The first huge beast slowly lowered its head and spoke in a calm, steady voice.
"The humans are here."
The second beast narrowed its eyes imdiately.
"...Humans?" it said coldly.
"Aren’t they always here? What kind of news is that, Eldrin?"
Eldrin let out a quiet sigh.
His massive body shifted slightly, leaves and dust sliding off his scales.
"Silvar," he said patiently, "this ti is different."
Silvar’s ears twitched. "Different how? Humans are humans."
"They fight. They die. They run away when they should," Silvar continued flatly.
"That has never changed."
Eldrin turned his head and looked directly at Silvar.
"That’s exactly why you should listen."
Silvar frowned. "Then explain. Don’t waste my ti."
Eldrin nodded once.
"First, think about the timing. Around this period, humans usually sense what is about to happen on this island."
He raised a claw slightly, pointing toward the depths of the Demon Gate Island.
"When the second and third realm demonic beasts awaken, humans stay away. They always do."
Silvar snorted. "Because they’re weak."
"Yes," Eldrin agreed calmly. "Because they know they can’t survive."
He paused, letting the silence stretch.
"But this ti," Eldrin continued, "they ca anyway. Not one group. Many of them."
Silvar’s eyes flickered for a brief mont. "So they’re foolish."
Eldrin shook his head, long and deliberate. "No."
Silvar turned fully toward him. "Then what? Humans are humans."
Eldrin’s expression tightened. "That’s the problem. These ones are not."
Silvar frowned. "What are you saying? Humans... not humans?"
"They look the sa," Eldrin replied. "Sa shape. Sa blood. Sa breath."
He lifted one claw slightly. "But what’s inside is different."
Silvar crossed his arms. "Different how?"
"These humans," Eldrin said, "do not cultivate the normal mana path."
Silvar’s eyes sharpened. "A body path, then."
"Yes," Eldrin answered. "But not the crude kind you’ve seen before."
Silvar scoffed. "What? I have seen it before. They are all the sa. The ones we t were barely second realm."
"But this ti it’s different," Eldrin replied calmly.
Silvar paused. "Explain."
Eldrin leaned forward slightly. "Seven third-realm demonic beasts awakened early."
Silvar frowned. "And?"
"They were killed," Eldrin said. "By those humans."
Silvar’s eyes widened. Just a little. But it was enough.
"...What?" he said slowly. "Seven?"
"Yes."
Silvar’s jaw tightened.
"Even if they awakened early and were a bit weak, they were still in the third realm."
"Exactly," Eldrin said. "That’s why this matters."
Silvar took a step back, claws digging into the earth. "That shouldn’t be possible."
Eldrin nodded. "It shouldn’t. And yet it happened."
Silvar went quiet, then spoke again. "How?"
"They cultivate the body," Eldrin said, "but they also use mana."
Silvar’s gaze snapped up. "Both?"
"Yes. Not separately. Together."
Eldrin’s eyes darkened slightly.
"One of them even dragged into an illusion."
Silvar stiffened. "You?"
"Yes," Eldrin said plainly. "I didn’t even realize it at first."
Silvar’s voice dropped. "...That’s dangerous."
"That’s why I called you," Eldrin replied.
"These humans break patterns. They don’t follow the rules we know."
Silvar was silent for a long mont. Then he asked, "So what do we do?"
Eldrin looked toward the deeper parts of the island, where other ancient presences slept.
"We wait," he said. "Let the others wake first."
Silvar nodded slowly. "And then?"
Eldrin’s voice remained calm but firm.
"Then we decide whether this change should be allowed to continue."
The forest remained silent.
But sothing deep beneath it stirred.
---
Garion stood in front of the piled corpses, arms crossed, eyes scanning them one by one.
He nodded slowly. "Good. You brought back a lot."
Several massive bodies lay on the ground, still radiating faint pressure even in death.
"Seven third-realm demonic beasts," Garion continued.
"That ans most of them have already woken up."
He let out a short breath and looked toward the forest in the distance.
"Now this place finally feels like the real Demon Gate Island."
Rynar grinned, resting his hands behind his head. "Heh. Easy peasy."
Rynor snorted. "Yeah. Barely broke a sweat."
Dahlia crossed her arms proudly, wings flickering faintly before fading away.
"Honestly? I expected more trouble."
Clara tilted her head with a playful smile. "Sa. I was just warming up."
Eliza stood quietly beside them, nodding once.
Garion glanced at the group, then turned his attention to the new disciples standing a little farther back.
They were staring at the corpses with wide eyes.
"Alright," Garion said calmly.
"Tell . What do you think about hunting now?"
The new disciples exchanged looks. One of them swallowed and spoke up.
"...Senior disciples are monsters."
Another nodded quickly. "Yeah. I didn’t even see how so of those beasts died."
"They moved so fast..."
"And they’re not even scared of third-realm beasts."
A few laughed nervously, half in shock, half in excitent.
rsha pushed up her glasses, eyes sparkling.
"Right? They’re amazing! Their bodies are like walking experints. I really want to..."
Rynar imdiately pointed at her. "No experints."
rsha pouted. "Aww."
Valtor laughed loudly, slapping his chest. "They’re strong. Real strong. That’s the kind of power I want."
Seira crossed her arms, chin lifted slightly. "They exceeded expectations."
Everyone glanced at her.
She paused, then added coldly, "...By a lot."
Garion watched their reactions quietly. The fear, the admiration, the hunger to grow stronger.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"Good," he said. "That’s exactly how you should feel."
He turned back to the corpses.
"This island is dangerous. It always was. But now you’ve seen it."
He looked at his disciples again.
"As long as you train here, hunt here, and survive here... this level of strength won’t be sothing special anymore."
The juniors straightened without realizing it.
Garion nodded once.
"Rest for today. Tomorrow, we hunt again."
A wave of responses followed.
"Yes, Master!"
"Understood!"
The disciples began to disperse, still buzzing with excitent.
Valtor laughed as he walked away. "Tomorrow’s gonna be even crazier."
rsha bounced along beside him. "I should prepare more prototypes!"
Seira said nothing, but her eyes stayed sharp, clearly replaying everything she had seen.
As the crowd thinned, Arden remained behind.
He hesitated for a mont, then stepped forward. "Master. I want to talk."
Garion turned, noticing the serious look on his face. He raised an eyebrow slightly, then relaxed.
"Sure," he said. "Let’s talk while eating dinner."
Arden let out a quiet breath of relief and nodded. "Thank you."
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