Ragnar asked Ravenna curiously. "Miss Ravenna, how did you do it?"

Ravenna replied, still focusing on the wound. "What do you mean? I just used the blood to give you energy and help you get well."

Ragnar was left dumbfounded by that simple response. He held back his urges to ask back as much as possible because he knew he might not get anything. 

At that moment, Ravenna asked."What happened while I was unconscious?"

Ragnar started to recount everything, without hiding anything. The more Ragnar went, the more guilt and concern filled Ravenna. Seeing this, Ragnar said to her. "Miss Ravenna, you don't have to worry about the Lord. He is strong enough to take that guy down."

Ravenna nodded her head, agreeing with him. The reason she was like this was because she felt it was all her fault that the situation was escalating to this degree.

"But still…" At that moment, Ragnar spoke out. "We should go and try to help the Lord as much as possible."

Ravenna quickly regained her composure and said it with her signature smile. "Yes, let's go."

Ragnar stood up, nodding his head. But instead of heading toward Benimaru's direction. He gave a look to his right first. Beside broken trees and pebbles, one could see Lagnir's body laid down. Ragnar pointed his finger at him and said. "We should bring him along too."

Ravenna had also seen him but didn't care much about him at first. Now that Ragnar has said it, how could she disagree? Because Ragnar's interests always aligned with Benimaru.



A couple minutes earlier, before Ragnar and Ravenna defeated their foes.

Bang!

A dark silhouette streaked through the air, eventually smashing into a giant boulder. 

"Who are you?" Garner crawled out of the rubble created by the boulder and asked Benimaru with shock.

Benimaru, who appeared before him, said it with a nonchalant face. "Didn't I say that earlier? I am Benimaru, and I will be lord of this forest."

Garner ignored Benimaru's strong claim, despite not defeating him. Instead, he asked further. "No, I am talking about your powers. You have the same power as the Purple Sun in the Demon Realm. How can you use this power? That power is only used by the kings of the bottom floor." Garner expressed his shock as he had finally recognized Benimaru's power while in the middle of their fight.

This power had made him vulnerable and even overwhelmed in the fight. So, he couldn't help but think of it.

"Oh~ it looks like this power is something truly marvelous, even in the Demon Realm." Benimaru contemplated himself. However, that didn't last long as he shifted his focus to Garner and said it with a threatening tone. "It looks like no matter what happens, I have to kill you. I can't let my powers be public knowledge."

Benimaru knew people would get to know about his power, but he didn't want everyone to know every single detail of it.

"Huh? You will kill me?" Garner's face contorted into hideousness as he said it, declaring it to the sky. "I will let you see my true power."

" [ Gargatos's Curse - Mouth of the North ] " Just as Garner said that his front body parts had multiple splits in them, like someone had sliced them apart.

This wasn't the end, as sharp teeths also grew out of them and slithering tongues appeared. Then flower buds bloomed on the back of his body, eventually changing his entire appearance. 

"Now…" Garner spoke with his mouth, but voices from the newly opened mouths all came, echoing together. "Feel my power."

Just as Garner said that, dark and greenish beams shot out of his mouth, aiming toward Benimaru.

Benimaru's body became fully alert and started dodging from left to right. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

These beams, upon contact with anything, would destroy that object, and it wasn't just that; afterwards, the object would start to corrode. It happened with the trees, soil, and boulders.

Benimaru frowned upon seeing this effect. 'Tsk, these beams are so fast. I can't even dodge them properly, and their aftereffects... I can't get touched by it in any way possible. I have to shorten the distance.'

Benimaru dodged with nimble steps and approached Garner slowly yet surely. On the way, he charged his katana with the purple fire and thunder, letting them coexist as the lethality was the highest in this state.

Then the moment came, Benimaru was finally close to Garner, just three meters away. At this range, Benimaru was on full alert, as it was now very easy to be hit by the beams. Garner had a low chance of missing him.

As expected, Garner waited for this moment, saving his power and waiting for Benimaru to come close. Seeing Benimaru at such close range, Garner had a smirk on his hideous face. 

The beams shot out of Garner's mouth, as he could already imagine Benimaru getting riddled with holes. 

But it didn't happen as he expected, as Benimaru vanished from his spot, dodging the attacks just before they reached him.

Garner glanced to the side and saw Benimaru appear.

Benimaru had a calm face, as he had calculated everything. He used a skill called [ Short Burst ] which would let him have a momentary burst in speed. Using it efficiently, he was able to come closer to his goal.

Or so he thought.

Benimaru's eyes widened when he saw Garner still smiling at him, which immediately let him know that something was wrong. In a matter of split seconds, Benimaru came to a realization when he moved his gaze just a little away from Garner's face.

Without any thought, Benimaru swung his katana, filled with purple fire and thunder, enhancing the destructibility and lethality of the strike.

BOOOM

A loud explosion occurred that shook that side of the forest, burning and destroying every piece of vegetation. A relatively small mushroom cloud was formed, which subsided in a few seconds.

This revealed the culprits who were responsible for this destruction.

Benimaru and Garner were having a standoff in a tiny pit that was able to hold them. Benimaru looked at the tongues on Garner's body that were retracting back to the mouth.