Rank 54, Murmur
To the Mains, ranks were not actually a meaningful hierarchy. While the ranking was determined by the law of might—implying that a higher rank meant a stronger Main—the gap in power between them was virtually nonexistent, save for a select few. For instance, Astaroth of Rank 29 and Murmur of Rank 54 were Mains of equal standing. Depending on the day's circumstances, conditions, environment, and physical state, the outcome of a battle between them could easily flip; there were times Astaroth defeated Murmur, and times Murmur brought down Astaroth.
A higher-ranking Main possessed the authority to hand down orders to those of lower ranks. However, there was no true power of coercion. It was more of a request. Even if they tried to enforce it, physical oppression meant nothing between beings of equal standing. But what if there was a stark, undeniable gap in raw power? What if the commander held a vastly superior rank, and their orders carried absolute justification? In that case, Murmur had no choice but to obey.
Agares...
The child in the white cloud mask pictured the man in the blue Rakshasa mask. A man who stood at the very pinnacle, close to Rank 1. He was the highest-ranking of the four Mains who had crossed over to this world, and his might was peerless. Naturally, the Mains moved under Agares's leadership, and Murmur had arrived at the District 4 park under his direct orders.
Under normal circumstances, Murmur should have already torn open a Rift in Space to summon monsters. This place was brimming with terrestrial energy—a Spiritual Vein where spiritual power flowed thick. It would undoubtedly allow for a massive portal. While summoning a Magic Beast might be pushing it, summoning a named monster was well within the realm of possibility. The plan was to pry open the Rift in Space first, then sit back, eat cotton candy, and enjoy the show.
"You're persistent."
Murmur let out a sigh. Using the forearm she had just brutally ripped off, leaving a mangled stump, she bashed Lucia over the head. With a dull, heavy *thud*, Lucia collapsed.
She had held back her strength. Normally, a head would have burst like a ripe melon, but this time it stopped at a caved-in skull. Still, any normal human should have been rendered permanently inert. Even for a Supernatural Ability User, whose bodies were far sturdier than ordinary humans, this was a fatal wound that should have left her hovering on the brink of death.
"Blegh...!"
Yet, Lucia scrambled and flailed back to her feet. Though the impact had shattered her sense of balance, causing her to stagger clumsily, she refused to fall. Her right arm was gone, freshly torn away. Perhaps because of that, her body kept listing heavily to the left.
Drip. Drip-drip. Blood splattered and stained the ground. From her mouth, her ears, her nose—and from the raw stump of her right arm. Hot, crimson blood gushed like an open faucet.
"C-Can't... let you... pass..."
Shaking violently, she blocked Murmur's path. Her beautiful face was an absolute ruin, covered in dark blue bruises and stained a deep, dark red with cascading blood.
"..."
The onlookers had long since fled. At first, they had only hovered around, murmuring noisily without any intention of running, but as the situation grew increasingly grim, they had scattered with terrified screams. Murmur didn't care about them at all. Rather than a swarm of buzzing insects, the girl standing before her was far more grating on her nerves.
The blonde girl who had recognized her danger, approached her, and tried to flatter her. The food she had offered had been quite to her liking. She didn't mean the literal taste. To be precise, it was the sincerity poured into the cooking. A person's heart naturally dwells within their food, and Murmur consumed the feelings infused into the dishes. It had been quite a delicacy.
Because she liked her, she had promised to spare her life. After all, a single human was just a human. Whether they lived or died made no difference. So she had intended to let her go. Who could have guessed she would be such a persistent, foolish idiot? If she had known it would turn out like this, she never would have offered to spare her.
"How annoying."
Murmur carelessly tossed aside the severed right arm she was holding. She had no time to waste. She had already squandered precious time looking at those things called cherry blossoms. And after that, she had wasted even more time being dragged around by Lucia. Her 'active time' was not infinite.
Even if she hid her true nature with a 'shell' and masked her presence with a 'mask,' she could not completely deceive the eyes of the Gods. Murmur ground her teeth. The Gods. Those damn Gods. Bestowing Supernatural Abilities upon humans, blocking the interference of the other world, choosing the Chosen One—it was all their doing.
Channeling her rising irritation, Murmur clenched her fist. Since she couldn't kill her, she held back her strength as much as possible and drove her fist straight into Lucia's mouth.
"Ack?!"
Her lips burst open with a wet pop. Blood sprayed, and something firmly anchored inside crumbled away. Her teeth shattered into splinters, and Lucia's body convulsed violently. By reflex, she tried to bite down on Murmur's hand, but biting with bare gums couldn't leave so much as a scratch.
Swallowing her own blood and shattered teeth, Lucia dragged her body forward. Pivoting on her left foot, she twisted her hips and kicked out at Murmur with her right leg. Of course, there was no way it would connect. Pulling her fist out of Lucia's mouth, Murmur delivered a swift hand-chop to sever her leg.
A white flash cleaved through her thigh. The blunt edge of Murmur's hand acted like a masterfully forged sword, tearing skin, snapping bone, and severing muscle, turning the leg into a lump of cooling meat. Instantly losing a leg, Lucia tottered. Murmur grabbed her honey-blonde hair and leaped. Fluidly, naturally, she drove her knee straight into Lucia's solar plexus.
Crack! Her sternum collapsed like a soggy cracker, and bone fragments pierced her lungs. Lucia couldn't even squeeze out a breath, her body merely trembling.
"Hee... h-heee..."
Her one remaining foot slipped. Falling flat on her back, Lucia let out an incomprehensible groan. Did it hurt? Of course it did. It had to. Murmur nodded to herself a couple of times. No matter how much she beat and broke her, the girl regenerated and kept clinging on. Did she actually think she could win? Relying on nothing but her regeneration? Or was she planning to hold out until someone came to save her?
Even now, with her face pale and drained of blood. Even with her teeth completely gone, making her face look utterly ridiculous. She was still flailing her two remaining limbs, trying to stand back up.
"Ugh... uuuugh..."
"How pathetic."
Murmur lightly stepped on Lucia's left arm. As she slowly applied pressure, a sound that should never come from a human body echoed. *Crunch. Grind.* The sound of bones splintering. The sound of muscles tearing.
"Ah, ugh, w-wait... h-hiieek?!"
*Squelch.* Murmur's sole met the ground. Unable to withstand the crushing pressure, Lucia's left arm detached from her shoulder with a wet, dull sound. Lucia screamed silently. Rubbing her mangled stump against the dirt, she retched up sticky saliva.
"...! ...?! ...!"
"You can regenerate this, right?"
Even if she couldn't, Murmur didn't care. As long as she didn't die, it was fine. Having finally shaken off the annoying nuisance, Murmur began walking toward the interior of the park. The place where the Spiritual Vein flowed strongest was the center of the park. She intended to open the gate to the other world there.
"Y-You... can't..."
Feeling a tug on her pant leg, Murmur looked down, wondering what it was this time. Lucia was biting down on Murmur's pants with her mouth. No, since she had no teeth, it couldn't even be called biting. It was closer to a final, desperate struggle to halt Murmur's advance.
"..."
Murmur stared blankly at her. She wasn't even annoyed anymore. Normally, if someone was left with only one of their four limbs, wouldn't they just give up? Even if she could regenerate, it wasn't painless.
"Do I have to gouge out your eyes...?"
Would she only give up if Murmur ripped open her stomach, pulled out her internal organs, and wrapped them around her neck? Or did she really plan to hold out until she died? In a way, it felt like looking at a truly bizarre creature.
"..."
What should she do? She couldn't afford to waste any more time. But leaving this woman behind felt unsettling... It would make it feel as if she had lost. She hadn't lost. If anything, she had won. A Main losing to a mere human was utterly impossible.
Murmur habitually toyed with her white cloud mask. Perhaps her teeth had regenerated, because Lucia's bite force was gradually growing stronger. Her severed limbs were recovering too, and at this rate, she would return to her original state in no time. Super Regeneration was indeed a rather useful ability. Astaroth would probably love it. That woman loved breaking things, after all. But if she regenerated, she would just get annoying again, so before that—
"...Huh?"
Murmur suddenly furrowed her brow at a prickling sensation on her skin. She felt a familiar power radiating from a distance. A presence like a blazing flame. In her memory, there was only one person who possessed such an aura. Speak of the devil... She had heard that person was under house arrest after being thrashed by Agares, so what were they doing here?
Astaroth.
While Murmur was momentarily distracted by the unexpected arrival, Lucia finished healing her injuries. She regenerated her severed limbs, restored her extracted teeth, and snapped her broken ribs back into place. Though she had regained her whole form, the blood she had spilled remained. Raising her blood-stained face, Lucia's pink eyes gleamed.
"I told you, Murmur. Until I die, you aren't passing through here."
"..."
"I don't know what you're plotting... but I can't let you go. Absolutely not."
Murmur stared at Lucia in silence. The eyes behind her mask had grown cold. She spread her small, petite hand. Her hand, drenched in Lucia's blood, carried a chilling aura ill-suited for a child. Slowly, she curled her fingers. Starting with her thumb, then her index finger. Middle finger. Ring finger. Pinky. One by one, she folded them.
"Sigh..."
Clenching her fist, Murmur let out a short sigh. Then, she spoke.
"I guess you really won't stop until you die."
If that's your wish, I'll grant it. But I did promise earlier that I wouldn't kill you. In that case...
"I'll leave you half-dead."
At those words, Lucia flashed a provocative smile, as if refusing to be intimidated. Yet, perhaps out of fear, the corners of her lips were trembling uncontrollably.
