The sun was setting gently behind the trees, casting long shadows through the thick forest. The sky turned gold and orange as the sound of the wind and rustling leaves filled the air while the three continued walking north through the dense wilderness.
Yamato led the way, calm and focused. Behind him walked Sora and Lumei, pushing past wild branches and stepping over vines and rocks. Lumei groaned as another thorn scratched his ankle. He wiped the sweat from his brow and grumbled,
"Yamato, seriously... we've been walking through bushes forever. Isn't there a normal road or path around here? We look like bushmen."
Sora giggled as she hopped over a low branch.
"You should know Yamato is following his instincts," she said playfully. "But I admit... I like the question. Why the bush?"
Yamato let out a quiet chuckle without slowing down. His eyes remained fixed ahead.
"This is the shortest route to what I'm searching for."
A grin spread across his face.
"WELL-SPRING, to be exact."
The three laughed. Even Lumei couldn't help smiling.
"We're leaving the continent!"
Their spirits lifted as they ventured deeper into the unknown, unaware that something far more powerful had already begun moving.
---
The air felt wrong. Heavier. Sharper. Far more oppressive than it had been during the incident ten years ago. Headmaster Regns stood silently before the tall window of his office, his eyes fixed on the sky.
The pressure continued to rise. Deadly. Terrifying. Almost suffocating. Without another thought, his consciousness entered his inner realm.
His six students were already there, continuing their training. Renji. Kiro. Mira. Leah. Daigo. Seouk.
The moment they noticed him, they stopped and turned toward him. Regns looked pale. His face was unusually serious.
"What's going on, Master?" they asked together.
Regns slowly turned to face them.
"Madara is close."
Silence fell over the realm. The name meant nothing to most of them. Only Seouk seemed to recognize it, though the realization came a little too late. Renji narrowed his eyes.
"Should we be worried?"
"Yes," Regns answered without hesitation. "He is the god who kills gods for a living."
Kiro frowned.
"But... what is he here for?"
Regns looked away, gripping his forehead tightly.
"I may have chosen wrongly..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I just told you... he kills gods for a living. So some god must have crossed the boundary."
Then a thought struck him. His eyes widened.
"He never comes unless an Outlook has been born... But none of us sensed one."
The students exchanged uneasy glances. Regns took a slow breath before speaking again.
"Until we understand why he's here... you six will have to keep him company."
Leah blinked.
"Keep him company?!"
Mira rolled her eyes.
"He's stronger than the other gods. I'll probably have to strengthen you all again after he doubles our power."
Kiro shot her an annoyed glance but remained silent.
---
Far above the Earth... On the moon... Everything was silent.
A lone figure stood upon its surface. His long black hair flowed behind him while a dark cloak swayed gently in the emptiness of space.
An ancient aura spread from his body like invisible waves. Madara. The God Slayer. He bent his knees slightly. Then... He jumped.
CRAAACK!!
The moon's surface fractured beneath the force of his leap as his body shot toward Earth. Only seconds later—
BOOOOM!!
He landed on the LOUNGE Continent, crouching low as dust and violent winds exploded outward. He slowly inhaled.
"Ahhh... Madara... has arrived."
He rose to his feet and brushed the dust from his cloak. Golden light flickered within his eyes.
"What a strange place. Hardly any magic... Only shackles."
His hearing expanded across the forests of LOUNGE. He listened quietly.
"I doubt this place has a Vessel... or a God... or even a Divine King."
He looked down at his clothing.
"I'll need somewhere to stay. And clothes to blend in."
He took one step.
CRACK.
The ground beneath his foot shattered. Madara blinked.
"Oh... I haven't lowered my power yet."
He immediately suppressed it. The terrifying pressure that had covered the world vanished. His presence became no different from that of an ordinary man.
At that exact moment... Every God. Every Vessel. Every Divine King on Earth felt it. Their divine energy doubled. For Team Ozaki... Their current strength had now surpassed Yamato's base Recovery Rank.
Madara smiled faintly. Then disappeared. His body raced across rivers, hills, forests, and valleys at a speed even greater than Yamato's.
Moments later, he arrived at the first village along his path. He slowed to a walk. Villagers paused to stare at him. His clothing didn't resemble that of the rich. Nor the poor. Nor slaves. It was simply... Different.
Madara entered a laundry house and changed into simple clothing, carrying his old cloak beneath one arm. After leaving the village, he continued walking until a ruined castle came into view.
Broken walls. Collapsed towers. Forgotten by time. He looked at it for a moment.
"Humans... They always waste their treasures. Another reason to hate them."
Without hesitation, he stepped inside. The castle was dark. Silent. His eyes glowed gold. He sensed something. Not clearly. But enough to know he wasn't alone. As he walked through the ruined halls—
Creak.
His foot stopped. He stepped again.
Creak.
Madara knelt and brushed away the dust. A hidden trapdoor. He pulled it open. Beneath it lay a narrow stone staircase leading underground.
He descended quietly. Dim lamps flickered along the walls, revealing a vast underground chamber. And there... He found them. Twelve men dressed in rugged, tattered clothing.
The magical pressure filling the room was unmistakable. Behind them, carved into the stone wall, were the words:
The Distant Grugs
Masters of Elemental Terror
They had begun a movement to destroy the infamous Wealth Bargain system that ruled the continent. But they had acted without considering the consequences their actions would have on innocent people living nearby.
Their methods were violent. They robbed the wealthy. Freed the oppressed, but left chaos wherever they went. As a result, both the law enforcers who genuinely wanted to end Wealth Bargain peacefully and those who wished to preserve it hunted them relentlessly.
Wealth Bargain was one of the darkest systems ever created. On the surface... It appeared harmless. In truth... Its cruelty ran far deeper. The twelve men before Madara were the strongest elemental users in the entire village.
A legendary outlaw group.
They had only recently returned from a successful heist and had hidden within the abandoned castle after learning that law enforcers were closing in on their location.
When they saw Madara... None of them recognized him. Instead— They laughed. To them, he looked like nothing more than a lost traveler. And travelers usually carried money.
Their leader, a tall man with fiery red hair and flames dancing around his hands, stepped forward with a grin.
"Oi! It's just one guy. From what I can sense... His power's barely above that of a first-year academy dropout."
The room erupted with laughter.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
The leader cracked his neck.
"Give me three minutes. We'll wipe the floor with him."
The atmosphere in the basement grew heavy as magic gathered from every corner of the room.
Twelve elite elemental users surrounded Madara.
Four water users.
Two earth users.
Three ice users.
Three fire users.
Madara stood calmly at the center, his black shirt tucked neatly into his loose combat trousers. His arms rested at his sides, and his face remained completely expressionless. He glanced around the room before speaking.
"Fire first... then Ice... then Earth... and finally Water. If you don't... I'll kill every one of you."
The leader's face twisted with rage.
"Burn him!"
Heat exploded from the four fire users as blazing flames engulfed the room.
"DRAEGOIS!"
A massive dragon of fire surged toward Madara. Though smaller than usual because of the enclosed space, it remained just as deadly. The leader charged behind it with both hands blazing.
Madara smiled. He calmly reached into the dragon's flaming mouth. Nothing happened. The flames couldn't even leave a scratch. The fire users froze. Shock quickly turned into panic. Still, they believed in one thing. Strength in numbers.
"Candle flame," Madara scoffed.
He disappeared. In a single step, he stood before the leader. His hand shot forward, grabbing the man's arm in the middle of his attack.
RIP!
The arm tore clean from its socket. Blood sprayed across the room. Without hesitation, Madara swung the severed arm and smashed it into the leader's skull.
CRACK!
The man's head burst apart as his body collapsed lifelessly.
"Minus one."
The remaining two fire users roared in anger and rushed him.
"PYRO BURN!"
Columns of fire poured toward Madara from every direction. As he walked through the inferno, he noticed one of them. His flames burned hotter than the others. And unlike the rest... He wasn't tiring.
"Interesting..."
That man was Kaien. Madara walked straight through the flames. Not a single burn marked his skin.
PRACK!
Kaien blinked. He hadn't even seen Madara move. Warm blood splashed across his face. He slowly turned. His teammate's skull had been crushed. Not by a punch. Not by a kick.
It looked as though something had grabbed and crushed it like fruit. Before Kaien could react, Madara's hand wrapped around his neck. He lifted him effortlessly off the ground. Kaien struggled desperately for air.
"I won't kill you," Madara said calmly. "But if anything other than Ice comes next... I'll kill all of you."
The room fell silent.
Then... The Ice users stepped forward. The temperature dropped instantly. Cold air spread across the chamber as frost crept over the stone floor. The first Ice user raised his hand.
"FROST SPEAR!"
A massive spear formed from solid ice, lined with jagged edges sharp enough to tear through mountains. Madara smiled.
"Childish."
The second raised both hands.
"SHACKLES BIND!"
Rattling chains of pure ice burst forward. Each link shimmered like polished crystal. Together, they possessed enough force to restrain nearly ninety-eight tons. Madara merely tilted his head.
"You want to play with those?"
Then the third stepped forward. Syra. He extended one hand.
"DOMAIN LOCK!"
Four glowing marks appeared around Madara. Ice erupted from each corner, rapidly forming a giant frozen prison. The walls thickened until nothing inside could be seen.
Within the prison, icy chains burst from the walls and wrapped tightly around Madara's arms. Anyone could enter the Domain willingly. But no one could leave without the caster's permission. Inside the frozen prison... Madara smiled.
"Good thinking... I like this one."
The chain user threw his icy shackles into the Domain while keeping the other end wrapped around his own arm.
At the same time, the Frost Spear was hurled toward the prison. It was meant to pierce both Madara and the Domain together. Instead— The chains suddenly tightened.
The chain user frowned. They were being pulled. Hard. His boots scraped violently across the stone floor.
"No...!"
He dug his heels in. It made no difference. Madara yanked. The chain user was dragged screaming into the frozen prison.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
The others stared helplessly. No one could see what was happening inside.
PRACK!
A sickening crack echoed through the prison. Blood splattered across the icy walls. A heartbeat later.
BOOM!!
The entire Domain exploded into countless frozen fragments. Before anyone could react.
SHOOOM!!
The Frost Spear flew backward. Straight through its own creator's head. The body slammed into the wall and remained pinned there.
Dead.
Syra staggered backward. His face had turned completely pale. His breathing became uneven. He couldn't understand what had just happened. Fear swallowed him whole.
Panicking, he fired dozens of razor-sharp frost shards toward Madara. He no longer cared whether they hit. He simply wanted the nightmare to stop. Madara walked through every shard without slowing down.
"I liked your strategy... But fear ruined it."
He caught one of the flying shards between two fingers. Then casually drove it into Syra's knee.
CRACK!
"AAAAAHHH!"
Syra collapsed to the floor, screaming in agony. The remaining six elemental users stood frozen. None of them understood why they couldn't move.
It wasn't because they were injured. It wasn't because they lacked courage. Madara had something to do with it.
The two Earth users roared as they charged. The first slammed both palms against the ground. Massive boulders erupted from the earth and hurtled toward Madara. Madara glanced at them and sighed.
"What is wrong with you? You just watched me break free from something that could restrain nearly ninety-eight tons... and you throw rocks at me?"
Beside him, the second Earth user, Dren, clenched his fist.
"DANCING GOLEM!"
The ground shook. A tall golem rose from beneath the earth. Unlike ordinary golems, this one wasn't bulky. Its frame was thin and streamlined, almost as though the spell had failed.
But that wasn't a flaw. It was its greatest strength. Its lighter body granted it incredible speed and destructive power far beyond that of a normal golem. Madara studied it with interest.
"A Divine King once used something similar... except it was made of crystal. I liked that one."
The golem lunged. It moved at sonic speed, the fastest a golem had ever achieved on the LOUNGE Continent.
Madara effortlessly weaved around the incoming boulders while treating the golem's attacks like a game. Suddenly— He vanished. Dren's eyes widened. Madara appeared directly in front of the first Earth user.
The golem's fist came crashing down. The Earth user barely had time to look up.
BOOM!
His head exploded beneath the golem's strike. Madara smiled faintly. With one hand, he caught the golem's arm. His other hand slid to its waist.
CRACK!
The entire construct split cleanly into two pieces. Broken stone crashed onto the floor. Madara looked at Dren.
"Good work."
Then... The Water users stepped forward. The first flicked his fingers.
"WATER WHIP!"
A long whip of water lashed through the air with incredible speed. The second raised his hand.
"SEA SHARK!"
A massive shark formed from rushing water, snapping its jaws as it charged. The third followed immediately.
"SEA SNAKES!"
Several sleek water serpents surged forward. Their bodies moved like eels, but each possessed enough force to overpower a whale. Madara chuckled.
"Think bigger."
Then Nareen stepped forward. Unlike the others, he didn't wave his hands wildly. Water gathered around both of his fists, compressing until it formed the heads of two dragons.
"TWIN-SET BEAST!"
The dragon heads roared. Their jaws could bite like living creatures while still functioning as enormous gauntlets. Madara's smile widened.
"Now we're talking."
Nareen charged. Madara slipped between every strike with effortless precision. His palms redirected each punch from the Twin-Set Beast while he casually avoided the attacks from the sharks, serpents, and whip.
Without warning, he caught the Water Whip. He pulled. Its owner flew helplessly toward him. Madara leaped into the air.
PRACK!
A flying elbow crushed the man's jaw. The impact split his skull upward from his chin. The corpse hit the ground before the others even realized he was dead.
Madara continued exchanging blows with Nareen while speaking as though they were sparring partners.
"Your dragons. Increase their striking power. They're too weak."
The sharks and serpents attacked again, trying to catch him between Nareen's punches. Madara reached out. He caught two of the water serpents by their tails.
With a single swing, he smashed them into the incoming sharks. Water exploded throughout the room. Then he pulled. One shark shot back toward the serpent caster. The other hurtled directly toward Nareen. The Water users barely had time to react. Madara appeared between them.
"I don't need you two."
He grabbed the shark caster by the neck. Then slammed him forward.
CRACK!
His body tore straight through the serpent caster. Blood, organs, and shattered bones sprayed across the chamber. Madara immediately kicked the remaining body.
The force split it cleanly into two halves. Silence. Nareen slowly dropped to his knees. His Twin-Set Beast dissolved. His breathing became shallow.
This... This was Madara. A man who wasn't even using his true strength.
The basement fell silent. Bodies lay scattered across the stone floor. Broken. Twisted. Lifeless. Blood pooled between shattered bones, broken weapons, and chunks of stone.
Only four remained alive.
Kaien sat against a broken pillar, trembling as he stared at the man before him. Syra clutched his ruined knee, his face drained of all color. Dren stood motionless, afraid that even breathing too loudly might draw Madara's attention. Nareen knelt on the bloodstained floor, coughing heavily.
His mind refused to accept what had just happened. The twelve strongest elemental users in the village... Defeated in less than three minutes. Madara quietly exhaled and brushed a little ash from his sleeve.
His expression never changed. It was as though he had finished taking a walk rather than slaughtering a group of elite mages. Without sparing them another glance, he began walking deeper into the chamber.
His footsteps echoed steadily across the stone floor. At the far end of the basement stood a large chair carved from blackened wood and reinforced with steel. Fire patterns and symbols representing the four elements were engraved across its frame.
It was the leader's seat. Madara walked up to it without hesitation. The four survivors watched in silence. None of them dared move. None dared speak. He reached the chair... Turned around... And slowly sat down.
The tall backrest towered behind him as he leaned against one armrest. The fire symbols carved into the throne suddenly glowed. Not with flames... But with a cold golden light.
His golden eyes slowly faded back to black. For several long moments, he simply looked at the four survivors. Then he spoke. His voice was calm. Quiet. Yet it echoed throughout the chamber.
"I like you four."
He rested his chin against his fist.
"And I need people to carry out my work... so I don't have to waste time destroying everything myself."
Silence filled the room. None of them understood what he meant. Madara tapped the armrest with a finger. Slow. Steady. Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'll make all four of you... my Divine Kings."
The words struck them harder than any attack he had unleashed. Outside the abandoned castle, the wind began to howl. Dark clouds gathered above the village, swallowing the last light of the setting sun. Far away, no one knew that history had just changed.
The storm... Had only just begun.