Silence ruled the wasteland.
Only the dry wind moved—brushing across dead leaves and dragging sand over the cracked earth.
Ozaki remained on his knees.
Faint Silver light pulsed from his palms as healing magic flowed into Sora's broken body. Sweat rolled down his jawline, but his eyes were elsewhere.
Locked on Yamato.
Rage burned behind them.
A few feet away, Lumei groaned.
He dragged one leg upward with trembling effort before forcing the other to move. Pain twisted across his face as his spine protested violently.
"That's better..." he muttered under his breath.
Slowly, he straightened.
Wincing.
"That Rujer guy was a menace."
CRACK.
Stone split apart around Chella's body.
Chunks of rock armor crumbled from her shoulders and arms as she pushed herself upright. Dust slid down her skin while she stared blankly into the distance.
"How do we fight that guy... if we meet him again?" she asked quietly.
Nearby—
GASP.
Ichiha's body jerked violently as air finally rushed properly into his lungs after Ozaki's healing reopened his chest.
Chella turned immediately.
Lumei too.
Ozaki lifted his gaze toward him.
Everyone looked—
Except Yamato.
CRACK.
A sickening sound echoed from Sora's neck as bone slowly aligned itself back into place.
Ozaki exhaled softly and carefully supported her head as he lifted her upright.
Lumei forced himself over beside Chella.
For the first time since the battle ended—
Relief flickered in her eyes.
They survived.
Sora's eyes slowly opened.
No screaming.
No panic.
Only exhaustion.
Her watery gaze met Ozaki's.
"Master Ozaki..." her voice trembled. "We couldn't do anything... He was just too strong."
Ozaki gently rubbed her hair.
"It's alright," he said softly. "You don't need to carry that."
Then silence returned once more.
Ozaki lowered himself beside the others and stared at the sand beneath his feet.
Deep in thought.
"He handled all of you..." he muttered.
His eyes shifted toward Ichiha.
"Without magic."
A pause.
"And still won."
Another.
"How strong is this guy?"
Before Ichiha could answer—
"Ozaki."
Yamato's voice cut through the air.
Cold.
Heavy.
Everyone turned toward him.
Everyone except Ozaki, who already felt the pressure radiating from his direction.
"That person," Yamato said slowly, "has the same quality as you do."
A brief pause.
"Without the god, though."
The others looked between Yamato and Ozaki in confusion.
But Ozaki's eyes narrowed slightly.
SILVER.
The thought struck instantly.
It has to be SILVER... There shouldn't be a god involved.
Then another thought followed immediately.
How does Yamato know that?
Ozaki looked at him carefully.
That doesn't matter right now.
We find him first.
Then—
The atmosphere changed.
Heavy.
Dense.
Oppressive.
It was coming from Yamato.
He still stood motionless several feet away, expression empty—
But something beneath that stillness felt violently wrong.
Every few seconds—
His aura pulsed.
Like explosions trapped beneath skin.
Like a volcano refusing to erupt.
Sora noticed first.
Despite the pain still tearing through her body, she slowly walked toward him.
Then gently wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Her forehead pressed softly against his back.
"Yamato..." she whispered shakily. "Calm down... We're okay... please."
No reaction.
Not even a glance.
It was as if he couldn't feel the fear, sadness, and concern pouring out of her.
His eyes remained fixed ahead.
Empty.
Cold.
"You almost died, Sora."
His voice came out flat.
Emotionless.
"Rujer needs to understand why he separated us from you."
Sora's body stiffened instantly.
A wave of aura rolled off him—
And suddenly the memory returned.
That same terrifying feeling from the moment Yamato severed Ichiha's arm.
This—
Was not the Yamato she knew.
---
A short distance away, Ozaki turned toward Lumei.
"How long have you known Yamato?"
Lumei blinked.
"Huh?"
"You're all Vessels, right?"
"Yeah."
Ozaki's eyes sharpened slightly.
"And Yamato has no magic?"
Lumei nodded tiredly.
"I've known him for four years. No magic. No special background either."
He shrugged weakly.
"Just obsessed with making his mom happy."
Ozaki looked down again.
Confused.
"But this aura..." he muttered.
His fingers curled slightly.
"This rage..."
His eyes lifted back toward Yamato.
"It feels like a god's."
Lumei stared at him.
"But he doesn't even have a spark of magic," he replied immediately. "How can he have a god?"
Ozaki's expression darkened.
"I've felt divine rage before."
His voice lowered.
"This is it."
Before Lumei could respond—
Yamato closed the gap.
"Ozaki."
Everyone turned immediately.
Even colder now.
Even Ichiha felt it.
"I found my prey," Yamato said.
"Take me there."
Ozaki's eyes narrowed.
"Prey...?"
He already knew who Yamato meant.
---
Ichiha suddenly raised a hand.
"Wait."
Chella grabbed his arm and helped pull him fully upright.
"I need to say something."
The group turned toward him.
Even Yamato stopped.
Though not to listen.
Only to receive the location afterward.
Ichiha inhaled slowly.
"My secret..."
He hesitated.
"Kaku is my uncle."
Silence.
No shock.
No reaction.
Not even widened eyes.
Ichiha blinked awkwardly.
"You already knew?"
"Yamato told us earlier," Chella answered plainly.
"Continue."
Ichiha sighed.
"When Rujer elbowed me..." he began slowly, "I remembered Kaku immediately."
His eyes darkened.
"The strike landed on the exact same spot Kaku damaged before."
He looked toward Yamato briefly.
"Even during Master Ozaki's selection exam, Yamato landed dozens of attacks on me."
A pause.
"But he never found that exact point."
His voice lowered.
"Rujer did."
Silence followed again.
Then—
"It made me think," Ichiha continued, "what if Rujer is the last fragment?"
The others focused on him.
"I also noticed something else."
His brows furrowed.
"The bird he came from... it looked ink-made."
Ozaki rested a hand beneath his chin, thoughts spinning rapidly.
Not about the bird.
Not about fragments.
But about the connection Yamato implied earlier between him and Rujer.
Lumei suddenly shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
Everyone looked at him.
"If it was really made of ink," Lumei said, "why didn't it drip while flying?"
He crossed his arms weakly.
"And those feathers looked alive. Not crafted."
Ichiha fell silent.
Because Lumei had a point.
Then—
"Ozaki."
Yamato spoke again.
"Take them one hundred and ninety-eight kilometers northeast."
His eyes remained fixed ahead.
"And give me something to mark the location."
Without hesitation, Ozaki pulled a small metal shrapnel from his pocket and tossed it over.
Yamato caught it.
BOOM.
The ground exploded beneath him.
Before anyone could blink—
He vanished into the distance.
Each step crushed the earth beneath his feet, blasting dust and debris behind him like miniature explosions.
Then—
1.6 seconds later.
He arrived before the mouth of a massive cave.
The shrapnel slipped from his fingers.
Clink.
Instantly—
Space distorted.
Ozaki and the others appeared beside him as if reality itself folded around the marker.
---
Deep inside the cave—
Rujer sat calmly.
The cavern glowed with eerie yellow-green light, illuminating the walls like thousands of trapped fireflies.
Ink creatures wandered freely around him.
Wolves.
Birds.
Monkeys.
Beasts formed entirely from thick black ink paced like loyal guardians.
Then suddenly—
Rujer's head turned.
He felt it.
That monstrous rage approaching the entrance.
"They came," he murmured.
---
Outside the cave—
Yamato moved in.
"Yamato, wait!"
Chella struggled upright, her voice sharp despite exhaustion.
"We need a plan!"
No response.
"I'm going in."
Flat.
Cold.
Before Ozaki could move—
Yamato disappeared.
One step.
That was all.
Not teleportation.
Speed.
Pure overwhelming speed that shattered sound itself.
The instant he neared the entrance—
The ink beasts reacted violently.
Their bodies bubbled uncontrollably like boiling oil.
POMM!
They exploded apart instantly.
Ink splattered across the cave walls before slowly sliding downward in thick black streams.
Ozaki's eyes widened slightly.
"His aura alone..." he muttered.
"It destroyed them."
Chella stared at the entrance uneasily.
"What happened to Yamato?"
Sora hugged herself.
"He blames himself," she whispered. "For what happened to us."
Ichiha nodded slowly.
"This feels like revenge."
Then—
"Hahahaha!"
Lumei laughed loudly.
Everyone looked at him.
"I finally get to see Recovery Rank Yamato in action today!"
No one laughed with him.
His smile weakened immediately.
"W-well..." he muttered awkwardly. "That counts as a plan... right?"
Silence.
Ozaki slowly tightened his fists.
Then walked forward.
"Let's move."
As they entered the cave, Lumei whispered quietly behind them—
"He once told me something."
The others listened.
"If there's payment involved... he doesn't play around."
A pause.
"He ends it fast."
---
The deeper Yamato walked into the cave—
The louder his footsteps echoed.
And with every single step—
More ink creatures burst apart from the pressure of his aura alone.
Rujer rose slowly to his feet.
The approaching footsteps echoed through the cavern like a countdown.
Slow.
Steady.
Heavy.
"So..." Rujer said softly while walking forward.
"You came."
Even the cave itself seemed darker now.
As though the light feared what was approaching.
Then—
Yamato stepped into the center chamber.
Aura poured endlessly from his body.
His face remained unreadable.
Cold beyond anger.
"Rujer."
Rujer raised an eyebrow.
"No introductions?"
"Why did you hurt them?"
Behind Yamato, the others carefully moved along the cave walls, using the dim glow to navigate deeper inside.
Ozaki led them silently.
Ichiha swallowed.
"His aura..." he whispered.
"It's still increasing."
Sora grabbed Ozaki's arm nervously.
"Should we stop him?"
Ozaki didn't answer.
He simply stared at Yamato's back—
Like a commander watching a warrior walk alone into war.
In the center chamber, Rujer cracked his knuckles.
"You're not a Vessel," he said with a smirk.
"So what exactly are you?"
"I'm Yamato."
Rujer chuckled softly.
"And what do you want?"
Yamato's eyes didn't move.
"I want to know why you hurt them."
Rujer smiled wider.
"They were weak."
The cave trembled faintly.
"And according to the teachings..." he continued, "you remove the weak before fighting the strong."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Yamato's aura erupted.
The explosion was silent.
But devastating.
BOOOOOOM.
The entire cave shook violently.
Dust cascaded from above.
The remaining ink beasts instantly burst apart into black sludge.
And for the first time—
Even Rujer's smile faded slightly.
Yamato was no longer holding back his rage.