ZZZZTTT!!
The Threat Teleportation Shiritsu, placed on Takashi a year ago by the Legendary Master violently activated.
A glowing teleportation gate ripped open in the air.
Takashi stumbled forward, falling straight into the portal and vanishing completely from the Anaconda's sight.
Miles away, in a different, quieter part of the forest, the Legendary Master was casually walking.
Suddenly, the air tore open, and Takashi tumbled out onto the grass.
The moment Takashi's eyes locked onto the Legendary Master, something inside the boy snapped.
Or rather, something inside the seal snapped.
Seeing the Master, The Legendary Divine Spirit Wolf went absolutely insane with blinding rage.
Without hesitation, the Wolf forcefully hijacked Takashi's body, transforming his aura into a terrifying pitch-black form.
BOOM!
Before the Legendary Master could even react, the Wolf launched a full-power, catastrophic strike.
The impact was so devastating that the Master was sent flying like a bullet.
He crashed violently into a distant mountain, burying deep into the solid rock as the entire peak trembled and shattered into pieces.
"IT WAS YOU!" The Wolf's voice roared through Takashi's mouth, dripping with centuries of hatred.
"You were the one who told the humans about me! You revealed my location!"
The black aura flared wildly, destroying the ground beneath their feet.
"Only you could have taught him that ancient seal binding! No modern human knows that Shiritsu!"
The Wolf bared Takashi's teeth, glaring at the rubble of the mountain.
"Where is he?! I don't feel his presence inside you! Bring damn cat out! I want to speak to him!"
Buried in the shattered rock, the Legendary Master realized the situation had completely spiraled out of control.
Takashi's small, fragile body could not endure this overwhelming output of X-Rank power for more than a few seconds.
To save the boy, the Master had to suppress the Wolf immediately.
WHOOSH!
Golden light erupted from the mountain rubble.
The Legendary Master completely unsealed his own partner: The Legendary Divine Spirit Golden Lion.
Drawing upon the immense, blinding power of the Lion, the Master launched himself forward to counter the Wolf's rampage.
The Master was forced to acknowledge the sheer terror of the Wolf's first strike; his shoulder was deeply bruised despite his defenses.
But unlike Hayato's forced seal, the Master's bond with The Legendary Divine Spirit Golden Lion was completely cooperative.
The Lion allowed the Master to use its power willingly, without draining his life force.
This perfect harmony was the absolute secret behind the Master's unimaginable strength and his six-hundred-year lifespan.
The golden and black energies clashed violently, shaking the very air of the forest.
But the battle ended almost as quickly as it began.
Takashi's physical vessel reached its absolute biological limit.
The boy's body could no longer handle the Wolf's forced possession.
The black aura instantly evaporated, and Takashi reverted to his normal form, collapsing to the ground completely unconscious.
The Legendary Master exhaled a heavy breath, slowly walking over to the fallen boy.
He carefully picked Takashi up and carried him to the shade of a large tree.
After resting for a moment to recover from the brutal, sudden clash, he resealed The Legendary Divine Spirit Golden Lion and began walking back to civilization.
Hours later, Takashi slowly opened his eyes.
He was lying in a soft bed inside a quiet, wooden room.
Outside the window, he could hear the cheerful, distant sounds of children laughing and playing.
His mind was completely blank. He had absolutely no idea where he was.
As he pushed himself up, he saw an old man sitting quietly in the corner of the room.
"Takashi," the old man said softly.
Hearing that name sent a strange shock through the boy's mind.
It had been an entire year. He had almost forgotten his own name.
His memories were a shattered, blurry mess.
His mother's face... blurred. His own name... foreign. His past... distant.
But the lessons learned from the world's cruelty, and the final words of his father, were carved into his bones.
He stared at the old man. He hadn't spoken to a human in a year.
"Who... are... you?"
The words scraped out of his dry throat with immense difficulty, sounding broken and raspy. He had practically forgotten how to speak.
The old man smiled gently. "Just think of me as your grandpa."
Takashi sat there, stunned. A five-year-old child, lost to the abyss, had returned to the human world at six years old.
Looking at the boy's broken state, the Legendary Master completely understood the hell Takashi had endured.
The Master knew everything that was happening in the outside world.
In the beginning, he had secretly ventured out to search for Hayato and Takashi.
He had even dispatched a few trusted Shin Warriors to comb the edges of the forest, but they found absolutely nothing.
Eventually, everyone gave up hope, but the Master knew Takashi was alive.
He knew that if the boy's life was ever in absolute, undeniable danger, the Threat Teleportation Shiritsu would trigger and bring the child directly to him.
The old man didn't overwhelm the boy with questions.
Instead, he brought him a plate of warm, fresh human food.
Takashi stared at it. For a year, he had consumed nothing but strange forest fruits and river water.
The moment he took the first bite, the forgotten taste of humanity rushed through him, breathing new life into his exhausted body.
After eating, the Master instructed him to bathe and gave him clean, new clothes.
The moment Takashi lay back down on the soft mattress, his body completely shut down.
He slept a deep, dreamless sleep, as if he hadn't truly rested since the day his father died.
He slept continuously for an entire day and night.
When he finally woke up, the old man was not in the house.
Takashi slowly walked outside, blinking against the bright sunlight.
He found himself in a small, peaceful village nestled at the foot of massive mountains, just bordering the edge of the Grand Forest.
A group of village children were running around, playing games in the dirt.
Takashi stood by the wall, watching them quietly.
To his absolute shock, the children didn't point at him. They didn't whisper. They didn't call him a cursed demon.
Instead, they smiled and waved, trying to call him over to play with them.
Takashi didn't know it yet, because he hadn't looked in a mirror, but his appearance had completely changed.
His mismatched eyes were now a stunning, clear blue, and his dual-colored hair was completely white, making him look perfectly normal, yet strikingly unique.
A tiny spark of happiness flickered in his chest at their warm invitation.
But the heavy, invisible chains of his trauma held him back. He couldn't bring himself to join them.
He quietly turned around and walked back into the small wooden house.
A little while later, the Legendary Master returned.
Takashi's mind was boiling with a thousand unasked questions.
He looked at the old man. "Do you... know me?"
The Legendary Master nodded slowly, his eyes filled with sorrow.
"Yes. Very well. I have been waiting for you for a long time."
He paused, letting out a heavy breath. "You have been missing for an entire year... and your father too."
The moment the word 'father' hit the air, the dam broke.
A year of suffocating terror, loneliness, and suppressed grief exploded out of Takashi's chest.
The stoic, mature mask shattered, and the six-year-old boy burst into violent, uncontrollable tears.
He cried until his chest heaved, his small hands gripping the bedsheets.
The Master sat beside him, gently patting his head, offering the comfort the boy had been starved of.
Through his heavy hiccups and tears, Takashi managed to force out the horrific truth.
"He... he didn't... survive."
That was all he could say.
After a long time, the tears finally stopped. The crushing, suffocating weight that had rested on his heart for a year felt lighter.
For the first time since the betrayal, Takashi felt like he could finally breathe.
A new chapter of his life had officially begun.
Exhausted from the emotional release, he lay back down on the pillows.
The Legendary Master let out a long, quiet sigh.
He looked at the boy, his ancient eyes reflecting memories from long ago.
"Let me tell you a story," the Master began softly. "Let me tell you how I first met your father... and how he completely changed my life."
[To Be Continued...]