Chapter 1762: The World Sound (Part 1)

Tap.

Es’aha set her teacup aside, a happy smile on her face.

Leerna, who was sitting across from her, noticed this.

"Looks like someone’s in a good mood today?"

Es’aha smiled gently. "Yes, I won’t hide it. Today is definitely a good day."

Leerna stared at her cup for a moment before asking, "Why? I expected a completely different reaction from you. Zin lost, and not to just any monster, but to a Phantom."

"That’s not the issue. At first, I thought so too, but now, a few hours after the Grim Court, I realize that’s not the case. It was important to me that Zin return to the Hollow Lands, that he see the meaning in evolution again, and set a goal for himself. Thanks to Adam, that happened."

With a brief pause, Leerna chuckled and raised an eyebrow afterward.

"So, are you saying you’re grateful to a Phantom who somehow ended up on our lands and beat up Zin?"

Es’aha lowered her gaze, maintaining a soft expression.

"I wouldn’t put it quite so bluntly, but generally speaking, yes. If it weren’t for Adam, I doubt I could have convinced Zin to return to the Hollow Lands, let alone fight at the Grim Court. His presence here was necessary for that to happen."

Leerna was about to say something when suddenly, a chill ran through her body, causing her eyes to widen.

Es’aha felt it too, as did hundreds of other monsters nearby.

"Wait... This feeling..." Leerna muttered as she turned toward the source of the energy.

Es’aha gulped. "Is someone about to become a Lord?"

"Yeah, looks like it." Leerna nodded as her expression grew serious. "Do you know who it might be? Maybe it’s one of your monsters or Kaerno’s? There are a few capable Fangs in my pillar, but they haven’t reached that stage yet to become Lords."

"Wait..." Es’aha froze. "That aura, I know it!"

Whoooooosh!

Her body trembled as, in the blink of an eye, she appeared at the top of Leerna’s dome pillar. Somewhere in the distance, several dozen kilometers away, was Kaerno’s pillar.

That was where the energy source was located.

If Es’aha concentrated, she could see what was happening there even from such a great distance, but for some reason her heart began to race.

’I have to make sure of this!’

Without another word, Es’aha leaped forward, stirring up gusts of wind.

"Wait!"

Leerna exclaimed, watching Es’aha’s receding figure.

"Damn it!" Leerna clenched her fists before flying after Es’aha.

Not as dramatic, but a similar reaction was seen in many monsters who sensed the powerful energy burst.

Even though it was much easier for monsters to advance to the Second Circle than it was for Phantoms, it was still a great achievement that inevitably drew attention.

For this reason, most Black Threat Level monsters sought out a secluded spot or asked a familiar Lord to keep an eye on them while they evolved.

Zin didn’t need that.

He didn’t mind if others witnessed his ascension to the new level. Unlike other monsters of his level, he knew failure was not a threat to him.

If other monsters wanted to break through their barrier but couldn’t do so, in Zin’s case, the barrier had been ready to fall for a long time, but Zin had taken no action.

Zin smiled.

"It’s time to change that, right?"

He closed his eyes, finding himself in his inner space.

At the same moment, more and more monsters appeared in the air near Kaerno’s pillar.

The first among them were Es’aha and Leerna, who couldn’t believe their eyes.

"Z-Zin?!" Es’aha exclaimed before rushing forward.

Tap.

She appeared at Kaerno’s pillar, as Leerna followed her.

"Kaerno! What the hell is going on here?!" Es’aha exclaimed with a deep frown, but the concern in her gaze was obvious.

"Isn’t it obvious?" Kaerno smirked, pointing at Zin. "Adam has left the Hollow Lands. Right now, he’s heading toward the barrier. So, Zin decided he wouldn’t wait any longer and would become one of the Lords right here and now."

Leerna was speechless as Es’aha gasped.

One glance at Zin was enough for them to realize that Kaerno was telling the truth. Monsters of their level had seen countless times how others crossed the line between the First Circle and the Second Circle.

Still, the speed with which Zin made this decision came as a shock to everyone who had arrived here.

Just a minute later, more than a dozen Thorns, a multitude of Fangs, and even a few Fingers were hovering in the air, having come to witness the evolution of one of the most promising monsters in their lands.

"R-Right..." Es’aha muttered as she cautiously approached the edge. "Zin, you’re finally going to become one of us. You’ll see how beautiful the world of the strong is."Kaerno clicked his tongue. "So that’s how you see it? Maybe for the first couple hundred years, that’s really true, but then it gets less and less interesting."

"That doesn’t matter." Es’aha shook her head, pressing her palm to her chest. "For the last few years, he’s just stared at the Frenzied Core and nothing more. Even our boring, quiet lives will be far better for Zin than this, but at the very beginning, a multitude of opportunities will open up before him."

"You know, that’s pretty funny." Kaerno glanced at Es’aha. A mocking smirk played across his face. Es’aha took a step back.

"W-What? What do you mean?"

"He returned to the Hollow Lands and decided to become a Lord not for your sake, Es’aha, but because of Adam Vinter, a Phantom who happened to be here by pure chance."

"HEY!" Leerna shouted. "You bastard, is there even a shred of honor in your heart?!"

Es’aha coughed. "That stings, I won’t lie, but I accepted it a long time ago. Zin doesn’t see in me what I see in him. He doesn’t have to, it’s his choice. I’m just glad someone came along who pushed Zin to move forward. That’s all."

Kaerno waved his hand.

"What wise words. In that case, don’t miss a single moment. Zin will do it right now. I can feel it."

Step!

Zin stepped into the darkness and, with a calm expression, tapped his barrier lightly. The glass shattered into thousands of fragments, filling the darkness with bright light.

At the same moment, he opened his eyes as the sound of his shattered barrier, like a shockwave, spread out from him, moving far beyond the pillars and even the Hollow Lands.

Zin wanted everyone to hear it, the whole world, so that Adam could not possibly miss it.