Ash and Renji arrived at the palace.
Normally, a place of power would carry a chill of its own, an invisible weight pressing down on anyone who entered.
But this palace felt different.
Like walking into Renji's own house.
At the throne stood a man, seven feet tall, broad-shouldered, his beard white, his black hair flowing like a storm. He looked like a tyrant with blue eyes, every inch of him built to intimidate… and yet, Renji felt no chill from him.
Just a giant. Just huge. Not a tyrant.
Renji can say Monarch was weaker than Ash.
The Monarch stood and welcomed them with a smile.
Ash dropped to one knee immediately, but Renji remained standing.
Renji was confused. Was this the Monarch?
Then it hit.
A crushing gravity wave, heavier than anything Renji had ever felt — a hundred times stronger than the chill from the kiss-killer girl. The force dragged him to the ground, both knees smashing into the earth. He couldn't even raise his head.
For a moment, Renji thought: This is it. The Monarch was hiding his true power.
But he was wrong.
The source came from the massive doors opening.
A woman entered.
She was impossibly beautiful — a body carved for seduction, beauty so perfect it could only be dangerous. The air bent around her presence, her every step making the palace itself tremble.
She walked straight to the throne and said, her voice low and commanding:
"We are ready for what we spoke about."
The Monarch just smiled and replied casually,
"Cool."
Renji could barely see the Monarch's face from where he was pinned to the floor.
Then—another shockwave. He was smashed fully down, his nose bleeding from the unbearable force.
This one was from the Monarch.
The Monarch's eyes glowed, the harmless childlike light replaced by something ancient, something that burned brighter and darker than the sun.
In that moment, Renji realized the truth—this man was ten thousand times stronger than the woman.
The seductive aura of the lady was crushed and canceled out by the Monarch's overwhelming chill.
"Don't die on me," the woman muttered, glancing at Renji.
"You're too cold, Kestrel," Ash said flatly, still kneeling in place.
Renji noticed him for the first time—completely calm, completely unaffected by the monarch and kestrel waves of pressure that were destroying him.
The woman turned back to the throne.
"Which tribe shall we face on the ground?"
The Monarch answered without hesitation:
"Hawks."
Kestrel gave the faintest soft smile before vanishing, her overwhelming presence fading like smoke.
The chill disappeared. Renji collapsed, breathing hard, finally relieved.
He turned toward Ash and the Monarch, his voice broken.
"Who… who was that Kestrel? She's too beautiful, too hot… but I couldn't feel attracted to her. Why? Are you going to fight her? And… who are the Hawks?"
The Monarch only laughed, the glow fading from his eyes as his playful blue returned.
"We'll talk about that later."