𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝘼𝙧𝙘 𝟭: 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝 𝟳 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨
𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 Master revealed the fragment’s location—
Akira stood at the edge of the forest.
𝘼𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩
Behind him—
A full unit.
𝟭𝟲 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨
𝟮𝟱 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖-𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙨
𝟵 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨
Not the strongest…
…but 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙.
The group moved deep into the forest.
After a while, the mages suddenly stopped.
One of them raised his hand and began casting.
Mana spread outward in all directions like a 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚.
A moment later—
His eyes widened.
“…40 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝-𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩!”
Another mage added quickly,
“𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰… 𝘈 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Akira nodded.
“𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘦.”
The entire group rushed forward.
As they ran, one of the archers spoke to a swordsman beside him:
“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵… 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥.”
But Akira wasn’t listening.
His mind was elsewhere.
That fight.
That loss.
That man.
Again and again—it replayed in his head.
Under his coat, the fragment-formed katana’s handle rested silently.
Then—
𝙏𝙃𝙐𝘿… 𝙏𝙃𝙐𝘿…
Heavy footsteps.
Everyone froze.
They quickly hid behind trees and rocks.
Akira carefully peeked out—
…and saw it.
A wormhole, tearing open 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.
From it—
Monsters.
Demons.
And three massive giants… feeding on flesh.
Human.
Animal.
It didn’t matter.
And among them—
𝙃𝙞𝙢.
The same man from 𝙊𝙨𝙖𝙠𝙖.
Akira gave a signal.
The archers stepped forward first.
The giants noticed them.
They grinned— and stood up.
One stepped forward, reaching out to grab them.
Before it could—
𝙏𝙃𝙐𝘿!
𝙏𝙃𝙐𝘿!
𝙏𝙃𝙐𝘿!
Arrows pierced into their bodies.
The giants roared in pain.
“𝘔𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴—!!”
“𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢!? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴!!”
“𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬!”
The entire group charged.
Blades clashed.
Spells exploded.
Screams filled the forest.
A mage shouted toward Akira:
“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢—𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰!?”
Akira didn’t hesitate.
He ran forward— and jumped straight toward the portal.
But—
Before he could enter—
A hand grabbed him from behind— and threw him away.
He crashed into the ground.
Akira quickly stood up— and glared.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶…”
The man stood there calmly.
“…𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦,” he said casually.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵…?”
He removed his hood.
𝗔 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝟯𝟬𝘀.
𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻.
𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀.
𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱.
“…𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦?”
Akira pointed his sword at him.
“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮!?” he shouted.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦!”
“𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶!?”
The man raised his hand slightly in mock surrender.
“𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸…”
“𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺… 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯-𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦.”
He smiled faintly.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥—”
He drew his blade.
Dark energy began to consume it.
“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺.”
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦…”
“…𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗸.”
Akira dashed forward and swung.
Varok dodged effortlessly.
“…𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸,” he said.
A kick—
Akira was sent flying.
Before he could recover—
Varok swung his blade.
A crescent of dark energy shot forward.
Akira tried to dodge—
Too late.
𝙎𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙃
The attack tore through his armor— and slammed him into a rock.
He coughed blood.
Still—
Quickly casting a healing spell.
Varok walked toward him slowly.
Unbothered.
“…𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶,” he said in a bored tone.
“…𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦?”
He paused.
Then suddenly he snap his fingers—
“…𝘈𝘩. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”
He removed part of his arm guard— revealing a mark.
𝗔 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹.
Like the 𝗲𝘆𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵,” Varok said.
“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦…”
“𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.”
“𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.”
He lowered his arm.
“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.”
“𝘍𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘦.”
“𝘈𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦… 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘺.”
Behind them—
The battle was collapsing.
Giants 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 archers.
Monsters 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 mages.
𝘼 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙 backward in fear.
“𝘚-𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺…!”
Her voice trembled.
The monsters closed in.
Her scream echoed.
Varok glanced around.
“…𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘳?” he said calmly.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
“𝘐𝘯 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴…”
“…𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭.”
Suddenly—
𝙎𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙃
Akira cut through him.
The same strike.
The same angle.
Just like Osaka.
Varok’s cough blood and drop on floor as soon as akira drew his katana back.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯…” Akira said, breathing heavily.
“…𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”
“𝘈 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.”
He turned— ready to rejoin the fight—
Then stopped.
A 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.
𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺.
He slowly looked back.
…and 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲.
Varok’s body— was 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Dark energy flowed from his blade— 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗺.
Not a spell.
Not healing.
Something else.
Varok stood up again.
Completely fine.
“…𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩,” he said casually.
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵.”