Two minutes later…

The cavern no longer contained a corpse.

Or even scraps of one.

Because Kael—your elegant, lazy, terrifying, occasionally childish dragon—had eaten everything.

Not just the tiny dog.

Not just the discarded body.

Everything.

Bones, shell, sinew, the entire thirty-meter monstrosity.

Gone.

The cavern was spotless.

Selene, Evethra, and Lyratheia stared at him like he had devoured an entire banquet in one breath.

Kael stretched his neck once, satisfied.

"Ah. That hit the spot."

Selene lifted a hand slowly.

"Kael… were you actually hungry or…?"

Evethra blinked with her usual calm, only her twitching bat-like wings giving away the confusion.

She wondered if she had been neglecting Kael's eating dosage.

While Lyratheia just stood there in stunned silence, as though watching a natural phenomenon that no one could prepare for.

Kael, on the other hand, dusted his hands as if he had eaten a light snack instead of a super-beast.

Selene finally found her voice again.

"So…?" She squinted. "Whatever you wanted to test—was it a success?"

Kael stopped mid-stretch.

Then he smiled.

A small, quiet smile that wasn't arrogant or playful but… almost relieved.

"Yes," he said. "It was."

Evethra leaned in, wings twitching in quiet interest, Selene straightened sharply, and Lyratheia blinked.

Kael looked down at his clawed hand, flexing his talons as faint embers danced along his scales.

"For the first time since I can remember… I can feel my power growing."

The cavern froze.

Selene inhaled sharply.

Evethra's eyes widened—a rare break in her composure.

"You finally felt it?" Evethra whispered.

"Yes," Kael said. "A little. Just a small rise. But it's there."

Lyratheia looked between them, confused.

"…Aren't all beasts supposed to power up by eating magic cores?" She asked.

She didn't understand why they were all showing such a huge reaction.

The moment Kael ate the dog, he ate the magic core of the beast, so of course, he would grow stronger.

It was shocking that he hadn't already grown considerably stronger.

Kael, however, clicked his tongue.

"That's the problem. I already tried that. Plenty of times."

Selene nodded grimly. "He did."

Kael counted on his fingers.

"B-rank cores. Then A-rank cores. A handful of them. Should've been enough to help a normal beast feel some growth, if not much."

Evethra added softly, "But they did nothing for him."

Kael shrugged.

"Didn't feel a thing. Not a spark. Not a twitch."

He pointed to his stomach.

"Yet today, I eat one Dire Beast shell and its real body, and suddenly—my power rises. Even if only slightly."

Selene crossed her arms, thinking deeply.

Evethra rested a finger on her chin.

Lyratheia stared at the ceiling, trying to piece it together.

They exchanged theories:

"Maybe his stomach rejects pure cores?"

"Or maybe he needs whole bodies, not condensed magic?"

"Maybe he needs creatures with multiple forms?"

"Or beasts aligned with his element?"

"What if he just needs to eat stronger beasts?"

But none of them could conclude anything definite.

Kael merely shrugged.

"We'll figure it out as we go."

Selene sighed. "Of course we will…"

But then—

Their attentions shifted.

All at once.

Because footsteps approached the clearing outside the cavern.

Slow, deliberate, reverent.

Evethra sensed the aura first.

Lyratheia heard the heartbeat.

Selene saw the silhouette emerging between the roots.

Kael already knew who it was, so the moment the man stepped into the clearing, his dragonic eyes flashed.

The next second, a status window flickered before his eyes.

........................

Name: Darian Althros.

Race: Human–Angel.

Bloodline: Archangel (Locked).

Stats:

Strength: E+

Defense: E+

Agility: E+

Mana: E+

Skills:

—Gift of Ascension (Growth-Type): For 10 seconds, the user's power becomes equal to the power of the god he worships.

Cooldown: 7 days.

Scaling potential: unknown.

Worshipped God: Lord of Night Sun.

........................

Kael was looking at this same status window for the second time, but he still couldn't help but admire the absurdity of that broken skill.

First of all, Darian's status window was unique, like nothing Kael had seen before.

Then, the fact that the skill was broken was a plus.

After all, it literally let him be as strong as his god for ten seconds.

If the god grew, the user grew.

If the god ascended, the user ascended too.

And if the god was infinitely powerful—

Then so was the user… for ten seconds.

A terrifying ability for an E-rank nobody.

Except he wasn't a nobody but an angel-human hybrid.

But what made Kael's eyes narrow—

—Was the change.

Last time he saw this man, the "Worshipped God" field had been different.

Only "nameless" was written there.

But now—

The name flickered clearly beside that skill.

Worshipped God: Lord of Night Sun.

Kael's eye twitched.

"…Lord of what?"

Selene, hearing his words, tilted her head, and so did Evethra.

Selene, however, didn't stay idle. Realizing that this man could be interesting, she tried to read his future.

The man, on the other hand, finally stepped fully into the clearing.

He wasn't running.

He wasn't exhausted.

He wasn't panicked like last time.

He walked with hands clasped together, eyes filled with awe, and a reverent glow surrounding him like a halo.

Then—

The moment his eyes met Kael's golden ones—

He dropped to his knees.

The sound echoed through the clearing like a prayer landing at the feet of a deity.

His forehead touched the ground.

His voice trembled with devotion.

"O radiant sovereign… O devourer of the Eldertyrant…

O blazing one whose fire devours night itself…"

He bowed even lower.

"…Please accept this humble offering of devotion, my lord."

A beat of silence.

Selene's mouth fell open.

Evethra's eyes widened, wondering who this man was, pretending to be the best believer of Kael.

Lyratheia stood there, stunned.

Kael blinked once.

Twice.

The kneeling man spoke again, louder, clearer—

"I greet you, O Lord of Night Sun.

My god.

My savior."

..............................

Meanwhile, back in the city, things were taking an interesting turn.

Vaelen was still roaming around the city.

And if he hadn't been so exhausted, he might have thought he was dreaming.

The town wasn't just lively—it was thriving.

Children with fluffy tails chased each other through the streets. Merchants haggled loudly, waving glimmering trinkets and finely carved tools.

A fox-kin blacksmith hammered away at glowing metal as two wolf-tribe boys argued behind him.

Flower-scented smoke drifted from food stalls, and demihumans lounged at open-air tables as though this were a protected citadel, not the lethal heart of Rugarda.

"Impossible…" Vaelen murmured under his breath.

People here laughed. Worked. Lived.

No fear in their eyes. No tension in their shoulders.

As if something—or someone—kept this place untouched.

He tugged his hood lower and approached a food stall, pointing at a skewer of sizzling meat.

"How much?" He asked.

The vendor, a bear-kin with a thick beard, sniffed. "Two river-catch tokens."

"I don't have those. Will gold do?"

The vendor stared blankly. "Gold?"

He shook his head. "Don't want it. Tokens only."

Vaelen tried two more stalls.

Same answer.

Finally, a passing deer-kin woman offered help.

"If you need tokens, go catch fish at the river. Exchange them back here. Simple."

"…I have to fish for my supper?" Vaelen muttered incredulously.

She smiled. "Everyone earns what they take here."

He sighed but accepted it. He'd gone through worse.

A short walk later, the sounds of the town faded behind him, replaced by the quiet rustling of leaves. The path dipped toward the distant riverbank—lonely, shaded, and strangely serene.

Then—

The air changed.

A weight pressed down on him. Heavy. Cold. Ancient.

Vaelen spun, instincts flaring.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

No answer.

Only pressure.

Then a shape detached itself from the shadows.

Enormous. Wrong. Towering.

A silhouette like a massive beast standing upright—broad shoulders, curling horns, wings? Roots? He couldn't tell. Mist swallowed the details, leaving only its oppressive presence.

Vaelen's pulse thundered.

This was no ordinary creature.

A voice—deep, resonant, almost echoing from the earth—rolled out from the silhouette.

"State your purpose in my domain."

Vaelen's jaw clenched. He straightened despite the weight crushing his ribcage.

He knew that lying would mean trouble, so he decided to tell the truth.

"I'm searching," he growled. "For fugitives. And a murderer."

Silence.

He forced himself to continue.

"A supposed dragon—a ridiculous claim, but that's the report. I've been tracking them for over a month. Got caught up in a Dryad's spell on the way."

His voice tightened.

"I'm not here to harm anyone in this village. I don't care who lives here or what they do. If my presence is unwanted, I'll leave."

The silhouette didn't move.

Didn't breathe.

Didn't react.

Then—

A whisper. Soft and absolute.

"Truth spoken."

A pause.

Then, with a tone like a verdict, "Sleep."

Vaelen's body collapsed before he understood the word.

A dull thud.

The pressure vanished.

The towering silhouette shimmered—then dissolved like smoke.

In its place stood a single woman.

Brown hair swaying in the breeze.

Almond eyes narrowed with quiet calculation.

Alenia.

Her illusion magic rippled faintly around her fingers before fading.

She stared down at Vaelen's unconscious form.

"Let's see," she murmured, voice low, "how Kael wants to deal with you."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.