A thought flickered through Ansu’s mind—
To sow discord within Rei’s heart.
And this ti—
He acted on it.
My spiritual essence... cos from the highest leaf.
And the people around ...
With just a few words from Ansu, a faint unease began to resurface within Kanzaki Rei.
Thinking about it again—
Everything felt far too coincidental.
Why was it that the mont he was transported here—
He imdiately encountered people like Iz and Kumironi?
At the beginning, he hadn’t realized how powerful Iz truly was.
But as his strength grew and his horizons expanded—
He ca to understand just how terrifying Iz’s mastery of magic really was.
Even now—
Among everyone he had t—
Rei couldn’t find a single person whose magical attainnts surpassed Iz.
Kumironi as well.
Akagi as well.
All of them—
Undeniably among the very strongest.
Loren—
Was nothing more than a tiny, obscure corner of the Secret Sea.
So small that elsewhere, people would likely ask, "What is Loren? Where is Rulen?"
And yet—
In such a small place—
Iz Parult, Kumironi, Akagi, Obades, Aelthymia, Ansei...
One after another—
Powerful figures had gathered on that single island.
There were even stranger individuals—
Like that mysterious diviner...
To this day, Rei still didn’t know who Parli truly was.
Even with [Future Simulation] and [Hidden Origin]—
He hadn’t been able to uncover anything about her.
Because—
She had disappeared.
"So what you’re saying..."
Rei spoke slowly,
"...is that my existence is nothing more than a piece in the sches of so higher being."
Ansu chuckled.
"Heh. Perhaps."
"A Level 9 class holder... would have to go to great lengths to step into that ultimate realm."
The "ultimate realm" Ansu referred to—
Was Level 10.
The reason Ansu had continued cycling through death and rebirth after reaching Level 9—
Was precisely to prepare for that final ascension.
But the process—
Was unimaginably long.
Millions of years had passed.
At tis it slumbered.
At tis it walked the world—
Witnessing countless lives, endless change.
And even now—
It had yet to reach Level 10.
After hearing the conclusion—
Rei fell silent for a mont.
"...I see."
His tone was calm.
As if he had just learned sothing trivial.
Strangely—
This truth did not hurt as much as learning his parents had beco monsters.
After all—
One’s birth was never entirely within their own control.
He had once thought—
He was the protagonist of so power fantasy.
Or that he had transmigrated into a novel.
But now—
It turned out he hadn’t transmigrated at all.
It had been orchestrated.
He didn’t know which existence had arranged all of this—
But at the very least—
It had allowed an ordinary Earth-born human like him—
To witness just how vast the world truly was.
But if the current state of Earth...
Was also that being’s doing—
Then Rei would never forgive it.
"Can this ritual be completely deciphered?"
Ansu replied,
"If I were at my peak—"
"...Forget it."
Rei cut him off.
There was no need to involve souls at a ti like this.
And within Ansu’s fleeting thoughts—
Rei had already sensed another intention.
To deceive him.
To trick him into handing over his soul.
Ansu’s mind was full of distractions.
At tis, it flashed with thoughts of killing him—
Seizing the highest leaf.
At other tis, it imagined what it would be like if Rei beca its subordinate.
Disgusting.
But these thoughts—
Were fleeting.
Like stray human thoughts that ca and went.
After forming the contract and adjusting over ti—
Rei had gradually stopped paying attention to them.
As long as Ansu remained under control—
It was still useful.
Dangerous, yes—
But along the way, its knowledge had proven invaluable.
Without it—
Rei would have fallen into far more traps.
Soone near ... might be watching for the "highest leaf."
My surroundings are filled with too many coincidences...
Rei’s thoughts churned endlessly.
"Kumironi..."
Standing in Shanghai—
His perception stretched toward Qingdao’s coastline.
Kumironi was still there.
Her hand resting on the two slis—
Sweat glistening on her forehead.
Dad... Mom...
I shouldn’t doubt Kumironi.
She’s kind.
"The ones best at deception... are those with the richest spiritual essence."
Ansu’s words echoed again in his mind.
Rei’s voice turned cold.
"Ansu."
"You did that on purpose. You’re trying to disrupt my mind."
"Disrupt?" Ansu laughed.
"Heh... perhaps I had that intention."
"But is it really disruption?"
"If sothing exists as a fact, does it cease to exist just because I don’t point it out?"
"If one day you’re betrayed by soone close to you..."
"Will you bla for not warning you?"
"Who you trust—that’s your decision."
"But don’t say I didn’t remind you."
"Betrayal from those close to you..."
"Hurts far more than facing an enemy head-on."
"Because betrayal—"
"Cuts the deepest."
Rei frowned.
He understood the logic.
But it still left a bitter taste.
Who should I trust?
Who shouldn’t I trust?
If I let his words drag into doubting everything—
Then every decision I make from now on will be distorted.
Ansu...
Looks like I can’t lower my guard around you either.
A Level 9 existence—
Was truly a double-edged sword.
Even just words—
Plain, logically sound words—
Could still influence his mind.
I’ll trust those I should trust.
And for anything suspicious—
I’ll remain cautious.
Beyond that—
Strength is the foundation of everything.
Rei corrected his thoughts again and again.
The storm of doubt stirred by Ansu—
Gradually subsided.
Ansu observed the now-calm sea of consciousness—
And silently smiled.
Such ntal fortitude...
Truly remarkable.
Next...
Kumironi still hadn’t finished.
Who knew how long she would need...
Might as well gather more information about Earth.
And accumulate more stacks of [Ascension to the Apex]...
And then—
BOOM—!
Before Rei could finish his thoughts—
He felt a terrifying presence descend upon the planet.
Whoosh—!
The oceans split apart.
The Atlantic and Pacific surged into towering spirals.
A figure—
Hovered high above the sky.
Pitch black.
Humanoid.
In its left hand floated a fleshy, tumor-like sphere.
It gazed down upon the land below—
Even from thousands of kiloters above—
Rei could feel it staring directly at Kumironi.
Earth was too small.
Far too small to contain the battle of high-level class holders.
For soone like Rei—
This planet could be shattered with just a few strikes.
The figure in the sky—
Radiated the aura of a monster.
At the sa ti—
Rei’s perception reacted.
Within [Hidden Origin]—
A na pointed directly to this being.
This figure—
Was none other than—
Lomo.
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