Tyler and Kaeya followed the direction the spiders had indicated, urging the white puppet tiger deeper into the forest.

The moment they crossed the treeline, Tyler’s Eye of Jungle activated instinctively.

His pupils shifted, faint green patterns spreading across his irises as his perception expanded outward like invisible roots. The forest no longer felt chaotic. It became a map.

He could see them.

Forest Spiders.

They are Not attacking nor hunting.

They are just Guiding them.

Clusters perched on tree trunks. Lines moving across branches. Groups gathered on rocks and roots, each subtly angled, each forming directional markers. From above, it would likely resemble a living network of arrows converging toward a single point.

"Gailo is guiding us.," Tyler muttered.

"What do you see?" Kaeya asked from behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist for balance as the tiger leapt over fallen logs.

"A path. Multiple checkpoints. He’s using them like signposts. He is showing us the fastest way, probably."

He commanded the puppet tiger accordingly, adjusting their direction. The construct beast responded smoothly, claws digging into soil as it sprinted forward.

Not everything in the forest was cooperative.

Demonic beasts emerged from the undergrowth— mutated wolves with bone protrusions, insectoid creatures the size of horses, and once even a corrupted treant that tried to block their path with twisted branches.

But compared to what they had already faced, these were obstacles, not threats.

Tyler’s blade flashed once— clean and efficient.

Skill: slash

Kaeya’s light swords followed— precise and lethal.

Skill: Holy Light Sword.

The monsters fell quickly, their bodies dissolving into dark mist before even hitting the ground.

They didn’t slow down.

After a stretch of silence broken only by the wind and the tiger’s pounding steps, Kaeya spoke.

"Are you sure you can defeat the Demon King?"

Her voice wasn’t doubtful— just searching.

Tyler didn’t hesitate.

"Yeah. Pretty sure."

"That confident?"

"We’ve prepared already right?," he replied calmly. "Chole, Kristina, Serena, and Dia along with The tribal villagers are doing exactly what I told. "

Tyler looked at his status window and then He allowed himself a faint smirk.

"All I need is for the Demon Lord to stand in front of me."

"And then?"

"Boom," he said simply. "I simply kill him."

Kaeya huffed lightly. "You make it sound easy."

"It won’t be," Tyler admitted. "But it will be final."

There was a pause before he added, almost casually—

"After that, I just marry you, become king, fulfill the trial condition... and then I can leave this world."

The tiger didn’t slow— but Kaeya’s grip tightened slightly.

"You say that so lightly."

"It’s the task."

"And you’ll just... disappear?"

Tyler didn’t answer right away. The wind rushed past them as the puppet tiger continued forward, but between them, everything felt strangely still.

Before the silence could stretch any further, the forest ahead abruptly thinned. The dense canopy broke apart as if cut by an invisible blade.

Tyler glanced back at her, a teasing curve forming on his lips. "Don’t tell me... you fell in love with me?"

"NAH." Kaeya responded instantly, almost too quickly. "I’m just curious. When this trial ends, will you be the one who disappears... or will it be us?"

Her voice was steady, but there was something beneath it—something unspoken.

Tyler looked forward again.

"I’ll ask the Decateron when it appears next time," he said casually, though his tone lacked its usual confidence.

The answer clearly wasn’t one he possessed.

The last of the trees fell behind them.

The terrain shifted into jagged stone.

They had arrived at a barren, rocky expanse where even weeds refused to grow. The sky above darkened unnaturally, thick black clouds swirling in a vortex overhead. It wasn’t natural weather— it felt manufactured.

Even the torches lining the path ahead burned in muted gray flames, devoid of warmth, devoid of color.

The world here had lost its saturation.

There were No birds, No insects. Not even a wind.

Just oppressive stillness.

Kaeya’s expression hardened.

They guided the tiger up the uneven stone pathway carved into the cliffside. Each step echoed faintly, the sound swallowed by the heavy air.

At the summit stood an ancient structure.

An old rocky castle.

Its walls were cracked yet towering, built from black stone that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Spires twisted unnaturally, as though the architecture itself had been corrupted over centuries. Windows were hollow voids. No banners flew. No guards were visible.

Yet the pressure emanating from within was unmistakable.

Kaeya dismounted slowly.

Her eyes reflected the storm clouds above.

"It’s the Demon King’s castle," she said quietly.

Tyler stepped forward.

This was it.

He looked at Kaeya for a brief second.

Then back at the towering gates ahead.

"Let’s end this," he said.

---

Just as Tyler lifted his foot to step forward—

A sharp whistle tore through the air.

"Move!" Kaeya reacted instantly.

Four figures descended from above the rocky ridge, landing in perfect formation. There was no warning, no announcement—only killing intent.

A blade of compressed wind slashed toward Tyler’s neck.

At the same time, multiple magic circles ignited in midair, releasing concentrated blasts of fire and lightning. From the side, a spinning shield whistled toward Kaeya’s ribs, humming with destructive force. And beneath the chaos, a shadow peeled itself from the ground—an assassin’s dagger thrusting silently toward Tyler’s spine.

Tyler twisted sharply, barely avoiding the wind blade. Kaeya pivoted, parrying the spinning shield with a burst of light while sidestepping the lightning barrage.

The puppet tiger wasn’t so fortunate.

A fire blast struck its flank. The wind slash cut through its midsection. The shield returned like a boomerang and smashed into its skull.

The white beast exploded into fragments.

Wood splintered. Metal joints shattered.

But beneath the broken framework—

There was flesh.

There was blood.

Tyler’s eyes narrowed. "That puppet... it had skin and muscle."

This wasn’t just craftsmanship. It had been altered. Upgraded. Something far more grotesque.

Kaeya straightened, eyes wide as she recognized the attackers.

"Aoi? Felch? Arnold? Hiro?!"

Without hesitation, she tore off the disguise veil concealing her identity. Light shimmered around her as she revealed her true royal appearance.

"What the—? The Hero Party?" Tyler blurted in shock.

They were unmistakable.

The former champions of the kingdom.

But something was wrong.

Their eyes.

Each pair glowed a deep, unnatural purple. Their expressions were blank, cold, stripped of warmth or recognition.

Aoi stepped forward, staff crackling with violet energy.

"Hero Party?" she said flatly. "No. We are the new Demon Generals."

The words echoed against the black stone around them.

Tyler studied their eyes carefully. No flicker of awareness. No hesitation.

"Mind control?" he muttered.

"Or corruption," Kaeya replied quietly. "Or both."

Felch raised his sword again, purple aura coating the blade. Arnold retrieved his shield, which now pulsed with demonic veins. Hiro had already vanished from sight—no doubt preparing another assassination attempt.

Kaeya stepped forward.

"Let me handle them."

Tyler didn’t argue immediately. His gaze lingered on their eyes again—the pattern of corruption, the energy flow around their temples.

Then something clicked in his mind.

He leaned toward Kaeya and murmured something too low for the others to hear.

She stiffened slightly.

Then nodded.

Without another word, Tyler turned and began advancing toward the castle gates.

The four corrupted generals reacted instantly.

"You will not pass!" Arnold roared, charging forward.

But before they could close the distance—

A blinding beam of golden light erupted between them.

The ground split.

The shockwave forced the four backward, halting their pursuit.

Kaeya stood alone between Tyler and the corrupted heroes, sword raised, radiant wings of light unfurling behind her.

"Your opponent," she said coldly, "is me."

Behind her, Tyler didn’t look back.

The castle gates loomed ahead.

And the final confrontation awaited.

But the moment Tyler stepped through the castle gates—

The world shifted.

There was no grand hall. No throne room.

Instead—

He was outside again.

The rocky ground. The swirling black clouds. Kaeya locked in battle against the corrupted Hero Party.

Tyler blinked.

"...What?"

Without hesitation, he turned and stepped into the castle entrance once more.

Darkness swallowed him—

And again, he emerged outside.

Same position.

Same battlefield.

Same clash of steel and light behind him.

His mouth twitched.

"Ah... I see."

He stared at the castle entrance, eyes narrowing.

"Same type of power as Gluttony."

The spatial loop. The false entry. A devouring distortion that redirected movement without the victim realizing it. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Last time, he had escaped by stuffing blood into the "mouth" embedded in the wall.

But here—

There was no visible mouth.

Tyler attempted to walk toward the castle wall directly.

He never reached it.

No matter how many steps he took, the distance remained the same—as if the structure itself was sliding away from him while appearing stationary.

Behind him, Kaeya’s light clashed violently.

"Alright..." Tyler muttered, scratching his head. "If close range doesn’t work..."

His expression hardened.

"Let’s try long range."

With a flick of his wrist, multiple Annihilation Magic Cannons materialized around him, their barrels glowing ominously as they began charging.