[Semblance: The Glitch]
ch01 : The Glitchy Trailer
Two dozen men were seen running through the narrow alleyways chasing after a cloaked figure, their hands holding various cold and hot weapons.
"Get him."
"Stop, you bastard."
"Fuck, he's too fast."
Dodging projectiles as if he has eyes on his back, lightning fast reflexes enabling impossible maneuvers, parkouring the urban landscape with a skill enough to put olympians to shame, is a young boy yet pubescent in age.
"Ḧ̷̠̳̈̓̑e̵̡͔̤̮̘̰̰̳̝̒̊̑̓͗̃̿̚͜ȟ̴̢̝̺̻̾̎͛͋̿́̈́̋̌͋̈̕͜͝.̷̛̱̼̣̬͍̮͌̏͛̿͑͋̑̄̇͝͠ ̷̧̨̡͕̟͚̗̤͍̬͕̬̩͎̈́̈̓̀͐̅M̶̪̿̄̀̑͝o̸̢̧̟̲̪͕̩̹̼͓̰͖̥̱̗͋̈͊̾́͌̕͝ǹ̸̛̪̒̈́̈͐̊̉͋̈́̕̚ģ̴̡̀̌̈́͗̐̅͐̕͠ŗ̵̰͉͈̰͉̼͓͚̙̥͓̔ȩ̶͔̥̘̞̳̚ļ̷̞̰̗͊́̏͂͐̂̈́̂̾͆͘̚͜͠͝s̵̛̬̺̳͍̙͐̐̈́̐͌̈́̀̃͝.̴̭̜͊̄"
A scratchy voice, a scream echoing around, seemingly coming from everywhere, eerie and glitchy, yet everyone present knew who it came from.
A shiver ran up the spines of the chasing men, with some having second thoughts about picking a fight with a possible psycho(?).
"Fuck. Don't be fooled! He's just a boy, not a Huntsman! Kill him!"
The boss yelled from the back, his burly body and history of violence inducing confidence and fear in his men.
Silently, they obeyed the order.
Soon, a park came into view, and the boy easily jumped above the walls, entering an artifically cultivated grassy plain.
The others soon followed, and when they saw the boy just standing there, they didn't let their fear take over before surrounding the boy and sealing off all escape routes.
"Now what? There's nowhere to run now, boy. Hand the Scroll over."
At the boss's smug voice, the boy answered in a calm, yet errie tone.
"Y̶̨̗̺̖̭̹̰͚̜̥̍̓̅͊ȏ̸̗̘̝͈̭̻̌͌͐̋̚͘͝͝ũ̵̻̗̩̠̭͘̚͝ŗ̷̢̘̹̰̜̻̘̰̳̇͘͜ ̷̧͍̘̣̘̪̬̩͙̹̳̈́̾́̔̽̇̽̊͋̕͝ţ̵̢̛̼̟͓̯͉̩̜̏̇͌̓̓̚͘i̶̞̞̒̈̾̄͗̓͗̀̽͘m̷̘̲̩̩͖̊͆̌̽̍́̓́̕͝ḙ̷͎̲̮̟̞̖̻̏̏̑̌̒ ̵̯̰̤̞̤͓̤̬̈́̈́̓̊̓͌͋͠h̶̗͚̩̭͚͎̖̪͔̙̤̽̀̈́͗͆̌̽̋́͘̚a̴̰̪̜̚͜ͅš̵̛͕̱̫̪̼͉̮͍̻͐̊̔͆͘ ̵̡̛̖̳̻̮͈͇̤̃̿̐͆̎̈́͒̚͜͠ç̷̨̩̳̩̘̝͕̗͙̒̇̑̅́̈́̚͜͝o̴͍̲͉͖͓͈̭̦̐̄̍͑̀̀̎m̵̠̄̃̀̐̅͛̀e̴͖̫͉̻͐̅́̎͆̀̊̃̍̚,̷̨̣͍͉̩̲̺̼̘̅̿͊̐̽͌̈͠͠ ̴̞̥̹̗̮̭̌͛̀̀͌̍w̶̡̡̼͎̲̰̦̪̩̰̑́͌̒̔͊̒́̚͠õ̴̭̜̇̎̑̏̅̚̕r̴̖̽̄͑͗̾̄̋̍̑m̸̡̡̢̘̼̼̲̐͂͐̐̉̚͜ͅs̸̪̼̏.̶̧͚͕̖̫̞̟̳̞̬͚̚ͅ ̷̘̜͈͂͊̐̃D̷̼̖͇̙̼̄̂͊̈́̒̈́̄̚͠i̴̻̪͛̇̒͑͜ḛ̸͙͌͐̐̄̾̿̈́̅́̒ ̷̢̳̎f̶̰̙̎̉̑̆͛̀͆͠ơ̸̧͚̗̠̣̙͙̜̩̔̿́̇̋͌͛̅͆͛͝r̶̳͙̭̔͋̆̽̀͗̕̕͘͝ ̴͕̥̈̊̈́̏̀̾͆̋̅͘̕͝t̶̙́͌́̇̔̔̅̏͝ḩ̴̰̼̠̦͔̖̀̈́̎̋̉̚͜ì̷̠̗̝͈̣͉̬̥̞̰s̶̤͚̪̯̃̈́̆̄̔͒͠ ̶̹̮̞̩̪͙̄̀̈́̑͝L̶̡̩̯̳̙̣͇̜̤͚̓̊̅͗̈́͝o̷̧̳͓̩͓͙̩̯͖͊̏̓̒͋̔͆̀́̌̚͘r̵̨̧͕̬̟̼̗̘͔̠̿̀̇̆ͅḍ̶̯̱̀͆̓.̵̦͔̜̻͑̍̕"
"You think this is funny? Look around you."
Snickers surrounded him, and the boss countinued at the boy's silence.
"Two dozen men, trained and armed. What can you do when you don't even have a weapon? Even professional Huntsmen shiver at us, much less your puny ass. Kill him!"
With that order, eight men surrounded the boy, in four cardinal and four intermediate directions.
Guns aimed at him, Dust -charged bullets flying at him in quick succession from the semi-auto rifles.
"L̵͕̼̘̯̭͗̿̋̈́̓̓̐̾̓̌̿͜͜͠ị̷̡̨͙͕͍͍̻̗̞̋͒ḿ̶͖̀̐͌̑͌̓̚̕͝͝i̶͓͆͐t̸̨̧̢̛̞̪̮̜̠̮͕̮̬̉͐̓̈͒͛̚͝͠l̷̨̮̳̫̦̏́͒̾̾͛̂̓̑͋͜ệ̸͒̃̑̔͠͠s̶̨̰̯̊̒̿̀́̋͆s̶̜͙͛̍̀̉̅̌̿͋͝͝͝ͅ"
The boy just uttered the word, holding two fingers upward, the rest folded in his fist.
Eruptions surrounded the boy, cheers surrounding through the clearing.
"Did we get him?"
"Fuck, is that it? I was scared for no reason."
"We still get a bonus, right? Even if the fight is anticlimatic?"
Murmurs spread through, but the boss just waited with baited breath, his hand extending to his back, removing the greatsword from its confines and taking a pose.
Seeing the boss so serious, the others also gained their nervousness back, all of them waiting for the smoke to clear.
"A̶̲͚̜̱͍̫̭͗̂̓̌͌̿͐͒̚l̴̡̙͔͖̤̩̱̬̰̭̄̑́͜m̵̬̯̠͓̬̝̯̩̳̿͑̈̃̀͑̂̃̂͘͝į̸̡̥͗͑́̄̓̑̈͝g̶̢̧͍̫̺͖͍̪͔͔̏h̶̟̔̐͆͌̅t̴̛̞̘͕̝̹̑͐͋̀̂̀̕̚͠y̴̡̠̝͉̱̥͔̣̅̉̀̒̓͌̒̊͆̔̐̚ͅ ̸̖̤̭͓̳̮͔͚̮̤̂̎̋͛̓́̔P̶̨̛̲̠̲̦͎̼͔̝̓̅͗̀͘͘u̸̙͍̱͈̫̭̲̳̎͊̏̊̓̔͌̓̈́̐͠s̶̡̨̥͎̝͔̙̪͈̦̮͚͆̆̇̂̐͋̅̑́̅̎̒h̷̡̧̢̧̨͖̼̼̪̥̹̞̾̽̋.̸̼̜͙͈̊̓̃̾̾͐̂̃̆̚͜͜"
"What?"
"Up! He's up—"
Just as the others reacted to the missing boy, some of them noticed the boy floating up, hands extended to his sides.
The boss, quick on his soles, used his Aura and pushed himself as far back as he can.
An uncontrollable force erupted from the floating cloaked boy, pushing the men to the ground, then turning them to pulp, as well as creating a small crater on the ground.
Of the two dozen men surrounding him, only the boss remained alive.
"Wha-wha-what happned?"
He gazed in horror at what just happened, his mind failing to come up with reasonable deductions.
His horror magnified as he realized his Aura Technique, used hastily and uncontrollably, had backlashed.
He spurted a mouthful of blood, his body wobbling dangerously. With a knee and his sword as support, he held himself upright, his shaky eyes turning above, only to not find the perpetrator of the current chaos.
His heartbeat sped up even more than before, and his spine tingled, the back of his neck chilled something fierce.
Without thinking twice, he ducked and rolled forward, twisting his body backward and slashing with all strength he could muster.
"Ḧ̵̛͕̓̑͆̓̔̏̅͝͠o̶̧̧̩̹̩̹͉̭̫̤̖͊͒͆͐̎̃̑͋h̸̨̨̼̝̣̗̲̑̃̈́̑̅̍̓͌͌͗́̚͜?̵̮̯̣̦̩͙̓͑̓̽ ̵̨̩̼̳̉͂̍̓̽̓̎Y̴̤̋͆͝ơ̶̬͎͎̯̳̯͑̏̈́͘u̸̼̒̎̀̏͛̃͗͋͝͝ ̸̦͚̯̘̤̾̓͒̏̓̾̐̎͊̂͘̕ͅs̸̩̙͑̃̾̀͛u̸̡͓̗̤̪͇͈͍͍̿́̿̑̀̃͗͝r̴̝̘̣͇̬̰̰͈̐̄͐̚v̴̧̓ȉ̶̘̝̳̮̯̺͇̘̪̰͂̇̂̀͘͜v̶̧͈̰͔̬̞͖̗̯͖̤͂̚̕͝͠͝ͅȇ̶̺̪͑̓͂̑̈͛ͅd̴͎̮̗̙̦̲͌̓̄̃̊̄͂͆̿ͅ?̵̫̞̕ ̸̩̱́͌̿N̸̡̲͓̰̅͊͑̌͊̐̑̒͌̄̚̚i̶̧͍̪̤̗̰͋̈́̀͛̔̏͛̄͗c̷̩̪̘͙̍͆̌̓͛͑͋͊͘̚͝e̷̮̿̉ ̴̡̼̖̼̲̪̲̘͗͌̌̄͗̍̉͘͠į̴̦̮͖̥̤̀̿̊̌̉͑̈́͜͝͠ͅn̶̗̜̎̀̀̃̐̀̂̓̌̕͜͝͝s̷̘̬̞̣̾͋t̷̨͓̖͙̥̰̝̦̄̋̋î̴̡̜̳̖̰͕̮̉̈́͒̐̓̔͆̀̒ṉ̶̺͉̜͓̥̺̝̠̯̈́̃̎̂͗̽̑͌͘͜ͅc̵̢̻̮͕͈̣̪̀͑̽̂͜͜t̸̢̲̎͂̓͆͘͝͝s̶̨̢̡̼͇̟̍̆͘.̷̢̭̩́͊͐͂̚̚"
The voice followed, his attack having been blocked by, 'fuck, did he block it with his hand? ridiculous.'
He quickly came up with a strategy.
'Negotiate. As long as I live—;'\
His short contemplation was cut short, as he suddenly found himself weightless.
His line of sight raised abruptly, then fell steeply.
Ground, sky, ground sky...
Rolling a few times, his focus stopped at the sight of a body gushing blood from the neck, missing a head.
S̷̝̮̎͗̀̀́͒͝a̴̘̱̜͚̎͋̊͝d̵̬̖̞͝l̷̞̪̯͇͖͓̙̾͐̎̚y̵̧̳͌̈̓̈́͘̚ ̴̼̹͚̀̃͑̿̿̀͝f̸̗̊̆̀̋õ̴̤̮̆r̷̢̞̰̯͓̔͋̀́́̈́͝ ̴̯̟̝̅̂͋͗̄͠͝y̴̡̰̹̬͓͊̓̉͜͝ǫ̷̡̣͍͇̯͓̋́̋̅̚͝u̶͋̐̈́͜,̵̖̟͙̒́̾͂͗ ̶̛̯̤̦̫̘̝̝̔̄̓͠y̵̡͈̬̳̝̜͛̐͌ǫ̵̂͝ù̷̳̘̪̂̑̊̐̑r̸̮̭͂ ̶̫̻͐̓͝l̷͖̭̯̗̂̋̈̔̈̑͝ǐ̶̹̞̄f̷̻̘̱́̓́͝ę̷͊ ̶̡̧̪̙͚̜̟͂̄̇͘e̷͚̱̳̔̈́͂̀n̶͚̲͙̯̼̐̚d̷́͜s̴̲̳̲͉̓̈́͑͜͝ ̵̬̍̀̀͘͝͝ẖ̸̫̜͙̯͓͉͋͑̂̽̋̓ȩ̴̪͇̭̔̓͝r̷̞̼͙̈́͝e̶̪̗̞̖̹͎͒̌̏̎̔̃̂ͅ.̷̨̮͔́͆̽̈́̕
'Huh? Isn't that my body there? Why is it gushing bloo—'
No more thoughts followed the bodyless head, his eyes dilating and gaze stilling.
"H̸̺͉͉͖̣͓̘͋́̇̔m̵̛͎̏m̶̢͓͇͖͕̹̎͑͒̈̊̈́.̴̛̠̭̺͍͊͜ ̴̡̹̱̬͚̲͔͌̈́͆T̵̬̟̯̺̗͓͍́w̸̭̜̦̿͑̏̀̽͆ǫ̷̫̹̙̍͌̍͆́̉̒ ̷̲̪̑̆͊͊͂́ḿ̴̗̲̩̦͐̿̕o̶̢̻̞͍͙͕̞̊̊r̸̨̲͚̳̳̝̉̅̓ͅĕ̸̡̡̛͈͕̯͑̄ͅ ̸͈̫̤͚͔̟̊̇̒͆̈̄͝b̶̼̩̫̪̰̲̑̐̀o̸̹͉͈͠s̶͍̝̓͗͒̄̐͘͠s̷̡̛̫̥͗̋̅̎̈́͘è̵̱̠̗̹͗̔͑͌s̴̡͎̩̖̜̍ ̴̡̰̮͉͚́̌͊̉̃̐ṱ̴͈̠͒͐̀͘͠o̸̯̫̭͗̽ ̷̟̀̊̀́̈́́g̵̡̖͉͕̺̝͉̑̓̓ó̷̘͓͎̫̱̱̆͂͛̅.̸̟̖̺̙̦̳̈́̒̿̒͠ͅ"
With a whisper that seemed to echo in the surroundings, the cloaked figure vanished from the scene, glitching as if a computer bug is pulled into reality.
Calm serenity was restored to the deserted park, and in the morning, in a small corner of a newspaper, the incident was reported in a small article, the denizens of Remnant paying it no heed, for such circumstances are a common occurence.
Somewhere, in an expensive suite of a five star hotel, a boy with striking red eyes, silver hair, and a handsome face rolled a piece of tech in his hands.
His fingers holding the Scroll glitched as if he's a character in a game encountering a bug.
Information parsed quickly through the screen of the Scroll, the hi-tech phone of Remnant, and at the same time, the red eyes of the boy flashed, casting an errie glow to his face.
"Beacon Academy. So it's there."
A melodious voice, much unlike the glitchy tone he had the day before, flowed through.
"So be it."
A glint of determination flashed through his eyes, his destination set.
ch02 : The Suspicious Looking Eye
Harukin was a normal teen.
Other than residing in a frontier town in a dystopian dead world with murderous beasts of darkness hunting all living things in existence with a hate boner, that is.
He doesn't know how he knew all these things, but he did ever since he can form coherent thoughts so he learned to systematically ignore it. His own weirdness creepes him out, so he decided to turn his eyes the other way and let the future!Harukin handle the problems that arise as a result of such procrastination.
"Damn it, Harukin, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop dozing off in the middle of work!"
A flying slipper hit him in the back of his head, ignoring the laws of physics and twisting and turning through the corridors of the house.
Harukin still doesn't know how his mother does that, or even how she just knows he's lazing off, but he learned to not question it.
"Mom, Yes, Mom!"
His reply, instinctive as it is after thousands of repetitions, flowed smoothly, hopefully helping dim the flames of his mother's wrath.
"Get to work, then! I swear, children these days—"
Harukin ignored his mother's mumbles, then got to work.
His family runs an Alchemy shop, and he is to prepare ingredients for all sorts of things.
He's still not allowed into the workshop, but he's learning, and hopefully he'll be allowed to do so before he becomes a hopeless hikiNEET like the neighbour next door.
