Nero stood before Sen, recounting the chaotic events with Mr. Yu. The pieces of the puzzle were becoming more complex, and the picture they formed was unsettling.
"Did you have any idea why Mr. Yu would help me like that?" Nero asked, his confusion evident.
Sen regarded him with his usual calm. "Nero, have you ever wondered why the Earth of every alternative dimension is called the 'Land of Death' in soul knowledge?" He didn't wait for an answer. "It's where suffering begins and ends. People lose their loved ones before their very eyes. This is why Mr. Yu helps you."
"He... lost his brother?"
"In the Battle of Infinity. Right in front of him."
Nero's mind reeled. "But... that battle happened 300 years ago!"
"Fool," Sen said, not unkindly. "That was 300 years ago in your reality. In his, only nine years have passed. He saves you because your face is a mirror of his lost brother. All he wants is to see him one more time." Sen's voice grew solemn. "Remember, Nero, he is a peak Fifth Gate User. Immeasurably powerful. He was the one who ended the Battle of Infinity in his world. But the cost was absolute. There was nothing left. Everyone was dead."
"What exactly happened in that battle?" Nero pressed, a cold dread settling in his stomach.
Sen's expression closed off. "Just... terrifying dark clouds that emerged and engulfed everything in their path. Gate Users were mere toys to them." He held up a hand, stopping Nero's next question. "Relax. And please, do not ask me about this again until the time is right. I told you before, sometimes additional knowledge is a poison."
Changing the subject, Sen gave him a new task. "I trust the encounter proved that artificial Gate Users are no joke. Your next step is to clear the dungeon known as the Ancestor's Treasure."
Nero complied, easily conquering the dungeon and obtaining its prize: a small, unassuming token known as "The Last Remnant," an artifact said to recall the 'Most Honored One'.
'What does this thing even do?' Nero asked via telepathy.
'Nothing special,' Sen replied cryptically. 'Just... when you feel you are truly done, place a droplet of your blood on it, bow your head, and call, "Oh Great Lord, please protect your worshippers."' He then added a final, secret instruction that made Nero's eyes widen slightly.
///
Later, while Nero was casually enjoying some sweets, a news report blared from the television: "S-Rank Hunter MYTH Declared a National Enemy! Shoot-on-Sight Order Authorized!"
Nero took a calm bite. "Oh. So he's dead now."
The sound of chaos erupted outside—screams, explosions, and the distinct hum of high-level hunter tech. A battered and bleeding MYTH burst into the street, a swarm of elite hunters on his tail. Spotting Nero, he didn't hesitate. He tossed a small data drive directly into Nero's hands.
"Are you an idiot?" Nero hissed, catching it. "Why are you running toward me? They'll find me too!"
"Protect this! I'll meet you soon!" MYTH yelled before darting away, a desperate plan forming in his mind. 'My body can't hold on much longer... that Gate User nearly finished me. Nero is strong... at least, I think he is. I hope he makes it out.'
In an instant, Nero was surrounded. Dozens of powerful hunters closed in. Remembering his disguise, Nero put on a mask of terrified civility.
"W-wait! Can I ask why our heroic hunters are surrounding a common civilian?" he stammered.
One hunter stepped forward. "Sir, we mean no harm. Just hand over that drive, and you are free to go."
"Sure, sure! Of course! A common man like me just wants to live in peace!" Nero said, readily handing over the device.
The hunters relaxed. "Well, that was easy."
But as their team leader scanned the device, his face contorted in rage. He kicked a nearby hunter and screamed, "After that bastard! He gave us a fake!"
Nero was already running, his artificial body pushed to its limits. 'Dammit! That idiot dropped a problem on me out of nowhere! And today of all days, I'm stuck in this artificial body while Eri controls the original for her Gate 2 training!'
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet cracked open not into earth, but into glitching, virtual code. The world twisted, and he was violently yanked into a different dimensional space.
He found himself facing a young man who looked just as furious as he was.
"Damn, what's going on?" Nero yelled, his patience gone. "I'm fucking tired of you bastards! One after another! I'm not even properly at the Second Gate, and you damn crazy Gate 5, 6, 7, whatever, keep dropping on me! Don't you have any dignity? Just let me gooooo!" His shout was so intense the other man covered his ears.
"Just shut the fuck up!" the man, Nao Li, screamed back. "Enough from you! First that flashy bastard, and now you!"
Nero noticed Nao Li's eyes were bloodshot red, like someone who had been repeatedly flashed by a bright light.
"Buddy, are you okay?" Nero asked, his anger momentarily replaced by confusion.
"Don't you dare speak to me! Just hand over the device and fuck off!" Nao Li lunged.
But as he did, cracks began to spiderweb across Nero's artificial body. Seeing this, Nao Li froze, a look of pure terror on his face. He aborted his attack and, with a panicked kick, forcibly ejected Nero from the dimensional gateway.
"I'll see you next time!" Nao Li shouted before vanishing.
Nero tumbled back into the real world, bewildered. "What...? He left without the device?"
He had no time to ponder. He was now surrounded by hundreds of hunters, their weapons drawn. With his current power in this artificial body, escape was impossible.
Just as they all attacked, intent on obliterating him, a dominant, overwhelming power descended upon the street.
A protective barrier shimmered into existence around Nero. The spiritual pressure spiked to crushing levels, causing most hunters to collapse unconscious; the rest fled in terror.
Nero turned, a grin spreading across his face. "Damn. It's you, General. As expected from the No. 1 General... General Blaze."
The imposing figure of Blaze stood firm, his aura a comforting inferno. "Kid. You've grown quite a lot in the past few years."
///
Once they reached a safe location, Nero, showing uncharacteristic respect to his elder and former superior, bowed. "General, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Sure, kid. Or you'd better call me Uncle Blaze."
"Uncle...?" Nero blinked.
"Got a problem?"
"Ah... no, no problem at all. So, Uncle Blaze, how did you get here? I last saw you in our final battle in Aryavarta."
"I was captured by a Gate User," Blaze explained, his voice a low rumble. "He imprisoned me here, intending to use me as a weapon to kill his political opponents. When I refused, they tried to wire me into a machine to extract my energy. But because my power is from another dimension, their technology failed. So they locked me in a dimensional prison."
"That's impossible. Your power rivals my fused First Gate! There's no way they could imprison you so easily. You're stronger than Fernando!"
"It's true the natives of this world aren't strong enough. But the one who suppressed me was a high-level Gate User."
"Then who released you?"
A voice spoke from the shadows. "It was me."
Nero jumped. "WTF! MYTH! What are you doing here?"
"How could you not sense me?" MYTH mused, then his eyes widened in understanding. "Wait... this body isn't your original. It has no soul. Of course you couldn't sense me." He was even more battered than before, his energy flickering like a dying candle.
///
"Let's put everything aside," Nero said, regrouping. "Mr. Riftwalker, care to explain what's going on?"
MYTH nodded weakly. "I simply took advantage of the opportunity you created." He began his explanation. "As per the information you gave me, I've discovered there are over a hundred artificial First Gate Users in this world. There are also four Third Gate Users, four Fourth Gate Users, and three Fifth Gate Users present. Among the Fifth Gates, only one is actively here."
"And their goal?"
"To start an interdimensional war."
Nero and Blaze stared. "A war? How?"
"There is a hunter here known as 'Kemono Aishi'—the Beast Lover," MYTH began. "Years ago, when dungeons first appeared, he awakened an ability to communicate with monsters. He could calm them, befriend them. He was a beacon of peace. But during an A-Rank Gate crisis, he disappeared."
"Where is he now?" Nero asked.
"He's being held and tortured within the Hunter's Association. The man I saw has glowing red eyes. But the real Kemono Aishi had brown eyes. These red eyes... they belong to the prince of an unknown galaxy, a being of immense power who appeared during a legendary Gate incident years ago. The Beast Tamer befriended that prince."
Nero connected the dots instantly. "The Gate Users have the prince's friend. They're refusing to return him, arrogant because of their borrowed power. This provokes the prince's race, disturbing interdimensional peace. And when peace is disturbed..."
MYTH finished the thought. "...The Gate Users get the legal authority to interfere and use their full power. It's the perfect pretext for them to swoop in and claim the Eternal Fragment."
"They're so cunning," Nero breathed.
///
MYTH then played the data from the drive. It was the final memories of the true Beast Tamer, Wil.
They watched the story unfold: a kind-hearted young man with a simple taming skill, ridiculed at first but eventually celebrated for bringing an era of peace. They saw his friendship with a drunk, loyal friend, and his fateful meeting with the galactic prince, Vapi. They saw a beautiful, peaceful alien world and a bond of true friendship forming.
And they saw the betrayal. The hunter guilds, their profits threatened by the newfound peace, lured Wil to a party and murdered him in cold blood. His dying act was to use a gift from Vapi—a small creature bonded to him—to teleport his friend to safety on Vapi's planet.
The memory ended with Vapi's friend stumbling onto the alien world, sobbing out the tale of Wil's murder. The screen went dark with the sound of Vapi's earth-shattering, grief-stricken roar.
"So Vapi came to Earth for revenge," Nero concluded, the tragedy settling heavily on him.
"That's the assumption," MYTH said. "But the 'Wil' being held captive now... I don't think it's Wil anymore. The aura he emits is pure, condensed hatred for humanity. I believe Vapi, in a last, desperate attempt to save his friend, merged his own life essence with Wil's corpse. The being in that cell is a grieving prince, trapped in his best friend's body, burning with a rage that could consume worlds."
Suddenly, a faint, familiar voice echoed from a nearby bag MYTH was carrying. "Hey, you! Let me out!"
Nero recognized it. "Seino?"
MYTH sighed. "Oh, I completely forgot about this kid."
He opened the bag, revealing a terrified Seino. "So," Nero said, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here? I thought you wanted a peaceful life."
"I... I realized my mistake," Seino stammered. "I'm sorry for before."
"And what made up your mind?"
"No one made it up! I'm here on my own!"
MYTH laughed coldly. "Dare to lie in front of me? Let me tell you, Nero. The army from Vapi's planet has already begun to move. They are searching for their prince. Their first target was this kid's grandmother. If I had been a few seconds later... Granny would have already gone to meet Grandpa." He chuckled. "Hehehe."
"Hey! Don't laugh!" Seino shouted.
"Well, well," MYTH said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "It's better if you don't forget our deal. If you try to betray us for even a second... it will be very bad for you, kid. And don't look at me like that. That little Nerf device of yours won't work on my power."
Nero looked at Seino, intrigued. "Wait, really?"
Seino deflated. "Hehe... it's because it wasn't charged enough. That's all."
MYTH smirked. "Ohhh. Then charge your toy and call me again whenever you want."
The chapter closed with the stakes higher than ever. A galactic war was brewing, a tortured prince was imprisoned, and the fate of the world rested on a fragile alliance between a fallen conqueror, a dimensional rogue, a legendary general, and a frightened inventor.