The twisted space just a few meters away from them continued to warp and distort, as the violent fluctuations in the atmosphere remained constant.

Without warning, the giant bird launched itself directly toward Alen with an incredible, blinding speed.

Alen knew he had absolutely no chance to dodge that incoming attack. Because the bird possessed extremely sharp senses and terrifying speed, the very moment he tried to move, the beast would quickly catch him.

He couldn’t even properly defend himself, as it was completely meaningless to try and protect his body from the direct, full-force attack of an S-Rank monster.

Gritting his teeth, Alen coated the dagger with dark Crimson Essence, trying desperately hard to defend himself and prevent as much fatal damage as possible.

But as the Vorakryl launched at him with incredible speed, its sharp eyes suddenly noticed the Crimson Essence covering the jagged dagger. The massive bird abruptly halted its dive just a few feet above him. It frantically flapped its giant wings, staring down at the glowing crimson dagger with wide, dead eyes.

The giant bird slowly descended to the ground after heavily flapping its wings to slow its momentum.

*Thud!*

As it landed heavily on the barren ground, the dust and debris around it were pushed violently away by the air pressure.

The bird’s pitch-black eyes stared deeply at Alen. Then, it looked high up into the crimson sky and released a deafening scream.

*SKREEEEEEEEECH!!*

Alen looked at the towering monster with a deeply unsettling look. He remained completely still in his defensive stance, unsure of what the beast was planning.

Suddenly, the giant bird lowered its massive body and hit its head flat against the ground all by itself.

*Thud!*

Alen stared at the terrifying S-Rank monster kneeling respectfully in front of him with a bewildered and deeply confused look.

"What the hell? Why is it kneeling on the ground?! Has it completely lost its mind?" Alen muttered in shock.

[....]

[It seems.... That guy is also a very familiar figure...]

’What?! Did you play with his children too?!’ Alen thought, panicking internally.

[N-no! I mean... I killed most of them... But I still didn’t ’play’ with them this time.... Yeah, I didn’t...]

she replied, trying to convince herself that what she had done back then couldn’t be classified as playing.

"But killing them is the exact same thing!!!"

"But wait, why is it not attacking me right now?!"

[Mhmm... Well, this particular monster seems to be one of the lucky guys that I actually showed mercy to and let go...]

"Oh... Wow. You actually show ’mercy’ to others? I thought you only liked to play twisted games with them? Actually crazy games, I mean..."

[...]

[Just shut up, you’re totally messing with my mood! By the way, look at that giant bird. It is kneeling on the ground in pure submission. Even the slightest bit of my power was enough to intimidate him...]

[Hehe... Look at that! That is what is called a true ’Aura’. Even though I am currently suppressed and powerless, most of the beasts are still terrified of my presence...]

’Just shut up. And don’t speak to me with that cheeky tone. Or I might have to beat you or thrust you inside some gruesome, disgusting monster’s guts.’

[Hey! Don’t you dare!...]

As their bickering continued, the giant bird finally raised its head. It flapped its massive wings heavily against the dirt and flew back up into the crimson sky.

Its giant body still radiated an aura so incredibly powerful that Alen realized he would not have been able to defeat this monster, even if he had given the battle absolutely everything he had.

He clenched his fists tightly—not in anger, but in the sobering realization that this world was incredibly vast. The terrifying monster that had just knelt in front of him was just a small being compared to the true horrors of the universe. If he truly wanted to become powerful enough to survive on his own, then he had to give his absolute all in the upcoming Ascension trials.

As the giant bird suddenly turned its direction away from them, it launched itself with incredible speed, flying off toward the distant horizon in an instant.

"Sigh... That is a relief. I am so glad that I didn’t have to fight that absolute monstrosity..."

The crimson dagger in his hand started to disintegrate into light particles and absorbed back into his body.

"So, what were you talking about earlier? What exactly did you do to that Vorakryl race?" Alen asked.

[Mhmm... Well, it was nothing major... In the distant past, I just killed them and slaughtered their entire race... Because they had hunted and killed the specific monsters that I mostly used to play my games with... But then, a few of them started to cry and beg me for mercy...]

[And honestly, I was also getting way too bored of killing those overgrown fowls. So, I just showed them a little mercy and let a few of the birds go free...]

Alen listened to her dark story. He remained completely silent for a long second before asking a follow-up question.

"By ’just a few’, what exactly do you mean?"

[Well... You could say that, among the several thousands of their total population, I only spared about four to five of them... They were the truly lucky ones...]

Alen remained dead silent for a full minute, processing her casual cruelty.

"You know, Little Ravena... I really underestimated you... You are truly a deeply sadistic weapon... It seems I have accidentally bonded with the wrong being..."

[Hey! Wait—what?! I am not sadistic! I was just incredibly bored! I don’t feel pleasure while doing those things.... Well, maybe just a little bit, but that doesn’t prove I am a sadistic person! Just shut up! Let’s go to the Void right now so that we can leave this awful place as early as possible before more of such uninvited guests decide to show up.]

As Alen heard her annoyed command, he straightened his back and looked forward at the heavily distorted air just a few meters away from him.

He started walking steadily toward that direction.

The air immediately started to feel incredibly heavy. He could physically feel the change in gravity pulling around him as he neared the distortion. He walked slowly, struggling hard to maintain his balance against the crushing pressure.

"Tell me, you said back then that there would be immense danger while passing through this route... But I have seen absolutely no danger here, except for the unexpected entry of that S-Rank monster..."

[....]

[I cannot tell you the exact details about the danger... But honestly, even I am not entirely sure if your human mind can handle it.... Just try your best to remain sane, at the very least...]

The telepathic voice was abruptly cut off as Alen felt the very space around him start to violently distort along with his physical body.

"Wait... What kind of danger?!"

But before he could even finish his words, the air distorted completely as a small, jagged fracture cracked open in the fabric of space. The spatial warp spun into a terrifying vortex and suddenly swallowed him entirely, dragging him deep into the endless Void.