The silence that formed between Daniel and Kaylen after the last sentence was so heavy that even breathing became something extra and intrusive.
The forest, which just moments ago had been full of hidden whispers and invisible flows of mana, had now become strangely quiet, as if space itself was waiting for a decision that would break everything.
No one spoke, but the decision had been made. Both sides knew they weren't going to back down, and they also knew the other side wasn't going to back down either.
In that case, they had no choice but to attack.
Kaylen was the first to move. He didn't want to let the enemy get up from his spot or give him the slightest opportunity.
He wanted to end this fight in an instant, with minimal casualties, and in the best case scenario with no casualties at all, then destroy the tree.
A small shift in his body weight, an imperceptible change in his gaze, and that was enough for the other four to move simultaneously.
In the blink of an eye, five presences from five different directions rushed toward Daniel.
The insolent boy attacked directly from the front, his speed cutting through the air, his smile still on his face, but a ruthless focus could be seen in the depths of his gaze.
The female assassin had almost disappeared, appearing behind Daniel from a point that even shadows couldn't reach, her blade ready to cut a neck that wouldn't even have time to react.
The heavy man came forward with a step that shook the ground, the force gathered in his strike seemed enough to completely crush anything.
The supporter, with precise movements, had locked down the space, closed off escape routes, and adjusted the flow of mana so that no disruption would occur in the attack.
And Kaylen himself didn't attack directly. He just stood, raised his hand slightly, and an invisible array took shape. The space where Daniel was sitting came completely under his control, like a cage whose walls couldn't be seen but held everything inside.
The goal was clear: give no opportunity. They didn't know how powerful their enemy was, and to their surprise, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't see the depth of his power.
There were two possibilities: either he was much stronger than them, or he was just using an item to hide his power.
They were in the tower, and according to the tower's rules, the rank of all players on the same floor is equal. So they weren't worried that their enemy would be stronger than them.
That's why they attacked simultaneously, to end everything in one blow.
The attacks arrived, and the distance closed.
Blades, fists, compressed mana force… all reached a point that was just one more move away from impact.
And then everything stopped. But not with the sound of impact, not with an explosion, and not even with a wave of mana.
Rather… with nothing.
At a distance of less than a centimeter from Daniel's body, all the attacks stopped. Not slowed down, not deflected, but as if they had hit something that didn't exist at all, yet at the same time was impassable.
Space.
Space itself.
As if an invisible, infinite, absolute layer had been placed between them and Daniel. A layer that couldn't be seen, couldn't be touched, couldn't even be understood what it was made of, but its reality was undeniable.
An eternal, infinite layer that nothing could pass through.
"…What—?" The insolent boy's eyes trembled for the first time, and his smile broke.
The female assassin, who until that moment had the most emotionless face, paused for a fraction of a second. Her blade, which always moved without stopping, was now stuck in the air.
The heavy man applied more force, but it was useless, and he didn't advance even a millimeter.
The supporter tried to change the flow of mana, open the paths, shift the locks… but no change occurred.
And Kaylen's eyes narrowed. His mind began to analyze with unusual speed.
But for the first time, he found no answer. Faced with something he couldn't even define, analysis was meaningless.
And at that moment, they understood. This wasn't a fight. This was a gap. A difference in level that wasn't even measurable.
Could this be why they hadn't been able to see the difference in power? Because the enemy was too strong?
Daniel was still sitting the same way. Not a single muscle in his body had moved.
His gaze was calm, with no trace of excitement, anger, or even satisfaction.
"I warned you." His voice wasn't loud, but in the forest's silence, it sounded like a final judgment.
And then his eyes gleamed. This gleam… was deeper, colder, and inexplicably closer to something that could no longer be called human.
For a brief moment, time seemed to stretch, and then beams, several thin lines of light, compressed and silent, shot from his eyes.
No one could react. No defense took shape. No mana had time to gather. And the moment the beams reached their bodies, everything ended.
The bodies didn't explode, didn't shatter into pieces, but rather… were erased from within.
As if their existence, the moment it came into contact with that force, no longer had a reason to continue.
But before that, their eyes froze in time with pure, deep, absolute horror.
The realization they reached in the final moment: there was nothing they could do.
The bodies fell to the ground, but they didn't remain intact. Particles separated from them, something like the essence of life, and were slowly drawn toward the tree.
The cursed tree happily absorbed and devoured the life force of all five of them, then fed on them, eating its first breakfast of the day.
Daniel closed his eyes. He wasn't in a hurry. He saw no need to look at the result of his work. He wasn't sad about killing them because he had done this before.
He had warned them and given them a chance to retreat, but they didn't listen, and now they were dead because of their stupidity.
They weren't weak either. All of them were at the peak of A-rank and considered among the best in that rank. But unfortunately, they had picked the wrong enemy.
"Now that I have time, I'd better do it." In his mind, paths took shape.
Ideas and combinations.
His bloodline and his race both had abilities that could be called godly, perhaps the best in all of existence, and he had thought of creating a technique.
Something that could connect all of this, something that might… bring him one step closer to becoming a god.
He wasn't sure if it would work or not, but in any case, it was better than nothing. Besides, he had nothing else to do.
Maybe he could unlock the full potential of his race.
In the distance, hidden in the shadows, two people along with a group were still standing. The Grand Minister and the Grand Knight, along with the Empire's Grand Guard.
None of them moved, and none of them spoke.
What they had witnessed was not something that could be easily processed.
"…What… was that?" The Grand Knight finally said under his breath, but his voice was dry.
Not from simple fear, but from an understanding that was just beginning to take shape.
The Grand Minister was silent for a few seconds, his gaze still on the spot where those five had stood.
They had come here to see this monster with their own eyes and, if the situation got tougher, to intervene and help those five.
But they didn't even get the chance to help.
"That… wasn't a fight. It was a one-sided massacre." And then he sighed and added.
They had expected that group to fail. After all, any possibility exists in such a situation. But they hadn't expected that group to fail so easily.
In fact, it wasn't even failure; it was slaughter.
Who was this monster? Although he was in human skin, his power seemed monstrous.
And that was enough. No discussion of an attack was raised, no attempt to get closer.
Only one decision, and that was to return. Without looking back, they turned back.
Their steps were faster than before, but not from simple fear, but from an urgent need to deliver this truth. The world needed to know about this as soon as possible.
The gates opened without questions, no formalities were observed, and they entered directly.
The Holy Emperor was waiting.
When they entered, before they even spoke, the Emperor's gaze fell on their faces.
And that was enough. He understood what had happened. It was clear from their frightened and worried faces.
The Grand Minister stepped forward. This time, even he paused to choose his words.
"That man's power…" The words came out with difficulty.
"…is beyond description."
"Five people… were slaughtered in an instant." The Grand Knight continued, his voice still heavy.
This time, the Emperor didn't laugh, and there was no mockery. Just a frown, and deeper than before.
A few seconds passed.
"So… that's how it is." And then he said quietly, realizing that he had underestimated the power of what he had called garbage.
His gaze turned cold, and the decision was made.
"Announce this news to the entire continent. A foreign monster… is protecting the cursed tree."
"And he has disobeyed the Divine Prophet's order." And then he added.
The divine order that was meant to destroy a tree, apparently was going to turn into the greatest disaster of the continent.