The bell made from space tears and the lightning rod finally met. For a moment, everything seemed to slow down. The space bell and the lightning rod seemed to be in a state of friction, until the lightning rod seemed to start morphing and bending unnaturally, as if it was being consumed by the space bell. Very soon, the lightning rod was nowhere in sight. Only the ethereal space bell remained.

"This... how..."

The Giant conjured another attack. A very thick ball of lightning started forming around him. However, the lightning ball could not finish forming. He saw the space bell suddenly vanish. The space bell reappeared right in front of him. The space bell crashed into his gigantic figure and the thick lightning ball that was forming around him.

His figure twisted unnaturally at different angles as his dying screams resounded in the environs. His other associates, watching the fight from a concealed distance, saw him caught in the space bell. His form seemed hazy and distorted, bending and warping unnaturally. The sounds of bones twisting and cracking resounded everywhere. Very soon, only his head remained, with a very agonized expression.

The head also disappeared. Their boss was dead. And how he died... a chill crawled up their spines. Shit... why did they accept this mission from the syndicate? This guy was more powerful than the mission described him to be. They had never seen something so terrifying. They were about to turn around and flee. However, it was as if Kailen could see them. He looked in their direction.

Then the bell disappeared. It reappeared. Their dying screams emerged as they found themselves in the same state their boss was in a few moments ago in the space bell. Very soon, their dying screams came to an end. Only the bell remained. The bell fragmented and disappeared. Kailen melded with the void and disappeared.

***

During this period, several guild members of the Dawnseer Guild were wondering where Kailen Darkhaven was. It had been a while since he came to the guild to take a mission. A year and some months had even passed. Several were wondering where he was. They were just curious about the whereabouts of the guild member who had made waves a while back.

However, this was relatively normal. Guild members could decide when they took missions. They were not slaves to the guild in any way, after all. Some guild members decided to avoid taking missions for as long as they wanted. Several guild members went about their own activities.

****

Kailen reappeared in the skies, above a mountain peak in the mountain range. The place was very misty and snowy. It was morning, but the visibility was so clouded that it was as if it was early evening. Several creatures were soaring through the clouds, disappearing into the void and reappearing from time to time. This was Kailen’s next hunting location. There were a lot of rank 1 novice-stage space chaotic beasts here.

Kailen spotted a creature weaving through the clouds, headed in his direction. The creature had the tail of a fish, the limbs of a lion, and the head of a serpent. It was very large. It looked very weird and unsettling. A glint flashed through the creature’s eyes. It knew instinctively that this creature that had just appeared here was dangerous. Its primal instincts for survival kicked in. Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Consume or be consumed. This was the natural law of the jungle. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Kailen stared at the approaching creature without a hint of fear or wariness in his eyes. If he was not confident in his abilities, he would not have resorted to an open confrontation. Also, he wanted to gain some battle experience.

The creature took action. A glint flashed through its eyes. Several spatial fluctuations surrounded the approaching creature. The space around the creature melded and twisted, weaving itself into a large ethereal claw. The claw blotted out the skies as it came plummeting towards Kailen.

Kailen pointed his hand forward. A colossal, ethereal-looking finger appeared, overlapping with his pale white hand. The void distorted around the finger, melding and twisting. His long coat billowed in the clouds, his figure straight and calm like a pine tree. The claw and finger, space principle attacks, finally clashed into one another.

When the two collided, everything seemed to have slowed down. The ethereal claw and finger seemed to meld and twist into one another. For a moment, it was as if the two attacks were at a stalemate. However, the finger seemed to peer through the giant claw, breezing through it. The giant claw disintegrated and disappeared. However, the finger did not stop its assault. It proceeded towards the chaotic beast with swift speed.

The creature melded with the void and reappeared a few moments away from its previous location, attempting to evade the attack headed towards it. However, the finger had suddenly appeared in its line of vision out of nowhere. That was the last thing it saw before it died as the finger erased its head.

When the rank 1 novice-stage chimera died, its space principle fragment appeared where its dead figure floated in the clouds. However, Kailen decided not to comprehend the principle fragment now. It would be dangerous to attempt to comprehend the principle fragment when the other chaotic beasts in the vicinity were not dealt with. Kailen would kill them all, and take his time to comprehend their principle fragments.

However, just when Kailen was thinking of this, a rank 2 novice-stage space chaotic beast popped out of the void. It looked like the creature Kailen had just killed, but it was larger.

"This must be its kin. It probably returned just now to find out its kin is dead. Shit."

A glint flashed through Kailen’s eyes. He weighed his options carefully. He sighed inwardly. It seemed the principle fragment could wait. An idea flashed through his mind. The floating dead body of the dead chimera disappeared into his secret realm. After that, he melded with the void and disappeared before the creature’s mature kin could reach him.

The creature bellowed with a roar. Its gaze suddenly shifted to a different direction in the mountain range, where it felt the scent of its dead kin. Activating the principle of space, the creature saw about four creatures which looked similar to the one who had just killed its kin. The dead corpse of its kin was beneath their feet. Its instincts kicked in. It had to get revenge for the death of its kin. That creature must have been working with those of its kind. It melded with the void and disappeared.