Bighorn Bull is in charge of leading, and I, Beria, am in charge of raising it.

I'm just worried that I won't have enough!

...Tsk...Fine, fine, I can't win against this stubborn calf, I won't let him take 40,000...

I'll take care of it myself!

Eighty thousand in total, take them all!

If something really goes wrong, it's his own fault, and he shouldn't expect me to save him!

...At most, I'll lend him a portion, the kind that's used for bookkeeping!

Once we return to the Land of Light, we'll make him pay it back slowly!

Chapter 7 Straightforwardness Overcomes Arrogance

Time flies, and several days have passed since Belial and Ken left the M78 Nebula to explore the depths of the universe.

The initial journey was uneventful, as we were still near the M78 Nebula, like taking a walk in our own backyard.

Apart from the endless expanse of deep space, there are only a few barren planets that have been explored countless times by the Ultra race as part of experimental projects.

Occasionally, a few monsters would appear nearby, but upon sensing the presence of the two giants of light from afar, their survival instincts kicked in, and they wisely avoided them.

So along the way, Belial and Ken were basically focused on traveling and had no chance to make a move.

Even so, Jian remained in high spirits. Every time they passed a new planet, he would linger over to examine it for a long time, like a country boy going on his first long journey.

Oh, no, it really was his first time traveling so far from home.

As for Beria, he had many more things to consider.

This is, after all, a journey of free exploration, without a path to guide you or any mission objectives.

So, besides chatting with Ken intermittently to pass the time, Belial also had to constantly adjust their route to avoid triggering unnecessary crises.

This is not just Beria being overly pessimistic.

Before his transmigration, Belial had read countless works on the theme of space exploration and knew all too well that there were countless deadly things in the universe—black holes, supernova explosions, gamma-ray storms, spatial rifts, dark matter vortices. Especially now, in the Ultra Universe, there were all sorts of monsters and aliens.

The Giant of Light is powerful, but not invincible.

If you were to plunge headlong into a pile of monsters, or some indescribable alien with a long face, or a glass jar lying in ambush...

Whether they can return to the Land of Light alive is still unknown.

Unfortunately, Ken clearly lacks awareness in this regard.

As the strongest of the new generation of Ultra from the Land of Light, and having lived with his kind for many years without a trace of darkness in their hearts, Ken severely lacks the vigilance one should have towards unknown dangers. Even now, he believes the universe is peaceful, full of new friends waiting for him to greet them.

This naive optimism left Beria both helpless and exasperated. He knew that this brat wouldn't listen to reason until he'd suffered a real lesson. He could only be more vigilant and wary of any dangers along the way.

What happened next proved that Beria's caution was by no means superfluous.

After traveling for some time, on the fifteenth day after leaving the Land of Light, a crisis descended without warning.

At that moment, Ken and Beria had just passed the edge of a nebula, where the light from distant stars, refracted through thin clouds of gas, shone with magnificent purple and blue hues. The bands of light flowed slowly through the void, as if someone had splashed a layer of luminous paint onto the celestial canvas.

"Wow, this looks really beautiful... Hehe, I need to gather more information and give it to my teacher when I get back. Maybe next time they'll give me less homework!"

Jian's eyes lit up, and he muttered to himself as he kept moving closer.

Upon hearing this, Beria was about to respond when he sensed something was amiss.

Unlike Ken, who only saw the brilliant colors on the surface of the nebula, Belial, who remained vigilant, keenly observed that there seemed to be signs of distortion at the edge of the starlight.

This made Belial, who was a top student, quickly realize something. He suddenly grabbed Ken, who was still flying forward, and roughly threw him behind him.

"Come back! Stay here and don't move!"

Jian was pulled so hard he almost lost his balance. He flapped his arms and legs for a while before regaining his footing. Looking at Belial with a blank expression, he asked, "What's wrong, Belial? You also want to use this data to finish your assignment? Then you go ahead, I'll find something else..."

"Idiot, from childhood to adulthood, I've always done your homework for you without a second thought. When have I ever worried about that?"

Before Ken could finish speaking, Belial retorted irritably while instinctively reaching out to shield Ken behind him. His gaze quickly scanned the area, finally locking onto the source of the distorted starlight.

After a brief moment of thought, he crossed his hands and tentatively fired a Specium Ray.

As Belial had predicted, the Specium Ray, after advancing for a short time, also began to distort severely. It then vanished at a visible speed into a pure, absolute, all-consuming depths of darkness.

Without a doubt, it was a black hole.

It is worth mentioning that black holes have extremely strong gravity, so strong that even light cannot escape their gravitational pull. Therefore, black holes themselves do not emit or reflect any visible light, and in an optical sense, they are regions that are "invisible".

If it weren't for the light emitted by this nebula inadvertently outlining its gravitational boundaries...

Jian, that headstrong kid who recklessly charged forward, has probably been sucked in now, and his fate is unknown!

Thinking about this, Beria felt a chill of fear.

But Jian, that audacious fellow, after noticing the anomaly in the Specium Ray and realizing the existence of the black hole, not only wasn't afraid of his previous reckless actions, but he also pointed in the direction of the black hole and started excitedly shouting.

"Oh my god! Belial, look! All the light was sucked in! Was that... a black hole? The kind you read about in textbooks—"

"Yes."

"So this is what a real black hole looks like! I thought it would be as bright as in the pictures! Opportunities to observe a black hole up close are rare; I really want to get closer..."

"...Ken! You idiot—!"

Seeing Ken's eagerness, completely unaware that his actions were already flirting with death, Belial felt a chill run down his spine.

She couldn't help but raise her hand and slap Kenichi hard across the face, leaving him completely stunned.

It's important to know that in the ten thousand years he spent in the Land of Light, Belial had never shown such anger in front of Ken. Even when they were away from the training grounds, no matter how much Ken acted up, Belial would at most show some impatience, but he would still play along with Ken's antics and would never lay a hand on him.

So much so that although the slap wouldn't cause any real harm to the thick-skinned bull, it still frightened him so much that he immediately shut his mouth and subconsciously shrank back, like a brat facing his parent's wrath and realizing he was about to be finished, somewhat afraid to meet Beria's gaze.

"Do you know how dangerous that was? Do you know that if I hadn't grabbed you in time, you would have been inside the gravitational field and sucked directly into the black hole, never to escape!"

Even so, Belial's anger showed no signs of abating.

He grabbed Jian's horn and shook him back and forth, roaring through gritted teeth.

"Even if you just slept through class and didn't pay attention at all... what did your teacher tell you before you left? What should you do if you encounter an unknown celestial body? Answer me!"

"Uh... keep... keep your distance, observe first, then judge, and finally act..."

"So you still remember! You still dared to go up to me! You think you're tired of living and want to start your life over again, don't you?!"

"I know you're very curious, but while you can be curious, at least use your brain!"

"Yes, our race of giants of light can travel through the universe on our own, even without spaceships, making us more powerful than the vast majority of intelligent life forms in the universe..."

"But that doesn't mean we're invincible! Nor can we lose our reverence for the universe!"

"...Yes...I...I understand, I won't do it again..."

"Next time? You think there'll be a next time?! Let me tell you, from now on, you'd better obey my every command! If you dare to act on your own, I'll beat you up!"

After a stern reprimand, Beria's chest heaved rapidly.

Some of these words were spoken to Ken, and some were spoken to Beria himself.

To put it bluntly, Beria was also feeling a deep sense of lingering fear at that moment.

But what he feared was not the black hole itself, but the near loss of his dearest friend.

If Beria hadn't grabbed Ken in time, or even hesitated for a moment...

This creature that has been by his side for ten thousand years will disappear forever into that darkness.

The mere thought of that possibility sent chills down Beria's spine.

But Jian, that good-for-nothing, actually laughed after being scolded like that.

But it's not about smiling obsequiously and admitting fault after realizing you're wrong.

Instead, it was as if they had discovered some incredible treasure; their eyes lit up, and they smiled with genuine satisfaction.

That smile made Belial feel inexplicably guilty, and he raised his voice to question it, trying to cover up his strange behavior.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh! What are you laughing at! Do you think I'm joking with you? Or do you think I can't beat you, so you've gotten too big for your britches and want to rebel? Fine, I'm going back to the Land of Light right now to find someone else to partner with, and then we'll see if I still care about you..."

"Hey, hey, hey! No! That's not what I meant, I really didn't!"

With that, Beria turned around, making a gesture as if he was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, this caused Ken, who was usually unperturbed by scolding, to suddenly become agitated. He quickly flew to Belial's side, clasped his hands together, and repeatedly bowed his head to admit his mistake.

"Beria, you're right. I was too rash. I promise I'll listen to you from now on! I promise! From now on, if I encounter anything unfamiliar or glowing, I'll ask you if it's dangerous before I get close. Is that okay?"

"What do you mean by 'something that glows'? Was that the point I was making?!"

"Well, pretty much the same."

"You're way off! You stupid ox—!"

"Okay, okay, you're right, you're right..."

"..."

Looking at this heartless, good-for-nothing calf in front of him, Belial realized that this guy seemed more afraid of being abandoned than of the black hole. The anger mixed with lingering fear in Belial's chest was mixed with a sense of helplessness.

In the end, Belial couldn't hold back any longer. His body slumped down in his training armor, he wiped his face, and let out a long sigh.

"Oh, what a mess. I shouldn't have said that one more thing... Alright, alright, I'm too lazy to argue with you."

"Anyway, you just remember this: from now on, when I say run, just run, don't look back, and don't worry about me! I value my life more than you do, so I'll definitely outrun you!"

"Okay, okay, I got it."

Ken nodded, then discreetly glanced at Belial. Once he was sure Belial had calmed down, he scratched his head and added with a sheepish grin.

"Actually... Belial, I was quite happy when you insulted me just now."

"...What's wrong with you? You can be happy when you get scolded? Do you really need a beating? Or...did you develop some strange fetish?!"

Upon hearing this, Belial reacted like a cat with its fur standing on end, hugging himself and taking several steps back. He also gave Ken a strange look as he scrutinized him.

Hmm, this shouldn't be happening...

This guy is going to marry Mary and have grandchildren in the future; he's a 100% heterosexual pure love warrior. And in recent years, I've seen quite a few female Olympic athletes giving him love letters.

Hmm? Wait a minute, I don't recall this brat dating any female celebrities all these years. Instead, he's been like a leech, always sticking to me...

...Huh? Huh? Wait a minute!

This damn little thing can't possibly be...?!

"Hey, hey, what are you thinking? What I mean is, you don't usually get angry with me. The fact that you're this angry means you're really worried about me, which is why I'm so happy."

Meanwhile, after ten thousand years of companionship, Kenko and Belial exchanged a glance and Kenko realized that his good brother had misunderstood something. He quickly waved his hand awkwardly, indicating that he would never "betray" Belial, and began to explain.

His tone was calm, and every word came from the bottom of his heart, leaving Belial speechless.

A few seconds later, Beria turned around, muttered a sentence, and flew forward without looking back.

"Tch, stop being so presumptuous. I didn't think that way at all... Let's go. Since there's a black hole here, we need to find another way to get around it."

"okay!"

"And... if you dare to disobey me again, I'll tie you up, stuff you in my training armor, and drag you back to the Land of Light!"

"Belial, you should practice knot tying beforehand. I have a feeling that your training armor might be accidentally torn by me."

"...Shut up! Is that the point?!"

"Hahahaha!"

Watching Belial's furious retreating figure, Ken smiled and shut his mouth.

But after only about three seconds of silence, he couldn't help but speak again.

"Belial, that ring of light that was bent around the edge of the black hole was quite beautiful... Hey, what do you think it looks like inside a black hole?"

"...If you dare mention black holes again, I'll kick you in right now and let you see them for yourself!"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about it anymore."

There was another five seconds of silence.

"...But I'm really curious. My teacher once suggested that black holes could connect different regions of spacetime. So, where do you think the other end of a black hole leads to?"

"Jian——!!!!!!!!!"

As he gritted his teeth and roared, Belial felt the temperature inside his training armor rising rapidly.