Just as the living room fell silent again—
Knock, knock, knock.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the door.
Arou stood up.
"Hang on…"
He walked over and opened the door.
A man was standing in front of him with a relaxed smile.
"Yo," he said. "Long time no see."
Arou froze for a moment before smiling.
"Nova… yeah, it's been a while."
Nova glanced inside the house and noticed the large group gathered in the living room, all looking unusually serious.
"By the way, what are you guys doing? Looks pretty serious in there."
Arou sighed.
"We're having a meeting. We're figuring out how to defeat Vowl."
Nova frowned.
"Vowl? Who's that?"
"I'll explain later," Arou replied quickly before looking around.
"But… you came alone?"
Nova shook his head.
"Nope. They came with me."
Arou raised an eyebrow.
"They?"
Nova looked toward the street.
Under the glow of the streetlights, several figures could be seen standing casually outside: Arthur, Rei, Feeth, and Shion.
"Ah," Nova said casually. "There they are."
Shion waved.
"Hey, Arou. How've you been?"
Inside the house, Lin whispered,
"Who are they?"
Airi answered calmly,
"They're also friends who fought alongside us."
Ruin, standing slightly behind everyone, closed his eyes for a moment. A faint glow appeared in them.
He was checking their power rankings.
One by one, the data appeared in his mind:
1. Nova Reed
2. Nora Whitely
3. Airi Mikami
4. Hikari Mikami
5. Priscilla
6. Arou Sikita
7. Shi Morgan
8. Feeth Sasoriyu
9. Akari Mizuhara
10. Shion Carter
11. Arthur
12. Lumina Hayasaka
13. Rei Ashford
Lin glanced suspiciously at him.
"Ruin? What are you doing?"
Ruin opened his eyes.
"I was checking their rankings. I wanted to know who was the strongest among Arou's group."
"And in first place is Nova Reed, followed by Nora Whitely, Airi Mikami, Hikari Mikami, and the others," Ruin said.
Airi blinked slowly.
"…I'm third?"
Nora scoffed.
"At least I'm stronger than that idiot who keeps trying to organize everyone."
Arou immediately turned toward her.
"I heard that."
Nora looked away.
"Hmph."
Arou turned back toward the doorway.
"Come inside," he said to Nova and the others.
"I'll explain everything once you're in."
Nova grinned.
"Sounds like an interesting problem."
Arthur, Shion, Rei, and Feeth entered one after another.
The door closed behind them.
The living room was now packed.
And without anyone realizing it—
that small strategy meeting had turned into a gathering of some of the strongest fighters from two different worlds.
---
Arou began explaining everything—the portals, Vowl, and Lin's dream world.
Not long after, he finished.
The living room fell silent.
Nova crossed his arms.
"Sounds pretty serious."
Ruin nervously stepped forward.
"Nova…"
Nova turned toward him.
"Hmm?"
"Can I see your identity?"
Nova casually shrugged.
"Sure."
Ruin closed his eyes.
A second later—
his eyes shot open.
His body stiffened, and he took a step back.
"?!"
Lin immediately panicked.
"Ruin? What's wrong?!"
Everyone turned toward him. Ruin's face had gone pale, and his breathing became slightly uneven.
"I-I can't believe it…" he muttered.
"He's… the beginning…"
Nova frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Ruin swallowed hard before speaking with a trembling voice.
"Nova is a time-controlling mage."
The room immediately erupted.
"And that's not all…" Ruin continued.
"He was the first one to create magic. Every magic system… originated from him."
He slowly raised his head.
"You could say… Nova is the Father of Mages."
Everyone fell silent.
Nova awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"I'm still young, you know. Calling me 'Father' feels a little weird."
Airi narrowed her eyes before smiling faintly.
"No wonder you're always so calm when fighting powerful monsters."
Nora scoffed.
"So the peak of magic was hiding in plain sight."
Nova shook his head casually.
"Not really."
Asther stared at Nova in disbelief.
"The Father of Mages…?"
"I just control time and created magic," Nova replied casually.
Julian stepped forward.
"Is that really true?"
Nova looked at him.
"Yeah. Want me to prove it?"
Julian hesitated for a moment.
"…Sure."
Without warning—
Nova stared directly at Julian and raised one finger, pointing at him.
"Die."
Julian immediately collapsed onto the floor.
His body went still.
He wasn't breathing.
Everyone from Lin's group froze.
Their faces turned pale, their minds going blank.
"What… what just happened—"
Nora sighed in annoyance.
"Overkill."
She stepped forward and touched Julian.
A light appeared.
A moment later, Julian coughed violently and gasped for air, coming back to life.
The silence turned into complete shock.
Nova lowered his hand.
"There. Proof."
Nobody said a word.
And in that moment, everyone realized—
Nova's power wasn't just a legend.
---
Ruin's body trembled.
He lowered his head deeply, his voice barely audible.
"I-I'm sorry… I used my inferior identification magic to look at your identity…"
The room fell silent again.
Nova stared at Ruin for a few seconds before walking toward him.
He raised his hand and gently patted Ruin's head.
"Relax," he said softly.
"I'm not angry."
Ruin looked up in surprise.
"E-eh…?"
"I'm used to people looking at me like that," Nova continued casually.
"If you're scared because you saw the truth, that just means your magic is working properly."
Ruin gripped his clothes.
"B-but… the difference is just too huge…"
Nova smiled faintly.
"Being weaker than someone isn't a reason to look down on yourself."
Arou crossed his arms with a crooked smile.
"Well, if the Father of Mages says so, you should listen."
Nova quickly turned toward him.
"Oi. Don't start."
A few people laughed, and the tension began to fade.
However, Lin still looked uneasy.
"If Nova's power is really that great… then how strong is Vowl?"
Ruin fell silent.
Then he closed his eyes again—this time for only a moment.
His body stiffened.
"Vowl…" he said heavily.
"I can't see his full identity."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Only one thing appears," Ruin continued.
"Ancient Calamity Class."
Airi clenched her fists.
"An ancient calamity…"
Shi muttered,
"So he really isn't an ordinary enemy."
Nova narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
Arou looked at Ruin.
"Anything else?"
Ruin shook his head.
"That's all… everything else is blank. It's as if… the world itself refuses to record his information."
The room fell silent again.
Nova looked at Ruin seriously.
"Hey."
Ruin flinched.
"Y-yes?"
"Would you like me," Nova continued, "to give you a little of my magic?"
Ruin immediately panicked.
"I-I'm only a beginner mage and—"
"Don't put yourself down," Nova interrupted firmly.
Ruin lowered his head.
"S-sorry…"
Without giving him any more time to hesitate, Nova took Ruin's hand.
A gentle light appeared between their palms.
It wasn't blinding.
It was calm and steady, almost like time itself had stopped for a moment.
Slowly, the light faded away.
Nova released his hand.
"Now, try using your new magic."
Ruin blinked.
"M-my new magic?"
"Yeah," Nova said.
"It's called Winner Prediction."
Ruin swallowed nervously.
"I-I don't even know how to use it…"
"You just need to give it two names," Nova explained.
"Who's fighting who.
The magic will give you the result—who wins, and why."
Arou narrowed his eyes.
"There's actually magic like that?"
Nova immediately shot him a sharp look.
"Shut up."
He then turned back to Ruin.
"Give it a try."
Ruin hesitated.
"W-who should I use…?"
Nova thought for a moment.
"Hmm. Try this."
"Airi versus Arou."
Arou: "Oi—"
"Too late," Nova interrupted.
Ruin took a deep breath.
"Alright…"
He activated his new magic.
Winner Prediction.
Names entered:
Airi vs. Arou
A few seconds later, Ruin's expression changed.
"T-the result…"
"Airi wins easily."
Arou frowned.
"What?"
Ruin continued, slowly reading the result.
"The reason… Airi possesses incredible speed, along with sword precision powerful enough to cut through titanium."
Airi blinked.
"If I fought Arou… I'd win?"
Arou clicked his tongue.
"Tch. That magic must have something against me."
The room suddenly burst into laughter.
Akari, Shi, Priscilla, Lumina, Ruin, Nova, Nora, Hikari, Airi, Shion, Rei, Feeth, Arthur, Asther, Julian, Chiyo, Yui, Lin, Nano, and Riel all laughed together.
For a moment, the threat of Vowl seemed far away.
Ruin smiled faintly as well.
"Who's next?"
Arou stepped forward.
"Try Zata versus Vowl. Who wins?"
Ruin paused.
"Zata… who?"
"Just try it first," Arou replied.
Ruin nodded and activated his magic again.
Winner Prediction.
Names entered:
Zata vs. Vowl
Ruin's face immediately went pale.
"W-what…?"
Lin stepped closer.
"What's wrong, Ruin?"
Ruin trembled as he spoke.
"T-the result…"
He swallowed hard.
"Zata wins effortlessly. Without even fighting."
Everyone froze.
"The reason," Ruin continued with a trembling voice,
"is because 0.5% of Zata's power is equivalent to one million Vowls at full strength… even if Vowl uses everything he has."
Silence…
Julian stared in disbelief.
"What? I thought Vowl was the strongest. But there's someone far stronger than him… Even one million Vowls are only equal to less than one percent of Zata's power…"
Arou smiled faintly.
"So it's true…"
He looked at everyone.
"Vowl… really is nothing compared to Zata."
Lin stared sharply at Arou.
"Explain."
"Who is Zata?"
Arou let out a slow breath.
"Zata," he finally said,
"is a being that was created inside my dreams."
He raised his eyes.
"And at the same time…"
"he is the one who controls my dreams."
The room fell silent once again—
but this time, it wasn't because of tension.
It was because something far more terrifying had just been revealed.