Chapter 142: Yves vs Twins [1] (Bonus PS)

On the other side of the forest...

The crackling sound of burning wood could be heard deep within the forest.

Trees, bushes, and even monsters were engulfed in scorching crimson flames.

Right beside the fire stood Arnold, staring down at the dead monsters that had dared to attack him.

He stood there as if the heat of the flames didn’t bother him at all.

That was because they were his flames.

They couldn’t harm him.

If anything, they felt warm.

Like the gentle warmth of the morning sun.

In his right hand, he held the neck of an unconscious boy.

Before he could do anything else, shadows suddenly wrapped around the boy’s body.

He disappeared from Arnold’s grasp.

"That was the last one."

Arnold straightened himself.

"I don’t see anyone else."

"Tsk. These guys were all weak."

A girl’s voice came from behind him.

"We never really got to fight any better opponents."

Arnold glanced behind him.

Sitting on a tree branch was Ana, kicking her feet back and forth in boredom.

She had barely done anything during their journey.

Arnold had been the one beating the shit out of every contestant they encountered.

"That’s true. We haven’t encountered our big brothers yet."

Arnold shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I was really hoping I’d run into that fucker Yves so I could teach him a lesson."

He huffed.

"Me too, hehehe."

Ana tilted her head.

"But do you think he’s still in the forest? I doubt it."

Arnold had been teleported to the far southern region of the forest, while Yves, Josh, and Siegfried had been sent toward the north.

Because of the distance between them, they had never encountered each other.

Arnold had really wanted to fight his older siblings, especially his oldest brother, Josh.

Josh wasn’t an easy opponent to fight.

Instead, Arnold had been forced to deal with small fries like his cousins.

He had hoped to at least encounter Asencio, who was also strong, but he never found him either.

Arnold pulled one leg back and kicked a nearby rock.

He also doubted that Yves was still alive.

"I think he still is."

Arnold pulled one hand from his pocket and touched his chest.

"I can still feel the chains binding us to the contract."

"Oh yeah, you’re right."

Ana nodded and touched her own chest.

"Also, can you stop your flames? It’s getting hot here."

Arnold nodded.

With a single mental command, the crimson flames died out as if someone had flipped a switch.

The sudden disappearance of the fire revealed the aftermath.

The earth was black and scorched.

Trees had been burned down to their roots.

The corpses of the monsters had been reduced to piles of ash.

"Good gracious, brother."

Ana giggled as she looked around.

"You really went overboard."

"Nah."

Arnold shrugged.

"That was just a warm-up."

His crimson eyes glowed like burning embers.

"Just wait until we meet that bastard Yves. I’ll show you what true fire looks like."

At that moment, both of them felt something.

It was faint.

But they felt it.

The ground shook for a brief moment before suddenly coming to a complete stop.

Arnold’s eyes widened slightly.

He looked down.

Then he looked at Ana.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yeah."

Ana nodded before standing up.

"It felt like an earthquake."

An earthquake?

That couldn’t be right.

"I don’t think so."

Arnold looked toward the distance.

"Quickly. Climb to the top."

"Okay~"

Ana’s figure blurred.

She climbed upward, moving from branch to branch with incredible speed until she reached the top of the tree.

From there, she could see almost the entire forest.

And when she did—

Her eyes widened.

A smile slowly formed on her lips.

Arnold tapped his foot impatiently as he waited below.

"Ana?"

"You might wanna come see this."

Her voice came from above.

Arnold raised an eyebrow.

Then, without asking any more questions, he crouched down.

Strength gathered in his legs.

He jumped.

His figure shot upward.

He landed on one branch.

Then another.

And another.

Until he finally stood beside his twin.

Ana was looking toward the north.

Arnold followed her gaze.

Dozens of kilometers away, a massive purple cloud of dust was slowly settling over a certain area of the forest.

"Are you thinking what I’m thinking, twin?"

Ana smiled.

Arnold’s lips curved upward.

"Of course."

His crimson eyes narrowed.

"Who else could cause an attack like that if not big brother Josh?"

They both knew how destructive Josh’s power could be.

And the color of the dust cloud was unmistakably similar to Josh’s mana.

Finally, they had found someone who could actually give them a difficult fight.

"Oof."

Ana placed a finger against her chin.

"An attack of that magnitude... That seems like something the fourth stack would do."

She smiled.

"I wonder who forced him to use it."

"Most likely Siegfried."

Arnold’s smile widened.

"Then let’s go."

He took a step forward.

"We’ll arrive there tonight."

Instead of stepping onto another branch, Arnold stepped into empty space.

Then he fell.

Ana turned around on her heel.

She fell backward as well, spinning through the air before landing gracefully on the ground like a cat.

The twins immediately ran toward the north.

Toward the massive cloud of dust.

...

I had slept for almost the entire afternoon.

I only woke up when it was nearly evening.

And damn...

That nap felt so fucking good.

Who knew sleeping on the forest floor could feel this fantastic?

Because I sure as hell didn’t.

Thankfully, I didn’t wake up with any back pain.

Which was awesome.

Thanks to God, no one had attacked me while I was asleep.

By no one, I meant other humans.

Some monsters had tried.

But they were cut to pieces by my sharp darkness constructs before they could even get close.

And damn, why is it that whenever you sleep, you wake up starving?

I’m literally doing nothing but sleeping!

How does that consume so much energy?

I didn’t really know the explanation.

Most likely, people who studied the human body—doctors, biologists, or whatever—had that answer explained in some thousand-page book.

I ain’t reading all that, though.

I’m happy for you, though.

Or sorry that happened.

Anyway, since I was starving, I hunted a deer and a few wild rabbits and roasted them.

And of course, I ate all of it myself.

I’m not a bigback, I swear.

It was just that my stomach required a lot of calories.

Yeah.

Blame my stomach.

Not me.

However, I really wished I had my spatial ring.

I could’ve brought some seasoning and actually made the meat taste good.

The meat tasted flat and bland.

Such a pain.

But whatever.

Food was food.

Even if it wasn’t seasoned—

Wait.

That didn’t sound right.

Anyway...

It was currently night.

The moon shone brightly among the countless stars scattered across the sky.

Honestly, I wouldn’t even have been able to tell whether it was evening or night if not for the moon and stars.

My vision didn’t change at all.

It was as bright as day thanks to my Authority.

I didn’t know whether that was a curse or a blessing.

I preferred to believe it was the latter.

I sat quietly beside the fire when a funny thought suddenly crossed my mind.

I bet everyone in the family is going crazy over what I just did.

I had eliminated two of the strongest contestants within the span of two hours.

I couldn’t help but imagine their faces.

They probably saw me in a completely different light now.

Something the real Yves would never have been able to experience.

However...

I hope that wherever you are, you’re watching this.

Suddenly, I felt two presences entering my senses.

My senses were enhanced at night, allowing me to detect anything within a hundred-meter radius.

Even small animals couldn’t escape my perception.

And right now, I sensed two figures moving toward me at an alarming speed.

I immediately grabbed my katana I had created, which was lying beside me, and strapped it to my waist.

Normally, Shadow Step had a range of around fifteen meters without spending additional mana to extend it.

However, because it was night and the shadows were much stronger, I could push the range much farther.

Right now, I could travel up to fifty meters with a single Shadow Step.

I didn’t waste any time.

I activated the ability and teleported thirty meters into the forest.

Then another thirty.

I stopped where the moonlight was the brightest and waited patiently.

The two presences slowed down.

It seemed they had noticed me moving toward them.

Soon enough, the bushes forty meters away from me began moving.

Two figures stepped out.

Ah.

A cold smile formed on my lips when I recognized them.

It was Arnold and Ana.

"Look at what we have here."

As soon as they heard my voice, they stopped.

"Yves?"

The twins spoke in unison.

"Right in the flesh."

"We were expecting to find Big Brother Josh here, not you."

Ana frowned.

"Well, he was here hours ago."

I shrugged.

"Before I eliminated him."

"Bullshit."

Arnold’s voice was filled with disbelief.

"Believe whatever you want, then."

I scanned them.

They looked to be in perfect condition.

This will not be easy.

"Whatever."

Arnold cracked his neck.

"This also works."

He stared directly at me.

"We’ve been looking for you for a long time, and now we’ve finally found you."

His grin widened.

"It is time for us to teach you a lesson for daring to make that stupid bet with us."

"Let me see you both try."

I snorted.

Then I let the mana inside my body run wild.

The twins did the same.

Our auras erupted simultaneously.

The ground began shaking and the trees trembled.

Sleeping animals were startled awake and fled in every direction.

For a brief moment, time seemed to slow down.

The leaves falling from the trees.

The animals fleeing.

Even the flames from the campfire.

Everything appeared slower to me.

Then—

We moved.

Three figures shot forward.

Black.

Crimson.

Light blue.

Three streaks tore through the darkness.

We met in the middle.

And the forest shook beneath our power.