Inside the forest canopy of Silao Grande, deep within its wilderness, a group of people can be seen exchanging blows. The sounds of their fight break the silence of the surrounding forest—clashing metal, grunts, and bodies hitting the dirt have echoed for a good couple of minutes now.
This group consists of three men trying to overpower the girl in front of them with sheer numbers. However, based on their earlier exchange, it's clear that doing so is no easy task.
Minona, the blue-haired girl armed with her core weapon—a gauntlet engulfed in blue flames—has proven she can hold her own even when outnumbered.
Her brilliant blue flame dances around her body, and anyone who tries to get close instantly feels the heated air pushing them back.
The heat acts like a barrier, its sheer intensity enough to halt her enemies' attempts to attack. All they can do is risk everything by overwhelming her with numbers, hoping an opening will present itself.
Two of the three men are already in rough condition, their skin slightly burned from the heat. They've had to back away from Minona to catch their breath, as the air around her is so hot it feels like their lungs are burning from the inside.
Minona looked at the trio. She needed to finish this quickly—she was starting to feel the fatigue from all the fighting and dodging she'd been doing.
Not to mention, she had a gut feeling that Ruges was holding back. He might just be waiting for her to get tired before making his move. Her eyes shifted to the core weapon Ruges held in his hand, and she could clearly see the ominous liquid dripping from its tip.
She definitely couldn't let herself get hit by that knife. Who knew what that liquid was? Poison? Some kind of corrosive substance? She didn't know—and she wasn't willing to find out.
Minona had been trying to subdue the leader, but fighting three people at once—even if two of them lacked strength—was proving too much. Especially since all three of them were well-coordinated.
"What's the matter, Miss Highergard? Trying to catch your breath? We can stop anytime. Just unsummon your core weapon, and we can talk things out... peacefully," Ruges taunted.
Minona furrowed her brows and threw a punch in Ruges' direction, sending a torrent of fire that burned everything in its path.
Peacefully? That look on his face when he spoke those words said anything but peaceful.
Minona, though a sheltered girl, had dealt with enough bad people to know when someone was lying. And this Ruges guy—he was absolutely one of them.
Ruges dodged to his left just before the wave of blue flame could engulf him. He looked at the girl irritably—how dare she attack him?
He hated when girls didn't heed his words and tried to defy him. But that was also the best part—breaking their spirit, slowly but surely. Every single one of them acted so proud and high at first. But once they realized how powerless they were against him, they always broke.
And this Minona girl? She was no different. Right now, she could act tough all she wanted, but the moment Ruges managed to sink his blade into her porcelain skin, she'd be nothing more than a toy for him.
Ruges had to stop the drool threatening to spill from his lips. He needed to focus first—then he could have his fun.
The two lackeys rushed at Minona from both sides, trying to strike her with their core weapons. But Minona, agile and flexible, dodged the incoming attacks with ease and unleashed a burst of flames, hitting them square in the chest and sending both crashing to the ground.
By reflex, she tilted her head to the side, narrowly dodging a knife that nearly grazed her cheek. She countered with a powerful kick to Ruges' side, sending him flying several feet away.
Minona was breathing heavily—the knife had almost sliced her. Exhaustion was beginning to creep in, weighing down her limbs.
She needed to escape. She didn't know if Yaw-Yan had managed to shake off his pursuers. All she could do now was pray for his safety.
Ruges slowly got back to his feet, clutching his left side. That kick should have incapacitated him—but he was clearly tougher than he looked.
He side-eyed Minona, catching his breath before shaking his head. This girl was far too stubborn.
"You know you're gonna pay for that kick," he sneered. "That actually hurt. I'll make sure you beg me for forgiveness."
Hearing the confidence in Ruges' voice, Minona tightened her focus. Her gauntlet flared hotter—she fully intended to turn this man to ash.
She grounded her feet and lowered into a fighting stance. She could tell Ruges was about to charge.
With an explosive burst, Ruges kicked off the ground, his body blurring from the speed as he aimed to stab Minona's side.
But Minona reacted instantly. Instead of retreating, she stepped forward, entering Ruges' personal space and catching him off guard. His knife struck nothing but air—and her elbow slammed into his face, knocking him back several steps.
Seeing an opening, she balled her fist—the metal of her gauntlet clanking together—and launched a fiery liver punch to try and finish the fight.
But before the heated gauntlet could strike Ruges' side, his core weapon—the knife—suddenly shifted in glow, changing from purple to yellow. In an instant, the knife morphed into body armor, protecting Ruges from the incoming punch.
The gauntlet hit the armor with a heavy thud. Ruges gritted his teeth as he took the blow. His core weapon had lessened the impact, but the strike still rattled his insides.
Minona stared in shock, eyes wide as she looked at the armor. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
As the force of the attack finally subsided, Ruges swiftly morphed his core weapon again, letting himself be hit by the weakened follow-up punch, sending him flying. But before he flew back, he used Minona's stunned reaction to his advantage—making a quick slash with his core weapon across her exposed arm.
"Heretic!" Minona muttered, staring in disbelief at the man on the ground.
Ruges shakily pushed himself up. The body blow just now would have absolutely killed him if not for his armor. He let out a rough laugh when he heard her words.
"I know, I know! I disgust you, right? One alignment per person, huh?" He stood fully upright, giving the stunned girl a knowing smile. "I think it's stupid. Limiting ourselves to one power, one god?"
He stepped closer, voice brimming with arrogance. "Especially when you can do so much more with multiple alignments. Like just now—if it weren't for my armor, I'd be dead. And with my blade… this fight is over."
Minona's eyes widened in horror. She suddenly felt a sharp pang in her left arm. When she looked down, she saw a small cut, oozing with purple smoke.
The moment she realized she'd been cut by Ruges' blade, her strength drained from her body. She collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed. She couldn't move—not even a finger.
"Fucking finally. I really thought I was gonna die fighting you, Ms. Highergard. You're the strongest plaything I've ever acquired," Ruges laughed, watching the horror bloom across Minona's face as she realized her situation. Just like he expected—once they were powerless beneath his feet, all that pride crumbled fast. He'd seen it before. He was seeing it now.
Ruges sat down beside Minona's immobile body, pulled a healing potion from a hidden pocket in his satchel, and downed it in one go. He needed to recover first—his body was wracked with excruciating pain, even if he was good at hiding it.
Chugging the potion, he decided to pass the time by entertaining the girl with a little monologue, waiting until he was fully healed.
"So... it's awesome, right?" he said with a crooked grin. "Just one cut, and you're paralyzed." He pulled out his knife and twirled it in front of Minona's face. "This core weapon collects poison from toxin-type beasts and fuses their venom into my blade. I just finished hunting some poisonous monsters before I came here. I like to keep a stash of poison in me—you never know when a beautiful warrior might suddenly show up to fight me."
He chuckled at his own joke.
"I can only use the toxin once, though. After that, I gotta kill another poison beast to reload it. I used up all my reserves on you. I panicked when you landed that last hit, so I dumped everything into one strike just to lock you down. Don't worry—you won't die. My poison isn't potent enough for that. But with the dose I gave you, you won't be moving for a while."
Minona shot him a scornful glare as he examined her paralyzed body.
"Don't worry," Ruges said with a grin. "We can work this out. I've got lots of experience with situations like this." He licked his lips as he watched her struggle. She was trying to move, trying to resist, and that excited him. But he wasn't fully healed yet, so he kept talking to kill time.
"If you're wondering why I'm here with my buddies, we've been planting these boxes all over the forest. See that little box over there?" He pointed at a metallic container sitting a few feet away. "That's an AlcaMana Bomb. A concentrated mix of explosive chemicals and an unstable mana core, crammed into a neat little package. One of those things can wipe out thousands of beasts in a single blast. We've planted hundreds—it'll definitely kill the big guy."
Ruges patted the ground beneath him to emphasize his point. "Wondering why we want to kill a mountain-sized beast? Well, we're after his core. I don't know what my boss wants with it, but he says it's valuable, so here I am. Once it's done, I get to go home. School sucks, man. I gotta pretend I don't want to slit everyone's throats every time I talk to someone."
He stood up and cracked his neck, stretching it left and right.
"The capital sucks in general. I can't just kill whoever I want—unlike out there in the Endless Forest. But hey, at least the girls here are as beautiful as the ones outside the Infant Flow. Only difference is, the women here can't protect themselves from me."
He crouched in front of Minona, eyes roaming. "Almost makes me want to stay."
Minona tried to move again, but her body wouldn't respond. For some reason, she couldn't even summon her core weapon. All she could do was glare in defiance as Ruges' hand slid up her leg.
Ruges heard a groan beside him and looked over to see his two lackeys waking up. He chuckled at the sight of them.
"Drink a potion. We've still got a few AlcaMana Bombs to spread across the forest. After I'm done having my fun with my new toy, you two can take out your frustrations on her too."
Minona grunted, feeling his hand press against her thigh.
"I wonder how long before those defiant eyes of yours start rolling back from pleasure," Ruges sneered, reaching for her skirt—
—but then a loud commotion echoed through the trees, growing louder, fast.
Ruges stood up and walked a couple of steps toward the direction of the noise when the trees and leaves in front of him began to rustle and shake.
Suddenly, the bushes spat out a lilac-haired boy running toward them at full speed.
Ruges smiled when he recognized the tribal boy. It looked like he had gotten the direction wrong while running away from his lackeys.
"Ah, look who showed up. You're just in time to witness a beautiful dance, accompanied by resounding moans," Ruges said as he drew his knife, fully intending to slice the boy's legs.
But before he could move, the boy suddenly threw something in Ruges' direction.
Ruges instinctively caught the projectile with his free hand but accidentally crushed it, bursting it open and spilling its contents all over his face and upper body.
He took a whiff—blood. He looked at his hand and saw a skin-like piece of flesh. It took him a few seconds, just staring at it in confusion, before an earth-shaking roar startled everyone.
"Here! You can have this!" Yaw-Yan shouted as he threw another bag at Ruges. The latter reflexively slashed it with his knife, splattering even more blood all over himself—completely covering his body and stunning him.
Just as he was snapping out of his daze, a sudden kick struck him in the groin, sending Ruges kneeling in pain.
Before he could even order his men, a massive beast erupted from the forest and let out an enraged roar. Its eyes locked onto Ruges—now drenched in blood—the beast lunged at him.
His two lackeys were about to jump in and help Ruges, but another beast appeared beside them and struck them with something it held in its arm. As the two lackeys were knocked to the ground, they looked up—and their eyes widened in horror.
The beast that attacked them was holding the mangled corpse of one of their comrades.
Minona who's laying on the ground stared at the two beasts, her eyes going wide in recognition.
They were Blood Collectors, just like the one she fought last night.
But these two… looked older. Stronger.
Suddenly, she was jolted from her thoughts when she felt someone grab her and lift her into a princess carry, away from the chaos.
"We need to run. Those things are even more enraged than last night," the boy said.
Minona looked up at Yaw-Yan's face. It was smeared with sweat, dirt, and blood—but his eyes were filled with determination.
He came back for her.
He was weak and powerless… but he still came back to save her.
Why?
He should've just run and saved himself.
So why did he come back and risk his life?
But when she remembered what was about to happen if he hadn't shown up, her eyes welled with tears.
She had been lying there, powerless in front of those monsters.
They were going to do something horrible to her—and she couldn't stop them.
Then he showed up.
He didn't need to.
But he did.
Tears finally rolled down her cheeks.
"Yaw-Yan…"
Yaw-Yan looked down at the girl crying in his arms and gave her a gentle, reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Minona. I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise."
End of Chapter 13