For a long, breathless moment, there was only silence. Lazry's heart pounded in his chest as he waited for the sound—the slicing impact, the roar, the scream—but none came.
There was nothing.
Not even the faint hum of curse energy. It was as if the entire world had paused.
His fingers twitched as he dared to open his eyes. The sight that met him made his breath catch.
Winston stood beside him, unmoving, eyes wide, mouth half-open as if caught mid-word. The dark aura that had always surrounded him flickered faintly, frozen in place like smoke trapped in glass.
Across from them, Gruig's body was still locked in his half-beast form—muscles tense, claws raised, his jaws open in a snarl. His glowing eyes didn't blink, his body didn't move. It was as if time had stopped just for him.
"What…" Lazry whispered, stepping forward cautiously. "What's going on?"
He turned toward his black demon dog.
The little beast, however, seemed completely unaware of the frozen world around it. Its six glowing eyes blinked lazily as it sniffed the ground, nose twitching curiously at the scattered rubble left behind from Gruig's earlier misdirected attack. It pawed at a cracked stone, tilting its head like a confused child.
Lazry frowned, slowly crouching beside it. "You… you're just ignoring everything, huh?"
No response. The dog kept sniffing, tail twitching once before it dug its snout deeper into the rubble.
He straightened, glancing at Winston again. The butler's hand was halfway raised, as if he had been trying to cast a defensive spell before being locked mid-motion. Lazry's stomach twisted.
"Winston," he said quietly, "hey… what happened?"
The butler's lips trembled faintly, his voice finally breaking through the stillness. "Y-young master… I… I can't move properly… What—what did you do young master? Or what did your beast do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Lazry's voice cracked. "As for him, I also don't know…"
Before Winston could reply, a crisp metallic chime filled the air.
Ding!
Blue light shimmered before Lazry's eyes.
[ Mission: Control Mission.
[ Status: Completed.
[ Level Four: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 20 seconds.
[ Reward: Complete-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast. ]
Lazry blinked, stunned. "Wait… completed?"
He clenched his fists. He didn't fully understand what had just happened, but it didn't matter. The mission was done. The system's tone carried a finality that made his pulse race. Somehow, by doing absolutely nothing, he had gained control beyond what most beast conjurers could dream of.
But before he could savor the relief, a low growl echoed across the room.
Gruig's body jerked, breaking free from the invisible stillness. His eyes flared with animal fury as his claws gleamed once again. "You think this is over?" he shouted, voice guttural and warped. "You think your mutt can just ignore me?"
"Gruig, stop!" Winston snapped, finally regaining motion. His aura flared to life, but Gruig didn't listen.
"Shut up!" Gruig roared. "I'll make it acknowledge my power!"
He slammed his claws together, curse energy swirling around his arms like black fire. The air thickened and twisted as a crescent-shaped glow began forming again in his palms.
"Don't you dare—" Winston began, but Gruig was already shouting, his voice tearing through the room.
"MOON CLAW!"
The glowing slashes of energy roared forward, forming bright arcs that sliced through the air toward Lazry's six-eyed demon dog.
This time, Lazry didn't look away. He stood perfectly still, watching the deadly blades close in, each one humming with enough energy to tear through solid rock. He could feel the sharp pressure of it against his skin, the crackle of raw curse energy biting through the air.
The blades reached inches from the small dog's fur—and vanished.
Not shattered, not blocked—just gone. Dissolved into thin air as if they had never existed.
Lazry's eyes widened. "What…?"
Gruig stumbled a step forward, panting. "No… no, no, no, that's not possible! My Moon Claw never fails! Why isn't it—why isn't it cutting!?"
Winston froze in disbelief, staring at the untouched creature. "It… it absorbed it. All of it."
Lazry blinked rapidly, and then the realization hit him like a wave. He remembered something—the description he had seen back when he first formed a contract with this beast.
His pulse quickened as the memory came back. Endless Void.
He whispered that only he could hear. "Endless Void… As long as the host and the curse beast possess cursed mana, all incoming attacks will be absorbed."
A grin spread slowly across his face. "Holy hell… this is broken. This is… insane."
He laughed, unable to stop himself. "Holy mother! You're a monster, aren't you?" He looked down at his little demon dog, which continued sniffing the ground like nothing had happened. "You're the best monster ever!"
Winston was speechless, his mind still trying to grasp what had just occurred. "Young master," he murmured, "I've never seen anything like that. Even the high elders of the Lycannis couldn't—"
But before he could finish, another sound echoed.
Ding!
Lazry froze, eyes snapping toward the glowing text that materialized before him again.
[ Mission: Control Mission.
[ Status: Completed.
[ Level Five: Stay and do nothing while Gruig tries to tame your beast for 25 seconds.
[ Reward: Absolute-level control of your nameless legendary devouring beast and an additional peak Lycannis Ability. ]
Lazry's breath hitched. Absolute-level control? That was something that even masters only spoke of in theory. Control so deep that even the beast's instincts bent to the will of the conjurer.
He let out a slow, shaking sigh, his heart thundering with exhilaration.
"It's over," he whispered. "The mission's done."
But Gruig didn't seem to hear. His rage only grew, curse energy flaring brighter around his beastlike frame. "No… no, it's not over! I haven't even used my The Black Moon Flame Energy Ball yet!" He raised his claws again, snarling. "I'll make it scream this time!"
"Gruig!" Winston shouted. "Enough! You've already lost control of yourself!"
"I refuse!" Gruig bellowed, his voice echoing through the chamber. His aura burned so violently that cracks spidered through the floor beneath him. "I won't accept that this mutt is untouchable!"
Lazry stepped forward, frowning. "That's enough."
Gruig ignored him. "You think you're safe behind that mutt? You think you can look down on me? I'm the second youngest to merge in the entire Lycannis line! I won't be humiliated by some pampered brat!" His voice cracked with fury. "I'll destroy it even if it kills me!"
Winston turned to Lazry, panic in his eyes. "Young master, please, we must stop him before he destroys this place!"
Lazry's expression hardened. His voice grew calm, almost cold. "Winston, stop him."
The butler nodded, stepping forward, curse energy rippling around him like dark smoke. "Gruig, stand down!"
But Gruig only laughed, a wild, broken sound. "You think you can command me? I'm not afraid of you, old man!"
He gathered his energy again, pulling the curse power from deep within his core, the blue flame of the Black Moon burning brighter than ever.
Lazry took another step forward, his eyes darkening. "Gruig. Stop."
The air trembled, the ground shuddered beneath the weight of their energies. Winston looked between them, uncertain if he should interfere or run.
Gruig's beastly grin widened, his sharp teeth gleaming. "What will you do, Lazry? Hide behind your mutt again? Or finally fight me yourself?"
Lazry didn't flinch. His calm voice cut through the tension like a knife.
"Don't go too far."