[Permit No. 20]
Alito approached them.
Then pressed his finger onto their hands.
A small glowing number appeared:
— “Summon this when you need the permit.”
Jenica immediately sat next to him.
— “Question.”
— “Hm?”
— “What color is your Aura?”
Alito raised his fist.
His veins bulged in a terrifying way.
— “My Aura doesn’t even leave my body.”
Then he smiled.
— “It is concentrated inside my blood vessels.”
Lucian then asked calmly:
— “What about Beelzebub?”
Silence fell.
Alito’s expression changed completely.
— “…His Aura is a galaxy.”
The three froze.
— “It has no color.”
Then he continued with a strange seriousness:
— “He is the savior of us all.”
Dastan narrowed his eyes.
— “Savior… from what?”
Alito paused for a moment.
Then said sharply:
— “Nothing.”
[The Phone]
Alito pulled out a strange rectangular device.
The three stared at it as if it were an ancient artifact.
— “What is that?”
— “A phone.”
— “…Magic?”
— “Technology.”
He tried contacting Leviathan.
No response.
He sighed.
— “As usual… at the bottom of the ocean.”
Then he handed them a large bag filled with gold.
— “Two thousand coins.”
Jenica gasped.
— “We’re rich?!”
— “No.”
Then he pointed toward the distant city.
— “Taxes here are insane.”
[Alito’s True Power]
Before they left…
Alito raised his fist.
It turned into fire.
Then metal.
Then wind.
The three widened their eyes.
— “This is my Aura Transform.”
Then he smiled.
— “It multiplies damage by one million.”
He raised his other hand.
Dozens of giant spectral arms appeared from nothing.
— “As for the Ultimate…”
Then he laughed.
— “Don’t ask about it.”
[Leviathan and Cloud]
One week later…
The three arrived at the ocean.
Lucian shouted at the top of his lungs:
— “Leviathan!!”
Silence.
Then—
The ocean exploded.
A 300-meter sea giant rose from the depths.
From its mouth…
A girl with shark-like teeth and dark hair emerged.
Leviathan.
She approached Lucian.
Then passed her hand through his body like water.
— “Hmm.”
Then turned toward Jenica.
And stopped.
— “…Beautiful.”
Jenica stepped back.
— “Thanks?”
But Leviathan’s smile was anything but reassuring.
[Cloud]
They were transported through a device inside a sea cave.
And in the next moment…
They appeared inside a strangely calm place.
A dark-haired young man sat there.
His eyes were covered.
And there was no trace of mana around him.
He looked…
Extremely weak.
Leviathan called him immediately:
— “Brother.”
The three froze.
“Brother?!”
So Number 17…
Was the sister of Special Number 4?
Cloud.
The King of Monsters.
He slowly raised his head.
Then…
Handed them the two permits immediately.
Permit 4 and 17.
Without a fight.
Dastan asked cautiously:
— “…What’s the meaning of this?”
Cloud replied calmly:
— “You are pawns on the way to the truth.”
Then he told them about Beelzebub.
And about the man with white hair, blue eyes, and a scar on his mouth.
The common enemy.
And the most terrifying part…
Beelzebub already knew his victims in advance.
With terrifying precision.
After a long silence, Lucian looked at Cloud and said:
— “Then… train us.”
Jenica immediately raised her head.
— “Huh?”
Dastan remained silent, but clearly waiting for the answer.
Silence filled the cave.
Only the sound of water echoed around them.
Then…
Cloud sighed softly.
— “I can’t.”
The three froze.
Lucian asked:
— “Why?”
Cloud rested his chin on his hand.
— “Because your abilities are not elemental abilities.”
Dastan narrowed his eyes.
— “What do you mean?”
Cloud raised a finger.
Then pointed at Jenica first.
[Jenica — Gravity]
— “Gravity is not an element.”
He said it calmly.
— “It is a law.”
Jenica’s eyes widened slightly.
Cloud continued:
— “That is why I cannot teach you.”
He tilted his head slightly.
— “Your power requires awakening… not training.”
Jenica asked nervously:
— “And how do I awaken it?”
He answered immediately:
— “When you lose control over something important.”
Silence.
— “That’s a terrifying explanation.”
[Dastan — Darkness]
Then Cloud turned toward Dastan.
For the first time…
Dastan felt the pressure inside the cave grow heavier.
— “Your darkness is not ordinary darkness.”
Dastan said calmly:
— “I noticed.”
Cloud nodded.
— “True darkness does not only extinguish light.”
Then he added:
— “It devours concepts.”
Even Leviathan fell silent.
Jenica whispered:
— “…What does that even mean?”
But Cloud ignored her.
— “If you want to evolve… go to the Sixth Continent.”
— “There, you will find Number 9.”
A different tone entered his voice.
— “Skeios.”
Dastan raised an eyebrow.
— “What does he have to do with darkness?”
Cloud answered:
— “Because he is the only one who survived being consumed by his own darkness.”
[Lucian — Light]
Finally…
Cloud turned toward Lucian.
Silence stretched longer this time.
Then he said:
— “As for you…”
Tiny particles of light gathered around Lucian’s hand unconsciously.
Cloud watched them quietly.
Then said:
— “Your light is strange.”
Lucian asked:
— “Strange how?”
Cloud replied calmly:
— “It resembles someone I know.”
The water around Leviathan stopped for a moment.
But Cloud continued as if nothing happened.
— “Go to the Fifth Continent.”
— “There, you will find Number 12.”
Then he spoke the name slowly.
— “Photon.”
Leviathan suddenly smiled.
— “Oh… that crazy woman.”
— “Leviathan.”
— “What? She really is crazy.”
Cloud sighed as if used to her behavior.
Then said to Lucian:
— “Photon has controlled light since childhood.”
— “If anyone can understand your power… it is her.”
[The Decision]
The three looked at each other.
Fifth Continent.
The King of Gold.
Photon.
And entirely new secrets.
But before anyone could speak…
Cloud said calmly:
— “Do not cling too much to the truth.”
Dastan narrowed his eyes.
— “Why?”
Silence.
Then Cloud answered:
— “Because some truths… destroy a person after they learn them.”
But he warned them one last time:
— “Do not go to the Second Continent without preparation.”
Even Leviathan fell silent at the mention.
And as they prepared to leave for the next continent…
The three widened their eyes.
The view before them…
Defied imagination.
But the truth waiting in that continent…
Would shatter everything they knew.
=== End of Chapter One ===