Meanwhile.
Bob and Nancy were leading a group of slaves toward the city center. It was a heartbreaking reality: these slaves had spent many years in Rita, yet this was their first glimpse of the outside world. They didn’t even know the way and had to rely on two ten-year-old kids who had just arrived themselves to guide them.
No matter what, they had to get far away from the Slave Warehouse. Morton Montgomery had turned into a monster. They needed to stay away from that guy.
That said.
As they fled, Nancy couldn’t help worrying about Sang and Iyefut Cape.
She had witnessed only a portion of the battle, but she had to admit that she had always underestimated Teacher An’s power. He had hidden strength—maybe even greater than Teacher Shika’s. Yet compared to the demonized Morton, he was still far too weak.
This had nothing to do with perception. It was plain as day, something even a powerless child could see at a glance.
As they ran, Nancy asked timidly, “Teacher An won’t be in trouble, will he?”
At her words, Bob and all the slaves present wore expressions of deep concern. Ivan and Zoe, the siblings, were especially affected. They had spent so long locked in cages, and for the first time in their lives, someone had reached out to them from beyond the bars.
That wasn’t just a hand.
It was hope!
Even knowing that person wasn’t the Northern Hero, they still hoped he could defeat the enemy.
Ivan was the boy who had taken Sang’s hand. He bit his lip and murmured, “If only that person really were the Northern Hero…”
For a fleeting moment earlier, they had the illusion that Sang was the Northern Hero, but in the end, it was just an illusion. The children knew—it was all in their minds.
“Does the Northern Hero really exist?” Zoe said, deflating.
Lately, rumors about the Northern Hero had been spreading like wildfire, but rumors were just that. As time passed, the Northern Hero’s existence had faded into mere gossip.
Whether in this other world or the modern one, some things simply lost their shine and vanished.
But then.
Just at that moment, a pale green fluorescence erupted from the direction of the Slave Warehouse. Though it was the bleak depth of autumn, it felt like a return to the lush warmth of midsummer June. Light particles danced across the sky, like long-caged birds suddenly freed to nature—or fireflies released all at once from their jars.
It was an immensely powerful force, yet it carried no sense of oppression.
“Look! There’s a person in the sky!” Zoe suddenly pointed upward and cried out.
Everyone—Bob, Nancy, Ivan, and the others—turned to follow her finger. There, a radiant figure bathed in pale green light stood upon the void, floating in the air.
Even through the green filter, that head of deep blue hair was unmistakable.
Though only about five foot five, in midair, the figure seemed somehow imposing.
In that instant, Ivan’s mind flashed to the descriptions of the Northern Hero: around six feet tall, broad-shouldered and burly, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, crowned by deep blue hair like the sea.
His lips trembled as he pointed at the distant figure and shouted, “Th-that… that’s definitely the Northern Hero!”
His words sent a ripple through the slaves. Like grasping the one ray of light in utter darkness, regardless of age or gender, they all gazed up at the young man in the sky, tears streaming down their faces.
They no longer cared about the truth.
Today, even if the king himself descended, that person would be the Northern Hero.
The most shocked were Bob and Nancy. They had always seen Teacher An as a total dead fish. They never imagined he might actually be the Northern Hero.
In a daze, the quick-witted Bob recalled Teacher An’s background: a human who had earned merits in the Northern Region and been exceptionally granted nobility.
“Teacher An… no way…!?” Bob and Nancy felt as if they had uncovered some earth-shattering secret.
…
The scene shifted back to the Slave Warehouse.
“Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll take him down right away!”
The moment the words left his mouth, Sang exploded forward at a speed too fast for the eye to follow. He stomped the ground in place and unleashed a spinning kick, sending Morton Montgomery flying dozens of meters.
Without pause, his figure shot forward. He drew his sword mid-charge, closing in on the enemy at blinding speed.
【Layer of Power】 didn’t just grant Sang half of another’s superpowers—it also reinforced his physical strength.
On top of that, Iyefut Cape’s ability was wind. With its boost, his speed soared even higher. He could float effortlessly or even perform the Wave-Treading Microstep—that was why the distant slaves saw him hovering in the air.
One thing worth noting: the strength of 【Layer of Power】 seemed to depend on the other half’s power.
Last time in the Northern Region, borrowing Snow Hill’s channel had given Sang the might to challenge the world’s top powerhouses.
This time, Iyefut Cape was just a Bronze Kid. Her power was too weak, so the effect was diminished. Fortunately, Sang himself had grown stronger—from Silver rank last time to Gold now. All things considered, it was enough to beat a Platinum-level Morton Montgomery.
That said…
Come to think of it, just how powerful was Snow Hill? She had empowered him to that extent, even defeating Wolf King Gallo— bolstered by the Philosopher’s Stone, no less.
Though Morton Montgomery had gone berserk and lost his reason, his instincts as a living being locked onto Sang as the greatest threat—the one to eliminate first.
“Arrrgh… Raaargh!!!”
Amid his roars, Morton Montgomery stomped the ground with explosive force. The impact shattered the earth beneath him, and he seized several massive chunks of land with 【Forced Deformation】, twisting them into a spiraling trap to encircle the high-speed-moving Sang.
Sang sneered with disdain. “Impressive power, but… too slow…”
A warm gust of wind swept past, propelling his speed to new heights. He slipped free of Morton’s encirclement with ease. In mere seconds, sword in hand, he appeared before Morton Montgomery and slashed across from left shoulder to right waist.
From his previous experience with 【Layer of Power】 in the Northern Region, Sang knew it wouldn’t last long this time—maybe five to ten minutes at most. He had to end it quickly.
The boy’s sword carved a deep gash through Morton Montgomery. Blood sprayed like a fountain—a fatal wound, by all appearances.
From a distance, Iyefut Cape watched the scene unfold, her face lighting up with delight. She clenched her small pink fists. “Great! He’s won!”
Sang felt a vein throb on his forehead. You people from this world—can you stop jinxing things in the middle of a life-or-death fight!?
The next second.
As Sang refocused on Morton Montgomery, sure enough, after a few agonized howls, the man didn’t collapse. Instead, bathed in his own blood, he grew even more ferocious. The fountain of blood splashed onto the Philosopher’s Stone, which glowed with an intenser crimson light.
The power of 【Forced Deformation】 warped the wound itself, knitting it back together.
Morton’s body began to swell, twist, and deform, as if some horrific unknown entity lurked beneath his human skin.
Seeing this, Iyefut realized her jinx had come true. She hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth.
Sang shot her a helpless glance.
But in that moment of distraction, Morton Montgomery struck again. One arm, now hypertrophied several times over, smashed into the boy with brutal force. Though Sang reacted swiftly, he was still hurled back more than ten meters. He countered with a blast of wind to slow his momentum and steady himself.
Sang eyed Morton Montgomery once more, his gaze fixing on the Philosopher’s Stone embedded in the man’s chest. His earlier strike had grazed it, but only shallowly—a mere crack, not full destruction.
Moreover… now stained with Morton Montgomery’s blood, the Philosopher’s Stone seemed almost sentient, growing increasingly restless. Morton’s transformations grew more grotesque, more monstrous by the second.
“No drawn-out fight. Next strike decides the winner!”
