A land of darkness, decay, poison, and sorrow surrounded the team of Transcendents.
No more beasts came.
As soon as Swamp Dragon and Warp Space had regained their capabilities, the tides had turned.
Warp Space shortened the distance between Kyle and one beast, while Swamp Dragon created a toxic space around them.
The toxic space forced the beasts to fight from a distance, and Warp Space could deal with ranged attacks very well.
She just needed to distort the space around her a bit, and they would fly past Kyle.
Kyle had violently killed one beast after another until no more beasts came.
'The difference between fighting alone and in a team is massive,' he thought.
Kyle threw a glance at a humongous corpse on a distant mountain.
Another Level Five Primal Beast, but this one had died relatively quickly with the added powers of his teammates.
The frothing and melting corpses in the surroundings created a terrifying atmosphere that was hostile to all life.
There were many more beasts on the planet, but none of them dared or desired to enter this horrifying land.
After no more beasts arrived for half a minute, Kyle's body started to shrink.
Swamp Dragon and Warp Space jumped off his shoulders and landed beside him.
Some time later, Kyle returned to his normal size and sighed.
"Well, that was a bit much as a start," he said.
At that moment, Swamp Dragon sat down cross-legged with a straight back as he looked at Kyle with a serious gaze.
Then, he bent his back forward in respect.
"I must apologize, Meteor Hammer," he said. "I have seen your Sin Aura and have made judgments on your character. I have been unnecessarily hostile to you. Please, accept this bow as reparation."
Warp Space looked at Swamp Dragon and smiled.
Meanwhile, Kyle felt a bit awkward.
This bow felt so heartfelt and serious that it made him feel a bit embarrassed.
"It's fine! It's fine!" Kyle quickly said, waving his hands frantically. "No need for all of this. We both didn't know each other."
"And yet," Swamp Dragon continued, looking at Kyle again, "that has not stopped you from risking your life for us. Despite your Sin Aura, you are a better man than I am."
At that moment, Kyle also quickly sat on the ground in front of Swamp Dragon.
That was the best way to get rid of the awkward atmosphere… in Kyle's mind.
"Chill out," Kyle said. "We just met. There's no need!"
As Kyle looked at Swamp Dragon, he felt strange. Swamp Dragon was so… earnest and open.
The way he had just shown his respect felt so direct and honest.
Kyle wasn't used to people acting like that.
"Then, I am glad that you accept my apology," Swamp Dragon said.
"Yep, all accepted," Kyle said with an awkward smile.
At that moment, Warp Space also sat down like the other two.
"Well, at least we got to know each other's powers," she said with a smile. "I think it's high time that we also get to know each other's pasts and personalities."
"Sure, why not?" Kyle asked with a shrug. "Might as well start. I've been born into the Supreme World, and I've had some… problems."
The other two listened to Kyle.
"There was this one guy in an organization I belonged to. He had some issues with me and constantly tried to keep me down."
Kyle smirked. "Luckily, his schemes weren't exactly the smartest, and I managed to deal with them."
Then, Kyle's brows furrowed. "Until a certain point. I used to have a team I led, but eventually… this guy killed all of my teammates."
"I retreated for a while, using an incident to make it seem like I'd died."
"I worked tirelessly on my Complex Law, and when I finally condensed it, advanced, and went to the Main Dimension, I took my revenge."
"During that moment… I might have gone a bit too far. Many people not related to him fell victim to my rampage, and my organization tried to kill me."
"I escaped and focused on increasing my power."
Kyle narrowed his eyes. "And when I'm strong enough, I will take my revenge."
Naturally, this was Kyle's cover story.
The reason why his persona would initially refuse the Array of Stars' recruitment was for the sake of revenge.
If he joined an organization, he would need to follow their rules, and those often included a ban on unnecessary killings.
Despite everything, the Array of Stars still had to treat its subservient organizations well.
If push came to shove, the subservient organizations could jump ship and join one of the other Higher Supreme Organizations.
A boss could be an asshole to their employees to a certain degree, but if the behavior became too bad, the employees would quit and get a different job.
"Anger borne of loyalty," Swamp Dragon said with a nod. "A sentiment I can resonate with but have not experienced yet.
The other two looked at Swamp Dragon.
"I have been part of a Mortal Organization ever since I reached the Second Realm. One of the more powerful and popular people recruited me, and I joined their team."
"We became the best team in our Realm, and I have received tremendous advantages, which allowed me to become unmatched in my Realm."
Swamp Dragon narrowed his eyes. "But weakness and jealousy took hold of my team."
"I was willing to die for them, but when it came time for them to risk their lives for me, they fled. I was left to fight for myself."
"It was the most difficult battle in my life, and I only survived because of the ever-shifting whims of fate."
Swamp Dragon looked at the ground with a lost expression.
"I was willing to forgive their weakness. Not everyone has the conviction to jump into harm's way."
His eyes narrowed again.
"If they hadn't spun a tall tale about how I was the one who betrayed them and that I fled."
"They asked for my Contribution Points as reparation for my betrayal."
"Did you take your revenge?" Kyle asked.
Swamp Dragon closed his eyes.
"The best revenge is a life well lived," he said. "Instead of focusing my mind on revenge, I gained new conviction in my training."
"Their betrayal has sent me into a tribulation, which allowed me to grow as a person."
"I am a Fulfilled Transcendent."
"They are either dead or False Transcendents."
"My revenge is that they must watch my rise, while they are stuck."
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