

Her nerves taut, she asked, "Mighty king of illusory beasts, this is the foundational content of the summoning contract. What do you wish to change?"

A transparent golden scroll floated into being between the girl and Chen Chu. This was the altar array's core, which appeared only when a Valkyrie trainee activated the altar. Once the trainee and the illusory beast left their spiritual force imprint upon it, the contract would be formed.

The text of this contract could only be modified in part by the Valkyrie trainee. In the past, when trainees sought to subdue powerful illusory beasts, they often promised concessions or benefits. In those cases, the contract naturally required adjustment.

The same applied now.

"This one, the rune forbidding both sides from attacking each other, remove it."

"This one, the contract space that consumes energy to store the beast, delete it as well..."

Chen Chu could not decipher the simplistic lines of the star array, but the contract text, inscribed with the profundities of principle, was laid bare before his eyes. He proceeded to remove everything unfavorable to him. Even the hierarchy was altered from master and subordinate to equals.

Of course, with his understanding of principle, he could have modified the contract's core to enslave the purple-haired girl instead. But as an existence on par with the primordial beings, Chen Chu disdained such petty acts.

His purpose here, especially after discovering humans in this world, had shifted from destruction and plunder, to exploration and the collection of the world's origin. As for Boroedo and the other Hell Apostles, he would decide their fates in time.

Once everything was rewritten to his satisfaction, the purple-haired girl, unaware that her status had shifted from servant to equal, gazed excitedly at Chen Chu. "It is ready. Let us form the contract, mighty king of illusory beasts."

Chen Chu was speechless. When silent, this girl carried the air of a serene noble maiden or a goddess. But the moment she opened her mouth, everything collapsed. She seemed even more guileless than Saixitia.

"...I told you, I am not the king of illusory beasts." Chen Chu reminded her once again.

The girl nodded earnestly. "Yes, mighty king of illusory beasts."

"...Forget it. From now on, call me Chu." Chen Chu shook his head, giving up on correcting her. He pressed a faint thread of spirit onto the contract text.

***

Valkyrie Academy.

The instant the contract was sealed between Chen Chu and Amitya, the altar blazed with dazzling blue light. Eight towering stone pillars flared at once.

"All eight! All eight heavenly pillars are lit!"

"A divin—a legendary divine illusory beast!"

The students across the square stared wide-eyed up at the altar, dumbstruck. Even Fiorina, who was presiding over the summoning ritual, looked shaken.

Six lit pillars meant a king-level beast. Seven meant the beast's potential reached emperor-level. Eight, however, signified something that had never appeared before: a divine illusory beast.

A beast that, at its peak, could tear through the underground maze with its own might, and rip apart an evil god with its claws.

"Amitya did it!" The blonde girl clenched her fists, her eyes a mix of envy and excitement.

Boom!

A colossal blue beam descended from the heavens, piercing the void like a falling galaxy and flooding the summoning altar of the Illusory God Division with light.

A tall, black-haired figure emerged from the radiance.

The Valkyrie Academy students froze.

What is this? Is this not the arrival of the legendary divine illusory beast?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Across the square, the five previously summoned king-level and emperor-level beasts all collapsed trembling to the ground, as if bowing before the supreme king who had descended.

Even the contracted beasts behind the senior Valkyrie trainees growled in unease, claws raking the ground as they fidgeted from fear.

On the altar, a pale Amitya smiled weakly at the figure. "W-Welcome, mighty king of ill—"

Before she finished, her knees buckled. Even though the contract had been altered so that she bore no burden of maintaining Chen Chu's existence, she was still the one who had initiated it. The summoning had drained all of her spiritual force.

But before she could fall, an arm slipped around her waist, holding her up.

Swoosh!

A red streak cut through the air, and Fiorina appeared on the altar. Her eyes were grim as she looked Chen Chu up and down. "Amitya, are you all right? Who is he?"

Weak as she was, Amitya leaned against Chen Chu, her eyes bright with excitement. "Teacher, this is the king of illusory beasts, Chu."

King of illusory beasts!Fiorina drew a sharp breath, eyes trembling.A humanoid illusory beast and truly, a divine one.

Chen Chu sighed. "I already told you. I am not the king of illusory beasts."

"I know. Mighty king of illusory beasts, your name is Chu." Nestled in his arms, the purple-haired girl nodded with the utmost seriousnessness, as if to prove she had remembered.

Since she regarded Chen Chu as a beast, she felt no shyness at all in his embrace.

...Forget it, let's not talk about this.

Chen Chu shook his head, abandoning the subject entirely. He nodded slightly to the red-haired woman before him, whose aura rivaled that of a quasi-mythical being, then swept his gaze around.

A vast forest stretched out to the left. It was dense and boundless, and he could glimpse massive shapes moving faintly within. To the right towered colossal trees that pierced the clouds. Chen Chu sensed surging fluctuations of principle from deep within one such tree. That tree was the embodiment of part of this world's principles.

A sprawling cluster of buildings lay several kilometers ahead of him. Many beautiful women walked its paths, some clad in ornate battle armor, while others were in short skirts or princess dresses.

Including the girls in the square below, are they all women here? On second thought, for a Valkyrie academy where all trainees are women, that makes sense.

When she saw the black-haired youth curiously taking in his surroundings, Fiorina suppressed the shock in her heart and said politely, "Mr. Chu, welcome to the great world of Cescilles. Amitya has exhausted her spiritual force. May we bring her down to rest first?"

Fiorina had already noticed from the brief exchange between Chen Chu and Amitya earlier that this humanoid beast disliked being addressed as an illusory beast. Thus, she had changed her address to "Mister."

"Fine." Chen Chu nodded, unaware of her reasoning. He had already acquired this world's language through his contract with Amitya.

Fiorina blurred as she leapt directly from the altar, which stood hundreds of meters tall. Landing firmly on the ground, she turned to the students and spoke solemnly.

"What happened today is of immense importance to our Illusory God Division. Until the dean gives permission, no one is to speak of it. Understood?"

"Yes, Teacher."

This year's summoning ritual had not only succeeded in summoning emperor-level beasts, but had seen the appearance of the legendary divine beast. The students hardly needed reminding of its gravity.

"All right. Disperse."

"Isabelle, you and the others should also go rest. Spend time with your beasts, and build rapport and harmony. Tomorrow, come to the teachers' building to find me."

"Yes, Teacher." The girls nodded and began to leave. As they departed, many cast curious glances at the black-haired youth still holding Amitya atop the altar.

Once the students all left, Fiorina looked up at Chen Chu. She was clearly waiting for him to come down with Amitya in his arms so she could take them to their quarters.

Chen Chu was momentarily at a loss for words. It was obvious that Fiorina had no intention of carrying the purple-haired girl herself. They truly did not regard him as "human."

Forget it. If you guys don't care, then neither will I.

Chen Chu slipped one arm around the girl's shoulders and the other beneath her knees, lifting her gently. He blurred as he jumped down from the altar.

Boom!

The ground beneath him exploded as he landed. Rocks blasted outward like cannon fire, shrieking more than a kilometer through the air and crashing down in a deafening barrage.

He had left a crater two hundred meters wide. Fiorina's eyelid twitched as she saw the spiderweb cracks spreading for hundreds of meters. It was as if a colossal beast had stomped down.

So he is truly the king of illusory beasts. No matter how human he looks on the surface, his essence remains that of a vast and terrifying illusory beast!

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