CHAPTER 562: DID I MISREAD IT?

Ethan blinked, caught off guard by the sheer number of soul-forms drifting around them. He hadn’t expected to see so many powerful entities in one place—especially not here, in this strange, twisted world.

Some of them were radiating energy levels close to Tier 14, full-on SSS-class.

But still... they were soul-forms. No matter how strong they looked on paper, they couldn’t unleash their full potential. Not without a physical body to anchor that power.

"Where the hell did you two pick up this whole army?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elira gave him a playful smirk. "Technically, we didn’t ’recruit’ them. I just showed off a little power, and next thing I know, they’re all on their knees calling us boss. Said they’d been looking for someone to help them take down some guy named Kalrethor. Promised us a nice little reward if we pulled it off."

"Reward?" Ethan echoed, frowning. "And Kalrethor—what the hell is that?"

It was the first time he’d heard that name. And the way Elira said it... it didn’t sound like just another monster.

One of the soul-forms stepped forward, about to explain—when suddenly—

BOOM!

RUMMMMBLE!

A deep, thunderous roar echoed from the distance, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

"What the hell—?"

Ethan turned just in time to see a massive figure emerging in the sky, its presence warping the very air around it. The pressure hit like a tidal wave, and every soul-form in the area instantly panicked.

They scattered like leaves in a storm, their faces twisted in terror.

"It’s him! That’s Kalrethor!" one of them cried out, voice trembling. "He shows up out of nowhere every so often and slaughters our people by the hundreds!"

Ethan narrowed his eyes, locking onto the creature in the sky. "That’s him, huh?"

He could already tell—this thing wasn’t ordinary.

The moment Kalrethor appeared, the space around him began to twist and ripple unnaturally, like reality itself was trying to reject his presence.

That kind of distortion... it screamed Tier 15.

"My Lord, let me handle this," Elira said suddenly, her voice calm but brimming with anticipation. She was practically itching for a fight.

Ethan gave her a nod. "Go. Bring me back a win."

Without hesitation, Elira vanished in a blur of motion, launching herself toward the sky.

Ever since she’d evolved to Tier 15, her entire being had changed. Her race—Skytear Demon Moth—had unlocked its true potential. Now, her wings shimmered with a dark, otherworldly energy, and her body radiated a hunger that wasn’t just metaphorical.

The moment she made contact with Kalrethor, her wings unfurled wide, revealing dozens of glowing eyes embedded in the membrane. Each eye spun like a vortex, pulling in Kalrethor’s energy, draining him with relentless force.

But what happened next was... weird.

Kalrethor barely reacted.

He gave a half-hearted twitch, as if trying to resist—but when that failed, he just stood there. Motionless. Letting her drain him.

Ethan’s brow furrowed. "Wait... what? Is this guy brain-dead or something?"

It didn’t make sense. No Tier 15-level being would just stand there and let themselves be devoured. Not unless—

"Hold up," Ethan muttered, his instincts flaring. "This is way too easy..."

He clenched his fists, eyes locked on the scene above.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

There was no way a monster this powerful would just float there like a buffet line for Elira. Something was off. Way off.

The moment that thought crossed Ethan’s mind, he didn’t hesitate—his body flickered, vanishing in a blur as he shot forward, closing the distance to Kalrethor. He needed to get a closer look, to figure out what the hell was really going on.

But just as he was about to reach the creature—

His eyes widened.

From deep inside Kalrethor’s core, he felt it—an unstable, volatile surge of magical energy. It wasn’t just power. It was something else.

Like a bomb.

"What the hell? A bomb?!" Ethan’s face darkened, his instincts screaming at him.

And then it got worse.

As he got closer, the energy inside him—his own power—suddenly flared up, glowing with a strange, uncontrollable light. It was like something inside him was reacting to Kalrethor’s presence... or being triggered by it.

The energy started to spike wildly, threatening to rupture from within.

"Shit—Elira, get back!" he shouted, forcing his body to move despite the pressure crushing down on him. With a burst of strength, he grabbed Elira and yanked her away from Kalrethor just in time.

But then...

Nothing exploded.

No detonation. No shockwave. No catastrophic blast.

Instead, something even stranger happened.

The unstable energy inside Kalrethor didn’t go off—it leaked. Rapidly. Like a balloon deflating, the terrifying magical pressure began to drain out of him, vanishing into the air.

And then—

Crack... crack... craaack...

Kalrethor’s massive body began to fracture.

Hairline cracks spiderwebbed across his form, spreading fast. His body started to splinter, crumble, like a statue left out in a storm for centuries.

"What the hell is going on?" Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing.

This was too easy. Way too easy.

He could still feel the danger—his instincts weren’t wrong. That thing was a threat. But it hadn’t fought back. It hadn’t exploded. It hadn’t done anything.

It was like... it had just given up.

"Did I misread it?" Ethan frowned, unsettled. "No... no way. That kind of energy doesn’t just vanish. Something’s off."

He didn’t mind danger. He could handle danger. What he hated was the unknown—especially when it came wrapped in a pretty package and no warning label.

If this was a trap, and he didn’t see it coming until it was too late...

Well, there wouldn’t be a second chance.

But while Ethan was still trying to make sense of it, Elira was thriving.

The more she drained from Kalrethor’s crumbling form, the stronger she became. Her wings pulsed with power, the eyes embedded in them glowing brighter with every second.

When she’d first hit Tier 15, her evolution progress had barely scraped 70%. But now?

She was pushing 90%.

That wasn’t just a jump in numbers. That was a leap in class.

She was already brushing up against Tier 15 SS-rank territory.

No wonder she’d been able to overpower the Puppet Sovereign Kane earlier. That guy had probably been sitting at 15Tier S-rank, maybe 50% evolved at best.

And Elira?

She was blowing past that like it was nothing.

Then, just as Kalrethor’s body finally shattered into dust, the soul-form leader stepped forward, bowing deeply.

"Oh great guests," he said, his voice echoing with reverence, "thank you for ridding us of our tormentor. As a token of our gratitude, we offer you this gift..."

As he spoke, the energy inside his body began to glow—bright, radiant, and ancient.

A moment later, arcs of magical energy spiraled outward, converging into a single point in front of him.

There, a crystalline structure began to form—shimmering, pulsing with raw power.

"What is that?" Ethan asked, eyes narrowing.

"This," the soul-form leader said, "is a crystallized fragment of our world’s Primordial Force."

Primordial Force?

From this world?

Nethora?

BZZZT!

BZZZT!

BZZZT!

Suddenly, the soul-forms that had scattered earlier began to return, one by one, drawn by the energy in the air. They gathered around, and to Ethan’s surprise, each of them began to extract something from within themselves.

More of that same crystalline energy.

The Primordial Force.

And it wasn’t just something they had—it was part of them. Like a piece of their soul.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In a flash, dozens—hundreds—of these crystalline fragments shot into the sky, swirling together in a chaotic dance of light and power.

Within seconds, they fused into a single, massive, irregular crystal—hovering in the air.

...