"Hades…"
Shane rolled the name around on his tongue, one eyebrow lifting almost imperceptibly.
His first reaction wasn't the wary alertness of someone facing a mortal threat. Instead, a wave of absurdity washed over him.
Who had that much nerve to call himself Hades?
That was one of the famed Twelve Olympians of Greek Myth—the Lord of the Underworld.
If an ordinary person walked around with that title, they were either an ignorant, fearless edgelord, or arrogantly delusional to the extreme.
It was like someone introducing themselves with a straight face: "Hello, I'm Zeus." It was hard not to feel an urge to roast them.
Shane almost made a joke, but when he looked up and met Ultear's still, water-deep eyes, the words died in his throat.
Her expression was solemn—there was even a hint of unease she couldn't fully conceal.
Clearly, this "Hades" wasn't some loudmouthed clown hiding behind a grand name. He was a real abyss of magic—someone whose terrifying power actually matched the arrogance of that title.
"Alright. I'll remember the name," Shane said, reining in the contempt in his gaze, and nodded.
Then he gave Ultear a long look, meaningfully. "As for Hades's ambitions—since you don't want to say more, we'll just keep our current deal as-is."
Ultear paused, then understood what he meant.
Tell me what you want. I'll help.
She pressed her lips together, giving nothing away, and simply nodded. Without another word, she headed toward the abnormal depths of the forest.
Shane followed.
The two of them moved in single file through the unnervingly silent woods.
As they went deeper, the scenery twisted into something wrong.
The lush greens faded. The humus underfoot thinned, replaced by a sick, inky black.
Even the air felt different—tainted. Like cursed magic hanging in the lungs, making the chest feel heavy.
"This is the place you're looking for?" Shane swept his gaze around. It was darker here; even the sunlight filtering through the canopy looked like it had been washed into a miserable gray.
He waved a hand through the murky air and sighed. "What is this 'Super Magic' you're chasing, anyway? This place looks creepy as hell. Doesn't exactly feel like something good is hidden here."
"I don't know," Ultear said, shaking her head as her eyes scanned the blackened trunks.
"I only know it's powerful—so powerful that its creator personally sealed it away in ancient times. As for what it actually is… the texts don't say."
"Great…" Shane sighed, resigned.
"So we play it by ear. If it's really that influential, then once we find the source, we'll figure out what it is."
As he spoke, his far-sight activated again. A faint shimmer gathered in his eyes as his vision pierced through layers of obstacles, probing deeper into the woods.
Then—
A subtle, heavy vibration pulsed up through the ground.
"Wait."
Shane froze instantly. His senses snapped tight. He lifted an arm in front of Ultear, stopping her. "Something's coming."
Ultear's eyes sharpened. She slipped into combat readiness, the crystal balls on her person beginning to glow faintly.
Crack—BOOM!
The shrubbery ahead exploded outward. Several dead trees thick as a man's embrace were smashed aside, snapping and collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Wood splinters and dust flew. A huge shadow burst through the wreckage, dragging a stench-filled gale behind it as it barreled straight toward them.
It was a giant boar—its body as big as a small war cart.
Black bristles stood up all over it like steel needles. Two massive tusks curled outward like bloodstained scimitars.
Worst of all were its eyes—blood-red, packed with mindless savagery and madness.
"A monster!" Ultear exhaled, and her shoulders loosened slightly. "The Worth Woodsea is rich in magic. Beasts mutating into something this large isn't strange."
In this world, animals warped by ambient magic was common.
Shane, on the other hand, eyed the boar with open interest.
He'd traveled plenty since coming here, but this was the first time he'd seen something so clearly beyond his old world's idea of an animal.
The pressure, the raw feral aura—no ordinary beast had that.
"But…" Shane frowned slightly. "Doesn't it feel… too agitated?"
Foam and drool dripped from the boar's mouth as it scraped the ground with its hooves. The feeling it gave wasn't "hunting to survive."
It felt like it existed to kill, to ruin, to smash.
Then Shane did something Ultear absolutely did not expect.
He calmly stepped back—one full step—straight behind Ultear, leaving her alone in front to face the monster.
"…?"
Ultear twisted her head around, staring at him like, Are you serious?
"I think it's got something wrong with it," Shane said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms like he was about to enjoy a show. "You handle it. I'm going to observe."
A vein jumped at Ultear's temple. She ground out, "Shouldn't this kind of brute-force work be handled by the stronger one of us?"
This guy really did treat "ordering people around" like second nature.
Shane's face didn't change. He raised a hand and lightly swept a finger across the corner of his eye.
In an instant, red flames ignited in his gaze. His pupils transformed into the blazing Eye of Karma.
He pointed at his eyes, utterly righteous. "Do you have the Eye of Karma? Can you see karma flowing and trace causal lines?"
Ultear opened her mouth—then shut it again.
Because… no. She couldn't.
"Tch."
She clicked her tongue, annoyed, but knew arguing now was pointless.
The boar let out a deafening roar, charging like a runaway armored tank.
"Flash Forward!"
Ultear didn't meet it head-on. She glided aside with graceful precision.
At the same time, her magic snapped onto a massive tree directly in the boar's path.
Roots that should've taken decades to rot were forced forward by time magic—crossing vast years in the blink of an eye.
BOOOOM!
The colossal trunk toppled without warning, dropping with terrifying accuracy onto the boar's back.
The boar screamed in pain. Its huge body stumbled—yet it didn't go down. Its hide was too thick, its frame too tough.
If anything, it only grew more enraged.
~~~
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