One-Eyed Monster

The Bloodthirster had completely transformed into Kuren’s consciousness. At this moment, Kuren became whole. He was no longer the Kuren who was at times timid and at others bloodthirsty; he had now fully become War God Kuren.

Kadi witnessed this entire profound transformation. It could be said he was thrilled. Firstly, he was happy for Kuren, who had finally defeated his inner enemy. Secondly, he was excited to have witnessed the whole process. Lastly, he felt proud to have been a part of it.

Yet, this joyful moment was short-lived. Kadi had to consider the challenges they now faced. Just as he was about to speak, Kuren addressed him first.

”Kadi, how did you get here? Logically, you shouldn’t be able to reach this realm,” Kuren questioned.

”The principles of such things are not for us to fathom; we are all just ants, you know,” Kadi retorted, maintaining his cheeky demeanor.

”COUGH COUGH...” Kuren was genuinely taken aback by his words.

”My apologies, my apologies! I got too into character and haven’t quite snapped out of it. Sorry, sorry!” Kadi hurriedly apologized.

”Can you tell me what happened?” Kuren asked, his voice somewhat hoarse, clearly still affected.

”It’s like this: I can’t enter the ’background,’ but I can see what’s happening in your Inner World through a certain spell,” Kadi quickly explained. He felt quite bad for Kuren, though he truly hadn’t meant any harm.

”Are you referring to the Ant Connection Spell?” Kuren guessed the corresponding spell after Kadi’s initial explanation.

”Yes, yes.”

”But what about that unceasing Spirit Power emanating from your body?” Kuren pressed on with another question.

”Er...” Clearly, this question was beyond Kadi’s scope of knowledge.

”Alright, we’ll consider that a mystery for now. But can this Ant Connection Spell also be used for communication?”

This question was, once again, beyond Kadi’s comprehension. He could only shrug in response.

”I never imagined a simple spell could have such an effect.”

Kuren entered a reflective state. This was a truly special moment for him: he had vanquished the Bloodthirster and also discovered a new characteristic of the spell. If he didn’t take a moment to appreciate this, it would be a disservice to all his hard work.

However, the starkness of reality always hits hard. It wasn’t long before Kuren calmed down.

The reason the Bloodthirster’s attacks on Kadi were ineffective was precisely because Kadi was merely a shadow, not his actual self. Thus, its pounces hit nothing but air...

Kuren had initially thought it was miraculous that the Ant Connection Spell could also facilitate communication. However, when he recalled that his own World Setting Technique could also be used for attacks, he felt more at ease about it.

At such a critical juncture, everything is in flux; nothing is impossible.

Take Kadi before him, for instance—a huge unknown. Who could have ever imagined that this youth possessed such an endless wellspring of Spirit Power?

After some thought, Kuren gradually regained his composure. It was only then he remembered that they were, at this very moment, in a life-or-death struggle.

That adversary was simply too powerful—so powerful that even the Bloodthirster, long dormant within him, had been awakened...

Although that particular problem was solved, the root cause remained. The enemy was still out there, and they had no clear idea what it actually was.

Kuren vaguely recalled that this enemy had been summoned by that Dark Wizard. Upon appearing, it had devoured its Summoner. And that led to the current state of affairs.

Wait, Kuren recalled another detail. It seemed that shortly after this enemy appeared, everyone else had become immobilized. They could only watch as this enemy moved about, incessantly muttering this and that...

Among them all, there was one who could still move—Kadi.

”If my memory serves me correctly, Kadi, you seem to have had some contact with the enemy.”

”That’s right. That fellow just loves to tell stories, and his stories are always incredibly long and drawn-out.”

”Stories?”

”Yes. Could it be that none of you heard anything?”

Undeniably, Kuren really hadn’t heard any stories...

After being stripped of their ability to express themselves, they had entered the Inner World to battle this enemy...

Who would have paid any attention to stories at a time like that...

”I think Igor was right. We should now go all out to disrupt the opponent’s rhythm.”

”Igor?” Hearing this familiar name, Kuren’s spirits lifted. He wondered how that youth, who so often brought them miracles, was doing at this very moment.

”Yes, Igor. My coming here was also inspired by him.”

At this moment, Kuren became even more interested in why Kadi had come here.

Although he had subdued the Bloodthirster, if he were to think of a plan to deal with the current enemy, he truly had no ideas.

However, now that Igor apparently had a plan, he could relax a little.

Igor’s unconventional ideas had always been very effective.

But where was Igor himself?

Why hadn’t Igor appeared?

Kuren’s unspoken questions quickly transmitted to Kadi’s mind.

”Igor is very weak right now and needs time to recuperate. Plus, that enemy has already invaded his body. If he hadn’t hidden himself well, he might have truly been completely devoured by that Dark Force by now,” Kadi stated.

Kadi was not exaggerating in the slightest; it was the plain truth. Igor was indeed extremely weak at that moment.

Kuren had also anticipated that Igor would be in dire straits. The thought made him instinctively want to help Igor.

But everyone was in the same state right now; how could he help others? He needed to take care of himself first.

He himself was currently under the opponent’s control; how could he possibly help anyone else?

Thinking this, Kuren felt it necessary to hear Kadi’s plan.

However, Kadi had no plan at all. He only had action.

So, when Kadi relayed what Igor had said to Kuren, Kuren remained completely bewildered.

Still, it wasn’t as if he had no ideas at all. After all, he had communicated with Igor in the Inner World before and knew Igor’s way of doing things.

”So, you just followed the ’thread’ and came to me here.”

”That’s right. Your place here is different from others. Elsewhere, they can’t hear me when I speak, but here, we can actually communicate.” Kadi bluntly stated the outcome of his repeated attempts, making it clear that his arrival at Kuren’s location was both coincidental and inevitable.

Kuren also felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. The problem here couldn’t be solved with mere words.

Kuren felt that Igor’s ideas always had a distinct characteristic.

No matter when or where, Igor’s thoughts always revealed a mischievous streak.

Kuren felt it was time to properly stir things up.

They also needed to let off some steam...

This was a new campaign, and Kuren was prepared.

Perhaps defeating the opponent would be hard, but as Igor said, disrupting the opponent’s rhythm... that sort of thing should be quite simple.