Chapter 502: Meanwhile...

At the same time, the serpent wrapped around Nero.

Its body tightened.

Nero’s expression didn’t change.

Darkness spread from his body.

The serpent’s movement slowed.

Nero’s sword appeared inside the darkness.

SHING!

The serpent released him.

Nero landed.

The final beast roared.

It charged.

Nero didn’t retreat.

He ran toward it.

The distance between them disappeared.

The beast raised its enormous arm.

Nero lowered his body.

The attack passed over him.

His sword moved upward.

Slash!

The beast stumbled.

Nero continued.

One step.

Two.

Three.

His swordsmanship became increasingly fluid.

The more he fought, the more naturally Darkness responded to his movements.

He wasn’t simply using the Law.

He was learning it through battle.

Every attack taught him something.

Every defense showed him another possibility.

Every fallen beast provided more Darkness for him to assimilate.

Eventually—

BOOM!

The final creature collapsed.

Nero stood among the fallen monsters.

His breathing remained steady.

He looked at the dark particles floating around them.

Then he raised his hand.

"Come."

The Darkness responded.

All three beasts dissolved.

The energy rushed toward Nero.

His soul trembled again.

This time, however, he didn’t struggle as much.

He understood the process.

He guided the energy.

Controlled it.

Assimilated it.

His understanding of Darkness deepened.

Then Nero noticed something.

The fallen wolf.

Its shadow remained.

Nero stared at it.

An idea appeared in his mind.

He extended his hand.

Darkness gathered around the shadow.

It twisted.

The shadow began moving.

Nero concentrated.

"Rise."

The shadow trembled.

Then—

BOOM!

A dark creature emerged from the ground.

It looked almost identical to the beast that had fallen.

But now, its body was composed entirely of Darkness.

Its eyes glowed with a faint crimson light.

It lowered its head before Nero.

Nero stared at it.

A shadow slave.

He had created one.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"So this is what she meant."

Nero didn’t waste any time.

He turned toward the endless horizon.

"Go."

The shadow beast immediately disappeared.

A moment later—

BOOM!

Another roar echoed through the distance.

More beasts had appeared.

Nero’s expression remained unchanged.

He raised his black sword.

The shadow slave charged forward.

Nero followed.

---

The battle continued.

One beast.

Then three.

Then five.

Then ten.

The grey world seemed endless.

Every time Nero defeated a monster, he absorbed its Darkness.

Every time he understood something new, his control improved.

And every time one of his enemies fell, Nero experimented with its shadow.

Some could become slaves.

Others were too unstable.

Some disappeared after being summoned.

Others remained.

Nero slowly learned the difference.

He learned how to preserve their shadows.

How to strengthen them.

How to command them.

Most importantly—

He learned how to make them fight together.

The first shadow slave fought alone.

Then there were two.

Then five.

Then ten.

The once-empty world slowly became filled with dark figures.

An army was forming behind Nero.

The beasts continued coming.

And Nero continued fighting.

His black sword flashed through the grey world.

SHING!

A beast fell.

Darkness surged into his soul.

Another appeared.

BOOM!

Nero dodged.

His sword struck.

Another shadow rose.

Again.

And again.

And again.

There was no end.

But Nero didn’t complain.

He simply continued.

His expression remained cold as he walked through the battlefield.

Behind him, countless shadow creatures followed silently.

The fallen beasts were no longer simply enemies.

They had become resources.

They restored his stamina.

They strengthened his soul.

They deepened his understanding of Darkness.

And some of them became his soldiers.

Nero finally stopped.

He stood in the middle of the endless black-and-grey world.

His black sword rested at his side.

Behind him stood an expanding army of shadows.

Hundreds of dark figures silently waited for his command.

Nero looked toward the horizon.

More beasts were coming.

He could sense them.

Dozens.

Then hundreds.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

He tightened his grip on the sword.

"Come."

The army behind him moved.

The grey world erupted into chaos.

And Nero charged forward.

He didn’t know how long this trial would last.

He didn’t know how many beasts he would have to defeat.

But he understood one thing now.

The Law of Darkness wasn’t something he would simply inherit.

He would master it through battle.

Through experience.

Through understanding.

And through absolute control.

Nero’s crimson eyes gleamed within the endless darkness.

The sixth star had chosen its inheritor.

°°°

Meanwhile, in the pocket world, in another location, Khione was killing powerful monsters one after another, her score slowly climbing higher.

She had already accumulated around 800 points.

At the moment, she stood in the middle of a vast field, her white hair gently swaying in the wind as her frosty blue eyes calmly stared at the monster standing before her.

It was a two-meter-tall beast.

The creature stood on two legs like a human, its entire body covered in thick gray fur. Its muscular frame was riddled with countless old scars, each one a reminder of battles it had survived.

One of its eyes was completely blinded, leaving a long scar running across that side of its face.

The remaining eye stared intensely at Khione.

The beast suddenly raised its head.

Then—

"Awooooo!"

A deep howl echoed across the battlefield.

This monster was a Werewolf.

An Upper Rank A monster.

Unlike ordinary monsters of the same rank, however, this particular Werewolf possessed something that made it considerably more dangerous.

It could wield the Law of Wind.

And it was extremely intelligent.

The moment its remaining eye settled on the white-haired girl standing before it, the Werewolf immediately identified her as a threat.

It didn’t charge recklessly.

Instead, it carefully observed her.

White hair.

Frosty blue eyes.

A calm expression.

And most importantly—

The wand in her hand.

The Werewolf’s gaze narrowed.

A mage.

That was the first conclusion it reached.

Then there was the freezing aura constantly radiating from her body.

Cold enough to make the surrounding air feel different.

The Werewolf immediately connected the two.

Ice.

A Sub-Law derived from the Law of Water.

Its instincts told it that allowing such a mage to freely cast her spells would be dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Therefore—

It couldn’t give her the opportunity.

The Werewolf lowered its body slightly.

Its muscles tightened.

It began squeezing the prana within its core.

Immediately, the surrounding air started moving.

A faint green aura appeared around its body.

The wind became stronger.

Its gray fur fluttered violently as streams of air wrapped around its limbs.

The Werewolf’s eyes remained locked onto Khione.

Then—

BOOM!

It disappeared.

The ground beneath its feet cracked from the force of its acceleration.

The Werewolf shot toward Khione like an arrow.

Its claws extended.

They gleamed beneath the sunlight.

Those claws were harder than iron and sharp enough to tear through steel.

But that wasn’t all.

The Werewolf coated its claws with the Law of Wind.

The moment the wind gathered around them, their sharpness increased dramatically.

The Law of Wind was one of the Laws most suited for cutting.

Its ability to compress and sharpen air made it exceptionally dangerous in close combat.

The Werewolf knew this very well.

A grin slowly spread across its face.

It envisioned its claws tearing through the fragile body of the mage before it.

It wouldn’t give her time. ℯℯ𝘭.

It wouldn’t allow her to cast even a single spell.

Mages were weak in close combat.

At least, that was what the Werewolf had learned throughout its long existence.

It had spent years being hunted.

Years being raised for humans to kill.

Years watching humans enter the pocket world, fight monsters, grow stronger, and leave.

It had learned from every encounter.

It had survived every battle it could.

And it would survive this one as well.

Just as it always had.

The distance between it and Khione disappeared in an instant.

The Werewolf raised one claw.

Wind screamed around its arm.

Its sharp claws were already within striking distance.

Its grin widened.

It was certain.

The mage wouldn’t have enough time to cast her spell.

But—

Khione didn’t move.

She simply stood there.

Her frosty blue eyes calmly watched the approaching Werewolf.

There was no panic.

No hesitation.

No attempt to retreat.

The Werewolf’s grin froze for the briefest moment.

Something was wrong.

Yet it was already too late to stop.

Its claw descended.

And Khione finally moved.