"A resort hotel… this should be the place."
A swirl of shadow dissipated, revealing Kuzeha's figure.
Two hundred kilometers—nothing for Kuzeha, who possessed Imaginary Space. He even had time to escort Nao and Ayumi back home before heading out.
The wonder of Imaginary Space lay in its ability to traverse between reality and the imaginary. If accurately pinpointed, Kuzeha could cross hundreds or even thousands of kilometers in an instant and appear directly at the target location. Of course, if the orientation was off, he could end up completely off course.
To avoid that, he paused every few dozen kilometers to check his position.
He headed toward the resort hotel and paused upon seeing the logo.
It belonged to the Yukinoshita Conglomerate.
"So there is a connection between Yukinoshita and the House of Evolution…"
He recalled the message Yukinoshita Haruno had sent and narrowed his eyes.
Only when he reached the hotel's main entrance did he spot the mountain directly ahead. Its position was incredibly well-hidden—surrounded on three sides by other peaks. You wouldn't even notice it unless you stood in front of the hotel.
"That armored gorilla wasn't lying, huh."
Kuzeha muttered, then vanished in a streak of black light.
Moments later, he arrived at the entrance to the House of Evolution.
There was no need to confirm—because walking out of the mountain were a massive, bipedal lion and a man in glasses.
Beast King, the House's demon-level monster, and Dr. Genus himself.
When the black mist cleared and Kuzeha's figure appeared, Genus was visibly startled.
"So fast?"
But what intrigued him even more was the shadow Kuzeha emerged from.
No—it was the fact that the boy walked out of the shadow.
"What a strange ability… it seems you're even more valuable as a research subject than I thought."
Genus adjusted his glasses, excited.
"Beast King, knock him out and bring him back."
Beast King—a lion who stood like a man—unsheathed silver-glinting claws.
The boy before him was barely taller than one of his paws.
"Knock him out? What if I slice him into ribbons?"
Genus shrugged and stepped back.
"Do as you like—if you can."
As long as the boy wasn't completely dead—even just a head remaining—he could work with it. Though Kuzeha had killed the armored gorilla in one strike, Genus calculated that he shouldn't be able to beat Beast King.
And if Beast King couldn't handle it, Mosquito Girl could be recalled. She'd just gone out to gather blood to boost her power.
Two-on-one, the odds were favorable. He didn't want to waste their final trump card yet.
Beast King bared his fangs in a sneer.
"So I've been underestimated…"
"Too bad, kid. Looks like today's your unlucky day."
With a casual swing, three claw slashes ripped through the air like blades.
Boom!
The mountainside behind Kuzeha was cleaved into three.
"Even skyscrapers fall under my Lion Claw."
"You think you're tougher than reinforced concrete, kid?"
Kuzeha remained silent and drew his sword.
To him now, Beast King was utterly insignificant.
What he really wanted… was to test how far his power had grown since acquiring the Divine Essence of the War God—especially paired with Kamui.
"This lab of yours… must've hollowed out the mountain, huh."
Genus twitched as he heard the calm voice.
"What of it?"
"Nothing. Just pray I don't miss."
The moment Kuzeha's voice fell, he unsheathed his blade.
Kamui.
One slash.
Condensed to the limit, his violent spirit surged like black lightning around the blade.
In an instant, the sword energy engulfed half the mountain.
It didn't cut through.
It crushed everything before it under the weight of that compressed aura—turned the solid mountain into powder even before the strike landed.
An overwhelming, unstoppable force.
Mountains crumbled, the earth shook.
For hundreds of kilometers, the tremor was felt.
One sword stroke opened a true abyss in the middle of a mountain range.
Yes—an abyss.
Dozens of meters wide, stretching for thousands, its depths swallowed by darkness. The terrain itself had changed.
As if a lumpy cake had been sliced with a cleaver.
Beast King, caught in the blast, had long since been obliterated—nothing left, not even ashes.
The remaining half of the mountain revealed the interior of the lab—what had once been embedded into the rock now sat on the edge of a chasm.
Kuzeha looked down at his handiwork and nodded in satisfaction.
Even in its base form, the War God's Essence had boosted his strength tremendously.
Before, he'd have needed 70-80% of his power for this.
Now? It was just a casual strike.
If he went all out, he didn't doubt that even this entire country… might sink.
He turned to face the remnants of the lab.
Inside, countless clones of Dr. Genus stared out, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Beast King—their second-strongest creation—had been utterly annihilated. Compared to Kuzeha, he wasn't even an ant.
"…We have no choice. We'll have to release the final trump card."
A few clones gritted their teeth and rushed to what was once a sealed chamber—now exposed to the sky.
"Asura Kabuto…"
...
Shirayuki Resort Hotel.
It was Yukinoshita Haruno's second time visiting.
The first had been when it was newly built—she was still in high school.
And strangely enough, that had marked the beginning of Yukinoshita Conglomerate's rapid rise. Within just a few years, the company had exploded in size.
"Why did mother bring me here today…?"
Just as this doubt crossed her mind, Madam Yukinoshita turned to her.
"Haruno, you've been investigating the House of Evolution, haven't you?"
The calm, elegant voice hit Haruno like a bolt of lightning.
Her pupils shrank.
Before she could respond, her mother continued.
"Digging through past projects, asking about the supernatural…"
"To me, your actions have been far too obvious."
Haruno fell silent.
After a long pause, she finally asked softly:
"Mother, how did the Yukinoshita Conglomerate grow so large so quickly?"
Her mother sighed.
She had no real intention of keeping it secret forever. Her plan was to reveal the truth once Haruno had more footing in the company.
But since Haruno had already dug this far, she might as well lay it bare.
"A few years ago, we struck a deal with the House of Evolution."
"They provided us with supernatural power to clear our obstacles and accelerate our rise."
"In return, within ten years, we were to join the Hero Association and help them research S-Class heroes…"
Haruno's expression grew heavier with each word.
She knew that every few years, the Hero Association absorbed major conglomerates to consolidate power.
That wasn't a secret. In fact, most families dreamed of such a thing.
Being part of the Association brought access not only to wealth—but to supernatural resources.
But now her mother was telling her they were supposed to infiltrate the Association?
"That's the Hero Association, mother. Can the Yukinoshita Conglomerate really afford to offend them?"
Her mother's eyes flashed with cold ambition.
"If we don't try—how will we know?"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
"Miss it, and we'd have been swallowed up by rival families years ago."
The conglomerate couldn't contain her ambition.
Supernatural power was a necessity.
Haruno turned to the window, conflicted.
Then—her eyes widened.
"That's… Kuzeha?"
She was stunned.
Why would he be here?
"Do you know him?" her mother asked, frowning at her reaction.
It was the first time she'd ever seen her daughter make that face.
Haruno struggled to answer.
Know him?
She'd practically handed the conglomerate over to him…
When she looked back again, Kuzeha was gone.
She shook her head.
"It's nothing…"
"Mother, do you know exactly where the House of Evolution is?"
Her mother thought for a moment.
"I don't know the precise location… but it's definitely somewhere nearby."
"Nearby…?"
Haruno blinked.
Then realization struck her.
"So that's why Kuzeha is here…"
"He's hunting the House of Evolution!"
She was stunned.
It had only been one day—and he had already found this place!
At that moment, a massive boom echoed from the mountain ahead.
Dust filled the air. Birds scattered in panic.
"Landslide?" Haruno wondered.
Then the earth shook violently.
The hotel's windows shattered.
Both Haruno and her mother were thrown to the floor.
They clung to the ground as the shaking continued.
Only after some time did they manage to stand again.
"Do mountains even have quakes like that?"
Haruno wondered aloud.
Then she looked up—and froze.
Where the mountain had once stood—
Now gaped a vast, narrow abyss of endless darkness.
Read advance chapters on: patre on.com/Bored_Mortal