Alistair rushed forward, shouting with everything he had.
"SOLARIS — IF YOU CONTINUE— THIS BLOODLUST WILL CONSUME YOU!"
"YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO COME BACK!"
"STOP THIS MADNESS—!"
But he was too late.
His voice scattered into the storm of mana.
It didn't reach him.
At least—
it didn't reach the Solaris Alistair once knew.
---
Solaris's beastly aura rose and rose—
like a storm refusing to end.
The air around him twisted. The ground beneath his feet trembled as if the forest itself was afraid to breathe. His mana no longer felt like simple energy—
it felt alive.
Hungry.
Restless.
Then—
BOOOOM—!!
A pillar of light erupted from his body.
Straight to the sky.
It tore through the clouds as if they were nothing but thin paper. The entire horizon shook from the pressure, birds scattered in panic, and even the distant mountains seemed to grow silent.
At the outer wall of Voidcrest City—
four familiar guards stood on duty.
The sudden flash painted their faces white.
One of the city guards pointed toward the sky, eyes wide.
"What… what is that light?!"
His voice trembled.
"Is that a monster?!"
He swallowed hard.
"Are they even safe in there?!"
Beside him, one of the Void family guards leaned against the wall casually, rubbing his nose with a smug expression.
"If that's a monster?"
He chuckled.
"Then don't worry about Lord Alistair."
The city guard blinked.
"Huh?"
The family guard grinned.
"Pray for the monster."
For a moment, the city guards just stared at him—unsure if he was joking or completely insane.
But the confidence in his voice…
it wasn't a bluff.
---
Scene shifted—
Alistair stared ahead with a face mixed with shock and pure irritation.
"—No… not this again!?"
At this point Solaris was no longer visible.
The pillar of light had completely swallowed the entire surrounding area. It wasn't just bright—
it was suffocating.
Mana density grew thicker with every passing second, like the air itself was turning into liquid. Breathing became heavy, painful, unnatural.
The shockwaves crawled across the land like living webs—
and everything they touched was erased.
Monsters disintegrated without even leaving corpses.
Trees turned into dust before they could fall.
Even small hills cracked apart as if some invisible hand was crushing them from above.
Alistair was forced to raise his arm and cover his face.
Wind howled like a wounded beast.
"Why…?" he muttered through clenched teeth.
"Why does this force feel a thousand times stronger than last time!?"
His heart pounded.
This wasn't just power.
This was calamity wearing the shape of his son.
For a brief moment hesitation flashed in his eyes—
then vanished.
With a determined face he tightened his grip on his sword.
"I can't wait any longer."
"If this continues—there will be nothing left to save."
His eyes glowed with sharp green mana. The blade in his hand answered the call, humming violently as energy wrapped around it.
"I have to stop this—right now."
BOOM—!
With a blast of speed he shot forward.
The ground exploded behind him as he forced his body through the crushing pressure. Every step felt like pushing through a storm made of iron, yet he didn't stop.
In an instant—
he was face to face with Solaris.
The boy stood inside the pillar like its core, surrounded by lightning and chaotic aura, his expression empty—no, not empty.
Unreachable.
Alistair had already raised his sword.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
A violent swing—!
Then—
His eyes went wide.
The blade stopped in midair.
Only a few centimeters away from Solaris's shoulder.
It didn't collide with flesh.
It didn't even touch skin.
Something invisible blocked it.
Like an unseen wall.
No—
like countless walls stacked on top of each other.
Alistair felt it immediately.
"What… with this aura of his!?"
Sweat rolled down his face.
"This density… this isn't normal!"
The sword trembled in his hands as he tried to push further—
but it wouldn't move.
"It's like he covered himself with infinite layers of aura shield!"
His arms shook from the pressure pushing back against him.
Gritting his teeth, Alistair forced more mana into his blade, veins bulging on his wrist.
"My sword… can't pierce this aura."
A cold realization settled inside his chest.
"I have to do something else."
---
And then—
Solaris stopped yelling.
The wild roar that had been shaking the forest—
just died.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Alistair.
With zero facial expression.
No madness.
No smile.
No hatred.
Just… blank.
For a moment Alistair's face brightened with hope.
"Solaris…?"
Then the boy spoke.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"
"WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?"
Those words struck harder than any blade.
Alistair opened his mouth—
but nothing came out.
He couldn't respond.
His throat refused to obey.
Inside his mind only one thought echoed—
Who am I…?
Solaris tilted his head slightly, as if trying to understand something.
Tiny cracks were now visible on his face, like fragile porcelain about to break. He looked at Alistair with genuine confusion, not anger—just the puzzled gaze of someone seeing a stranger for the first time.
Alistair stood frozen.
Too shocked to move.
Too shocked to speak.
The man known as the Sword King—
reduced to silence by a single question.
Solaris didn't seem to care much.
He slowly lowered his body a little—
casual, effortless.
Then—
In one blink—
Everything vanished.
The pillar of mountain-like light.
The suffocating waves that had forced even a Sword King to shield his face.
The violent lightning tearing apart the sky—
All of it.
Gone.
Silenced.
As if it had never existed.
And Solaris—
was simply not there anymore.
No sound.
No trace.
No afterimage.
Alistair remained standing in the same position, sword still raised toward empty air.
His eyes trembled.
"…Did he just…?"
A cold whisper left his lips.
"Did he break light speed just now…?"
The forest answered only with dead silence.
---
In the very heart of the forest—
the 10th layer.
This was no longer a place meant for ordinary adventurers.
The air itself was different here—thicker, older, carrying the scent of ancient blood and rotting earth. Massive trees twisted like the ribs of some long-dead beast, their roots crawling across the ground like sleeping serpents. Even monsters that ruled the outer layers avoided stepping into this territory.
And at the center of that forbidden domain—
stood Solaris.
Before him—
the guardian of this layer.
The Minotaur Lord.
A towering monster, easily three times the size of any normal minotaur. Its crimson skin was covered with scars that told stories of countless battles. Each breath from its nostrils came out like hot steam, shaking the ground slightly. In its hands rested a giant double-bladed axe—an ancient weapon soaked in the aura of death.
Around it stood dozens of smaller minotaurs—
soldiers.
servants.
meat shields for their king.
The moment they sensed Solaris—
their instincts screamed.
An intruder.
A threat.
Something not meant to exist.
The small minotaurs roared together and rushed forward, warhammers raised high. Their heavy hooves crushed the soil as they charged like a living wall of muscle and iron.
But—
Solaris didn't even look at them.
His eyes were locked only on one being.
The Minotaur Lord.
A suffocating yellow aura wrapped around his small body, lightning crawling across his skin like living snakes. The air around him trembled violently, unable to withstand the pressure leaking from him.
The first minotaur reached him.
Then the second.
Then the third.
And the moment their bodies touched that overwhelming aura—
they disappeared.
Not burned.
Not cut.
Not thrown away.
Vaporized.
Flesh, bones, armor—
everything erased as if they were nothing but mist.
---
[ NOTICE ]
You have successfully defeated 19 C+ Rank Minotaurs.
---
[ NOTICE ]
You have successfully defeated 4 C Rank Minotaurs.
---
[ STATUS UPDATE ]
» Congratulations! You have advanced to D Rank.
System is recalibrating your status to match your rank.
---
[ NOTICE ]
⚠️The host is undergoing a transformation process.
Status upgrade cannot be completed at this moment.
---
Solaris kept walking.
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Like a calamity given legs.
In the next blink—
he was already in front of the Minotaur Lord.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Just—there.
He pulled his hand back and threw a punch straight toward the boss's head.
Then—
BOOM.
A shockwave exploded through the forest.
But—
the head didn't burst.
For the first time—
something reacted to Solaris.
The Minotaur Lord had moved.
With terrifying speed for such a massive body, it raised its double-bladed axe and blocked the punch directly. The impact created a storm of wind, tearing trees from the ground around them.
For a brief moment—
monster and child stood equal.
Then the Minotaur Lord roared.
With violent force it swung the axe sideways.
Solaris's body shot through the air like a broken doll.
Toward a distant hill—
BOOOOM!
He crashed into it.
The entire hill cracked, then collapsed, rocks and earth exploding outward like a volcanic eruption.
Dust covered the sky.
Any normal being would have died ten times over.
But this was not normal.
And Solaris was not "any being."
The Minotaur Lord didn't wait.
Instinct told it—
finish it now.
It bent its knees and leapt high into the air, its massive body blotting out the sky like a demon descending from heaven.
It opened its mouth.
A black magic circle appeared before it.
Then—
a sphere of dark energy began forming.
The space around the ball twisted unnaturally, bending light, bending reality itself, as if warning the world of what was coming.
For a second—
everything went quiet.
Then—
FIRE.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
An unreal explosion swallowed the horizon.
The hill was not just destroyed—
it was erased.
The entire 10th layer shook violently. Trees turned to ash, the ground melted, the sky itself seemed to crack under the force.
Dust and smoke devoured everything.
Silence followed.
A silence too heavy.
Too wrong.
And within that ocean of dust—
a small figure stood.
A childlike silhouette.
Blood dripped from his body to the soil beneath.
Drop.
Drop.
Drop.
Solaris stood there.
Not screaming.
Not moving.
No expression on his face.
His clothes were torn, his skin cracked in several places, yet his eyes remained the same—
hungry.
empty.
endless.
The lightning around him flickered weakly, then grew again.
The forest felt it.
The wind stopped.
Even the Minotaur Lord hesitated.
It was as if nature itself held its breath—
waiting for a disaster to take its next step.
⭐Author Note
[ Next is the final chapter: Bloodline Collision ]