"Genesis Forest."

An invisible wave slammed into Atticus and Whisker, forcing both of them five steps backward.

Their eyes narrowed instantly. If their wills hadn’t already been actively deployed, that single pressure would’ve blasted them straight out of the forest.

’A Will Art.’

Atticus realized. An extremely powerful one.

They stared ahead.

Greenish will wrapped around the Nature King, so vast and fierce it seemed to pierce through the heavens. Vines erupted endlessly from the earth and stretched across the entire expanse while flowers rapidly bloomed along them, releasing glowing spores that drifted through the air like stars. Trees lengthened and thickened, twisting into towering structures that dominated the landscape.

The air itself became suffocating.

It was so overfilled with life and Nature Will that even moving felt difficult. The entire world had transformed into an endless, enchanting forest. And at its center, the Nature King stood like he owned creation itself.

An overwhelming air of haughtiness and superiority radiated from him so intensely it almost felt tangible. It was as though he was announcing to the world...

He was nature.

He was king.

Atticus and Whisker’s gazes darkened. The atmosphere was so saturated with life and Nature Will it felt as though they had been thrown into the depths of an ocean.

Then both of them tensed as the Nature King locked onto them.

The moment itself seemed to slow... and their eyes widened.

He was gone.

Atticus’ will lashed out, intercepting something immense an instant before impact. Crimson and green flashes erupted across the skies from the resulting clash.

Atticus was still hovering in the skies... yet he wasn’t smiling.

His will lashed out rapidly, trying to corrode the Nature King’s power, yet the latter’s will felt endless, like an abyss without limit.

The stalemate lasted less than a second, then Atticus was blasted backward.

’I lost...’

Atticus furrowed his brows. Even as he hurtled straight toward a mountain, he paid it no attention. His thoughts remained fixed entirely on the exchange that had just occurred.

The Nature King’s will had not lost to his. If anything... it had slightly overpowered it. The corrosiveness of his Burning Will had always been its greatest edge, yet the Nature Will had endured it almost untouched.

Atticus spun violently through the air before forcefully halting his momentum just before colliding with the mountain. He lifted his gaze.

The Nature King was already there.

His chin remained raised, as though even the heavens themselves stood beneath him. A condensed spear of will had already formed in his grasp and was descending toward Atticus.

Crack.

Whisker appeared beside the Nature King as though he had always been there, his blade thrusting directly toward the latter’s neck.

The Nature King’s eyes shifted sideways, yet he made no move to stop attacking.

"Not again..." he murmured under his breath, and an unmoving barrier halted Whisker’s blade. The Nature King turned back toward Atticus just as the spear reached him.

A streak ran through the sky as Atticus’ katana flashed from its sheath.

The spear split apart instantly, and in the same motion, the Nature King’s arm severed cleanly from his shoulder.

The Nature King’s eyes thinned.

What?

Whisker’s leg detonated into his face the next instant, hurling across the terrain before crashing violently into a cliffside.

Boom!

"I see... I see..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Nature King’s voice echoed calmly across the battlefield. There was neither pain nor surprise within it. His arm had been severed, his face crushed, yet he sounded amused.

Slowly, he stepped out from the choking haze. A massive bed of blooming flowers and twisting vines had formed within the crater. Grass and flowers bloomed beneath every step he took.

Vines erupted from the severed stump of his shoulder before rapidly twisting together into a flawless new arm. His shattered face reshaped itself just as quickly until not even a scar remained.

His haughtiness had only intensified. Life overflowed endlessly from him, causing flowers to bloom from empty air itself.

Slowly, the Nature King lifted his head. A feral grin spread across his face as his gaze locked onto Atticus.

"So it really is you... Atticus Raven... whatever the rest was. The little ant everyone keeps screaming about lately..."

He laughed. Each boom of laughter seemed to rumble through the world.

"Hah... this is good. This is very good..." he said. "A fool arrogant enough to declare war on his betters... and a defective who still hasn’t learned his place... Good... good..."He tilted his head slightly, eyes gradually turned chilling.

"...This should be fun."

The world seemed to slow once more... then all three vanished.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Their clashes ripped violently across the terrain. Crimson and green streaks flashed wildly, carving massive trenches through the earth while uprooting forests and blasting debris into the skies.

Atticus’ eyes were ice-cold as he thrust his blade forward. It tore through the Nature King’s spear and reached him instantly.

The Nature King’s will flared. He vanished, reappearing directly before Atticus, gleaming claws already carving toward his neck.

Atticus’ will lashed out and shoved the strike aside just enough for it to miss. He lunged forward immediately, slamming his forehead directly into the Nature King’s face.

It felt like striking an immovable wall.

The Nature King absorbed the force entirely before retaliating with another slash. Atticus regained his senses, dipping beneath it before twisted sharply, his katana sweeping upward in a flash.

Claws and blade collided. The entire arm was severed instantly, bluish blood spraying. The Nature King’s eyes darkened slightly. He was just about to retaliate, when Whisker appeared before him without warning.

His fist phased straight through the Nature King’s will and smashed into his face, sending him hurtling backward.

Atticus’ gaze met Whisker’s midair. For a brief instant, the world itself seemed to slow.

Atticus’ eyes were cold and calculating. Meanwhile, Whisker still wore that fiendish grin while low chuckles rumbled from his throat.

They tore their gaze away then vanished.

The Nature King’s arm regenerated instantly as he disappeared as well. Explosions continuously ripped through the battlefield as the three clashed at impossible speeds.

Atticus fought like a spear. Relentless. Direct. He continuously met the Nature King head-on without retreating a single step.

Meanwhile, Whisker was completely different.

He was free.

Completely unshackled by the world itself. The laws around him almost seemed meaningless. He appeared in impossible positions repeatedly, one moment directly ahead of the Nature King, the next above him, then suddenly beside him.

And every single time the Nature King focused on Atticus, Whisker’s fist crashed straight into his face.

The Nature King was steadily being pushed back, yet strangely enough, the longer the battle dragged on, the greater his haughtiness and superiority became.

Another punch blasted the Nature King backward.

He calmly waved one arm.

A blanket of green light instantly flooded the world. Massive roots and gigantic bones erupted upward from the earth before rapidly twisting together into colossal titans that towered over the battlefield.

Atticus and Whisker appeared briefly in the skies, then vanished again.

The titans exploded apart one after another as the two tore through them at terrifying speed, leaving behind only burning roots and devastation in their wake.

’What’s he doing?’

Atticus’ eyes narrowed as the titans crumbled around him.

They were clearly overwhelming the Nature King in direct combat, yet Atticus felt no satisfaction whatsoever. The way the Nature King fought... it wasn’t the fighting style of someone trying to kill his opponents.

He attacked, he evaded, then he withdrew again. Almost as though...

Atticus’ eyes thinned.

’He’s buying time.’

Suddenly, a strange weakness assaulted him. Atticus halted, his brows furrowing. It felt as though his will was slowly being drained away.

’By what—’

His eyes froze on the spores drifting throughout the battlefield. At some point, they had changed, their green glow shifting into crimson.

And now they were slowly drifting toward him like they were attracted to him. The instant one touched his will, it lit up brightly before that draining sensation intensified.

Originally, the spores had burned to ash the moment they came into contact with his will. But now...

’They’re adapting...’

Just like the Nature King’s will itself. Whisker appeared beside him, his expression unusually grim.

"You noticed it too..."

"...Yeah."

Whisker glanced around the forest with a frown.

"Tch... moving around’s getting annoying now." He clicked his tongue. "I think this whole damned place is learning us."

"Hm."

The Nature King’s voice echoed across the battlefield. He floated in the distance while another fresh army of titans stood silently behind him. Despite the countless attacks he had suffered, he still looked utterly flawless.

"So the fool and defective finally noticed. I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take." His smile slowly widened as he declared. "Natural Law: Adaptation."

The entire world seemed to pulse.

Atticus and Whisker’s expressions darkened. So it truly was an ability. However, neither of them had noticed when exactly the Nature King had activated it. One thing was obvious now though... the longer this battle continued... the worse their situation would become.

Regardless, it seemed they weren’t the only ones prepared to end things.

The Nature King exhaled softly before slowly raising both arms.

At that moment, it truly felt as though he had become the center of the world.

"Manifest: Devouring Eden."