Chapter 996

"....?!"

The thick dust slowly settled, revealing to the onlookers who—or what—had snatched the Supreme Magus from the jaws of certain death.

The moment the silhouettes became distinct, Dame and Anna’s eyes widened in immediate recognition.

"Han and Dan?! What on earth are they doing here?!"

Gunther frowned, turning his sharp gaze toward the mysterious duo. "Who are they? Friends or foes?"

Anna jittered, looking up with a deeply troubled expression.

"Th-they are our brothers. Our elder brothers."

Dame curled his hands into tight fists at his sides as he watched the pair staring down a staggering Devan.

"And as for your question," he gritted his teeth, locking onto the duo’s icy eyes, "we don’t truly know whether they are friends or foes. That is how unhinged and unpredictable they both are."

"...."

Fenrir steadied himself, his eyes tracking every movement in a state of high alert.

"Then we must remain prepared. Grey could be facing a massive three-on-one ambush at any moment."

....

Back on the blood-soaked battlefield, Grey coughed out a few persistent specks of blood before lifting his aching head to see the backs of the two men who had just intervened.

’Huh? Who are these two?’

Peering through the narrow gap between Han and Dan’s stances, he caught sight of the flustered expression on Devan’s face.

It was a look of unmistakable recognition—and perhaps a hint of irritation.

"You both? What do you want here?!" Devan barked.

Han briefly glanced over his shoulder at Grey.

He studied the mage up close for several seconds, his gaze unblinking.

Grey paused, his own gaze drifting toward the empty patch of sky where the clouds had recently parted.

’Oh.’

Han’s lips twitched for a fraction of a second.

’Guess I was right. He was able to sense our presence earlier.’

Finally turning his full attention back to the giant, Han gave Devan a thorough scan before replying,

"I had been watching for an hour now and I simply got bored. I decided it was time to come join the fray for a bit."

Devan’s brows rose in genuine confusion.

"Join in? Oh! So you finally accepted my request to help dismantle the Dawn faction?"

The behemoth of a man paused for a moment before chuckling deeply, the sound vibrating through the air.

"... Sorry, but I don’t require your assistance anymore. I have a firm grasp of the situation and will be finished shortly."

Grey watched them, his mind racing.

’Who are these men? Why is a Stage Nine monster speaking to them so cautiously?’

"...."

Han glanced at his brother for a few silent seconds.

Then, as if their minds were tethered together as one, they broke into a shared chuckle that quickly transitioned into full-blown, mocking laughter.

"Join hands with you?" Dan questioned amidst his snickering.

An amused look creased his hardened features for a second.

Han was now laughing like a complete madman, frantically slapping his thighs as he doubled over.

"He-he-he says we came to—to join hands with him? Hah-haha-haha-!" Han laughed so loudly he almost appeared ready to roll on the ground in hysterics.

Devan’s brows flared with rising anger at the bizarre scene.

"... What exactly do you want?"

"Your downfall," Dan uttered, his expression snapping into one of deadly seriousness.

Devan looked at them as if they were lunatics.

Then, he erupted into his own thunderous laughter.

"My downfall? You seriously intend to challenge me? Even with how powerful your father was, he always maintained a cautious distance from me."

"Ah, forget our old man. He is always overly cautious of everyone. Well, he threw that caution to the wind when he fought against him," Han said, casually pointing a thumb at Grey behind him.

Now the mage was utterly bewildered. ’Fight against me? Who is their father?’

"Also," Dan began as he uncrossed his arms and reached for the earring on his lobe.

Giving it a sharp tug, the jewelry came free.

The earring appeared to be simple steel hoops—small rings that overlapped one another.

His Ki flooded into the metal, and soon enough, the small hoops expanded in size, transforming into two formidable battle rings.

Holding one in each hand, Dan shifted into a low, predatory stance.

"You have been too arrogant for far too long. You’ve been stepping on our toes just because Borfan didn’t want any unnecessary issues with you. You kept pushing your luck at every turn."

"..?!"

’Wait! Borfan?’ Grey froze as the realization dawned on him with the force of a physical blow.

’... They are Borfan’s oldest children?’

Before Grey could blink or utter a single word, Dan had already exploded forward, his twin rings gleaming with a lethal energy.

Devan stared at the approaching youth with a deep, menacing frown on his face.

Lifting his gaze, Devan noted that Han remained stationary, not moving from his original position.

"Fine then! I have also wanted to deal with you arrogant brats for the longest of times, but because of Borfan, I couldn’t."

Dan kicked off from the ground with full force.

The soil bent and cracked beneath his weight as he swung the first ring in his hand; immediately, a ring of visible Ki burst out with staggering velocity.

Devan quickly bound backward while simultaneously swinging his Ki war hammer forward, bashing the weapon into the oncoming ring of energy.

A loud explosion crashed through the air as the ground beneath Devan’s feet was uprooted instantly.

Deflecting the attack to the side, the Behemoth swung his hammer around in a wide arc and sent it speeding toward Dan.

The young warrior quickly vaulted over the massive weapon, which smashed into the empty air with a dull, heavy thud.

Spinning mid-air, Dan hauled the second ring forward with full force, sending it bashing into the Behemoth’s side with the momentum of a runaway train.

Devan slid backward for a moment before clenching his teeth and darting after Dan, who had just landed a few meters away.

Not wanting to give his opponent the opportunity to reposition himself, Devan bolted forward with blistering speed. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He closed the distance within a jiffy while his hammer descended from above with crushing, lethal weight.

Dan slammed his rings together, causing them both to conjoin and double in size.

Lifting the massive doubled ring above his head for a fleeting moment, Ki swirled around his arms in violent waves.

Then, he proceeded to swing the ring from down below to meet the crushing hammer head-on.

BAM—! BOOOM—!

The terrain ruptured immediately as Dan was pressed downward under the immense weight of the hammer.

A violent blast of wind blew out in all directions.

Dan gritted his teeth, glaring defiantly into the obsidian eyes of the giant.

Suddenly, a shimmering yellow glow began appearing around the Behemoth.

Soon enough, a thousand Ki swords hovered in the air, pointing toward Dan with gleaming, murderous intent.

Before the young man could even blink, the blades were launched at him with lightning speed.

"Now, BROTHER!" Dan roared.

The Ki swords froze mid-flight.

As if they were being pulled by an invisible, irresistible force, they all changed trajectory and immediately darted away from their intended target.

Following the movement, Han could be seen standing firm with his gourd in hand, pointed forward.

It seemed like a swirling mass of darkness was trapped within its depths; the Ki swords flew toward him as if magnetized toward the mouth of the outstretched vessel.

A creepy, unsettling smile creased Han’s face as the swords flew into the gourd, disappearing into its endless depths.