"Hey… what level is your Essence at right now?"
Therion stood at a distance, one hand on his hip as he asked.
Lio raised a single finger.
"Oh… so Lio's Essence is at level 1, huh."
As for Shinji, he took a small breath, then answered firmly:
"I… don't have Essence."
Therion froze at that answer.
"What? …Maybe you just haven't found the right way to unlock it yet."
Shinji looked confused.
"What do you mean? The 'right way'?"
Therion pointed at the glasses he was wearing.
"Everyone has their own way of unlocking Essence. For me… I just had to read books until my eyesight got this bad."
Just then, two figures approached from afar.
They were members of Squad 3 — Macaw and Vdolky.
"Hey, where did you two was going?"
Therion waved as he asked.
Vdolky pointed outward.
"Rascha-Xena just released a bunch of new rules. You should go check them out too."
He stepped closer, glancing at Shinji and Lio.
"Therion, are you planning to spar with them?"
Vdolky raised two fingers, pointing at the pair.
"Go all out. Who knows—you might unlock your Essence… or even level it up."
After that, Vdolky and Macaw sat down on the steps near Commander Tachi's room.
Inside the room, Tachi leaned against the window, silently observing everything.
"No need to rush… once our deal is complete, I will fulfill my promise."
He held a silver watch in his hand, speaking to someone through it.
"But about that person—"
Before he could finish, Tachi suddenly froze.
His gaze fixed behind Shinji.
A thick black smoke was slowly rising.
Within it… the faint image of an old man's face appeared, with a long, dense beard.
But in the blink of an eye—
It vanished.
"…No. That's not him."
Tachi cut the connection, his expression slightly unsettled, then turned and stepped outside.
Out on the sandy training ground.
"Shinji, you and Lio form a team. I'll fight both of you."
Therion said.
Shinji and Lio stepped closer, standing side by side.
"Are you two… ready?"
Therion asked, raising his hand.
From his palm, Essence began to gather, swirling into a small glowing orb.
He let it fall—
But it didn't drop.
The orb floated in midair.
The sand beneath it began to rise, piece by piece, forming a massive skeletal frame.
From the side, Macaw and Vdolky nodded slightly.
"Looks like he's gotten stronger since the Najarin forest."
From the skeleton, sand continued to build up, forming a massive humanoid figure.
" Heavenly Sentinel! Holy Script—T!"
The construct was complete, holding a large sword, its helmet marked with a T-shaped slit.
Therion tiptoed slightly and patted its shoulder.
"The Heavenly Sentinel only attacks demons or beings that have killed humans. Otherwise… it just protects me or defends."
But at that moment—
The construct suddenly lifted its leg.
Then began to walk.
"…What? Where are you going, Triumph?"
Therion frowned, watching it.
Triumph was moving straight toward Shinji.
"What? It's heading toward him."
Vdolky pointed, his tone uneasy.
Therion shook his head.
"Probably just a bit unstable… I used too much Essence."
Suddenly—
Triumph's eyes glowed red.
"What…? It usually only reacts to demons."
Triumph bent its body, then slammed its foot into the ground.
BOOM!
It launched itself into the air.
Shinji and Lio looked up—
In the next instant, Triumph came crashing down, thrusting its sword straight into where Shinji stood.
Shinji barely managed to leap aside in time.
Vdolky turned to Therion.
"Therion! It's actively attacking Shinji! Stop it!"
Therion shook his head again.
"No… it would never harm a normal human."
But behind his back, his hands were already being wrapped in Essence.
"…That's strange. I… can't control it anymore."
From a distance, Lio swung his sword.
A blade of energy shot straight toward Triumph.
Slash!
Its arm was severed, falling apart into sand.
Triumph staggered, nearly collapsing.
"Now!"
Shinji shouted, rushing forward.
He swung his sword, striking directly at its heel.
The deep cut caused Triumph to lose balance and crash down, forcing it to use its sword to brace itself.
"I did it! Just like Ganso said… the bigger it is, the more weaknesses it has!"
Shinji cheered, running over to high-five Lio.
Therion clapped from the side.
"Wow… you two are stronger than I thought."
But then—
A voice echoed inside Therion's mind.
"Master… the being before you is extremely dangerous."
Therion flinched, clutching his head.
"What are you talking about, Triumph? He's human!"
In the distance, Triumph slowly rose again.
Macaw immediately stood up.
"What is it, Macaw?"
Vdolky remained seated, but his eyes had sharpened.
The voice spoke again in Therion's mind.
"A vile presence… one that has taken countless lives."
Therion shouted back at it.
"No! You're mistaken, Triumph! He's—"
Before he could finish—
BOOM!
Triumph slammed its foot into the ground.
"I will kill it."
Therion immediately gathered Essence into his hand.
"Stop, Triumph!!"
Macaw raised his hand instantly.
"Danger!"
He snapped his fingers.
"Vibration! Shockwave!"
A circular shockwave blasted straight toward Triumph.
At the same time—
Triumph charged forward at incredible speed.
Its blade aimed straight at Shinji's throat.
Macaw's shockwave struck, blowing away half of its body into sand—
But it kept going.
It didn't stop.
Therion tried to pull it back with Essence—
But it was useless.
Vdolky and Lio couldn't react in time, frozen in place.
The moment the blade touched Shinji's neck
It stopped.
A freezing aura spread across the entire training ground.
"Frost Realm! Icy Prison."
Everyone present turned their eyes toward it.
Triumph was freezing.
Layer upon layer of ice spread across its body.
From the ground, massive pillars of ice shot upward, surrounding it.
"Therion… can't you control your own ability?"
A cold voice echoed.
Commander Tachi had arrived.
Frost still escaped from his breath.
Triumph was completely frozen, turned into a lifeless ice statue.
Shinji collapsed to the ground, gasping, his trembling hand touching his neck.
Lio rushed over to help him up.
Therion bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry… it suddenly attacked, even though I had bound it not to harm humans…"
He raised his head, still shaken.
"I don't understand… why it reacted like that…"
Tachi raised his hand, cutting him off.
"That's enough. Next time… be more careful."