The three of us made out way through the red layer without a problem. I think it has something to do with the pressure I feel coming off of Tachibana. It doesn't feel very strong while I'm close to her, so it came as a surprise when we found a duo of Awakeners that I could feel were stronger than me.
The man who stood in front of the woman was the stronger of the two. His auburn hair was partially lifted, not by air, but by the aura surrounding him that'd be invisible if I weren't so focused on him. The unchancy mist around him and his incandescing yellow pupils gave the feeling that we were already engaged in a battle.
Behind him, a woman with dusty blonde hair tied back into a ponytail seems to be preparing for an incantation of some kind. Her hands are behind the dagger wielder's back, if I had to guess I'd say that she's a mage. I expected the two of them to be some of the opposing Awakeners that Tachibana briefed us about. It's for this reason that I'm surprised when the blonde mage is the one that disengages, calling Tachibana by her name.
As it turns out, the two in front of us were acquaintances. The one with blonde hair, Avery Whiteherb, is the healer that was previously mentioned. Now that we're closer, I'm able to tell the difference in power between us, and much to my surprise—although it seemed greater before—the gap between us is not all too great whatsoever.
We find ourselves gathering in front of the black barrier that I don't recognize. It feels eerie, like the gates to the dungeons I've delved into in the past. There is a minor difference between the two, but I cannot tell what it is. "This is a gate, right?" I place my hand on the barrier, finding that I'm unable to go past it. Even if I apply all my body weight to it, it won't show any signs of budging.
"Not quite," Avery answers, stepping up beside me. "The black layer is an enigmatic location, we don't understand how it works, but we do know that this barrier was not here initially. It appeared shortly after Shoyca did, and we have no idea who, or even what, is responsible for creating it. All we know is that there's no way it can be a dungeon gate."
I become even more curious, finding the wording of that sentence to be enthralling. Her words repeat in my head: 'there's no way it can be a dungeon gate'. The peculiarity of this statement makes my mind slip past my normal train of thought, and I wonder about a normal gate. Gates are known for leading to dungeons, though what if there was an instance where a gate led to a location; acting like a portal to somewhere else?
Brushing the speculations aside, I turn around to face the rest of the group. "So how are we supposed to get in? It doesn't look like it's just going to open for us." I emphasize 'open', ensuring that they know the main problem to avoid any snide comments about my cluelessness.
This time, Tachibana is the one to chime in, "Getting into the black layer isn't an easy task. To get inside, we need to sacrifice the life of one person, that's why I brought Malison here." Tachibana's hand slaps against Malison's back, sending her forward. This is one of the few times I see a look of organic terror on Malison's face as if she doesn't doubt for a moment that Madam Tachibana would sacrifice her.
"I'm just kidding, of course," I barely notice it, but Malison lets out a sigh of relief. "You only need to recite a phrase to get inside. Put your hand on the door and repeat: 'Open, O' Keeper of Hell.'"
"That's quite the phrase, who the hell figured it out?" It's pretty odd to think that somebody just managed to guess the combination for entering this place.
Yuri is the one who answers me this time, "The head of the Awakener Association spread the information when he received it. No one knows who discovered it, other than him." It's strange to repeatedly be given answers from different people. Everyone knows the same thing, but I'm somehow clueless. I suspect that Malison is just as clueless as me, but she's also more tactical than I am. She'd never let her weakness be known to strangers.
Tachibana steps in front of the group, placing her hand on the barrier. "I'll warn you all now. When we enter the black layer, there is a high chance we won't return alive. The barrier is made to keep monsters of a certain caliber inside, but monsters just below that threshold can freely enter and exit whenever. If you're hurt and try to run, there's a good chance that some monsters will follow you out and kill you."
She grins at us, "I don't think I have a team of cowards though. Now, to assign positions. Luck and Yuri will be a duo, Malison will go alone, and Avery will stay with me." I can barely keep my jaw from falling open, startled by this utterly terrible teaming.
"Is that really for the best? Malison going alone is just asking for her to die!" Judging by the looks on their faces, Avery and Yuri share the same opinion as me.
"There's a fine difference between the groups. Firstly, Avery needs to be protected since she's our healer. I'm the best person to defend her, and there's no need for anyone else. You've come here to get stronger, which brings me to my second point; Malison can freely teleport and map out the black layer once she's inside, she'll be fine on her own. Lastly, Luck, you're not as good as a fighter as anyone I've named. Even Avery could outdo you as you are now. Yuri will monitor your growth and make sure you don't die in there."
Tachibana swipes her hand through the air, tossing something at each of us.
Examining the item, I find that it looks to be a normal earpiece. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little disappointed. "Keep your earpieces in and let us know if you're in trouble. We'll be able to pinpoint each other through our windows." I'd nearly forgotten that our status windows are connected to the Awakener System. When I place the earpiece in, my status window displays blue dots on the map feature that I'd barely been using. Without needless explanations, it's obvious that the dots represent the earpiece holders.
When I look up, I'm surprised to find everyone already placing their hands on the barrier and reciting the phrase to pass through. "W-Wait!" I barely keep myself from tripping over my own feet as I hurry to the barrier.
The sight that I see is one that I don't think I can see anywhere else but here. The sky is euphoric, brimming with more dynamic lights than an aurora. Clouds are in places that they just needed to be, like they were masterfully painted to perfection, with no absence of sunlight no matter where you went. There are odd, soaring fowls that I've never seen before moving through the air in groups. They are much larger than any bird I've seen—but small enough to still look like the perfect pet.
Just where we stand, at the edge of a riverbank, I see many holts settled around us. The forest we've found ourselves in is brimming with wildlife. My instincts warn me about deeper, lurking dangers, however. There are as many dangers creeping around each corner as beautiful animals are going about their lives in peace, without the obstruction of humans.
I've been left alone with Yuri, who's supposed to protect me. I'm not sure where everyone else is, but I can't agree with the notion that splitting up is a good idea. I also can't argue with Tachibana's verdict either, she's one of the few individuals who've actually gone inside this place before. While I'm still basking in all of its glory, Tachibana is likely growing bored.
"This place isn't what I expected," Yuri is basking just as much as I am now that we're alone. I didn't think about it, but this setting is unfamiliar to him too. In terms of size, there is so much of Shoyca to explore that there's no way we'll be able to discover everything in one day. That might've been Tachibana's plan, to have us camping out here for a few days. "It's incredible to think, all of this just came into creation one day. All these animals, all this life, it just spawned in our world."
I nod my head, agreeing with his words. The entire world changed after the first invasion when those monsters started appearing. I was killed and woke up 10 years later. There are so many things that I've missed, it's a miracle that a larger timeframe didn't pass the second time I came back.
...I think I'm enjoying this life.
Suddenly, an alarming pressure strikes my back, drawing my attention to the deeper parts of the forest behind me. Yuri noticed as well, getting into a kosher stance with his dagger. "Something's coming," he said. I've heard many things about the black layer recently, and my thoughts on what to expect have become skewered—it'll be impossible to know what's here until I see it.
Much to the surprise of both of us, a small figure springs out of the bushes. The pressure we'd once felt disappeared the moment this small, rabbit-like creature unveiled itself. It looked like a normal rabbit, except the fox-like tail sprouting out of it. "Do you have any idea what that is...?" I don't turn my attention away from it, although it doesn't seem to pose an immediate threat to us.
"I don't know, some kind of bear thing, maybe?" Yuri is just as confused as I am, unable to figure out what's standing in front of us. His words make my brows arch, however.
"What do you mean, 'bear thing'? It's a rabbit, man." It's difficult concealing the despondent tone in my voice after considering his analysis of the creature.
"How can something that big be a rabbit?" Yuri retorts, urging me to reevaluate what I'm looking at. It's unfortunate that by the time the two of us caught on, it was already too late.
I feel a large construct crash into my chest, but there is nothing in front of me. My body is thrown back by the force, if it were not for my regeneration, I'd have probably had permanent damage done to my innards. Crashing into a nearby boulder, it shatters beneath me, earning more than just a groan from me. I cry out in pain, feeling pieces of the stone puncturing various parts of my upper half.
"...hang on!" Barely, I make out Yuri's words through my disheveled hearing. The ringing doesn't stop no matter how much I shake my head, and worst of all, my vision has become blurry, making it impossible for me to act properly even if I wanted to. Through the haze in my sight, I can make out the fight between Yuri and a... fog-like entity.
Roughly describing its appearance; its body is nearly transparent, if its dark composition were replaced with even a tinge of white, it'd be easily misperceived as water vapor. Many claws stretch from its form, slashing with the intent of cleaving Yuri apart.
When my vision clears, I fully take in the awe-inspiring battle before me. Yuri, with a single dagger in hand, is masterfully defending and countering the countless arms of the fog monster. It isn't until Yuri's back is facing me do my instincts kick in to move.
It's barely been a minute and my body is completely healed, my regeneration has increased in proficiency, thankfully. I rise to my feet, willing Artemis and Apollo to manifest in my hands. It comes as a surprise when only Apollo appears in my hand.
'Artemis...?' I think, hearing Apollo's voice in my mind to answer. 'She's tired from the last fight with Ascelin. Absorbing so many souls did a number on her.' Apollo's words make me wonder just how strong my weapon spirits are. I know they're much stronger than I am, they even have the ability to bypass durability. But, the thought that Artemis—who I consider the be the stronger of the two—was overwhelmed by a task that I gave her... doesn't sit well with me.
Right as his weapon is about to stab into the body of the fog creature, I use [Time Manipulation] to close the gap between myself and the creature too. Yuri's dagger stabs into the creature's front, and as I anchor my feet into the ground, my dagger stabs into the creature's side.
There is an eerie silence before the fog creature finally dissipates into the air, its body dispersing. I'm sure I uncovered a new skill, but I didn't get a notification about it. More importantly, that monster was dangerous. If it weren't for my regeneration ability, I would've died after the first blow.
Yuri turns to me, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I don't understand that thing's ability fully, but it might be possible that we got caught inside of it or something. Weirdly, we both saw two different illusions."
I completely agree with Yuri's statement, nodding my head. The moment the monster grew closer, I stopped detecting any of the danger I'd felt when it was approaching. "We're going to be fighting monsters like this all week," my words hold no comfort in them, rather, I think it'd make it very obvious how exhausted I'll be by the end of this ordeal.
There's nowhere for me to go back to now, though. This is my current life, and I have a mission; find Hairo. I don't know who he is, but I'm certain that he'll be around here somewhere. The only issue is finding him. All I know is that whenever I get involved with these 'otherworldly' affairs, there's a deeper rabbit hole that I end up getting pushed down.
"This is a good opportunity for you to become more aware of your surroundings. Judging by the fact that you couldn't dodge the first attack, you're relying solely on your instincts, but not your mana," he might sound a bit harsh, but I can tell that he's genuinely putting effort into teaching me. It's unfortunate that before I can ask him to elaborate further, or before he can, another dreadful aura comes from the surrounding forest again. We've been given no time to rest.
When I turn to look in the direction of the aura, my heart stops. My body freezes up in pure fear, or rather, trauma.
Since my first life, it's always haunted me. Its massive limbs, and its abyssal-colored body that'd make it stand out under a shadow. Some spikes grow aside its appendages, barely making them look like scales. More horrifying than any of these features is its smile. The smile that has embedded itself into my memory.
It is not the same one as before, this one is smaller but still maintains the familiar crouched posture as the one that first appeared—the [Barodon]. The monster that Anaphiel described as 'too powerful for Awakeners to handle', as well as a monster powerful enough to break my window. It is responsible for my 10-year hiatus, and although this one seems like a weaker variant of it, I can tell that it's just as dangerous.
I've become more courageous over time, trying my best to become stronger and more fearless so I can get stronger fast. Even in this situation where I can hardly understand why I'm so special, I try to make the most of everything and have fun. The instincts in my mind warned me that this is far from fun. The sudden lack of wind told me that not even the air around the creature wished to be noticed.
At that moment, when our chance of survival was depreciating the longer we stood in place, I made a decision.
Using [Time Manipulation], [Space Manipulation], [God of Fortune], and [Flight], I reach Yuri in an instant. Taking him by the arm, I then use [Minor Future Sight] and [Perfect Double] to leave a duplicate of myself in my place.
Moving as quickly as I can, I drag Yuri further into the forest, as far as I can. Though, not even soon after we left, I lost connection with the copy I'd left behind.
Without turning back, I can still feel the presence of the monster trying to track us, trying its best to follow us from afar. It wouldn't be in my line of sight by the time I turn around, but I know that it was trying to follow us. Getting away from this monster isn't going to be easy.
Lulu Burns, Red Layer.
"Any idea what this thing can be?" Zaiden calls down to me as I'm busy staring in awe at the impossible display in front of me. "I've never heard of anything like this before," I reply. There were many lists of monsters that existed in the world, unknown monsters were all likely to reside in the black layer of Shoyca, where a barrier has been put up to keep powerful monsters inside.
It's hard to ignore the sweat lathering my face, though it'd be much harder to pretend that we hadn't lucked out by steering clear of the barrier to the black layer as we had.
An image snaps to my mind as Zaiden and I attempt to figure out what is lying before us. At school, one of my classmates showed me an image that they were reasonably frightened over. Since it didn't look too important, I just ignored it for the most part, laughing around with them before I continued studying ways to improve my Pathfinder abilities.
"Biblical..." I try remembering the phrase used, gaining Zaiden's attention who turns to look at me. "Angels, 'biblically accurate angels'!" I called out the entire name, and although it sounded ridiculous saying it out loud, it appears that even the clueless Zaiden felt the power behind those words.
Zaiden was crouching down on top of a massive ring, one of several, encrusted with countless cavities. At the center of the black rings that were buried into the dirt, a massive sphere stood, an equally massive cavity in the front of it, large enough to fit a few homes. "My friend showed me a photo of something like this, 'angels' with hundreds of eyes that were thought to be the accurate depictions of angels from the Bible!" Although I'm only 11, I can't help but admit that I occasionally gawk at my vocabulary.
"Hundreds of eyes...?" Zaiden runs his hand across the inside of one of the massive cavities on the ring, which was still much smaller than the one on the orb. As his hand touches the cavity, he quickly yanks it away as a silver liquid bursts out from where he'd touched, spewing out until it fills the cavity and starts pouring out onto the ground.
"Jesus!" Zaiden falls back onto his bottom, startled by the sudden overflow of the unfamiliar fluid. "Every cavity is where an eye should be..." I decide that it's best to conclude that this creature is an angel, or at least something similar. Its color is much different than the divine white that's usually displayed, however, I have no reason to judge since I'm not religious myself.
I cautiously approach the liquid, drawing out one of the knives supplied to me by Ms. Alice for this task. Supposedly, each knife's material should be enough to cut through [A-Rank] monsters, and so far the weapon has not failed me. First, I circle around the waterfall of silver, then try to stab into the body of the creature. Unlike when Zaiden touched the inside of the cavity, nothing happened when I attempted to stab into the body of the creature.
Still, I do not detect any danger nearby. My ability has learned to automatically show me the safest route, so it'd warn me to back away if something dangerous were going to happen.
Finding that the body of the creature wouldn't budge, I'd at least deduced that its constitution was greater than [A-Rank], given that my weapon didn't leave so much as a scratch on it. "This thing should be around [S-Rank], right?" Zaiden, who's been watching me in my attempt at stabbing the orb, must've been thinking the same thing as me.
"It should be... but there's barely any damage done to its body besides its eyes being torn out. There's barely any sign of resistance, not even so much as a scrape anywhere on the rings or its body." I'm not much of a fighter, but I'm more than aware that if a fight occurred, there should be signs of battle besides its body being thrown into the dirt. Damage done to the rings is expected since they are like an outer layer that looks to protect the main orb inside.
"Something killed this thing, a [S-Rank] monster, effortlessly...?" Zaiden found it hard to believe. We both shake our heads, believing this to be some kind of mistake. "That couldn't be," Zaiden laughs in his attempt to disregard this notion.
A painful silence follows, and I take a look at my knife. I approach the waterfall of silver and stick my knife beneath the stream. It was just a feeling, but I was curious about what would happen. When I pull the knife out, the blade, made from an [A-Rank] material, is completely missing. This is everything I need to confirm my theory. This creature is [S-Rank] or even stronger. Its blood is so corrosive that it can melt [A-Rank] materials in an instant, a feat that is even difficult for some of the [S-Rank] Awakeners.
"If what we're assuming happened... what killed this thing?" Zaiden's words send a chill down my spine. Something powerful enough to contend with the strongest individuals in the world has been slaughtered on this island, Shoyca. I knew that the black layer had powerful beasts within, but never did I think that there was one strong enough to disregard the strongest of beasts and blow a hole through the barrier to the black layer.
One of the rings was holding the barrier to the black zone up, creating an opening beneath its mass. Not only was this creature killed, but something overly powerful escaped from the inside of the barrier. The whole purpose of the barrier is to keep powerful monsters locked inside of a specific location; it has failed to save its purpose.
"We need to tell Ms. Alice about this, immediately." Without wasting any time, I create a descending path in front of Zaiden, beckoning him to follow me. "We'll follow the safest route back to the orange zone, then tell the others about what we've found. Take some pictures while we go."
However, as I follow the arrows that only I can see, they suddenly take a turn, pointing behind me. I pause, confused about what this could mean. Never before has the route to follow ever changed to this degree, telling me to turn back in the opposite direction. In a fight, certainly, but it is illogical for there to be no safe routes ahead. My ability considers potential threats in the general location of its path; meaning that for this to happen, a threat needs to have appeared in the direction I was headed.
Without thinking further, I turn around to see where the arrows are heading. To my surprise, the arrows stop, pointing down a few feet away from me. That's when it hits me, "Something's coming!" I scream to Zaiden, leaping forward and landing just in time to avoid a massive stone totem crash into the ground where I'd been standing before.
Dust rises from the ground, but I can make out two figures on top of the massive construct that'd nearly flattened me. My legs have barely avoided being crushed by the totem, and I refuse to remain in a position where they can be taken from me easily. Rising to my feet, I create a pathway that intersects with me and its destination, causing an arrow to catch me by the collar and drag me to the destination in question; right beside Zaiden, who leaped from the ring of the creature instead of taking my stairs.
"There's no way a kid like her could do this to a [Helper], Yoo." I hear the voice of a woman on top of a totem, and another follows after, "I agree, Koo. They're pretty lucky to have found it though, aren't they?" As the dust settles, I can make out their elegant forms. Red hair, red eyes, and red dresses; I can tell that they are just like Ms. Cesta.
I turn to my side, finding Zaiden grinning like a madman as he removes his sword from its sheath. Zaiden's become very enthusiastic about fighting strong people after the constant abuse Alice has put him through. He's proudly proclaimed that he will "surpass and defeat Alice Slater" in the future.
"Red Witches, I'm in luck today!" Although I don't doubt Zaiden's abilities, I find it concerning that he expects to win in a fight against not one, but two Red Witches. Every Red Witch is an anomaly in our world, surpassing most people from the moment they're born. That's the explanation that Ms. Alice has given to me, at least. Zaiden is slightly aware of this fact too, yet he refuses to back down from the threat in front of us.
The two girls arch their brows in amusement, watching as Zaiden reaches back to draw another sword from a second sheath. At some point, he decided to carry two swords around. "I keep two weapons for moments like this!" His teeth nearly shine with how wide he's smiling, and as if he could care less for the danger in front of him, Zaiden slashes the air, creating crescents that surge toward the top of the pillar, at the two women on top.
They were either weak or underestimated Zaiden since their faces twisted into ones of shock after reveling in the speed of his slash.
The two land on the ground ahead of us in unison, a few meters away. They're coughing from the dust that was created from the impact of the strike, disregarding their totem crumbling behind them. "His stats are subpar, Koo. How did he destroy the effigy?" The red-haired woman on the left, who I believe is named Yoo, seems to be very curious about how Zaiden could cut their totem.
In all honestly, if I didn't know Zaiden so well, I'd be surprised by the feat too. His stats were all low, they were terrible. If it weren't for the fact that Alice vehemently testified for him, he'd have never been allowed onto the island in the first place.
Around Zaiden, I can see a manifestation of his willpower in the shape of a golden lion. It's possible that they can see it too, judging by how the two girls who once seemed tepid were now showing signs of caution. "He's dangerous, Yoo. This mortal isn't normal."
Surprisingly, the two girls release their auras as well. I'm caught in the crossfire of the three sharing a duel of willpower, with Zaiden's golden lion facing their dual-headed viper, wielding an amethyst tint.
As an [E-Rank] Awakener, it should be impossible for Zaiden to face these two. I can already tell that their power is around [B-Rank], but that isn't enough to force this eccentric swordsman to back down. With two abilities, Zaiden is able to overcome his weakness depending on the situation. He refuses to elaborate on the condition of his abilities, but I've deduced the cause behind his rapid growth despite his stats.
[Photographic Learning] and [Unbreakable Blade] are the two skills that have granted Zaiden unlimited potential. I've only been able to speculate the details of [Photographic Learning], though Alice has theorized that by watching her fight and use her abilities, his body is slowly changing its constitution without the need for stats—Zaiden's physical abilities at their base are increasing to counter Alice Slater's [Causality Manipulation].
He is nowhere near strong enough to perform such an impossible feat now, but that isn't a problem to him, who grows stronger the more he fights and spectates. When he arrived, he was the weakest in his group, despite being the leader of the newcomers. Jade Moss defeated him in a few sparring matches, but he did not back down at all. In fact, during his sparring sessions, he never once utilized [Photographic Learning], but still held his own against the strong fire mage. I'm not even sure when he acquired it—when we came out of that strange dungeon? No, it might've been a little before then.
I'm snapped out of my deep thoughts when Zaiden launches himself at the two, unearthing the surfaces behind him.
Now that he's decided to fight the two, I can only sit back and watch, trying to keep up with their movements while they battle. I'll do anything in my power to pull Zaiden out if his life is threatened—not that he isn't already putting his life on the line by fighting those two.
I lean back against one of the outer rings of the angel, getting comfortable while I watch the clash between the three monsters.
Zaiden Morrison versus 2 Red Witches? Frankly, the odds are stacked against him, but this is precisely what he wants. This is how he plans to become a [Sword Saint], by standing against the impossible.
