Outside a massive cave, surrounded by nothing but towering trees that reached up to twenty meters high.
Thick, endless black smoke poured from the mouth of that cavern.Standing just outside were three figures.
Bill, Harris, and Svend—the latter being one of King Arthur's sons.
Harris radiated a stifling pressure, the kind only a four-core warrior could emit.
Bill and Svend felt it directly, suffocating and overwhelming.
To Bill, things were now painfully clear: he would either die trying to escape, or possibly die once inside the kingdom.
A storm of doubts swirled in his mind, making it hard to breathe.
"What should I do? I could go to the capital, like I originally planned… but the problem is, now even the king wants me.
And what if I find my family? Would I be putting them in danger too, just because of me?That's the last thing I want."
Bill looked down for a second.
Then, slowly, he turned to meet Harris's piercing gaze.
"I'll go with you."
Those words hit Svend like a wave of relief. He had been tense, hoping things wouldn't spiral out of control.
"Maybe… just maybe, I can convince my father that Bill means no harm."
That's what he thought.
Of course, Svend didn't know who had sent the letter, nor was he aware that the king had already left the kingdom.
Worse still, his older brother—the first prince—was already on his way to take the throne in their father's absence.
"But before we go, we need to get those people out of there," said Bill, pointing toward the cave's dark interior.
Harris frowned.
He stared at Bill with shadowed eyes—then, unexpectedly, smiled.
"Well, well. You're stubborn, huh? What am I going to do with you?"
He glanced toward the sky as if searching for an alternative.
"Ah, I know. I've got an idea that might change your mind."
What happened next shattered Bill's composure.
Harris stepped away from Svend, walking calmly toward the cave's entrance.
He planted his feet shoulder-width apart. One hand curled into a tight fist behind him, while the other hand wrapped around it like cradling a ball.
The trees rustled.
The ground trembled.
Wind surged violently, scattering leaves and lifting clouds of dust.
A green glow enveloped Harris's fist, forming a shell of energy.
He tensed his back, drove his feet hard into the earth—so hard the ground cracked into a thousand fragments. His muscles bulged grotesquely, and then—
He threw a punch.
Not at the cave—but at the air itself.
The speed was monstrous, leaving a blur behind, like a glitch in reality.
A massive green light erupted from his fist, with blade-like edges slicing the air.
Like a giant green thunderbolt, it surged into the cave.
It tore through every goblin still alive inside, reducing them to dust.
Their homes, their objects—everything was erased in a fraction of a second.
The cave began to shake.
A thick metal gate, which had kept the prisoners inside, was obliterated.
"Mom, what's happening?" asked a child's voice—his arms and legs covered in thin cuts.
The mother's eyes filled with fear.
Then, as if forcing calm into her body, she gave her son a serene look and pulled him into a warm embrace.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.
A green light engulfed them—and all the other captives—leaving no chance to choose how they'd leave this world.
In mere seconds, at least a hundred people had been wiped from existence, along with the cave itself, which collapsed under the impact.
Bill stared at Harris, stunned, unable to process what he had just witnessed.
His hands started trembling. His face went pale.
"Why… why did you do that?"
Terror gnawed at his mind.
Would those people have survived if I hadn't said anything?
Most likely, yes.
Svend clenched his fists, teeth gritted, his head lowered—as if ignoring what had happened would somehow undo it.
Harris stepped toward Bill, wearing a satisfied look and a casual smile—as if his massacre had been nothing more than a walk in the park.
"Why, you ask? Don't you get it yet, Bill? You have to understand—what kind of world do you think you live in?! Those people would've been dead in a few days anyway."
Bill's jaw tensed; his teeth clicked together in anger.
"How the hell do you know that?! You can't decide who lives and who dies! So what if they were going to die in a few days? What if they had something left to say, some regret, some—some reason to hold on? You don't get to erase people like that, just because you can!"
Harris stared at him silently—then let out a short laugh.
"Hah… haha… hahahaha.
Oh, come on, Bill. You must be joking. How many times do I have to tell you?"
He stepped closer, until they stood eye to eye, and his gray eyes blazed with bloodlust.
"Think about the words you just said, Bill. Those people—do you think they're the first ones taken by the monsters?"
"What…?"
"Use your head, Bill! In this world, the weak crush the strong.
Normal human lives are worthless.
Maybe your time in the forest reset your brain, so let me remind you—every time you save someone, they either stab you in the back or end up offing themselves because they can't handle the trauma."
He moved in even closer, their faces almost touching.
"And besides… what does it matter if I killed them? Could you have stopped it?No. Of course not.
You're a coward, Bill. A weak coward who can't protect anyone—because you lack the power to do so.
If you were stronger, maybe you could have saved them.
And then what? They starve to death in the woods or get eaten by wolves? Living a nightmare worse than the one they just left?"
He leaned in and whispered coldly into Bill's ear:
"Burn this into your mind—there are no heroes in this rotten world."
Bill's expression darkened.
'Maybe… maybe Harris is right.'
He'd only arrived in this world yesterday. He still had no idea what rules governed it.
' I've been naive. I had the wrong idea about this time.'
I don't even understand how mana and monsters could vanish in the future…But even in my time, power ruled.
So, what difference does it make
'No matter the era, only the important ones get to shape their fate.'
The doubts lingered. He didn't like the idea of stepping on others to succeed. But…
'Isn't it different when the ones in your way are murderous and cruel?'
'If that's how things are, then I can't go into that kingdom and let myself be placed under the king's custody.'
Bill swallowed hard and looked at Harris, visibly nervous.
"I won't go."
Svend, standing behind Harris, turned pale at those words.
His heart pounded. Cold sweat broke across his brow.
"Wa—wait, Bill. Harris…"
"Stay where you are, Svend."
Harris's words weren't a suggestion—they were a command.
Svend froze in place under Harris's gaze.
Harris stared directly into Bill's eyes.
That look—
It wasn't one of hopelessness.
To Harris's surprise, it was the exact opposite.
It was the look of someone who desperately wanted to survive.
Harris exhaled deeply and stepped closer.
They were about the same height, but their auras were vastly different. One far weaker than the other.
"Listen, man. I don't want to carry your broken body the whole way. Try not to die, alright?"
With those last words, a green light surged once again, engulfing the trees of the forest.
A brutal battle was about to begin.