Kanoru focused all his attention on comprehending the alien energy source.
He did not know when the call would come from the higher-ups.
But one thing was certain—after learning of the Clown's plan, they could not let him succeed.
A massive war would break out to stop him.
Even the other three continents might participate.
And for that war, Kanoru had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Two paths lay before him.
1. Comprehending the alien energy
2. Building his own Noble Phantasm
But creating a Noble Phantasm was not easy.
It took years.
It all depended on his understanding of Wind elemental energy if he wanted to build one quickly.
So for now, he had no choice but to grow stronger.
For himself.
For those he cared for.
He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into the alien energy source.
Three months passed.
When he opened his eyes, his gaze was sharp, his aura refined.
He raised his palm.
An orange ball of energy formed above it—
The alien energy.
But—something had changed.
The miniature alien wind source inside him was gone.
It had broken down into chakra, merging with his chakra source.
He no longer needed it.
Then—
A voice broke the silence.
"Commander, you succeeded!"
Kanoru turned to see Lou Chen standing nearby.
He smiled. "Lou Chen, I told you—just call me by my name. No need to add 'Commander.'"
Lou Chen scratched the back of his head. "It's a habit."
Kanoru shook his head before asking, "How's your practice going?"
Lou Chen sighed. "It's okay. I've formed 18 fire runes."
Kanoru nodded. "I added five fire runes from the alien energy. For you, it might be the same… or lower."
Kanoru did not say it could be higher.
Before comprehending the alien energy, he had only formed 10 fire runes.
Lou Chen had already reached 18, and 10 of them were the same as Kanoru's.
Since Kanoru had only gained five more from the alien energy, it was unlikely that Lou Chen could surpass him in fire rune comprehension.
After some casual conversation, Kanoru stepped out of the cavern.
He flew out of the gorge, the fresh air filling his lungs.
Then—
He turned toward the camp.
Kanoru shot through the sky, his figure cutting through the wind as he made his way back to the camp.
Upon landing, he was immediately greeted by his wives, their relief evident in their expressions.
They embraced him, feeling his presence again after three long months of seclusion.
Not long after, Cecily arrived.
She had heard of his return and came to see him.
Kanoru wasted no time and asked, "Any news about the blood sacrifice?"
Cecily shook her head. "Still no news."
That meant either the Clown was still making preparations or the higher-ups had managed to delay his plan.
After their conversation, Cecily prepared to leave.
She had been waiting for this moment—now that Kanoru had comprehended the alien energy source, it was her turn.
Kanoru did not stop her.
Cecily was a Spirit Lord—if she could grasp even a fraction of the alien energy's power, her strength would increase tremendously.
After seeing her off, Kanoru returned to his tent.
By now, it was already afternoon, and he could feel the weight of exhaustion pressing down on him.
Though he had not engaged in physical training, he had spent the last three months consuming his spirit to comprehend the alien energy.
He needed to recover.
So, that night, he spent time with his wives.
He held them close, the warmth of their presence grounding him after months of isolation.
And for the first time in a long while, he rested.
He did not train.
He did not cultivate.
He simply slept.
The next dawn, he continued his break, allowing his spirit to fully recover.
Then—
Noon arrived.
Kanoru stepped into a clearing within the forest.
It was time to begin the next phase of his growth.
Developing a new spell.
The Rasengan infused with alien energy was already powerful—but it was difficult to control after leaving his hand.
He needed something more reliable.
He attempted to form arrows using the alien energy, but each time, they exploded halfway before reaching the target.
He frowned.
This wouldn't work.
His goal was to create a spell that:
- Could hit the target at least 80% of the time
- Could maximize damage output
He took a deep breath.
He had no intention of stopping until he succeeded.
Kanoru stood in the forest clearing, his eyes fixed on the space ahead. The alien wind energy swirled around his hands, an untamed force of destruction.
He had already seen its power firsthand—it had saved his life during the battle with the Bone Clown's clone. But now, he needed to do more than just use it instinctively.
He needed to refine it. Control it. Master it.
He began by attempting to compress the energy into an arrow-shaped projectile. If he could fire alien energy like his 10 Sky Arrow Kill Spell, it would be a powerful long-range attack.
But—
Boom!
Before the arrow could stabilize, it detonated mid-air, scattering orange flames and violent winds across the clearing.
Kanoru frowned.
The alien wind energy was unlike normal wind or fire elemental energy. It was unstable, highly reactive, and required precise control to harness without self-destruction.
He tried again.
This time, he focused on forming a long-range beam, hoping to direct its energy into a sustained attack rather than a burst.
But—
Fzzzt!
The energy wavered and then dissipated before it even left his palm.
He clicked his tongue.
It was difficult to find the right balance—either the energy scattered too soon or exploded too early.
After several more failed attempts, Kanoru decided to shift his approach.
Instead of long-range attacks, he would try to enhance his melee combat with the alien energy.
He coated his swords with the alien wind energy and swung forward—
Bang!
The moment his swords cut through the air, the energy erupted too violently, throwing him backward.
He groaned as he pushed himself up from the ground.
Not good.
Even though he succeeded in infusing his weapons, he could not yet bring out the full potential of the alien wind energy.
After hours of trial and error, Kanoru exhaled deeply.
He knew this would not be easy.
But he would not stop.
Even if it took days, he had to master it.
At dawn, Kanoru returned to the same clearing. He had failed yesterday, but failure only meant there was something he had yet to understand.
His mind replayed the moments he had successfully used the Rasengan infused with alien wind energy—during his escape and the chase against the Bone Clown's clone.
Why had the Rasengan worked while his other spells had failed?
The flight technique made sense. Since the energy was attached to his body, he could perfectly control the timing of the explosions to propel himself forward. But the Rasengan was different.
Kanoru stretched out his palm. Slowly, he began transforming his chakra into alien wind energy. The energy churned violently before stabilizing into an orange spinning sphere.
He took a deep breath, then threw it toward a tree.
Boom!
The attack exploded before it even reached the tree.
Kanoru had anticipated this possibility, so he had already erected a wind barrier in front of himself. The moment the explosion occurred, he instinctively closed his eyes against the blinding light.
When he opened them again—
The clearing had changed.
Several trees were uprooted, some were snapped in half, and the ground had lost an inch of soil from the sheer force of the blast.
Kanoru frowned.
It exploded too soon.
He closed his eyes, focusing on his past experiences.
The two times he had used the Rasengan infused with alien wind energy in battle, it had collided with an enemy attack—and the attacks were not the targets, but it collided with them and exploded, so he did not think much.
At the time, he had assumed the technique was successful, but now…
A sigh escaped his lips.
He had been mistaken.
The technique was not yet complete.
For the rest of the day, Kanoru trained—pushing the alien energy, testing the limits, and trying to make the Rasengan explode at a further distance.
That night, he sat against the camp's outer wall, gazing at the black fog surrounding the camp under the crimson moonlight. His mind was restless, filled with thoughts of how to create a spell using the alien wind energy.
He had already gained the ability to generate alien energy using his chakra, yet his control over it was still lacking.
How could he improve?
Thoughts swirled, causing turmoil in his mind. To calm himself, he closed his eyes and entered his spiritual space.
Inside, he saw his bright white soul floating at the center. Around it, 34 wind runes, 15 fire runes, and 9 water runes revolved in an endless cycle.
His gaze shifted toward the runes that formed the alien wind energy. A thought surfaced.
A reckless, dangerous thought.
"I've never heard of anyone trying this before… not even the Spirit Kings. Will it succeed?"
He hesitated.
"If something goes wrong… so close to the soul, then…"
He didn't want to think about what would happen if a problem occurred.
Yet, even if he ignored the idea now, it would never leave his mind.
He had to try.
If he succeeded, the gains would be immense.
And where could he ever gain something without risk?
The risk was high—perhaps greater than anything he had attempted before—but the potential rewards were greater.
Decision made, Kanoru reached out.
He caught a wind rune and a fire rune—both present in the composition of alien wind energy.
In total, 16 wind runes and 6 fire runes formed the alien wind energy. Among them, 13 wind runes and 1 fire rune were ones he had already understood before comprehending the alien energy source.
Holding the fire rune and wind rune, he brought them closer together—near the barrier of his spiritual space.
The two repelled each other, but Kanoru felt a faint attraction between them.
Like magnets—pulling and pushing at the same time.
Slowly, he brought them closer.
The repulsion between them intensified with every inch. As they neared, both runes released energy into the space around them.
Then—
A sudden force erupted.
The conflicting energies clashed violently, and before Kanoru could react—
Pain.
His control snapped.
A shockwave threw him out of his spiritual space as a sharp agony exploded in his head.
He clutched his skull, groaning.
For a few moments, he remained still—waiting for the pain to subside.
Finally, he exhaled.
"Looks like I can't try it in my spiritual space anymore. I'll have to do it outside."
Kanoru opened his palms.
Slowly, his chakra emerged, weaving itself into the same two runes he had just attempted to merge in his spiritual space.
In his right palm, a red fire rune formed.
In his left palm, a light blue wind rune took shape.
Taking a deep breath, he began bringing them closer.
First—attraction.
Then, as the gap shrank—repulsion.
The moment they drew even closer, the two runes released energy into the space between them.
This time, he was ready.
The instant their energies clashed, he held his hands steady, forcing them to remain in place.
Tiny orange explosions sparked where the two energies met.
Kanoru's eyes sharpened.
He focused, sensing the small bursts of power, analyzing their nature—
He needed to first merge the two energies released by the runes.
Then—combine the runes themselves.
---
Elsewhere, at the same time.
A city loomed beneath the crimson moon, its skyline jagged with blood-red towers—twisted monuments of an ominous design. A grey energy dome shielded the entire city, its surface shifting like liquid mist.
Then—
The night sky turned golden.
It was as if the sun had descended, its radiance swallowing the darkness.
A tidal wave of golden fire roared down, consuming the entire city in a blinding inferno.
Inside the city, the blood-red towers flared to life.
The runes inscribed upon them shone brilliantly, their blood-hued light intensifying as they resisted the invasion.
The grey dome trembled.
The flames, overwhelming at first, now met with resistance.
The dome released a surge of grey energy, pushing against the golden flames. The two forces clashed in a battle of dominance, their energies spiraling in chaotic waves—
Then—beams of energy from every direction shot toward the city.
Each beam, a different color—azure, crimson, emerald, violet—pierced through the weakened dome like spears of destruction.
A shattering sound rang out.
Like glass breaking, the grey energy dome collapsed.
The moment it shattered, the golden flames surged forward, ready to consume the city—
But then—
A black wave erupted from deep within the city.
It devoured the golden fire, unraveling its radiant destruction in an instant.
The golden glow vanished.
The night sky returned—empty, dark.
The crimson moon hung above, its cold light illuminating the now-exposed city.