Sparkle
Sparkle
Something had changed.
I wasn't just talking about my spatial perception collapsing.
My body had changed. Strength was flowing into legs that had felt like they were about to give out and collapse any moment. A sensation as if something was supporting me from behind, stroking me...
'What?'
Terminal lucidity? Was I really about to die?
- Grrrrrrr...!
...I didn't have the luxury to think about it.
I just figured a living corpse on the verge of dying had gained a little breathing room.
Aerus's howl had always been a threat. A sound meant to intimidate and paralyze prey as a predator.
Now it was mixed with bewilderment and wariness. It must have sensed my change through instinct.
I could feel that bastard.
Its fur moving with the wind was distinguished by green lines.
'Huh.'
A world of black backgrounds painted with green lines.
It was familiar information. This was the same frustratingly limited perspective I'd had when I first started living in this world.
Back then, I thought my spatial perception was broken.
Now I understood.
This was simply reading space as a whole. My level was too low and my standard too crude to read it properly, so it was practically useless.
And since I saw the gate through this, that must be why I felt such a horrifying sensation.
I tilted my head. A subtle sensation brushed past me.
I could feel something I hadn't sensed before.
This space itself was advantageous to Aerus. The environment had been transformed to suit it. The dungeon's backup. This was the benefit a dungeon grants to its Alpha Individual.
Conversely, it pressured outsiders.
It invigorated internal monsters and suppressed external enemies.
When I only had spatial perception, just shaking off the pressure imposed on me was overwhelming.
Now? There was no reason to just leave it alone.
I waved my hand.
The empty air rippled along my gesture. The subtle resonance soon became a massive wave.
'Authority manifestation.'
｢Space｣
Space rippled violently.
A spatial whirlpool erupted centered on me and spread in all directions. It tore away the dungeon's dominion in an instant, and my own dominance seized the surroundings.
- ...!?
Aerus's eyes flew wide open. Obvious bewilderment was conveyed.
The power that had been bolstering it was now gone.
Aerus lifted its head and looked up at the sky. The dungeon's sense that had always watched over Aerus and lent it power was likely gone now.
Until just moments ago, this place was the dungeon's territory. It was a space swallowed by the rampaging dungeon, a battlefield advantageous for the monsters belonging to it.
Not anymore.
Now this space was under my control. It wasn't at the crude level of spatial perception. I might not have fully exerted the Authority, but at the very least, it wasn't a level of dominance a mere Grade 4 Dungeon could contend with.
I could feel it. The black-and-white background with green lines...
Even while dying, the vibrations touched my skin. My hearing captured the howls in minute detail.
It wasn't that it hindered combat, but there was no reason to stubbornly stick with a worse method when a better one was available.
I waved my hand again. There was no spatial tremor or whirlpool.
'Authority manifestation.'
｢Observation｣
Unlike the Authority of Space, there was no special phenomenon.
I was simply receiving information again.
There might be other ways to operate it, but I didn't have time to research and experiment with operating methods.
So I operated it in the most familiar way.
Just like spatial perception, I gathered information from the area spread out around me.
In contrast to the spatial wave that erupted from me, a wave of information rushed toward me.
The dark map regained its color. Fur and mist the color of blood, bright red pools of blood scattered on the floor, and the Sky Wing Feather fluttering with mana.
It was vivid.
The information flooding into my mind was so vividly detailed it was embarrassing to compare it to before.
Boom! The floor was gouged out. A blood-red hue assaulted me. A forepaw wreathed in Blood Cloud raked through the air as it charged. The texture of the wind splitting against its claws was chillingly palpable.
The same attack as before.
But it felt different from before.
I reached out. Blue aura coated my hand.
A clash of offense and defense.
Aura and Blood Cloud mixed. Blue and red pushed against each other.
The blue was pushed back.
It was better than before, but it was still being pushed back all the same.
The reason was clear. The Blood Cloud was thicker and stronger than my aura.
If I clashed head-on, my aura would shatter.
- Grrrrr...!
My body wasn't pushed back. I lightly tapped the descending attack to deflect its trajectory. The attack smashed into the innocent floor instead.
I parried a forepaw that came whipping in like a lash. A chunk was ripped out of a wall that had long since been reduced to tatters.
'All-Rounder.'
An all-purpose unique ability that holds at least minimal potential in every field.
And a technique-type unique ability that elevated my finesse.
It was growing at a rapid pace as I became aware of my Innate Talent.
I could deflect and parry much more easily than before. My finesse had grown.
Also, the quality of information collected by the Authority of Observation had increased. There was no reason I couldn't dodge.
If I had been at this level from the start, I probably could have kept enduring.
But my condition was at its worst for simply stalling for time.
If that unknown energy hadn't been supporting my back, I would've been a corpse already.
My intuition also told me that this assistance would end before long.
I couldn't stall. I had to finish this quickly. If I collapsed here, the people in the shelter would die.
That was the same as before. I just hadn't been able to achieve it due to output issues.
What about now? Was it possible? I had to at least try.
I reached out with a smirk. An arm in tatters, shattered and crumpled, forcibly held together by the Sky Wing Feather.
And it was my right arm, still clearly bearing hideous burn scars.
Aerus, which had been reaching out with its forepaw, flinched. Soon I sensed it trying to pull its body back. Maybe it had good instincts because it was a beast.
Whoosh!
But it was already too late. The distance was enough.
A spark flickered on my right arm. In a fleeting instant, it bloomed into a massive flame.
A flame that burns both the self and the world, a fire that leaves not even ashes of what it hates.
Calamity Flame.
Why was fire igniting from my arm? I still didn't know exactly, but I understood the driving mechanism.
'Mana Affinity.'
The unique ability I originally possessed. But one I hadn't realized I had.
The original story explained that it was an extraordinary affinity for mana. That wasn't wrong.
But the ability I defined in this moment was different.
Thanks to Mana Affinity, I felt mana from the start. It made it easy for me to enter the world of mana. It was easy to handle, and body-strengthening, aura, and magic using mana were also simple.
Mana Affinity wasn't that kind of ability. That part might be included, but it was just a byproduct.
It wasn't a clumsy ability that just let you do things others found difficult.
It was an ability that let you do things others couldn't.
When was it? Was it that fire back then, too?
I came into contact with 'Calamity Flame.' The fire that was poured over my right arm and entire body was Calamity Flame. It burned me, but I survived somehow.
Especially my right arm, which was persistently ravaged by the Calamity Flame, understood and remembered it.
'Expansion Ability.'
An expansion of my Innate Talent.
A step forward without stagnation.
I wasn't sure if it was a regression or progression, but it was definitely a change, not standing still.
'Homogenization, Calamity Flame.'
A storm of fire swept through the wide corridor. A wave of flames, cleansing away the thick blood, poured forward.
- Kyaaaaaaak─!
For the first time, a pained shriek erupted from Aerus's throat. The corridor trembled. Debris rolling on the floor scattered everywhere.
The Calamity Flame evaporated all the Blood Cloud wrapped around its body and clung fiercely to its blood-red fur and hide.
Aerus thrashed on the ground. But the Calamity Flame wouldn't go out.
'Hurts like hell, doesn't it, you bastard.'
I'd been through it, and it hurt like hell.
I felt completely refreshed. No matter how you looked at it, that bastard had tormented me and tried to kill me, so seeing it in such pain felt absolutely cathartic.
But I was dying alongside it. With a smirk, I kicked off the ground.
- Kreurrrrr─!
Aerus, foaming at the mouth, slammed its forepaw into the ground and raised its body.
Even when pain threatened to invert its eyes, survival instinct drove its body.
The creature's gaze touched my right arm. Its wariness seemed to focus on the Calamity Flame, where a few embers still remained.
The sound of wind splitting.
Claws, barely sheathed in Blood Cloud, flew at my face.
There was a difference in build. Even if we reached out at the same time, our reach wasn't equal—my head would fly off first.
There was a difference in physical ability. If we stood side by side and ran, I could never defeat Aerus.
Not that I couldn't dodge. I twisted my body. An ear, now too mangled to recognize its original shape, went flying. Hair tips were severed.
In exchange, I regained distance. I burrowed into its chest.
Even then, Aerus's nerves were still fixed on my right arm. It seemed to want to avoid the Calamity Flame by any means.
I extended my left arm.
It was wrapped in Sky Wing Feather, but even my Aura had been torn apart, leaving it defenseless. My left arm, attracting less wariness. A left arm that was hard for a beast maddened by the Calamity Flame to pay attention to.
- Krrraaaugh!
The gaping maw lunged at me. The distance narrowed. That meant the creature had an opening to attack, too.
A mouth large enough to easily swallow my upper body if it bit down. Those sharp, thick teeth could chew through a body like mine in an instant.
Into that space, I thrust my left arm.
The open jaw came down. Teeth closed in.
- Crash!
The Sky Wing Feather tore. Teeth burrowed into flesh, split muscle, and at last sank into bone.
- Crrrrack!
In that moment, I detonated my mana.
'Expansion Ability.'
The circuits grated. I scraped mana from the bottom and pulled it out. It wasn't enough.
- Oooom!
I drew in the surrounding mana. Mana tainted with impurities. Not caring one whit about the aftereffects, I crammed it all into my left arm.
'Homogenization.'
I had felt the Calamity Flame directly. I had experienced its agony and understood it.
This time, I didn't have that depth of experience.
But I had definitely felt it. I had felt it act upon me, and I had felt it up close when someone else used it.
Also, it was a unique ability with an intense impression that didn't lag behind the Calamity Flame.
'Azure Sea (滄海).'
Crack! From the left arm being shredded by sharp teeth, cold energy exploded. Aerus's head froze solid all at once.
The thing's jaws were clamped on my left arm. There was a difference in build. That meant its head was lowered.
It was positioned perfectly to strike, and these were not conditions it could flee from.
Realizing this, Aerus frantically tried to pull its head back.
Grrriiind! The arm bone, already ruined long ago, was crushed and torn. Perhaps from being flash-frozen alive, I felt an agony as if my blood vessels were boiling.
Crrrrack...! I pulled back a fist clenched tighter than ever before.
There would be no next time. This had to end in one blow.
'Calamity Flame?'
If I used that, I could inflict lethal damage. I could even cripple it. But it was uncertain. The possibility remained that it could survive and keep moving even after being struck head-on by the immature Calamity Flame I manifested.
The one that just took a direct hit of Calamity Flame was still active right now.
I knew the Calamity Flame was powerful. I had felt firsthand the might of the Calamity Flame that Hong Yeon-hwa manifests.
But.
'Something stronger.'
There were too many strong people in this world. And there were too many monsters beyond common sense.
Because of a single monster, a vast land like China could be steeped in poison and abandoned.
There were cases where a continent was devastated because a single monster ran rampant.
The Towers, which might begin an invasion someday, were full of powerful monsters. At the top of those Towers sat the true monsters.
That was all knowledge from the original work. I had never experienced it myself.
While I lived in this world, the strongest power I had felt. The strongest person.
The fierce, savage golden mana.
'Expansion Ability.'
I contained it. Specimens? Data? Information? It overflowed, more than enough. I had gathered information almost every single day.
She was the person I had the most contact with. The one who had continuously guided and taught me.
The person who embodied the calm, mature adult I had imagined.
I could recreate it.
'Homogenization.'
Maybe I had used it too many times in a row. My head swam. I seized hold of a thread of consciousness that felt ready to snap at any moment.
This was the last. I knew it instinctively.
Crunch! My fingernails dug into my palm. The Aura surged as if flaring up, then subsided as if compressed.
The color changed. In the passage that was crumbling to ruin, a sudden sunbeam rose up.
Atra Clyde's unique ability.
A mana nature and unique ability acquired postnatally, boasting an output comparable to the Calamity Flame.
'White Night (白夜).'
The fist, suffused with golden energy, slammed into Aerus's head.
The light detonated.
* * *
- KKKWAAAAANG!
Her fist smashed into the outer wall of the space, which was cracked and swaying as if ready to collapse at any moment.
Golden energy followed behind. KKKWAAAAANG! Shock waves rippled out as though the world were ending.
- Crashcrumble!
How many times had her fist pounded in? Five? Six? The cracks in the outer wall finally gave way and cascaded down.
She hadn't been able to destroy it completely. She hadn't even intended to.
The ash-gray outer wall crumbled before her eyes. Withdrawing her fist in haste, Atra kicked off the ground and plunged through the breach.
'Where? Where...!'
Her bloodshot eyes scanned every direction. Her sight, fortified with mana, swept across the city.
The ruined city filled her view. Buildings had collapsed everywhere, and flames rose from every corner.
It was a sight that swelled with dread.
Grinding her teeth, she cut across the city.
She saw a corpse with no visible chance of survival. She saw lumps of flesh serving as a monster's meal.
The dread grew. Hurling her Aura, she swept away the accursed monster.
"......!"
A familiar energy. Exceptionally faint, it doubled the dread clawing at her.
Crash! The rooftop she had been standing on crumpled. Soaring across the sky, Atra's gaze sought the origin of the energy.
Right beside that energy was the presence of a hideous monster.
And then.
- KKKAAAA-BOOOOOM!
A thunderous roar pounded her ears. A mana nature and detonation that were somehow familiar.
'Shit.'
Shit, shit, shit...!
Dread.
The world transformed rapidly. Atra's form elongated.
Boom! The ground shattered on landing. Unfazed, she urgently checked the scene before her eyes.
The entrance of the shelter had been reduced to ruins. The door panel around the passageway was crumpled and strewn across the ground.
Dread.
'That can't be possible.'
This time was different. It couldn't be possible. Surely he would be safe. She could feel his mana, too. It was different from last time. This time.
This time...
Her mind was filled to the brim with thoughts. Ripping all dread apart, she hurried inside the shelter.
And then.
She saw an arm.
'......'
An arm with the little finger torn off—where it had gone, she didn't know—and every remaining finger broken beyond recognition.
An arm whose skin had all been ripped to shreds, as if torn apart by something colossal, with not a single intact patch of flesh.
An arm that had lumps of ice clinging to it in thick patches.
An arm that should have been attached to a body, but lay apart from it for some reason.
A somehow familiar arm.
The world went black. Her gaze turned of its own accord.
Nearby.
Splayed across a pool of blood was the corpse of a monster with its head crushed. A massive-bodied monster with red fur. It appeared to be an Alpha Individual.
It was dead. Who had killed it?
She didn't want to see. She had to. Her gaze turned again on its own.
Beside it... she saw a body 'with one arm torn off.'
A corpse.
A form that could not possibly be mistaken for a living person.
A familiar build. Familiar scars carved into a right arm that could only be called a lump of flesh.
Slumped and splayed out in the pool of blood...
"Ah."
Her lips parted. No sound came out.
The light vanished from Atra's eyes.
* * *
[Savior Correction System]
[Assists in maintaining the Savior's life.]
[｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣ activates.]
[Consumed vitality energy restores the physical body.]
[Vitality energy is consumed by the ｢Curse of Beauty's Misfortune｣.]