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Silence filled the entire market.

Every citizen present in the area stood frozen, their eyes wide in disbelief.

They were stunned to realize that most of the people they had thought were just ordinary citizens… were actually spies.

Some of those spies had disguised themselves as mere beggars or tradesmen. Others had lived among them, pretending to be lowlifes, unnoticed and underestimated.

Now, amidst the tension, eight B-rank warriors stood tall, ready to face the infamous Kalamari.

Among them stood a warrior feared and respected across the entire kingdom—a man known not just for his power, but for his discipline and relentless training. His name was Lutios.

All eight warriors shared a similar ability: the power to bend the earth—brick, stone, and soil—to their will.

But one among them was different. An apprentice, younger than the rest, who wielded a dark soul.

He alone possessed the rare ability to control flame.

Many saw him as an outcast, shunned for the very uniqueness that made him dangerous.

But fate had other plans. The ruler of Whoops, Master Plato, had once been a friend of the apprentice's former master—long before the boy was taken under the wing of his current teacher, Master Teele.

Plato had granted the boy citizenship, recognizing his potential, and had personally entrusted him to Teele.

Now, in the heart of this chaos, Kalamari stood still, surprised by the sudden appearance of the little demon beside him.

Nylok.

The demon stood close—as if they had known each other since birth.

Instead of dwelling on where the demon had come from, Kalamari felt an unexpected relief.

This fast, deadly little creature was on his side.

With his eyebrows furrowed and a deadly grin spreading across his face, Kalamari said,

"Eight against two. Doesn't seem fair. I guess we should even the odds. What do you think, little demon?"

Nylok grinned, eyes gleaming red.

"Whatever you say, Master. I'm so hungry… for bloodshed."

Kalamari chuckled.

"I think I like you already."

The apprentice could wait no longer.

With a fierce battle cry, he charged straight at Kalamari.

The other warriors followed.

The apprentice's flaming fist struck first, but Kalamari sidestepped with ease and countered with a crushing kick to the waist.

Before the apprentice could recover, another warrior lunged toward Kalamari with a heavy blow.

Kalamari raised both arms in front of his face, blocking the attack as the force slid him back across the dirt.

A third warrior leapt in, aiming a vicious kick to Kalamari's head—

—but Kalamari bent backward, the heel of the boot slicing harmlessly through the air above him.

Before the first attacker could strike again, Kalamari stepped in, driving a brutal punch straight into his chest.

The warrior hit the ground hard, gasping for breath.

And so, the battle began.

---

Kalamari turned sharply, catching a warrior's punch mid-air.

With a flick of his wrist, he grabbed the attacker by the neck, glitched upwards, and then smashed him into the ground.

He spun again—another warrior came flying toward him, letting out a fierce battle cry.

Kalamari punched him out of the air.

With a low growl, he summoned his axes—two curved blades, each forged from his soul, a mark of his status as an Overlord.

They shimmered into existence, humming with dark energy.

Another warrior lunged. Kalamari hooked his axe around the man's neck and flung him into the dirt.

They just kept coming. And Kalamari, still levitating mid-air, kept sending them crashing back down.

Then came the most feared among them: Lutios.

With a command of brick and stone, Lutios reached out with the earth itself, dragging Kalamari from the air and slamming him to the ground.

Dust exploded on impact, clouding Kalamari's vision.

As he tried to peer through the haze, Lutios charged—his fists wrapped in solid brick—pummeling him again and again.

Kalamari blocked what he could, but not all. The blows came fast, heavy, relentless.

---

Meanwhile, across the battlefield…

Void and Nylok were locked in a brutal clash.

Void, a being made of shadow and vapor, was impossible to strike. Most attacks passed through him like smoke.

But Nylok—small, fast, demonic—was different. Somehow, his blows landed.

Each claw tore into Void's body, ripping open his skin with unnatural ease.

Void grew frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't inflict the same kind of damage. Nylok was just too fast, too wild.

Some nearby spies noticed Void struggling and rushed in to help.

Bad idea.

Nylok was already on them. Glitching across the battlefield, he delivered punishing hits to each warrior faster than they could react.

He jumped on one man's face, laughing demonically, punching him over and over until the warrior crumpled.

Then he jumped to the next. And the next.

To the warriors, this was war.

To Nylok, this was fun.

---

Lutios, on the other hand, was enjoying the fight.

Kalamari wasn't retaliating—he was studying every move, every stance, every weakness.

The apprentice and Lutios were winning. Two against one.

Lutios was breathing heavily now. He had gone all out, and Kalamari still stood—bruised, but calm, unreadable.

Then—something changed.

Kalamari's eyes narrowed.

His power surged.

He unlocked another level of strength.

A state where pain no longer existed.

The apprentice charged, rage in his heart, thinking he could land the final blow.

BAM!

Kalamari caught his fist effortlessly. His eyes locked with the apprentice's, calm and steady.

At that moment, the apprentice knew.

This was no longer the same fight.

Kalamari wasn't holding back anymore.

He snapped his fingers and unleashed a flurry of punches—**one, two, three—**all with his left hand.

The apprentice dropped to his knees, coughing blood.

Kalamari didn't hesitate. A brutal kick to the ribs sent him flying.

Lutios, wide-eyed, threw a punch.

Then another. Right. Left.

None of them landed.

Not a single one.

Kalamari didn't even flinch.

His face was stone—cold, focused.

The citizens watching trembled.

One swing of Kalamari's hand, and he slapped Lutios, sending him spinning through the air like a leaf in a storm.

The spies watching knew.

There was nothing they could do.

They sent word immediately to the ruler of Whoops.

But what they didn't realize… was that Kalamari meant no harm.

He had only acted because the B-rank warriors left him no choice.

---

Nylok, satisfied with humiliating Void, finally forced the shadowy warrior to retreat—merging him back into the apprentice's body.

The little demon crawled back onto Kalamari's shoulder, grinning.

Kalamari looked around at the ruined battlefield.

"Well," he said, "I guess the fight is over."

He turned to the citizens.

"I don't mean any harm. I just had to deal with the threat. I know they're your people, but I'm not just a traveler. I'm an Arcadian… in search of other Arcadians."

The crowd remained silent. He could tell—he was not welcome.

He retrieved his axe. As he held it, it dissolved into dust.

He turned to leave—

And the sky split open.

Master Plato landed like an asteroid.

A shockwave of dust and rock erupted from his impact.

Kalamari squinted through the haze, and for the first time in twelve years, he stood face to face with an A-rank ruler.

Plato's eyes widened. He recognized the boy immediately.

Because of Kalamari's old connection with Master Olark, the A-rank ruler of Arcades, Plato knew who stood before him.

"This is impossible," he whispered. "You survived."

But Plato didn't want the citizens to know who Kalamari truly was.

Unbeknownst to him, Kalamari had already revealed the truth.

With a swift motion, Plato raised a hand—

Stones and rock erupted, wrapping around Kalamari and dragging him deep into the earth.

The crowd gasped as he vanished underground, destination unknown.

He landed hard, unconscious, in the palace dungeon.

Above ground, the citizens erupted in relieved cheers.

"Yoo!" they shouted, hailing their ruler.

They believed Kalamari had been captured by force.

With only a glance at Lutios, Plato gave a silent command.

The spies understood immediately.

Clean up the mess.

Master Plato vanished, just as suddenly as he'd appeared.

Kalamari lay in darkness.

Knocked out.

Unaware of what came next.

---

Find out in chapter 6 what would the ruler of Whoops do to him after the chaos he caused.