KRAKOOOOM!
GRAAAAAIKNR!
Yaw-Yan couldn't believe what he was seeing. He never imagined that both Silao Grande and Vice Principal Oscord held this much power within them.
Ever since he arrived in this world, he had always assumed that Silao Grande's strength came solely from its overwhelming size. With a body massive enough to trample any living being in its path, Silao Grande stood as the undisputed power of this land. No one was big enough—or foolish enough—to challenge its dominion.
Then there was Vice Principal Oscord. From the moment Yaw-Yan met the middle-aged senior, he could already sense the overwhelming strength hidden within that older-looking frame. Even though he couldn't fully grasp the extent of Vice Principal Oscord's power, he knew it was there—waiting.
So imagine Yaw-Yan's terror, awe, and disbelief when the two began to clash. Their collision was so powerful that the terrain beneath them became nothing but rubble and craters. The very land itself was being deformed with every exchange of blows—and Yaw-Yan happened to have the best seat in the house to witness such a monstrous battle.
Earlier, he had run off on his own to search for his friends, believing that somewhere out there, they were caught in the middle of the chaos.
At first, he planned to run near Silao Grande's path, thinking they might be close to the mountain-sized beast. But all his attempts were for naught.
He couldn't even keep up with Silao Grande, let alone outrun it.
Another shocking discovery: Silao Grande could actually move fast. The best example was how the mountain-sized beast was now walking faster than usual. The first time Yaw-Yan had seen Silao Grande move, he was certain it walked like a century-old tortoise. In fact, that slow pace was the only reason he was still alive. When he first woke up in the beast's path, it moved so slowly that the old chief had enough time to wake him up and carry him to safety.
But now, with how quickly Silao Grande was moving, Yaw-Yan could only watch from afar as the monstrous giant marched toward…
Yaw-Yan came to a stop as he realized the direction the beast was heading.
It was moving toward the floating ship—and based on Silao Grande's enraged roar and aggressive movements, it definitely wasn't going there to make friends.
Yaw-Yan shook his head and continued trailing after Silao Grande, while his mind began to piece together everything that had happened so far, all the events that led to this chaotic outcome.
And the first thing that came to his mind was the group of people he and Minona encountered during their last night in the Silao Forest.
Based on Minona's stories, those people had come to the forest to plant a small cube, which a man named Ruges called the Alcamana Bomb. Their goal was to slay Silao Grande—something like that.
Thus, the huge explosion happened.
But instead of killing the beast, they merely woke it up.
While lost in thought, something caught his attention in his peripheral vision.
He walked toward it, and his focus immediately shifted to a crater just a few feet away.
He tilted his head in confusion, trying to make sense of what had happened here. Returning his gaze to the object that had caught his eye, he noticed something shimmering in the dirt. He knelt down to take a closer look.
Brushing off the dirt to get a clear view of what was buried, his eyes widened in shock as he realized what he was holding.
He quickly reached into his leather satchel and took out an item to compare with the one in his hand.
His face paled with worry when he realized the high-quality beast core he had just pulled from the dirt perfectly matched the one he had been keeping in his satchel.
And Yaw-Yan was 100% certain—the one in his palm belonged to Minona. The question now was: What happened here? And more importantly, Where were Minona and the others?
Standing up, Yaw-Yan's eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any clue that might point to Minona and the trio's whereabouts.
But he found nothing.
Looking behind him, he furrowed his brows as his gaze followed the distant, retreating figure of Silao Grande.
"Minona..." he muttered, worry lacing his voice as he slipped the beast core into his satchel and continued trailing after Silao Grande.
It didn't take long before, out of nowhere, an enormous blast struck Yaw-Yan head-on, sending him rolling across the ground. He dug his fingers into the dirt, trying to anchor himself and avoid being swept away by the powerful wind.
Gritting his teeth, Yaw-Yan raised his head, shielding his face with one arm to block the flying debris slamming into him from all directions.
W-What just happened?"
Pushing himself up, Yaw-Yan looked in horror as he saw an enormous vortex of clouds swirling in the sky. His thoughts were cut short when the ground suddenly quaked, followed by a piercing explosion and Silao Grande's deafening roar. He was about to run toward the source of the commotion when he noticed a storm of dust rushing in his direction. Instinctively, he sprinted toward an enormous tree for cover.
It was clear that whatever is happening over there was extremely dangerous—definitely not safe for him to approach.
Left with no choice, he tried to come up with a plan. As his back hit the tree trunk, he looked up and finally noticed just how big, tall, and ancient the tree was. With no better option, Yaw-Yan began climbing it. He didn't stop until he reached its peak, where he quickly pulled out his binoculars to get a better look.
Silao Grande was fighting someone.
And judging by how the figure stood their ground and matched the giant's power, this person had enough strength to actually challenge the beast.
Then Yaw-Yan's eyes bulged in disbelief when he recognized who it was.
"Vice Principal Oscord...!?" he muttered under his breath, watching as the middle-aged man managed to land a blow on Silao Grande—one strong enough to make the monstrous beast cry out in pain.