Chapter 357: Understanding Fear!

Then, it became clear. A creature. Bat-like.

Grotesque beyond anything she had ever imagined.

Its body was enormous, easily large enough to swallow her whole in a single motion. Pale, leathery wings wrapped around it like a cocoon, thin veins visible beneath its stretched surface, twitching faintly as if something beneath was breathing.

But that wasn’t what froze her in place.

It was its face. Where its eyes should have been, there was nothing. No sockets. No lids. No pupils.

Just smooth, stretched skin pulled tightly across where vision should exist.

’…W-Where are its eyes…?’ The thought didn’t feel like her own.

It screamed through her mind, sharp and panicked.

Its whiskers twitched. Long. Thin. Sensitive.

They extended outward, trembling faintly in the air, brushing against invisible currents, tasting, sensing, mapping the space around it in ways she couldn’t comprehend.

Then it moved.

Its jaw opened slightly.

And rows of jagged, yellow teeth scraped against each other.

KRRRRRK!

The sound echoed through the cavern.

Dry. Grating. Unnatural.

It wasn’t loud.

But it didn’t need to be. It crawled. Straight into her spine.

Lily’s lungs locked.

Her chest tightened violently, her body forgetting how to breathe as her instincts screamed over and over.

Run!

Run!!

RUN!!!

But her entire body was frozen.

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, frozen between terror and paralysis. She didn’t even realize when her fingers tightened desperately around Bruce’s sleeve, clinging to him as if he were the only thing anchoring her to reality.

For a moment. time stopped.

Then. the world shifted again.

Bruce had already moved them.

He didn’t let her see more than she needed.

But even that. was enough.

They reappeared deeper within the cavern.

And this time. there was no escaping it.

Lily saw everything. Her eyes widened slowly. Her lips parted, trembling.

A soft, broken gasp escaped her as the full scale of it unfolded before her.

They weren’t alone. Not even remotely close.

The cavern stretched endlessly into darkness, its vastness swallowing sound, swallowing light, and within it. hung thousands of those creatures.

Clusters of pale, eyeless bodies clung to the icy ceiling like a living tapestry of nightmares. Their wings folded tightly, their forms blending into the frost as though they had always belonged there.

Their whiskers never stopped moving. Constant. Restless.

Their jaws clicked softly, teeth scraping in slow, uneven rhythms.

Their wings shifted occasionally, just enough to create a low, suffocating chorus that filled the entire cavern.

KRRK! KRRK!! KRRRR!!!

The sound layered upon itself.

Endless.

Inescapable.

It crawled into her ears. Into her thoughts. Into her bones.

“…So many…” she whispered, her voice barely holding together, as though speaking any louder would draw their attention.

“Pale Screechers,” Bruce said calmly. “A-Ranked.”

His tone was steady. Casual. As if he were pointing out something mundane. Despite clearly sensing their presence, not a single one moved.

Not one descended. Not one attacked. They simply remained.

Still. Listening. Waiting. Loyal.

Lily swallowed hard, her throat dry.

Her gaze trembled as it moved across the cavern.

From one creature, to another, until the sheer number of them blurred together into something overwhelming.

A realization settled slowly. Heavy.

These things… were under her brother’s control. All of them.

Her fingers trembled faintly. ’Just how many…?Just how many monsters does big brother command?’

Her chest rose and fell unevenly as she struggled to steady herself.

“…Even if they’re A-Ranked…” she thought, forcing her breathing to slow, forcing her mind to hold together, “they’re not any less terrifying…”

Her gaze lowered slightly. Her grip tightened.

“…So this is what adventurers face…”

The fear. The pressure.

The overwhelming presence of something that could erase you from existence in an instant.

No warning. No mercy.

“…I understand it now…”

At that moment. Bruce smiled slightly. “Do you want to see more?”

Lily’s entire body stiffened.

Her head shook immediately, almost violently.

“No… Brother…I’ve seen enough” she said softly, her voice still trembling despite her effort to remain composed. “I understand what my instructor meant.”

Bruce nodded once. That was enough.

The world warped again. And just like that, they were gone.

The cold vanished. The oppressive darkness disappeared.

They stood once more inside their home. Warm. Safe. Quiet.

The silence felt almost unreal.

Lily exhaled slowly, as though she had just escaped something that had been suffocating her existence itself. Her body still felt light. unsteady. but her breathing gradually stabilized.

Her eyes. had changed.

There was still fear there.

But beneath it. something new had taken root.

“We still have time,” Bruce said calmly.

Without hesitation, he gave another order. Space distorted as Vaelith responded instantly.

In the next moment. Bruce, Lily, and a small Ash appeared at the gates of her academy.

The transition was smooth. Controlled.

And this time. Lily didn’t panic.

She steadied herself quickly, her footing firm as she adjusted almost immediately.

Then she began walking forward.

Step by step. But after a few paces.

she stopped. Turned back. Her gaze landed on Ash.

“You’re not coming?”

Ash shook its head lightly, its eyes calm.

Its gaze flickered briefly toward her shadow. It knew. Multiple SS-Ranked Shadow Wolves were there. Hidden. Watching. Guarding. A silent, ever-present protection.

Lily let out a soft sigh, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “Fine… I’ve been having you all to myself lately anyway…”

A small smile formed on her lips.

“Have fun with Big Brother.”

“You have fun too, Lily,” Bruce replied calmly.

He didn’t force Ash to follow her. Beside him, Ash hovered slightly and gave a small, playful wave.

“I’ll be here by closing time of the academy,” Bruce added.

Lily paused.

Then turned sharply, her expression shifting.

“You promise!” she called out, a faint pout forming as she looked at him.

Bruce nodded.

Lily held his gaze for a moment longer. then turned and stepped through the gates.

If she had taken a normal mana mobile. she would have been late.

But with Bruce. she arrived exactly on time.

And as she walked into the academy. her steps were steadier. Her breathing calmer.

Her heart. stronger. Because now. she understood fear.

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