The powerful torrents of wind threaten to tear my vessel from the ground with their ferociousness. That is until I find myself being slammed to the ground by my throat. My mouth opens, but I cannot release the slightest sound.

 

On top of me, the newly revealed dragon keeps me pinned to the ground in spite of its terribly small size. If I had to make an educated guess, it is an infant. "Yhaa-yhaa-yhaa!" The dragon has a rather unusual laugh. Wait, sorry—that's the least of my concerns right now.

 

When I tried to use my [Intangibility] ability to have the dragon go through me, I ultimately failed. More specifically, my ability was ignored. Somehow Cinna disregarded my intangibility, which should've made me incorporeal, and slammed me to the ground. 

 

"Is this the best my prey has to offer!?" After only seeing a glimpse of Cinna's posture shifting, I take the window of opportunity to exploit it. There's no doubt that it was going to try and swipe my head off of my shoulders. Rather than using one of my abilities, I lift my fist up and throw a punch, striking beneath the jaw of the dragon. The punch works semi-effectively, resulting in the dragon loosening its grip around my throat.

 

'Now!' Thrusting my body up, Cinna is hurled from on top of it. The dragon doesn't land roughly though, it's quick on its toes, landing on its feet and stopping itself from moving further than an inch. Nevertheless, I'm quick to use [Spatial Manipulation] to create a sphere of blackness in my hand. 

 

"Huh?" Cinna sounds surprised to see the creation of the black ball. "What an odd ability for such a weakling! Yhaa-yhaa! You're a funny one!" It sounds amused by the usage of my most powerful ability that I can use right now. Amusement isn't what I'm looking for, sadly. Unleashing the sphere ahead of me, it's sent flying at the dragon with the intent of piercing a hole through its abdomen.

 

I attacked with the intention of snuffing the creature. On the other hand, the creature has gotten other ideas. "Very well!" The dragon steadies its stance, firmly looking at the approaching sphere of distorted space. "I'll take it head-on! Show me how strong you are, weakling!" Proudly declaring its intentions, the dragon drills its claws into the ground to further its fortified stance.

 

Without further delay, the ball crashes into the dragon, generating sparks of lightning between itself and the dragon. A puissant clash transpires between the dragon and the orb of space. "Hhaaaghh!" Through the tremendous winds, I can hear the dragon's mighty cry as it resists the attack. The roars of the dragon only make my confidence flourish. 

 

Creativity comes to life in my mind. Newfound thoughts on how to exploit this situation start to brew; acceleration, expansion, and maybe even amplification."Double it," I lift my hands as I speak to myself. I do not know the meaning behind these thoughts or the phrase I'm using. Something's sprung to life within me - the sparks of genius that I didn't realize I could craft. "Triple it," I focus on my surroundings, condensing the space that makes them. Pushing, pulling, and concentrating. "More!"

 

More spheres form around me as the dragon focuses on just one of them. Call it a petty tactic, but I'm sick of losing. A sound similar to whirling arrows slices through the wind currents as several more attacks are unleashed onto the dragon. Only when they're a few feet away does it recognize the new attacks. 

 

It recognized the attacks too late.

 

From all sides, the spheres crash into the dragon, mercilessly ravaging its scales. A mightier roar than anything I'd heard from it prior comes out, giving off an eerie feeling of annoyance. Yet, even with this annoyance, it is clear that damage has been dealt to the overconfident dragon.

 

The winds from the dragon are quickly interrupted by the gusts created by my own attack. No, they are overpowered. As the spheres suddenly grow in size, any roars done by Cinna are drowned out during our symphony of chaos. Before my eyes, I watch as the spheres expand to such an outstanding degree that one might even claim to see a star from the distance. 

 

A slash breaches through one of the spheres, striking me across my chest.

 

It was sudden, there was no way I could've seen it coming. Disregarding the entire structure of my sphere, the dragon unleashed an attack and cleaved one of my orbs apart. Blood spews from my chest, I am staggered by the unexpected counterattack. "Hrrgh??!!" From my mouth, a waterfall of blood comes hurling out, bathing the ground.

 

After the attack landed, time felt like it had reached a standstill. My knees sank to the ground as my wounds sluggishly regenerated. Ahead of me lies a massive crater, mixed in with one further away. That crater is the one that'd been formed by the slashes unleashed by Cinna when the Ririans arrived. I hadn't even gotten the chance to see the creatures before the dragon decimated the terrain.

 

The silence is broken when the dragon's claw breaks out of the ground, chipped scales crumbling. Emerging from the dirt, Cinna is obviously damaged. Fragments of the dragon's scales have been removed, and it seems a bit hesitant to move. These are my initial thoughts until I hear the beast laughing—laughing as if I'd just finished a performance.

 

"Yhhaaaa! Haaaa-yhaaa-yhaaa! Magnificent! Magnificent, girl! I knew you were holding back!" My chest throbs at the tone of its words. Holding back? I'd never been holding back, not once. Just now, I'd tried something that I'd never even attempted before. It required a ridiculous amount of focus and could've failed miserably if I'd made even the slightest mistake, despite that, this dragon believes that to have been something I could do normally.

 

"Now, the two of us can start getting more serious! You are truly worthy of being my prey! Just as I thought!"

 

"I've heard rumors about your kind! You have strange windows that grant you special powers! The creation of the Developers, I'd gamble! Tell me, how far did you go in the Tower?!" I've no clue what this [Tower] the dragon is babbling about is, nor have I ever heard mention about [Developers] as far as my memory goes. 

 

"Your abilities are limited to anything written in that little window of yours, right?" A thought just occurred to me at this very moment. One I should've realized while I was in the heat of battle. "It's rather disappointing. Instead of prioritizing the mastery of one ability, your kind has been given countless 'cheats' to fight the monsters of the inner realms. You've used several abilities thus far, all of which have disappointing potency—save for the space-distorting one you utilized just now." Cinna is exceptionally talkative, but the way the dragon speaks does not give me the impression that it is a mere it anymore. It sounds similar to us, humans, and our way of discussing our powers.

 

I start to ask, "Are you an Awak—" I am then interrupted by the sound of an unsheathing blade.

 

---

 

Tsukiko Tachibana, Black Layer.

 

It's a strange feeling: power. From where I stand, I am conscious of all of the surrounding conflicts. Beyond the blanket surrounding the black layer, there are hundreds of scrimmages taking place. Some are ending in the slaughter of the monsters from another world. There is another side of this battle that includes the cherished humans of our own world being massacred by foes far too powerful for them to properly oppose their malicious intentions.

 

The vibrancy of power displayed by some of the combatants is enough to remind me of the day that I'd first met that boy; Yuri. 

 

I'd been arriving in Eryland after a fight broke out with Tabitha and a runt who was said to be looking for trouble. When I got there, I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't some kid causing trouble for no reason. No, Tabitha's little brother, Zaiden, had said something that unintentionally offended Yuri's sister. This led to a fight breaking out—Zaiden was swiftly beaten to a pulp.

 

Predictably, this led to Tabitha stepping in to fight the boy as well. Tabitha, who I've recognized as a very powerful combatant—one almost on the same level as Forrest Windrow—struggling against the boy. Every time she swung her sword at him, he followed up with a punch of his own right at her. Without even wielding a sword of his own, Yuri showcased exemplary fighting power.

 

Then, in the heat of their fight, the boy got a hold of a weapon. In Yuri's hand, held firmly carried a metal pipe that he'd taken from the ground nearby. As a sensible person, I couldn't see the difference that it'd make in this scenario where his opponent wielded a sword. It was the first time in my life I realized I was wrong. 

 

The boy's pipe was enough to even the tide with Tabitha. This might've been an immature version of her, but it was Tabitha nonetheless. Of course, his defeat was assured by the end. With her superior skills, Tabitha overcame the obstacle and continued to rise up, surpassing the Yuri from that time. 

 

Comparatively, today, it's uncertain which of the two is more powerful. Both Tabitha and Yuri have grown exponentially since when I first met them. Some years have gone by, and their growth shows no signs of stopping. Only by taking my eyes off of them for a short while do they grow even stronger than before. This isn't limited to just them but to Malison and Luck too. All who join my company develop at an alarming rate, and it makes me smile. 

 

It frequently brings an ever-so-stubborn question to my head. What is this growth for? With all of this fighting we've done, what does it all come down to? It's impossible to completely get rid of every dungeon due to the nature of some of the ones that constantly respawn enemies. What is even the point of the dungeons allowing the enemies inside of them to respawn? 

 

Right now, this all feels like a game. It's fun, and over the past decade, it's been a struggle blended in with fun and joy. I can't help but ponder on the legitimacy of this endeavor. When all is said is done, what are we fighting for? Sure, Awakeners are needed to ensure the moderation of dungeons that result in monsters flooding into our world, but what is the cause of that to begin with? 

 

The means are justified by the ends, but this battle is endless. [S-Rank Awakener], what does that truly mean in the long run? My wives and I are content with our power as things stand now. My love for all of them is true without these powers; humanity is constantly facing an unknown threat. Even after meeting that woman, I bore no certainty about the truth behind this crossroad war. 

 

We are at a crossroads for something larger than ourselves. Among the many beasts that I've tamed, none of them carry certainty for their existence. Likewise, none of them know what brought them here, to begin with. My confidence still stands higher than the others in my league for one reason: I know of the realms. Something that most of them cannot even lay their fingers on. The true nature behind dungeons and their formerly prosperous states...

 

In each realm, there is an anomaly of sorts. Something that the monsters inside claim to not have any understanding of. I personally feel that I have three anomalies on my side at this very moment. The first is Luck, whose growth rate and seemingly divine connection leave me linked to her. The second is Malison, who has the potential to be an utter powerhouse. I've never seen anyone warp space to the degree that she has. Somehow, despite having such an omnipotent power, she is still lacking in the output department.

 

Lastly, there is Yuri. I do not know how to describe that boy. He carries little interest in his actual duties, from what I've seen. His love for his sisters is the source of his power, literally. Putting him in a life-or-death situation will bring something out of him, I'd be more than willing to bet. 

 

That doesn't scratch the surface of Yuri's abnormality. 

 

What really makes him so abnormal and so hard to describe is his ability. Yuri possesses a window that displays his skills and stats—I've overseen his evaluations myself. Throughout many evaluations, I've been the only one to notice the complexity behind every action he takes. 

 

Yuri has constantly showcased new abilities that are not officially listed in his window; this should be impossible for an Awakener. I've seen him create flames by swinging his sword through the air, or move so quickly that it's like he's teleporting. All of this leads me to believe that Yuri has a second source of power that does not come from our own. The monsters I've tamed do not share the same kind of abilities as me. They don't use windows or anything - they carry innate abilities that they're born with a detailed understanding of.

 

Observing Yuri, I started developing my own theory of Intimacy, for lack of a better word. Due to the limited resources I can use to study this theory, I haven't been able to confirm everything, although I've narrowed the simplicity down to a degree that anyone can understand it.

 

Anyone sharing a connection to anything outside of the Awakener System is a glitch that does not carry the same restrictions as others. Someone such as myself might be restricted on how much XP I can accumulate from killing monsters to the point where my growth is sloth-like. People who fall into the Theory of Intimacy—having a connection outside of the Awakener System—grow much stronger and possess unique properties to their abilities that they might not even notice at first.

 

Yuri's unique property, as far as I'm concerned, is limitless. I mean this in the literal sense too; there is no limit to the uniqueness behind each action he takes. It's like the world around him shifts to accommodate his actions. I need to study this more once I get the chance.

 

The air grows heavy around me, a sharp sensation brushing over my ear. "Speak of the devil, that's probably him."

 

---

 

Cinna

 

Toying with my prey has certainly been fun, thrilling even! She showed a power akin to someone who'd be able to climb up the Tower! Albeit, not far, but enough to earn herself a title. It's a shame that I'll snuff her essence here. The clueless lamb must take me as charitable with all the mercy I've shown her thus far. 

 

I berated and belittled her. The potency of her attacks up until the final one had been lacking. The damage done to my body would surely heal quickly if I willed it to. With the amount of confidence that flowed through my vessel like blood, it wasn't needed.

 

Opening her mouth to ask a question, I'm well-prepared to move in while she is in the middle of speaking. She won't even know that I've taken her head off if everything goes as planned. She'll finish splurging out whatever nonsense she had in mind and then, her vessel will slouch. Yes, a fitting end for the child! I'll grant her an eternal slumber!

 

These are my initial thoughts.

 

Reaching my ears, I hear a blade being drawn in the distance. My eyes dart around to where it could be. I recall a swordsman being with her, but I was certain that he'd abandoned her! He'd left her here to distract any powerful foes that may be lingering around them! Yes, that man left her to be stalked by the Ririans in his place!

 

I feel miffed by the thought of someone interrupting my hunt, but this fleeting feeling of annoyance is quickly sapped from me. In front of my eyes, I see a slight glint. Sunlight reflects from a surface that previously was never there, smooth, reflective metal. Sharp ends make contact with both of my eyes, and darkness follows. Only after this does the pain from what just happened kick in.

 

"Rhhhyaaa-haaaaaaaa! Aaaaaaghhh!" My roars of pain make the ground beneath me quake. It is only natural, given my superior state to Earth itself. The only existence in this world beyond my own that I am willing to accept is my own mother's. But, with that in mind, how is it possible that I was blinded just now?! What was it?! What is responsible?!

 

In the distance, I hear a voice speaking. "Sorry, Luck. I went to handle a bit of business and saw the explosions. It looks like you managed to hang in there, though." The voice sounds too familiar—it belongs to the swordsman who abandoned this beastkin! That means that he is the one responsible for blinding me, the audacity!

 

Soon, my slashed eyes are healed, returning my vision to me. In front of my prey, the tall, auburn-haired swordsman from before stands with a bloody katana in his hand. The blood dripping from the katana is none other than my own, the blood which he stole from me. 

 

The sight of my own blood rankles me to a pristine degree. Anger that I've never felt swells within me. "Hooo-hooo! You've got some nerve, boy!" Altering my vision, I no longer see the flowing colors of the world around me. Now, I can see a much more simplified view. Green, red, yellow, and black. Green represented anything that was harmless to me such as the grass and trees.

 

Red represented anything that was living and harmful, such as the swordsman and my prey. Yellow represented anything living that was harmless, such as the peaceful creatures of this strange domain. Black represented anything that was dead. 

 

"I'll turn you black!" My last comment drew the swordsman's attention as he felt the bloodlust slipping out. My claws swipe up through the air, and just as intended, crescents are unleashed at the swordsman to turn him into mincemeat. If my slashes land, he'll split apart and collapse into uncooked slices of human meat!

 

My expectations turned into disappointment.

 

Unexpectedly, the swordsman brings the blade up and swipes across my crescents, redirecting them to the side. "I was a bit worried, I thought this was the force of your attack. Turns out these are just projectiles, right? Slashes of energy." 

 

I scoff. "Smart, for a blood bag! But that's merely a choice. My physical slashes are much greater than these light-weight attacks!" Revealing this should've sent a feeling of dread through the boy, just as it would've done with the beastkin girl I'd been preying on before.

 

Rather than despairing, the swordsman's feet rapidly beat the ground as he sprinted to close the distance with me. 'An upfront assault?! Foolish!' Meeting him halfway, I dart ahead and perform a spin that sends my tail flying at his legs. Even if my tail wasn't sharp, enough force could blow the boy's leg clean off.

 

Sensing the threat that the tail posed, the swordsman brings his feet off of the ground in a hurry. He isn't like the girl who'd tried to make herself incorporeal; his agility exceeded hers by a surprising margin. Based on the look she has, I've deduced that she didn't even know that her own ally was capable of moving this well. I tie myself to no allies, so I cannot say that it's a familiar sight.

 

I'd expected myself to have time to follow up with the swing while he was in the air. That is a very favorable position for me to attack. To my surprise, he evades the blast of flames that come from my mouth by pushing his feet in the air. Performing several steps in the sky, the swordsman ascends himself to an invisible platform in the air. "[Sky Stage]." I hear him declare the name of his ability.

 

Again, he is using one of those window abilities. Favored by the divine, much like all humans, the swordsman looks down at me and slashes his sword through the air. My instincts immediately become alerted when my eyes naturally adjust to the incoming attacks. Once invisible, I can now see the air converging on my position with unusual malice. Swiftly, I throw myself back, flapping my wings to ensure better movement while my feet are off the ground. "Yhaa! Terrible! Allow me to show you how it's done!" His poor attempt at replicating my previous slash will not go unpunished!

 

Just as I'm prepared to unleash a slash of raw power across the air at the swordsman, I'm stopped in my tracks by his offensive language! "Man, you talk a lot. I had no idea monsters in this place were such blabbermouths." He'd dare call me something as juvenile as a blabbermouth!? "You'd dare call a noble lady such as I a blabbermouth...!? You will know your place, you... you..." 

 

I stammer over my words, thinking of the optimal insult to use on this brute of a man! This inconsiderate wretch! This poor-minded plebian! "You mongrel!" My voice unleashes a powerful boom that charges at his position, faster than sound itself. Like a bullet, it reaches him in an instant before he has the time to react. Normally, someone of his caliber would be able to dodge an attack like that — if he was able to see it.

 

Incisions are formed all across his body, blood dripping from every wound that introduces itself to the air. He had no way of seeing the attack, as he lacks the [Dragon's Eye] that I've been using. 

 

Admiring my work from the ground, my sight-seeing is rudely interrupted by a pain coming from behind me. I feel a severance from a part of my body. Control over my tail is forfeited to the unknown, and when I turn around, I see why. Again, my own crimson blood drips from the dagger that of the beastkin child I'd been preying on. I'd completely forgotten that she was here. During that one moment that I was off guard, she'd appeared and cut my tail off! "Aeeuggh! Away, back biter!" 

 

So many times, for the first time in my life, I've been insulted by these... mortals! When my mother took me to the Land of King Urielle, I joined her in her rampage! We consumed countless warriors far more valiant than this! Foes who were capable of shifting landscapes with their power! Somehow, this child and the swordsman carry enough skill in this inferior realm to damage me to such a degree!? Her dagger alone should've never been able to cut through my body so easily, so why—

 

A second dagger approaches the back of my neck, and I quickly counter without thinking. Unleashing a condensed ball of energy, the child's arm carrying the dagger is blown from her body. Expecting this to finish the attack, I am stunned when the dagger continues to cut through my body. Without carrying even the slightest bit of force, the dagger cut through me like butter.

 

I need to retaliate quickly before she can deliver another blow — but my motor functions have all stopped. I'd have sworn that my body was moving... until I saw my body itself. I feel a liquid on my head, and at the corner of my right eye, a crimson pool creates a wall blocking my vision from the dirt. All attempts at moving my body become useless as it crashes down before my own eyes. I'm left with only a head and a fading blackness around my vision.

 

'Ha...? How could this happen? My head... The runt took my head! She killed me! She fucking killed me!' 

 

I have no means of controlling my anger anymore. At the same time, I cannot unleash my anger or any protest that comes to mind. I can't do much of anything anymore. The blackness swallows my vision, and soon an unfamiliar coldness reigns supreme over my senses. '...Mother... This isn't fair!'

 

Then, the void captures me... "No, this won't do. Your story isn't supposed to end here."

 

That's what I thought, at least.

---