Kyle panicked as he felt the kick, his eyes widening as he plunged toward the abyss.
He didn’t even have time to figure out who the hell dared to kick him when he was so vulnerable. He could only manage a curse.
"The heck??!"
But before the raging wind currents could sweep him away, he twisted his body in the air and grabbed hold of the golden bridge.
His sudden grip jolted the bridge violently, causing a man and a woman clinging to it with all their strength to be swept away by the air like scraps of paper. Furiously, they cursed whoever had disturbed the bridge.
Kyle hurriedly clung tightly to the bridge, crossing his legs and wrapping his arms around it to secure himself. He blinked at the shouts and curses of the two people, then shouted back, feigning innocence.
"Not my fault! Someone kicked me!"
His words should have been drowned out by the chaos around him, but his voice was deeper and more commanding than most.
It carried an undeniable authority, and the instant he spoke, numerous eyes snapped toward him, searching for the source. Ares was the first to notice him and shout.
"You bastard! How dare you show yourself after abandoning us like we were nothing!"
The powerful clan leader panted heavily. No matter what he tried, his injuries didn’t heal in this place—it held a powerful, eerie force that suppressed all forms of recovery.
"Just let me get my hands on you!! I’m going to strangle you this time!!! Ahhh!"
Kyle sealed his lips.
He didn’t even dare to breathe.
What had he even done?
It’s true he left, but he has suffered too!
Countless massive powerful statues had tried to crush him with their weapons, yet he survived and came back to help them!
Who would have thought his goodwill would land him in such a terrible spot?
But the desire to strangle him after seeing him shrug and walk away unscathed when they were all dragged into a sea of magma wasn’t limited to Ares alone. Cassian was quick to stare at his clinging figure as well.
The man’s lips twisted into a sneer.
"No, strangling’s way too boring. Let’s skin him alive, break his tendons, and toss him into the sea of magma—then we can shrug it off and walk away just like this jerk did!"
Ares’s eyes gleamed with delight, as if he genuinely relished the idea. Ahead of them, Guardian Zami sighed in speechlessness.
She wanted to kindly remind them that they were teetering between life and death—how could they be plotting to torture Kyle when they themselves were barely hanging on?
But before she could voice her warning, Kyle looked at them with aggrieved eyes.
"I came to help... but I’m not welcome?"
His voice carried just enough sincerity to almost make her believe him—if not for the amused smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, which made Zami’s eyebrow twitch.
This man had a natural talent for getting under people’s skin. She could almost see the fury brewing in Ares and Cassian’s eyes, itching to go back and teach him a lesson.
But unfortunately, they had advanced too far along the bridge. Retreating now would be a foolish risk none of them could afford.
Zami could only console the two men.
"Stop looking at him and move. We need to find a way out of here—so we can save the others who are all struggling to stay alive!"
Her voice was ragged but steady as she dragged herself across the bridge, blood dripping from her hands. Still, her grip on the bridge didn’t waver. Ares and Cassian exchanged grim looks and followed her.
The two fell silent.
However, the commotion they had caused had already caught the attention of a few pairs of deep eyes far ahead of the chaos.
At the far end of the many Rulers, treading across the cyan-purple flowers, a beautiful woman narrowed her sharp eyes. She was one of the Celestials who had once helped Nathaniel search everywhere for Azazeal.
She gestured to the man beside her.
"Hey, don’t you think that man with Clan Leader Ares looks quite familiar?"
The Ruler leaping alongside her tilted his head back to follow her narrowed gaze, a puzzled expression on his solemn face.
"Who? There are so many people. Don’t bother with them—just focus on following those ahead. If we fall behind, we will have to use the power of our Celestial symbols, and that’s such an exhausting task. Our symbols aren’t powerful to begin with."
Yet, the woman wasn’t finished.
Her sharp eyes narrowed further.
"No, listen to me. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence when I saw that red-eyed Celestial. But how could two people look so alike...? Doesn’t he resemble one of the two men Nathaniel sentenced to Hell’s Layer?"
Obviously, she wasn’t talking about Kyle.
His current appearance was nothing like it had been when he was mercilessly thrown into Hell’s Layer. Silver hair and green eyes.
She had never seen him before.
After all, even if the Rulers had heard of a mysterious, silver-haired Celestial who was rising to fame in the Celestial Realm for his ability to control both the laws of death and life, along with something cold and deadly, the Rulers had never seen him in person.
Moreover, most Rulers have been lingering around the Layer of the Ancients since the place was discovered. It took them a lot of time and effort to unlock the golden gate, and they have no time to spare for him.
Her whisper made several ears twitch.
Sighing, the man beside her smiled.
"Lui, he couldn’t have survived after being thrown into Hell’s Layer. It must really be a coincidence. Or perhaps that Celestial is a relative of that young man. We can’t sense his soul or presence here, so who knows."
The woman called Lui pouted.
"Why do you never listen to me, Bastian? You know my intuition is razor-sharp!"
The man just simply laughed it off.
Initially, the Rulers’ eyes were on the front, but Nathaniel’s gaze wandered back after overhearing the conversation—if only for a brief moment. His eyes darkened slightly when they fell on Cassian’s familiar figure.
He had overlooked him before. Who would have thought that this man was still alive?