A strange thing about this world—after all that bleak talk—was how calm his gaze remained. This man... he's strange. I feel like I've plunged into his psychological depths, yet he's like a lion that won't budge. I don't know how, but that's what his face reveals. Truly… he is strange.
Clark:
> "Then let me ask you… do you know what moves the human soul? What drives you to live?
I'll give you my answer, of course, after you give yours."
Clark's request was simple—just a bit of potatoes.
He began eating, leaning on his hand, eyes fixed on Alyssa, who was left speechless. She didn't know how to respond.
His face—that was what shook her. As if the answer lived inside his mind all along.
He smirked, then spoke:
> "What did you expect? That I'd give you some grand speech? No… I'll ask you instead:
What do you see in me? What would drive a man like me to live?"
Greed? Desire? Some longing?
But the look he gave her… held something of contempt.
"How shallow," it seemed to say.
Clark (calmly):
> "Let me answer the first question… There are many things.
But they all boil down to one word: struggle.
You protect your family? That's a struggle.
You defend your country? Its borders? That's a struggle.
For yourself? For your nation? For more?
I walk the path of discovering myself.
The goal lies in the heart of this man.
Maybe I strive for the summit, perhaps…
But I am not obsessed with power.
I do not fear death.
I always fight as if death were right beside me.
I may be mad. I may be obsessed…
But perseverance—struggle—dwells in the heart of this man.
And I never lose myself."
His words crashed through Alyssa's mind like a storm.
This man is truly strange.
So deep… yet not bleak.
I… I truly don't understand him.
Clark (smirking):
> "What's wrong? Shocked by my answer?
We are always persevering…
Even if everything in this life is a lie—
Struggle… is always and forever…
A universal truth in this damned world."
Clark (standing up):
> "Let's head to the forest."
---
They set off, and after a long walk, they arrived…
There stood "Jean."
His face pale. Furious. Bloodthirsty beyond reason.
It was clear Lux had never wanted to enter the forest—he'd wanted to wait for the rest of the soldiers.
Jean's eyes were blood-red, unstable. A murderous aura leaked from him.
But Clark…
Clark's killing intent was off the charts.
Like a man consumed by an inevitable need to kill.
His face raged—and yet was cold, unnaturally cold.
He slicked back his hair and said:
Clark:
> "So… here you are, you filthy coward."
Alyssa, tense, eyebrows furrowed, raised her hand between them:
> "Stop! We're not here to start a fight between ourselves!"
Jean laughed mockingly, arms crossed, eyes full of disdain:
> "Really, Alyssa? You're hilarious.
How can I not react when he's pouring killing intent at me?"
Clark stepped forward.
His gaze burned.
Face tense—like a raging lion.
He shouted:
> "And you have the nerve to ask why?!
You filthy coward… stabbing me in the back and then wondering why I'm full of hatred?!"
Hatred poured from him like fire.
His eyes ignited with a hidden flame.
His face tightened, majestic—like a hero risen from an ancient epic.
Their stares collided like crossing swords.
Clark's said: A mountain like this holds only one tiger.
Jean's replied: And only one whale rules the ocean.
The tension escalated.
The very air trembled with their rage.
The woods filled with whispers, branches cracking, leaves rustling…
Something was watching.
Alyssa felt it first.
Her eyes widened—then she lunged, pulling Clark out of harm's way.
> "Are you stupid?!
We're prey now—and you want to drag us into your childish nonsense?!"
A massive axe crashed where Clark had been standing.
The forest shook.
Out of the shadows came many creatures—goblins and… an orc.
Alyssa, now trembling:
> "We can barely handle goblins… now orcs?!"
Clark, standing tall with a defiant grin:
> "So what? Are they strong? Or are you just a coward?"
Alyssa, face set, but her eyes shaken:
> "Orcs are classified as Rank C…
Goblins are E.
That one who attacked you with the axe… likely Rank B."
Clark's lips tightened:
> "Damn it… then what's the rank of that damned army of the dead?"
Alyssa, voice low, stunned:
> "If both factions have joined…
We may not make it out of here alive."
Lux yelled in frustration:
> "Damn it, Jean! Didn't I say we should wait for the soldiers?!"
Jean, eyes blazing, stepped forward, fists clenched:
> "And who are you to command me, you wretched slave?!
Wasn't it you who planned to chain me and torture me in that apartment?!"
His voice rose.
His face boiled like an erupting volcano.
Clark, smirking coldly:
> "Well then… we have no choice now. Fight… or die.
What's your pick?"
Their eyes met—worn faces, exhausted hearts.
All of them said, without words:
We want to live.
Clark knew.
He'd played the strings of their minds like a master.
He'd planted the seed of battle without them even knowing.
> "Isn't that right?" he whispered to himself.
> "The human heart always fears death—even if it pretends otherwise.
That's why I fight.
That's why I live."
Suddenly, he remembered:
> "The Book of the Great Venerated One—it activates only once every thousand years.
And today… is the fated day."
> "I need many sacrifices…
These beasts… are my chance."
---
They charged into battle.
Clark at the front.
His body twisted between strikes, eyes fixed, face focused.
He slashed an orc's leg with a sharp side cut, then finished it off with a clean strike to the neck.
He shouted through gritted teeth:
> "Fight!
We want to return to our warm food, our soft beds!
Or do you want to be torn to pieces?!"
They were tired.
Scared.
Even Jean, with his iron will, started to crack.
There was a girl's corpse.
There was blood.
And there were secrets that must be buried before they were exposed.
They had to survive.
---
Alyssa, her face tight and frowning, shouted sharply:
— "Enough! We're not here to start fighting each other!"
Jean laughed mockingly, his eyes narrowing with scorn as he stared at her:
— "Really, Alyssa… you're amusing. And how can he show intent to kill me so openly?"
Clark spun around sharply, his face tense, brows furrowed, and eyes blazing with fire:
— "And you have the nerve to ask why? You traitorous coward... you stab me in the back and then wonder why I hold this hatred?!"
His face was majestic, terrifying — like that of a furious lion — his eyes sparking with rage. He locked eyes with Jean, both staring each other down with a deadly gaze, as if each was silently saying:
"A mountain cannot hold two tigers… just as the sea cannot be ruled by more than one whale."
The tension flared — it was as if iron boiled in their hearts. The psychological sparks between them were reaching their peak, and anyone who tried to intervene might be the next victim.
A faint sound crept around them… whispers… falling leaves… something in the forest was watching.
Alyssa — who had spent years among the trees — felt the danger first. Her eyes widened, her lips trembled slightly. Suddenly, without hesitation, she pulled an axe away that had been flying toward Clark's head!
She screamed, trembling with fury:
— "Are you two idiots?! We've just become prey, and you want to drag us into your childish quarrel? How stupid can you be?!"
From the shadows, a swarm of goblins appeared, crawling toward them. Behind them stood a massive orc, its breath blowing steam from its thick nostrils.
Alyssa's eyes widened in shock:
— "We can barely handle goblins… and now there's an orc?!"
Clark raised an eyebrow sarcastically, his tone thick with mockery:
— "And why? Are they strong? Or are you just a coward?"
She replied with a steady voice, though confusion swirled in her eyes:
— "The orc is ranked as a Class C monster... while goblins are Class E. But their leader — the one who threw the axe — he's likely a Class B."
Clark's face froze for a moment, then he clenched his jaw:
— "Damn it… then what rank is that cursed army of the dead?!"
Alyssa looked at him grimly:
— "If we go by logic… they're weaker. But with both academies converging here, we may not leave this swamp alive."
Lux shouted furiously, his face sweaty and disoriented:
— "Damn you, Jean! You idiot! Didn't I tell you we should wait for the soldiers?!"
Jean, his eyes burning with suppressed rage, nearly lost control. He had been planning to torture Lux — in the forest, and later in the apartment where that girl he liked stayed… all of it just in his mind. He hadn't spoken a word of it.
His voice rose, chest heaving in fury:
— "Don't talk like you're the leader, you worthless scum!"
Clark suddenly cut through the chaos, his eyes wide with wild intensity:
— "Alright, we have one choice only… Fight or die! What do you choose?!"
Their eyes fell silent — but they screamed with a desire to live. Yes, eyes that told of hearts still tied to their homes, to warm meals, to soft beds... No one wanted to be eaten alive.
Clark knew that. That's why he said, with a loud, deceitful voice:
— "I only asked: do you want to live? And you answer yes… Right?"
He laughed inwardly. That alone was enough to convince the subconscious to fight — as if there were no other choice.
Was this a devious tactic? Yes.
Was he clever? Or just a damned madman? Perhaps both.
Earlier, while browsing books in his room, his eyes had landed on one titled "The Legacy of the Great Exalted One."
A book that activates only once every thousand years. And fortunately for this emperor… today was that fated day.
He knew the forest would be swarming with monsters — the flying scorpion-lion, the mind-deceiving winged horse, and many others.
And he planned to use all of them… in pursuit of the "Great Lord's" goals.
They all charged into battle.
No one looked back.
No one cared about Clark's eyes.
Their hearts were divided.
Each one of them wanted to survive.
No one wanted to be torn apart while still alive — and that was only natural… wasn't it?
Clark shouted as he lunged into the crowd, his body bending skillfully to dodge strikes. He swung his axe left, slicing off an orc's leg, then continued the strike to its neck as it fell. He shouted boldly:
— "Let's all fight! We want to go back to our delicious food... to our lovely beds! Or do you want to be shredded to pieces?!"
In that moment — even Jean, whose mind could withstand much — began to imagine death.
He was exhausted, trapped in his own chaos.
There was a girl… one he had tortured violently…
There were two corpses… he needed to return and hide them all…
Otherwise?
To be continued…