Preman: —RETREAT!!

…

Whether Preman reacted too swiftly or everyone present was frozen by the impossible sight, no one responded to that low roar.

All heads tilted upward—as if gazing at a deity.

That colossal hand, a forest-clad rock formation like a floating sky island, more than deserved the title of a god surveying us.

To me, it resembled the tsunami destined to reshape this world—a flicker of despair pierced my heart.

This… was utterly unreasonable.

Aiton: —RETREAT, DAMN IT!!! FALL BACK!!!

Aiton: ARE YOU DEAF TO YOUR COMMANDER’S ORDERS?!

Aiton: BOARD THE WILDERNESS EAGLES—NOW!!!

His furious bellow finally jolted the outpost awake.

People scrambled up from the ground, ignoring the groaning rocks and howling wind, stumbling toward the Wilderness Eagles mounted behind the camp.

Though these were elite scouts of the Pioneer Team—many having witnessed creatures and sights beyond human imagination…

…instinct now overruled skill and experience.

—RUN!!!

Only four remained: Aiton and Preman, Ink River and me.

WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH—

A chorus of launch sounds erupted behind us. No need to look—I knew the Wilderness Eagles were taking flight.

Our eyes stayed locked on the spectacle. The giant hand loomed barely a hundred meters away.

Aiton: —COMMANDER PREMAN! GO!!!

Preman: …………

Preman: It’s moving.

Preman’s calm voice snapped us alert. Shadows on the ground shifted.

The massive hand tilted slightly left, then swept horizontally toward us—like flicking away debris. I could almost hear the blade-sharp wind.

Aiton: IT’S CRUSHING US—

Ink River: …No. Range is insufficient!

The shadow swept past the camp. Rocks and vines on the hand missed us by less than thirty meters.

I stumbled backward. In that instant, I saw every crack in the stone, every twisted vine.

This… was the “finger” we’d severed.

Had we not blown it off earlier, our outpost would’ve been erased.

But the gust from its momentum still slammed into us. Slimmer Preman was thrown to the ground.

A four-meter boulder, caught in the gale, hurtled straight toward the fallen commander.

Aiton: —COMMANDER!!!

Preman’s deputy lunged, arms outstretched to shield his leader—a futile gesture against the stone.

Aiton: —DISINTEGRATE!!!

CRUNCH—

The boulder, which would’ve crushed them both, dissolved into sand the moment Aiton’s palm touched it.

Grains stung my face and Ink River’s like hail.

So this was the Alchemist’s power? Turning stone to dust in an instant?

Aiton: COMMANDER!!! GO!!!

Preman: …………

Preman rose smoothly, untouched by the chaos.

Commander of the Sincere Kingdom Pioneering Squad. Humanity’s foremost explorer of the unknown.

He stood with unbroken dignity, not an inch surrendered.

Preman: Aiton. I order you to retreat on the Wilderness Eagle. Immediately.

Aiton: SIR!!!

Preman: As commander, I must witness the end from the front lines.

Preman: This shame ends with me! Only glory shall be remembered!

Preman: Must you see my head roll under the next commander’s blade?!

Aiton: …………

Aiton hesitated. I couldn’t fathom his turmoil.

I only saw him salute Preman—a sharp, final gesture.

Aiton: Understood. Orders received!

Seventh Ju: …………

Aiton left. Shadows shifted again around us.

The sweeping hand slowed, then began rising once more.

This must be what Sun Wukong saw beneath Five-Finger Mountain—the moment before being sealed forever.

This hand… Fall of the Stars… It meant to crush us?

??: …………

??: …Seventh Ju…………

Seventh Ju: …???

That voice…

Seventh Ju: …Ink River. Why aren’t you running?

Ink River: And you? Why stand still?

Seventh Ju: …It’s calling me.

Ink River: …??

Seventh Ju: I hear its voice… Fall of the Stars’ voice.

Ink River: An illusion.

Seventh Ju: Ink River. One favor?

Ink River: Of course. Unless it requires Wish Power—we’ve no time.

Seventh Ju: Simpler than that…

Seventh Ju: Take Preman. On the Wilderness Eagle. And—don’t come back.

Preman: …………

Preman: Who gave you leave to decide, Seventh Ju?

Ink River: Simple enough.

Like a leaping wolf, Ink River’s arm hooked Preman’s waist, lifting him off the ground.

Preman: —YOU!

Ink River: And you, Seventh Ju?

Seventh Ju: Right behind you. You doubt me now?

Ink River: …………

Ink River: After all your miracles? Believing you’ll escape unscathed isn’t impossible.

Ink River: —Time to go, Commander.

I watched Ink River carry the struggling Preman toward a Wilderness Eagle. He flipped open the black case; the device snapped to a 45-degree launch angle.

Ropes secured. Grip firm on the frame. Ready.

Preman: Let me trigger the launch, Mr. Seasonal Wolf.

Ink River: …??

Ink River froze. A thin red line bloomed on the arm holding Preman.

Preman dropped his dagger, face unreadable.

Ink River’s arm trembled, grip loosening under the toxin’s effect.

Seventh Ju: ???

Ink River: You…

Preman: Don’t worry. This “numbing toxin” wears off in minutes.

Preman: Farewell, Mr. Seasonal Wolf.

As Preman slipped free, he hit the launch switch.

WHOOSH—

The shrinking Wilderness Eagle unfolded its glider wings with a *snap*.

Ink River circled once in the air, then vanished toward the horizon.

Seventh Ju: Preman… Why?

Preman ignored me. He stared upward, then sprinted sideways.

Preman: …IT’S FALLING!!!

Shadows thickened around us. The roar of grinding stone filled my ears.

It was coming down! Fall of the Stars’ hand was crushing us!

I ran after Preman, glancing up—

—Too late.

That fingertip would land in seconds. Its width blocked all escape routes.

No hope…

I watched Preman’s back, unable to see his face.

What filled his mind? Why cling to staying?

Was honor truly worth more than life? Worth more than those who cherished him?

For such hollow glory, would he bear this alone?

What could one sacrifice stop?

If Fall of the Stars marched on—crossing the Ink River Gorge, flattening Bao City—wouldn’t all human civilization crumble beneath it?

Your sacrifice would vanish like mist…

Preman…

Even if duty bound you to your code…

—THOSE RULES DON’T BIND ME!!!

Seventh Ju: —PREMAN!!!

Preman: !?

I leaped. My hands gripped his shoulders.

Before me: Preman’s shocked face. Around us: darkness swallowing the earth.

As we hit the ground, I thrust up my strongest arm.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—

Thunderous impacts shook my bones—the fingers slamming down.

The outpost shattered to dust.

Pressure crushed my arm—a force unlike anything since gaining Wish Power.

Like every textbook in high school piled on one hand.

Impossible to hold… Yet I held.

Wish Power shielded me from fatal harm. As long as my will held, I wouldn’t be crushed…

…And neither would Preman beneath me.

Preman: …………

Seventh Ju: …Hey. What are you… still doing?

Seventh Ju: Run…

Too heavy… I couldn’t hold much longer…

The “finger” nearly touched ground. Clumps of soil rained around us—debris shaken loose from Fall of the Stars’ body.

Without that dirt shielding us, direct contact might have stolen my remaining Wish Powers again.

A sliver of light pierced the gloom, illuminating Preman’s face inches from mine.

Two glistening trails streaked his cheeks.

…Tears.

Seventh Ju: …………

Not the elegant gentleman from the trials. Not the stern commander before his troops…

…Just a fragile man needing protection. Anyone’s protection.

Was this your true face?

Uninjured, yet Preman’s body felt hollow—drained of all strength.

Like an empty shell after losing its purpose.

Seventh Ju: Urgh…!

The weight crushed down again. Numbness spread up my arm.

My torso pressed against Preman’s. My face buried in his shoulder.

I felt an unmilitary softness—utterly unlike a soldier’s build.

A scent, warm and human, flooded my senses. Unfathomable.

Seventh Ju: Preman, you…

Preman: …………

Preman: It’s over.

His hollow eyes stared ahead. A faint smile touched his lips.

Preman: …This is one fate of human pioneers, Seventh Ju.

Preman: As a kid, I used to wonder why a nation's army—the military force wielding some of humanity's most advanced tech—would ever handle pioneering work like this.

Preman: After just one taste of the wilderness, I understood... it's no different from a battlefield where people slaughter each other...

Preman: And this unit's commander is the same...

Preman: ...like a gamble with fate itself...

Preman: Sadly, this time... I lost the bet in the end...

Seventh Ju: ...

Seventh Ju: Why... say that?

Preman: ...At the final moment before the game began, I placed all my chips on you.

Seventh Ju: ...

Preman: That was my gut feeling when I first saw you. The prompt I felt... it wasn't like the usual warnings about "traps"...

Preman: "The ability to foresee threatening traps and their opposites"... for the first time in my life, it warned me of the "opposite" scenario.

Preman: For someone like me, who's seen every trap since childhood... that was truly precious...

Preman: You've proven you hold power no mortal can match...

Preman: But this enemy...

Preman: ...isn't one we can fight.

Seventh Ju: ...

Preman: Sorry, Seventh Ju...

Preman: You should be the one to leave.

Preman: With your abilities, you might still have a slim chance.

Preman: Go tell Aiton to take over my authority. Save as many Pioneer Team members as possible.

Preman: ...Promise me this last request, Seventh Ju.

Seventh Ju: ...

Seventh Ju: ...

Seventh Ju: Alright. I promise you, Commander.

Seventh Ju: Then, as a Pioneer Team member, the first life I must protect here... is yours.

Preman: ...

Preman: Still spouting nonsense...

Seventh Ju: —If you regret it so easily, it'll trouble me, Preman.

Seventh Ju: The gamble you bet on—see it through to the end yourself!

Seventh Ju: No matter the outcome... watch it through!

With the last of my upper body strength, I pulled away from Preman's body.

Hands pressed against the crushing surface, I straightened my waist, clenched my teeth, and strained to lift it.

The high school graduate version of Seventh Ju could never have fought this existence beyond human comprehension...

But with this god-given body—why should I lose to it?

My knees, pressed to the ground, lifted like a jack. The weight shifted from my thighs to my feet.

As I stood, hoisting one finger of the giant hand, grinding rocks screeched in my ears.

Preman's eyes before me held no emptiness now—only stunned confusion.

I bit my lip hard, forcing out a trace of a smile.

Seventh Ju: ——Divine Sivi!!!

My roar defied the crushing pressure.

Seventh Ju: Remove my full-body "Disguise Ability"! Let "Fall of the Stars" see what it truly faces!!

Seventh Ju: —Fifty percent!!