The dragon's body collapsed .. its colossal form crashing down before gradually morphing into something disturbingly humanoid.
Standing around the lifeless creature, Frey and his companions could barely resist the urge to collapse themselves. They had touched the edge of the world.
They were just ordinary humans .. born and raised on a planet they once believed to be the entirety of existence.
The Gate Cataclysm, centuries ago, had opened new horizons... but only slightly.
For people like them, "the world" had always meant the land beneath their feet.
But that land was nothing more than a black speck on a canvas far grander than they had ever imagined.
After stepping foot on a new world and encountering beings beyond their understanding, they now stood before something that had existed only in myths.
"I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Snow said, his voice unsteady. "That was… that was a dragon, right?"
He was still trying to grasp the impossible .. especially the part where the dragon had taken on a human-like form.
"In truth, their kind is called the Pantheon," Frey replied, his voice steady. "But yes… that was a dragon."
He stepped forward to examine the black arrow that had felled the creature.
The moment his fingers neared it, Frey felt an intense surge of aura still radiating from the shaft. The arrow pulsed with raw power .. unfazed even after delivering a killing blow.
Just from that pressure alone, Frey could tell—the one who fired it had long surpassed SS+ rank. Possibly far beyond that.
Which only raised more questions.
Who were they?
That strange group, the ones aligned with the blue-eyed Engineer...
Frey wanted to find them ... at least talk to them. He had a hunch they were nearby. But locating them at his current level was a fantasy.
For now, all he could do was wait… and hope they'd be the ones to make the next move.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Frey returned his focus to his two traveling companions.
Snow and Ghost were still processing the surreal sight, occasionally murmuring the new word that had left Frey's mouth.
"Pantheon…"
They continued forward, making their way through the scorched forest. The flames hadn't stopped burning.
Frey kept his gaze lowered, unable to meet their eyes.
He had no valid excuse for how he knew so much .. no story that would explain it all. When they'd asked before, all he could offer was: "I'll explain when the time comes."
But what could he possibly say? That he was a reincarnated author with knowledge of the future?
It sounded laughable even to him.
Unable to tell the truth… lost on a foreign planet with no way back… hunted by the most powerful being in existence...
Chaos.
Total, utter chaos.
And Frey was barely holding himself together .. walking a path carved out by someone else.
In moments like this, he longed for the days when his only goal was returning to his family. and his world.
Back then, things had been cruel… but at least they were clear.
Now? He was stuck in a maze he never chose.
And that strange sensation inside him .. an invisible pull ... was growing stronger with each step.
As if countless hands were pushing him forward, urging him to move faster.
"We're close," he finally muttered. It was all he could say.
Leaving the inferno behind, the trio continued their journey, venturing deeper into the heart of the forest.
And then .. they stopped.
They didn't mean to. Their bodies just… froze.
How many times had this happened during their journey?
Frey had lost count. But again, they stood paralyzed by the sight before them.
Ahead lay solid black earth. Above it, a blood-red mist churned, heavy with ominous aura that clawed at their skin.
And within the mist .. hundreds of glowing eyes.
Twisted abominations drifted aimlessly. Hair floated unnaturally upward, and their forms were grotesque mirrors of the nightmare creature they'd once barely defeated.
"Frey… don't tell me that is the way forward," Snow said, voice tight.
Frey nodded slowly, unease etched across his face.
"It is."
The force guiding him pointed directly into the swarm.
"What now?" Snow asked. "We barely took down one. And now we're facing an entire horde?"
It was suicide. Even someone like Maekar Valerion would fall against odds like these.
"Fighting isn't an option," Ghost said. His tone made it clear—this wasn't up for debate.
And neither of them argued.
Normally, Ghost would've followed his instincts .. those instincts screaming at him to turn around and leave this cursed place behind.
But that wasn't an option. Not when they'd already chosen to follow Frey to the very end.
With a heavy sigh, Ghost expanded his shadow and motioned for both Frey and Snow to step closer.
"Our only option is to try and sneak through."
"Is that even possible?" Frey asked.
Stealth was a logical choice, sure .. but how, when they were up against hundreds of nightmare beasts that walked on four legs like monstrous warhorses?
Ghost didn't sugarcoat it.
"To be honest, our chances are slim… but that's the only shot we have."
Relying on his stealth abilities, Ghost was betting they could slip between the beasts and push through while the creatures moved ahead just enough to leave an opening.
It wasn't a perfect plan .. far from it. But it was all they had.
Moving behind the towering creatures, the trio followed Ghost's lead as he spread his dark aura like a cloak over their bodies.
His shadow field masked their presence completely—one of the many assassination techniques he had perfected over the years. But this wasn't like the others.
This time, he was hiding three people—not one.
And their enemies weren't human.
Step by step…
Every meter they covered felt like miles.
They pressed forward, drenched in sweat, the only sound echoing in their ears was the pounding of hooves against the hardened ground ...endless, thunderous.
The crimson fog thickened with every step, swallowing everything in a haze of blood and shadow.
They couldn't even see the beasts clearly anymore ... only silhouettes, only hoofbeats.
Ready to sprint for their lives the moment they were discovered, they pushed forward, inch by painful inch.
Time passed—slowly, agonizingly—but it passed.
And they weren't found.
A rare stroke of luck, one they didn't dare take for granted.
Frey allowed himself a flicker of hope.
That hope vanished the moment his eyes locked .. briefly, unmistakably—with one of the monstrous horse-like creatures.
He froze.
Just for a second. But a second was more than enough.
The beast had seen him. Of that, Frey was sure.
Panic surged through his limbs. He nearly shoved Ghost and Snow to run.
But…
The creature didn't attack.
Instead, it turned its massive head and walked away—completely uninterested in their presence.
Frey blinked, stunned.
Had it really seen him?
Ghost and Snow had felt it too.
"They're… ignoring us?"
"It's hard to believe," Snow murmured.
Carefully, Ghost withdrew his shadow aura.
Step by step, they approached the towering beasts again .. closer than before.
They waited for something—anything—to happen.
But the monsters didn't react. Didn't even flinch.
"It's like we don't exist to them…"
Confused but unwilling to waste the opportunity, they continued forward—slipping unnoticed through a crowd of nightmares.
They walked for what felt like hours. The beasts didn't stop. The red fog grew thicker, heavier, as if bleeding from the sky itself.
There were thousands of them—each stronger than an S-rank creature. All wandering aimlessly through the haze.
Frey found himself wondering the same question that was etched across Snow and Ghost's faces:
What would happen if an army like this descended upon Earth one day?
And worse…
This army had lost—utterly—to just a fraction of the demons' true power.
Frey had come here searching for answers.
So far, all he'd found was despair.
It was as if he'd been forced into a game where losing was the only outcome.
At some point, the ground beneath their feet changed.
No longer solid, it turned soft ... sticky.
Their boots squelched against something they couldn't see. Something that resisted beneath every step.