"Boss Shura, I've actually been planning this ever since I found out you were tackling this dungeon!"
"Because I know you—unless you can secure an SSS-tier evaluation—you wouldn't bother making a move."
"The four symbiotes alone aren't enough for an SSS rating. So I figured—you must know where to find a large number of them. That's why I decided to follow you in secret!"
"Once you killed that foolish woman and still remained calm, it confirmed my theory. You'd rather let two symbiotes die in the lab than intervene... which means you knew where more symbiotes were hiding!"
"And I was right all along!"
"I never expected you to discover the Symbiote Planet!"
"Boss Shura, I have to say, I'm in awe. I respect you to the core!"
Hearing all this, Fenric was speechless.
I guess this counts as being famous... right?
Then he asked coldly, "You must have some kind of aura-concealing ability, don't you?"
The spaceship wasn't that big. With Fenric's current level of spiritual awareness, even the slightest movement inside couldn't escape him. For this guy to sneak aboard unnoticed... it had to be some breath-hiding technique.
"Sharp as ever, Boss Shura!" the male Samsara player grinned. "I've mastered the 'Lurking' skill to the Grandmaster level. Otherwise, I'd never have gotten past you!"
"So now the question is—will you form an alliance with me... or shall we die together?"
The man smirked at Fenric, clearly thinking he had the upper hand.
What can the most talented man in the Samsara Space do?
Even he's been outwitted by me!
"Shura, don't try to sweet-talk your way out of this. If we don't form an alliance, you'll definitely kill me. That leaves you with only one option."
"Don't take it personally—scheming against each other is the norm in Samsara Space. You help me get the SSS-tier reward, and I'll hand over all the points and rare items to you! I only want the rating. I'll even give you another item when we return to Samsara Space!"
The symbiote Riot, who had been standing nearby, looked completely baffled.
Samsara Space? SSS-tier rewards?
It had no idea what any of that meant.
(Note: In this world, revealing information about the Samsara Space isn't restricted. There's a reason for that.)
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Fenric suddenly began clapping, a smile spreading across his face.
"Simple plan... but not bad. Still, next time—learn more about your target before you try to scheme against me."
"What do you mean?" the Samsara player frowned. "Shura, I know you're powerful, but you'd better think this through. You think I'm bluffing? I swear I'll take everyone down with me!"
But Fenric only smiled faintly.
Even if this fool triggered a self-destruct, Fenric wouldn't die. With his Grandmaster-level Armament Haki, he could easily shield himself from an explosion of that magnitude.
The only real danger was to Belle, who stood nearby.
Suddenly, Belle Morwyn stepped forward. "I'll form an alliance with you," she said. "I'm already allied with the Shura God. So if you team up with me, you automatically become our ally."
"Alliance with you? Do I look stupid?"
The Samsara player clearly wasn't that easy to fool. He turned to Fenric, impatient.
"Shura! Make your choice. Don't waste my time!"
Fenric chuckled. "Sorry. I'm not interested in alliances today. Maybe in your next life, I'll carry you through a dungeon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Samsara player's expression changed.
He opened his mouth to retort—only for his eyes to go wide in shock.
A sharp iron shard—origin unknown—shot clean through the back of his head, exiting through his forehead in a spray of blood.
The shard had been launched by Fenric's psychokinesis.
This overly confident Samsara clearly had no idea about Fenric's abilities. His power of thought could manipulate reality in unpredictable ways—and the fool had let his guard down completely.
"Crap! It's going to explode!" Riot yelled, preparing to flee.
But to his surprise, the dead man's body was still standing, his hand clutching the detonator motionless.
That, too, was the work of Fenric's psychokinesis—locking the man's posture and hand in place to prevent detonation.
Fenric then opened the ship's hatch and casually hurled the body out into space.
BOOM!!
A distant explosion echoed.
Fenric turned back to Riot with a calm expression.
"Did you bring me here to kill my kind?" Riot asked darkly.
Even though he hadn't fully understood the earlier conversation, it wasn't hard to guess the truth from the context—Fenric had come to exterminate the symbiotes.
"That's right," Fenric replied without hesitation.
There was no point pretending now—he might as well be direct.
Riot was instantly furious. He wanted nothing more than to devour Fenric on the spot.
After all, he was the one who had brought Fenric to the Symbiote Planet!
"You'll pay for this treachery. You'll die here!" Riot roared—but he didn't dare make a move.
They were still inside the spaceship.
Riot needed this ship to carry his army of millions of symbiotes to Earth. He couldn't risk damaging it in a fight.
Fenric ignored him and turned to Belle Morwyn.
"Belle, bring out all the weapons. Arm them."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Belle responded immediately and headed to the storage room to start assembling missiles.
With her enhanced strength, she could easily carry them. And thanks to recent training, she was no longer clueless about how to use them.
Once she left, Fenric turned back to Riot and smiled.
"Riot... you must have a way to contact your kind, right? Go ahead. Summon them. As long as you bring out enough symbiotes... maybe I'll let you live."
"Let me live? You ignorant human, you have no idea how powerful I truly am!"
Before Riot could finish his sentence, Fenric suddenly pulled out a whistle and brought it to his lips.
Sound Enchantment Whistle—
When blown, it emits a high-frequency sound that causes auditory hallucinations and severely affects enemies who are sensitive to sound.
A moment later—
FWEEEEET!!
The piercing noise filled the air.
And just like that—
Riot dropped to his knees, trembling violently, almost blurting out:
"D-Daddy! Please spare me!!"