Apotheosis

While the three-eyed boy was asleep, Zen had managed to hide several Darkness Fruits.

He hadn't expected the boy to give them to him on his own prerogative.

"Aren't you worried about us running away?" Zen asked, staring at the boy.

Surprisingly, the latter smiled coldly. "If you wanted to escape, you should have left by now. I think you're right. Somehow, the resources in the Dark Region attract you. We can work together."

"As friends?" Zen asked with a friendly smile.

The boy glared at him viciously in response before walking down to the hut below.

Because of his serious injuries, he couldn't keep all the Burning Crystals he had robbed from the black monkeys. The hut below was the only place with some reserve.

Making the candles remained the most important task at hand, after all.

After taking all the Burning Crystals to the top hut, the three-eye boy turned and stared at Zen and Elvinia. "You said that you wanted the Other Shore Token?"

The two glanced at each other questioningly.

In the time they spent there, the Dark Region had shown itself to be much more powerful than they could have ever imagined.

While they surely yearned for Other Shore Tokens of the Dark Region, those were things unreachable.

Even Elvinia, who was normally proud and arrogant, realized how great of a chance it was.

The Other Shore Token she had was also highly precious. Although there was a chance for it to grow, she was willing to change it into something from the Dark Region.

"Of course, who wouldn't want it?" Zen replied matter-of-factly.

"Your energy and that of the Dark Region repel each other," explained the boy. "I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to fuse with the Other Shore Token here."

Indeed, Zen had ignored the fact. He scratched his head in embarrassment.

Over the past ten days, he had been constantly observing the phenomenon of repulsion.

The Other Shore Tokens of the Dark Region weren't to be integrated with the creatures outside the Dark Region.

Noticing Zen's expression, the boy continued, "It is indeed very difficult to fuse the tokens, but i

ooked tail.

But Zen was not as weak as the Souls of Light the human-monkey monsters had attacked before.

While he might not have been able to resist a red python's attacks, Zen had no trouble dealing the human-monkey monsters behind him.

Bowing his head slightly, Zen extended his hands as fast as lightning, twisting the human-monkey monster's tail. There was a sudden wave before the monster could only scream and hit another one.

"Bang!"

Two human-monkey monsters were knocked straight to the ground as the rest moved in to surround Zen.

He climbed up the slope, as the human-monkey monsters continued coming after him. He simply pulled one up to throw it at the others. Some fell right into the mountain stream.

In almost no time, Zen arrived at the peak of the hillside.

About a hundred feet away from the huts, he settled his pace and calmed down.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

More and more human-monkey monsters were gathering under the hillside—their numbers going up into the hundreds. But none of them was climbing the hillside. Instead, they sat in rows as though they were welcoming something with respect.

Curious, Zen stayed in his spot to watch.

From a distance, the jungle was in a state of turmoil. A road appeared in the middle where many ten-foot-tall monkeys emerged.

Even from where he stood, Zen could tell that the tall, strong monkeys were all completely black.