Three seconds before the rocks crushed him, Jyu managed to reach the teddy bear. The blood covering his hands instantly soaked the soft fur of the demonic doll, which had crimson eyes, sharp fangs in its mouth, and gleaming cws on its hands and feet.

  Suddenly, a strange voice appeared and whispered to him.

  [You have successfully awakened the cursed power]

  [You will be reborn, and the demon doll will accompany you]

  Then a tremendous explosion occurred, bsting away the rocks that were about to fall on Jyu. The shockwave was so powerful that Tyrex, who was inside the cave area, was thrown quite far away.

  Jyu was freed and survived the colpsing rubble. “I did it!”

  Even so, he could only lie sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. Jyu closed his eyes because he could no longer endure the pain in his body. The wounds he had suffered from the previous battle were severe.

  [Preparing evaluation]

  The strange voice appeared again. Instantly, Jyu opened his eyes—but now he was already in a void where nothing existed except darkness. Miraculously, the pain he had suffered earlier seemed to vanish. Now Jyu felt completely healthy again.

  “Where am I?” Jyu was confused.

  A second ter, a blue light emerged from beneath his feet and enveloped him. The light moved vertically upward, its end nowhere to be seen.

  Jyu had entered the void, a dimension located between the Darkent Realm and the Human Realm. This was the path Jyu had to pass through to return to the human world and live again. Through this blue veil of light, his soul would return to his body.

  In the midst of this emptiness, the strange voices appeared once more.

  [You have defeated two wild beasts: Rat King]

  [You have defeated four wild beasts: Rabbit King]

  [You have defeated one giant: the headless creature]

  [You have obtained memory: Bck Sword]

  [You have acquired a cursed being sealed within a teddy bear]

  Jyu remembered that during meditation, he had clearly seen that his demonic power was a giant bear. But in reality, he had obtained a teddy bear whose form resembled a demon. He felt slightly disappointed because the power he gained did not match his expectations. He even assumed that the teddy bear’s power was only at the Ascended rank.

  [You have obtained an aspect]

  [Rank: Supreme]

  [Aspect Name: Teddy Bear]

  [Evaluation complete]

  Jyu could only stare bnkly, confused, thinking he had misheard.

  “Supreme!” he said ftly, still bewildered and in disbelief.

  “Supreme! I obtained power at the highest rank, is that true?” he shouted slightly.

  A second ter, a rune appeared before him.

  Name: Kuma

  Aspect: Teddy Bear

  Aspect Rank: Supreme

  Aspect Description: Kuma is a teddy bear possessed by the demon Onikuma, a giant bear capable of walking upright like a human. He has been sealed inside the doll for thousands of years and now awaits release under a certain condition.

  Aspect Ability: [Imagination Shuffler]

  Ability Description: Kuma can paralyze the imagination and emotions of surrounding beings. As if hypnotized, their souls fall into Kuma’s grasp. He also possesses superhuman punching strength equal to that of a giant.

  Weakness: Kuma’s imagination can open interdimensional portals

  Jyu observed the rune and smiled widely as he read the information about his demonic power. However, there were still two things he did not understand—especially the condition required to awaken Kuma’s true power and the matter of the dimensional portals.

  There was a mystery behind it all, and Jyu would have to solve it himself. At the very least, after this, he had to find out about those two things.

  “Alright! I’ll study it once I’m alive again.”

  ---

  Jyu had returned to the Human Realm. But there was only darkness.

  Now there was truly nothing but darkness—stuffy, damp, and unbearably itchy. Discomfort spread throughout his body, as if insects had crawled into his clothes and were roaming across his skin.

  “Where am I now?” Jyu was confused again. Even though he had opened his eyes, there was only darkness.

  His hands began to grope around, but found nothing except soil. In an instant, his brain began to think rapidly.

  “I’ve died, which means I’ve been buried in the ground. So this itching sensation on my body is because…”

  “Damn it!” he shouted.

  Three days ago, Jyu had indeed died. That was why his body had been buried in the earth. For three days it had rested there, and insects and maggots had begun to devour it.

  He had now been reborn, and this was his first trial. Within seconds, Jyu was already struggling to breathe. If this continued, he might die again. All his efforts would be wasted!

  Of course, Jyu did not want that to happen. With all his strength, he tried to break out of the coffin buried beneath more than a meter of soil. His punches and kicks continuously bombarded the top of the coffin.

  Though his body was skinny, as if malnourished, Jyu’s strength was extraordinary. It was influenced by the power he had gained during the battles in the Darkent Realm. His strength had multiplied many times over.

  Slowly, the coffin shifted, creating a gap that allowed soil to pour inside. Jyu’s body began to be completely buried in the earth.

  “Arrgh!” Jyu screamed louder, now trying to awaken the power of his soul. His punches grew even stronger, causing the surrounding soil to tremble violently. Then he focused his power into his hand and struck the earth that was crushing him.

  “BOOM!”

  A massive explosion erupted, hurling soil into the air before it fell like rain. Jyu was finally free. Air immediately filled his lungs—it felt incredibly relieving!

  Still gasping for breath, he leaped upward. Ignoring his exhaustion, Jyu tore off all his clothes and stood naked. His hands quickly brushed away the maggots and insects clinging to his skin. His fingers moved frantically, cleaning his ears, nose, eyes, and mouth.

  Not only that, Jyu desperately tried to vomit. A bitter and disgusting taste lingered strongly in his mouth from the maggots and insects that had settled inside.

  “This is disgusting, just throw up!”

  He succeeded. Jyu vomited, expelling everything from his stomach. But that also meant he immediately grew weak and drained of stamina.

  Suddenly, a man’s voice was heard from behind him.

  “I didn’t expect you to strip naked right away. Luckily, the one who came to pick you up isn’t a woman,” he said.

  Jyu immediately turned around. Right in front of him stood a man wearing maroon-colored clothing. His style resembled that of a detective—neatly dressed with a knee-length coat.

  “Who are you?” Jyu asked, now wary of the mysterious man before him.

  “Put this on! I’m disgusted seeing you naked,” the man said while tossing clothes toward Jyu.

  Only then did Jyu realize that not a single thread covered his body. Quickly, he grabbed the clothes the man had given him and put them on. A bck robe now covered his body perfectly.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Wirtz. I’m here to pick you up and take you to join the government army,” the man said.