𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝘼𝙧𝙘 1: 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝 11 – 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.
𝗔𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮 quickly stood in his fighting stance and glanced back.
Without wasting a second, he threw his knife toward the eye of one of those half-serpent beasts.
The serpent dodged it cleanly and lunged toward him.
Too fast.
Before Akira could even react, it was already in front of him.
Then—
A young archer jumped forward and shoved Akira aside.
“𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦!”
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵—?!”
Akira crashed onto the grass and quickly looked back.
The archer glanced at the monster— and before he could move again— the serpent’s tongue 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 through his body.
For a moment, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳.
𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.
Blood spread across 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻.
Everyone froze.
Then a mage screamed—
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵—𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘈𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘦!”
He raised his hand and cast a spell.
A violent blast of 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀 and threw them back into the water.
Someone else shouted—
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬!”
The serpents and the flying spirits in the sky were already 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.
“𝘈𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦! 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘦! 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦!”
The mage stood in front of Akira without hesitation.
An archer released an arrow.
In less than a second, it transformed into 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 and pierced one of the serpent beasts, setting it ablaze.
Everyone quickly formed a circle around Akira.
Then chaos exploded.
From behind, a goblin leaped forward and bit an archer’s hand clean off.
Screams filled the battlefield.
Everyone was forced into close combat.
Then— a spirit appeared behind Akira.
Before he could react, she buried her hand 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘀.
Akira gasped violently.
He turned and slashed her wrist off.
She pulled back.
For at least a moment, her arm was severed— but then it began healing.
Akira narrowed his eyes.
“𝘛𝘤𝘩.”
He tightened his grip on his knife.
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭… 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵…”
Then his eyes widened.
A plan.
He shouted while fighting—
“𝘖𝘪! 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴! 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤!”
The mages looked at him.
Then nodded.
They understood.
“𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦… 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙨!”
In an instant, a massive storm formed around Akira.
Before anyone could react— the storm lifted him into the sky itself.
As he was carried away, he yelled—
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘋𝘐𝘐𝘌𝘌𝘌!!”
𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿
Akira was still trapped inside the storm, breathing heavily from nonstop fighting.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he took a breath.
Relief.
Then— a giant appeared in front of him and slapped him straight out of the storm.
He crashed violently onto the ground.
“𝘖𝘸…”
He groaned and tried to sit up.
“𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵… 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳…”
Then he looked up.
And froze.
𝗔 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁— 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗯 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
They stared at him like he was dessert after dinner.
Then— he noticed it.
The 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
His katana’s missing half.
It was in the hands of several demons.
The moment they noticed him— they threw it onto the ground.
A tiny goblin jumped toward him.
Akira rolled away, grabbed it midair, and 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 and 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 until it 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴.
He stood up slowly.
Took a deep breath.
“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴…”
He pulled out his sword.
“𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘺 pla𝘯.”
He stared ahead.
“𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵…”
His eyes sharpened.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
He charged.
He dodged a dwarf first, grabbed a horse-headed monster, and threw it into several demons.
Then he jumped over them.
For a second— it looked like he might actually make it.
Then— one monster grabbed his arm.
And bit down.
𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱.
𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱— 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳𝗳.
“𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃𝙃!!”
Akira screamed.
His arm— and his sword— 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.
Nearby monsters didn’t even hesitate.
They immediately 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁.
Akira looked back— but then locked eyes with the giant again.
He kept running.
Blood poured from his shoulder.
The monsters attacked.
He shoved them away.
𝗖𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.
Then— before the giant could crush him under its foot—
𝗔𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝘀.
The giant collapsed, crushing at 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 beneath it.
“𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺…”
He smirked through blood.
“𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺…”
He turned— and ran again toward the fragment.
Then— before he could react— a goblin-like demon jumped on him and bit directly into his eye.
“𝘼𝙍𝙂𝙃—!!”
Akira screamed.
He grabbed the thing and threw it away— but his eyeball was already 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵.
𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
So 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗺.
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘆𝗲.
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
But he kept moving.
Then— his steps slowed.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀’ 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀.
And for one moment— he stopped.
“𝘞𝘩𝘺…”
His voice trembled.
“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨?”
The monsters were getting closer.
“𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵… 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱?”
His breathing shook.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮…”
“𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢…”
His grip weakened.
“𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦…”
His voice became small.
“𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘦.”
“𝘕𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.”
“𝘕𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥.”
“𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦.”
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦…”
He stopped walking.
The monsters charged.
Akira didn’t even try to run.
𝗛𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲.
And 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.
Then— memories flashed.
A small child.
Watching 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆-𝗠𝗮𝗻 on television.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘆𝗮𝘁𝗼.
Eyes shining.
On screen, the hero stood broken, exhausted, barely able to stand.
Yet still— he faced the villain.
Breathing heavily.
“𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱…?”
Victory-Man said.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰…”
His voice was rough.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸!”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥!”
“𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶!”
His scream shook the world—
“𝘐…. 𝙄 𝙒𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘿𝙀𝙁𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙄𝙍 𝙎𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙀𝙎 𝙏𝙊 𝙍𝙀𝙏𝙐𝙐𝙐𝙐𝙍𝙍𝙉!!”
His mother laughed as little Ayato posed like Victory-Man.
“𝘔𝘺, 𝘮𝘺… 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘈𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘰…”
She smiled warmly.
“𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘺.”
His father’s calm voice followed.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵… 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
“𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦…”
“𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.”
“𝘈 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.”
“𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵…”
“𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.”
“𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”
“𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.”
His father smiled.
“𝘉𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰.”
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴.”
“𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺.”
“𝘉𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰.”
“𝘉𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙊.”
Then— another memory.
High school.
The first time he met Hina.
She walked to his desk and flicked his forehead.
“𝘖𝘸—!”
“𝘠𝘰, 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘠𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢 Hin𝘢.”
She pointed at him.
“𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴?”
“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥—𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.”
She grinned.
“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺!”
Akira looked at her.
“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦?”
She slapped his shoulder and laughed.
“𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦…”
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵.”
Then— the 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 who stayed behind.
The 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀.
The 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.
Everyone fighting because they believed in him.
And—
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮.
Fighting alone outside.
Not because he had to.
Because he 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼.
Because he 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱.
𝗜𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺.
𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲.
𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆.
𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹.
The monsters jumped.
And in that instant— he moved.
𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱.
𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀.
𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗵.
Screaming.
Not from fear.
But from rage.
From a boy too young for war— yet still choosing to be a 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼.
“𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏—”
He slammed a knife into a 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝘀𝗸𝘂𝗹𝗹.
“𝘿𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙐𝙂𝙇𝙔 𝙋𝙄𝙀𝘾𝙀𝙎 𝙊𝙁 𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙏!!”
His voice had turned harsh.
𝗗𝗿𝘆.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻.
The monsters bit into him.
His 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀.
His 𝗮𝗿𝗺.
His 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿.
He kept killing.
Like a 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗞𝗘𝗥.
No goal.
Only destruction.
Then—
𝗔 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗲-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 tore both his legs off.
Akira collapsed.
While monsters fought over his severed legs— 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱.
𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲.
The ground beneath him was soaked in blood.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.
He crawled.
“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵… 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴…”
Then claws pierced into his back.
“𝘼𝙍𝙂𝙃𝙃—!!”
He cast a spell.
“𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦-𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦… 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘍𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦.”
His 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱.
𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱— burning the monsters off him.
His armor 𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲.
𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲.
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲.
𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲.
𝗬𝗲𝘁— 𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴.
The fragment ahead of him 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻.
Something you could only look at.
𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵.
But still— 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱.
Just a few inches away— he looked back.
A monster was already in front of him.
It jumped.
Akira gasped— reached— and 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲.
Everything stopped.
Then— everything changed.
𝗔 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱.
𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻.
𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
𝗡𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱.
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
Akira looked around.
“𝘈𝘩…”
He blinked.
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮 𝘐?”
Silence.
Then panic.
“𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵—”
His eyes widened.
“𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘦?!”
“𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯?!”
“𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴—!”
“𝘕𝘰.”
A voice answered.
Akira froze.
He turned around.
And for a moment— 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱.
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
Standing there.
“𝘔𝘰… 𝘔𝘰𝘮…?”
She raised her hand.
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳.”
Her voice was calm.
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳.”
Then— in a blink— 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱.
His father.
“𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯…” he said calmly,
“𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”
He looked directly into Akira’s eyes.
His tone was quiet.
But chilling.
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵…”
“𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”
𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲.
“𝘐…”
“…𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.”
Akira has come across the fire fragment after so much pain and suffering, what will happen now?
Will the fire fragment will provide it’s power to him?
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