Incomplete Rift -3-
─ Flesh...! Flesh soaked in fresh blood...!
─ Kyaaak!!!
Dozens of pitch-black monsters poured out from Pandora's shadow, springing into motion.
They were grotesque things with no resemblance to any known monster.
Following Pandora's thoughts and commands, they split into groups, blocking everyone off.
Pandora's command was masterful.
Before the fight, she'd shown a reckless focus on Carrot, but once battle began, she hid that blind side completely.
Though occasionally, when a gap appeared, she'd target Carrot emotionally first.
"Hmph! Where you aiming, lady?"
But the monsters' attacks kept slicing empty air by a hair's breadth.
Pandora ground her teeth at the shadows that cut only innocent wind again, the sound grinding like crunch.
'That rabbit bitch... like a sneaky rat...!'
That woman called Carrot—her legs were too fast for her level.
Of course, Pandora knew why. The academy city's key figures had her intel.
'User of Gakju Sunbo, the foot pillar instant step that only a rare few rabbit beastkin can master.'
If Pandora poured everything into Carrot, the outcome might change, but with Juyeon to watch, catching that nimble pest was no easy feat.
Like this, Pandora couldn't rack up quick wins against everyone.
Precisely because of Juyeon.
─ Queeeek!!!
The only one who smashed through the regenerating shadows en masse in short order and dove at Pandora was Juyeon.
Scorching Blade
Ruthless slashes poured from Juyeon's greatsword, and Pandora flicked her hand.
A thick, pitch-black mass erupted from the ground, its maw yawning wide to swallow the slashes. It ballooned like a balloon and burst, unable to withstand the impact.
Pandora could only marvel at Juyeon's power.
"Impressive. It's been ages since a human burst one in a single blow."
Words implying Omega's death wasn't luck. She barely swallowed them back.
"..."
Silent, Juyeon closed the distance and swung down.
Pandora drew a weapon from her shadow.
What emerged were scissors blending black and red.
If not for the split blade and handles, they could've passed for a two-handed sword.
Claaang!
The greatsword and scissors clashed, booming with shockwaves.
The ground beneath Pandora cratered—a sight that would've crushed a normal human flat—but in superhuman battles, such ends didn't exist.
Exchanges too fast for ordinary eyes exploded one after another.
Krummmble──!!!
Just their blade clashes flipped the quiet road, whipping up gales.
Close range favored Juyeon.
But piercing Pandora's shadow-augmented defense wasn't instant.
Juyeon swung her greatsword fiercely, calmly reading the situation.
"The Grand General's even more brutish than the rumors."
"..."
Mid-push, Pandora tried a forced pivot.
Juyeon caught the split-second opening.
'Those monsters are linked to her shadow. Sever it or pull away far enough, and they'll vanish.'
She scanned the surroundings.
Two utility poles spaced apart.
'Movement radius so far... about 100 meters. Could shrink or grow depending on the controlling entity.'
Pandora lost her smirk under Juyeon's escalating assault.
Juyeon narrowed her eyes too.
'Where'd this one come from?'
Top-tier summoning and personal combat prowess.
She was near-perfect, flaws patched.
Even knowing the counter, she was a nightmare.
If she'd focused solely on Juyeon without scattering monsters, she wouldn't have yielded this distance.
'The Monolith anomalies... dimensional rifts exploding in frequency... and now these freaks...'
Sensing ill omens, Juyeon recalled Omega's sudden island appearance.
If Omega was raw malice incarnate, this woman was a tangled knot of calculated evil.
Less "stronger" than Omega's impulsiveness, more "tricky."
Yet instinct screamed connection.
Monsters alone gave humanity headaches; one like her blackened the future.
'Capture impossible. She ends here.'
Resolved, brilliant heat flared in Juyeon's eyes.
"!"
Pandora sensed crisis, raising her shadow and snipping it with her scissors.
A black gale from the gash shoved Juyeon back, forcing distance.
"Tch."
Blocking with her greatsword and landing, Juyeon checked her allies battling shadows.
As she coiled to leap again.
She sensed someone approaching from the academy city's opposite side—far more ominous than Pandora.
Woooong───.
Space warped with dissonance.
Instructors, officers, even black monsters slowed.
As if time crawled here alone.
'That ability...!?'
Eyes flashing, Juyeon didn't flee.
To shield her group, she spread her mana wide.
Before her call, Pandora snipped the shadows linking her monsters.
The scattered black lifeforms wailed in slowed voices, bubbling furiously.
They swelled, primed to explode.
"Rabbit, next time I see you, you're dead. Wait up."
Pandora warned while backing away, untouched by the slowdown.
A presumed ally man arrived; she turned to him.
BOOMMM!!!
The swelling monsters detonated, blasting everyone hard.
Protecting her comrades, Juyeon saw clearly.
A lean middle-aged man.
His clock-like eyes.
*****
"Raaah!"
Noah swung her axe, whipping up frost.
The Morbid Frame shattered. Her raw strength hurled picture frames into walls, smashing them.
Rohan's group had no plans to hold till backup.
Civilians evacuated to shelters—they'd end it themselves.
"It's out."
Everyone turned at Rohan's voice.
The rift fully torn, a special Morbid Frame emerged.
Far larger than normals, armless with bony limbs.
Finger-bones like blades; inside the frame, a beastly skull, not human.
"Rohaaan!!! Smash it quick!!!"
"Don't dive in."
"Got it!!! Safety first!!!"
They left Gilbert's group the remnants.
Rohan and the girls focused the special one.
─ Uhahaha!!! Pathetic humans. I'll grant you the honor of becoming my artwork.
Monster spouting human speech so arrogantly.
But no one cared.
They didn't wait for its dramatic descent.
"Take this!"
Noah vaulted with her axe as pole, dropping a kick.
─ !?
The frame jolted, plummeting fast.
Clara leaped from the third floor, yanking her pre-set threads taut.
Time to burn saved mana boldly.
Krriiiind──!!!
Threads sliced into the frame mercilessly.
But the special dodged Clara's trap with flight.
─ Humans dare...!
No gaps for monster taunts.
Bang!
Rohan and Sion fired, predicting its path.
A ridiculously huge target. Could hit blindfolded.
Imparts physical attribute weakness to the target.
Applies debuff to the target.
Rohan confirmed the satisfying alert, then inflicted chaos on the monster.
Gripping his blade two-handed, he charged with Ichinose.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Under Sion's covering fire, they closed in.
Kicking pillars, bounding rails, ascending from below.
Perfect distance secured.
Rohan gripped tight; Ichinose thumbed her blade free─shink!
One Sword - Flame Cut
Dream Illusion Slash Shadow Flow - Wing Shadow Flash
Their slashes intertwined.
No clash, just filling each other's voids seamlessly.
─ Graaaah!!!
The shredded frame screamed, spewing black liquid from cracks.
Its fractured bony arm flailed for Rohan and Ichinose.
But the tiger girl dropped from a shopping mall chandelier, slamming her fist full-force mid-fall.
"Pretty girl punch!"
Crack! Too much for the physically-weak frame.
A massive fissure spiderwebbed its body.
Sion and Clara looked up at the silently plummeting Morbid Frame.
Click! Blades sprang from Clara's boot heels.
Sion set her rifle aside, drew a dagger one-handed, and ran mana current through it.
Crackle! Electricity snarled along the blade.
The elf stabbed upward with her sparking dagger as the twin-tails girl flushed red, clutching her skirt, then unleashed flexible fury.
Shy face, bold roundhouse.
Whish──!
Clara's blade cleaved the beast skull inside precisely.
Bony arms melted; Rohan confirmed points incoming.
Real vacation had begun.