"Mm... Since you've already made it this far, it would be impossible for you not to have noticed my presence."
As Chiba's gaze settled, the hazy, chaotic mist at the point he was looking at slowly gathered, gradually taking the shape of a human figure. And as that figure condensed, these words sounded beside Chiba's ear.
Although the figure stood about five meters in front of him, the voice came from right beside his ear.
"What if I said I was just bluffing?"
Hearing that voice, Chiba's lips twitched slightly as he said this.
Though his words did not sound particularly pleasant, they carried a trace of ease, as though he had finally let out a long breath.
To be honest, he had not expected to meet the real one so smoothly.
Especially after the world itself had just restricted the mysterious power within him, he had been deeply uncertain. In a sense, the world's actions could be seen as preventing him from meeting the real one.
And indeed, though the mist figure before him had no clear facial features or body lines, its outline matched Chiba's current form. It was Chiba from the past, or rather, a certain form of Chiba from the past. The true mastermind behind all of this.
The one who had brought every outsider into this world.
"Even bluffing would count as your victory."
The mist figure's response was remarkably straightforward. There was not even the slightest emotional fluctuation in its tone, as if it did not care what Chiba had said—or perhaps it had anticipated that Chiba would say it.
It was as if emotion was not among its vital functions.
"Whether I win or lose, everything is still under your control in the end."
Chiba sighed lightly as he spoke.
But after hearing