Chapter 402: Truth Hidden Behind Misunderstanding

Truth Hidden Behind Misunderstanding

Isabella stared at the fleeing Chaos Spirit, completely stunned.

"W-Why are you running?"

The Spirit Ruler of Chaos didn’t answer immediately.

She only tightened her hold on Isabella and kept moving.

Faster.

Farther.

She didn’t even dare turn her head.

"That’s not someone you—or any mortal being—should face."

The fear in her voice was impossible to miss.

The usual arrogance was gone.

So was the playful confidence.

There was only genuine fear.

"Nay..."

Her voice dropped as she continued to accelerate.

"Even the Gods above would think twice before facing that monster."

A chill crawled down her spine.

She swallowed before speaking again.

"Only those Primordial beings have a chance of winning."

Isabella went silent.

Completely silent.

She had never imagined hearing those words from the Chaos Spirit.

Never.

The Spirit Ruler who had always acted as though nothing in existence could threaten her was now running without even considering a fight.

She hadn’t attacked.

She hadn’t tested Victor.

She hadn’t even exchanged a single word with him.

She had simply looked at him...

And fled.

That realization shook Isabella more than anything else could have.

Just what kind of monster was Victor?

...

Back on the battlefield...

Silence settled over the ruined land.

The wind still howled across the scorched ground, carrying dust and ash through the air.

Yet no one moved.

Victor stood where he had been.

Diana remained nearby.

The six remaining Spirit Rulers stared into the distance.

All of them watched the Chaos Spirit disappear over the horizon with Isabella.

Victor blinked.

Then blinked again.

His golden eyes carried genuine confusion.

"..."

He had prepared himself for a brutal battle.

After everything he had witnessed, he expected the strongest Spirit Ruler to attack without hesitation.

Instead...

She had taken one look at him and run.

Victor slowly lowered his hand.

Even he didn’t know what to make of it.

Diana was equally surprised.

She had already sensed how terrifying the Chaos Spirit was.

But she had never expected her to retreat so completely.

There hadn’t even been a confrontation.

No exchange of blows.

No testing of strength.

Nothing.

The six Spirit Rulers were just as stunned.

They stood there like statues, staring at the place where their strongest companion had vanished.

The Chaos Spirit was unquestionably the strongest among them.

Even if all six joined forces against her, none of them believed victory was guaranteed.

Yet she had fled.

Without fighting.

Without hesitation.

Without even looking back.

The only thing she had done...

Was look directly at Victor.

The Spirit Ruler of Fire slowly lowered her weapon.

Her fingers remained wrapped tightly around its handle as she stared into the distance.

"...She ran."

The words came out almost like a whisper.

The Spirit Ruler of Water swallowed quietly.

"I’ve... never seen her afraid."

No one answered her.

Because they had never seen it either.

The Spirit Ruler of Earth remained silent, her expression unusually grave.

The Spirit Ruler of Wind clenched her fists.

"What exactly did she see?"

The Spirit Ruler of Lightning shook her head.

"I don’t know."

"But whatever it was..."

"...it terrified her."

The Spirit Ruler of Light slowly shifted her gaze toward Victor.

Then toward Diana.

A realization gradually formed inside every one of them.

They had been mistaken.

From the very beginning...

The person they believed to be the greatest threat had never been Diana.

It was the man standing calmly beside her.

Victor.

...

What none of the Spirit Rulers knew...

Was that their entire conclusion had been built upon a misunderstanding.

A very unfortunate misunderstanding.

Victor and Diana were nowhere near the peak of their true strength.

Not even close.

Diana’s existence was directly connected to her Master’s growth.

As long as Victor had not recovered the overwhelming power he would one day possess, Diana would remain heavily restrained as well.

The majority of her true strength was still sealed deep within her.

If Diana were to fight the six Spirit Rulers alone right now...

It would be an extremely difficult battle.

There was even a very real possibility that she would lose.

And if Victor joined her...

Victory still could not be guaranteed.

Their current strength simply wasn’t enough.

But the Spirit Rulers had no way of knowing that.

They had only seen what happened.

And what they had witnessed was more than enough to create a terrifying conclusion.

The Chaos Spirit had suddenly retreated.

She had inherited memories that clearly frightened her.

She had sensed terrifying souls connected to Victor.

Then, without hesitation, she had fled.

Everything had happened so quickly that the Spirit Rulers never had the chance to question what they were seeing.

One conclusion naturally formed in their minds.

Victor and Diana were beings far beyond the level they had imagined.

Beings whose true strength was so terrifying that even the Chaos Spirit had chosen to retreat rather than fight them.

The truth, however...

Was completely different.

It was nothing more than a misunderstanding born from terrible timing.

...

Victor slowly released the breath he had been holding.

The excitement that had filled his golden eyes only moments ago gradually disappeared.

He had been looking forward to this.

For the first time in a long while, he had thought he might finally have an opponent worthy of testing his current strength.

Someone who could force him to fight seriously.

Someone who might actually make his blood boil.

Instead...

The battle had ended before it had even truly begun.

Victor’s shoulders relaxed.

A trace of disappointment appeared across his handsome face.

He looked toward the remaining Spirit Rulers.

His golden eyes swept calmly across them.

There was no fear in his expression.

No tension.

Only dissatisfaction.

"So..."

His voice broke the silence.

"Is that it?"

The six Spirit Rulers remained completely still.

Victor tilted his head slightly.

His expression became even more impatient.

"Are you people going to do anything else?"

The question echoed across the battlefield.

For several seconds...

No one answered.

The six Spirit Rulers exchanged uncertain glances.

None of them seemed to know what they were supposed to do.

Their summoner was gone.

The Chaos Spirit had already abandoned the battlefield.

And now...

Only the six of them remained.

Standing before Victor.

And Diana.

Victor looked increasingly irritated by their silence.

Diana, however, remained completely calm.

She stood quietly beside him.

A gentle smile rested upon her lips.

There was no trace of panic in her expression.

She simply watched the six Spirit Rulers struggle to decide what they should do next.

The battlefield fell silent once more.

And somehow...

That silence made the Spirit Rulers even more nervous.