Chapter 315: Facade Forest

A vast plane of endlessly stretching trees and boundless forest.At first glance, it looked peaceful. Almost gentle.

But anyone stupid enough to step into this forest would say otherwise. Because this was no ordinary forest. This was an alien world housed inside one of the deadly red portals. A portal connected to Earth, as always.

Many high rank heroes had stepped inside.

At first, they were fooled. The silence. The calm. The absence of danger. For a moment, they believed they had found a harmless portal.

How naive.

They realized the truth too late.

They did not even get to scream when several bull wolf hybrid beasts crashed into them.

Their strength was not just in their near infinite power or their beastly claws and bladed horns. It was their intelligence. Their adaptability. Their terrifying teamwork and honed skills.

Over a hundred high rank heroes did not even get to fight back.

Even caught off guard, it should not have ended like this. They tried to resist. It did not matter. Every single bullwolf inhabiting this plane was at least high rank, many brushing the edge of S rank.

There was no path to victory.

They were wiped out in moments. The portal remained.

More heroes were sent.

More heroes were slaughtered.

Not a single one returned.

The strangest thing about this red portal was not the massacre. It was that it refused to break. Weeks passed, yet it loomed there, silent, waiting.

What was stopping it from collapsing?

No one could tell.

Guilds were dispatched one after another. Veteran elites. Newbloods. Low ranks sent as scouts. The result never changed. None returned.

Fear spread.

Something was wrong.

Hundreds of A ranks were supposed to be enough to bring down an S rank portal boss. That was the rule. That was the balance.

But this portal did not follow rules.

Panic gripped Aurolis. Then slowly, uneasily, it faded. Weeks passed. The portal still did not break.

An unspoken treaty was formed.

No one would enter again.

And because of that, the dreadful abominations residing within the endless, peaceful forest grew bored.

The humans had been entertaining. Weak. Fragile. Fun to play with before becoming dinner.

But none had come lately.

That was about to change.

The space at the center of the forest rippled.

Distorted.

A figure dressed entirely in black appeared among the leaves.

His hands rested casually in his pockets. His posture was relaxed. His face calm, almost serene, as he surveyed the forest stretching endlessly in every direction.

He raised his head.

Two suns burned above the world.

Blue eyes glowed faintly beneath his hood as he stared at them for several moments. Then he looked away, as if he had already lost interest.

And he began to walk.

Slow. Easy steps.

As if strolling through his own backyard.

Not a deadly forest teeming with powerful abominations.

The figure moved forward, completely oblivious, or uncaring, as more and more beasts closed in from all sides.

The bullwolf hybrids noticed him.

They were surprised.

The humans before him had been cautious at first, tense and alert, before relaxing when the forest seemed peaceful.

This one was different.

This one walked like he owned the place.

The thought alone irritated them.

But they did not act.

Not yet.

They would welcome him properly. Let him feel at peace. Let him relax.

Then they would rip him apart with claws and teeth.

They would make sure he understood dread.

Just before he died.

This was their thought.

Until they saw what the newcomer did next.

He found a slightly large boulder, sat on it, rested his back, and closed his eyes.

He fell asleep.

Right in front of them.

As if he truly believed he was home.

It was insanity beyond any insanity they had ever known.

The bullwolves were furious.

Several growled, their auras crashing down toward the sleeping figure, meant to crush him, to remind him of his place. They expected panic. Fear. A desperate scramble to his feet before death claimed him.

Instead, the newcomer broke their worldview again.

He casually raised one hand, shielding his eyes from the sunlight, and spoke without opening them. His tone calm. Mildly irritated.

"Could you keep it down. I am trying to get some rest."

They understood every word.

That was when something inside them snapped.

Several bullwolves lunged instantly, claws outstretched, aiming straight for his head.

A deafening boom followed.

The boulder exploded.

It shattered into countless fragments, pulverized into dust under their combined strike.

For a brief moment, they thought the human had been erased. Crushed. Reduced to nothing. Perhaps he had been more fragile than he looked.

Then a voice reached them from above.

"You guys are way too lousy."

Their heads snapped up.

The human was sitting several meters away on a thick tree branch. His eyes were still closed. This time, he did not even bother shielding them from the sun. The leaves did that for him.

He looked comfortable.

Relaxed.

The forest erupted in furious roars.

The insult cut deeper than any blade. They had fought humans before. They knew humans possessed strange abilities. What he had done was surely one of them.

That did not make it acceptable.

"You should relax," the human continued casually. "I am not going to kill you yet. Not if I have not rested enough."

He spoke as if their deaths were a schedule he would get to later.

The bullwolves lost it.

Hundreds charged at once, unleashing their full strength, tearing the tree apart in an explosion of splintered wood and shattered bark.

The human stepped off the collapsing tree.

When he landed, it was effortless. Elegant. Calm.

No fear. No tension.

That calm drove them mad.

They rushed him together, bloodlust burning in their eyes. Every single one wanted to be the first to rip him apart.

None of them touched him.

He moved like a ghost in a storm.

A slight tilt of his head avoided snapping jaws. A minor shift of his torso slipped past ripping claws. Every movement was precise. Lazy. Perfect.

No wasted effort.

No urgency.

Just quiet dominance.

And as the bullwolves continued to miss, again and again, something far worse than rage began to creep into their instincts.

Fear.

Here is a final sharpened pass. I kept the disrespect, the godlike calm, and the raw edge. I did not sterilize it. I only aligned the words so the moment hits exactly where it should.

---

The bullwolves stared in absolute awe.

The puny human moved through their attacks as if he was breathing fresh air. As if the chaos around him was nothing more than a gentle breeze. It felt like he was toying with them.

Enraged, they attacked harder.

It did nothing.

He remained at the center of the storm.

One bullwolf pushed through the chaos and closed the distance, unleashing a devastating claw swipe aimed straight for his head.

He dodged it almost perfectly.

Almost.

The wind pressure from the attack ripped the hood from his head.

The human landed several meters away and rose calmly to his feet.

For the first time, they saw his face clearly.

Still calm. Still composed.

Only a faint trace of irritation rested beneath his eyes.

His hair was striking, white and black split perfectly down the middle.

This was none other than the man who had saved humanity from near extinction few months ago.

The leader of the Tryst Guild.

Han Trystan.

Han surveyed the hundreds of beasts with a detached gaze. He did not see a threat. He did not see danger. What he had said earlier was the truth. They were not enough to make him flinch.

He had truly intended to let them live a few more minutes. Not because he needed rest, but because he wanted it.

They had taken that from him.

Low growls echoed through the forest, but something else had crept deep into the bullwolves’ bones now.

Uncertainty.

This human was different. That much was undeniable.

Han looked at them, his expression unchanged.

Then he sighed.

"I was going to let you live a little longer," he said calmly. "But you asked for a faster death."

His hands remained tucked in his pockets as he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his blue pupils glowed softly, almost ethereal.

He spoke a single phrase.

"INFERNO VORTEX."

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Hey everyone, Ultra here.

Sorry for the late update... I ended up taking a much longer break than planned, and that’s on me.

But I’m back now, and I’ll be continuing this story properly. No worries... I have no intention of dropping it.

We’re officially entering the second major arc, and trust me, it’s going to be fire. I’ve improved a lot compared to the first arc, and I genuinely believe you’ll enjoy this one even more.

That said, the novel has dropped quite a bit in rankings, mostly because of my absence. If you can, please vote and help push it back up, it would really mean a lot to me.

I’ve also started working on new novels, so if you’re interested, feel free to check them out in my bio.

Happy New Year, everyone....and enjoy.

Ultra