"Steal the Last Hit, Steal the Girl's Thunder"
"If I sign something for you, are you going to sell it on a secondhand marketplace?"
Rai couldn't say a word for a long while.
Inside his head, the alarm he'd heard moments ago kept blaring on repeat.
LV 80.
Even he had never laid eyes on a monster of that caliber in his entire life.
A beast capable of swallowing an entire city whole.
And now, that very thing had appeared somewhere in this city.
"........."
Rai sank into thought, his face frozen.
That was when it happened.
"Rai!"
Ragna's sharp voice cut through the air.
"What are you doing?! Move—now!"
Ragna was still gripping Rai's wrist.
But in that very moment, La Place shook off Ragna's hand and strode out of the BBQ restaurant.
TWANG---!!!
"LaLa?!"
Ragna cried out, startled.
"Get back inside!"
But La Place didn't stop.
She walked straight out the door.
"Hey---!!!!"
Rai shouted urgently and immediately bolted out after her.
"Big Sis! I'll take her with me!"
"What?!"
"I'm taking her to the shelter, so you go on ahead!"
"Rai, wait a second—!"
The moment Ragna tried to follow them out—
KUUUUNG-----!!
A deafening roar split the air, and a massive chunk of debris crashed down between the two of them.
KWAAANG!!
Part of the building collapsed, and a mountain of concrete rubble blocked off the street.
"Rai!"
Ragna screamed from beyond the debris.
"When you two come back, a simple scolding will be the least of your problems--!!!!"
Rai stared at his sister for a moment through the wreckage.
Then he forced a grin.
"See you at the shelter!"
"Rai!"
Leaving Ragna's voice behind, Rai and La Place sprinted into the darkness of the city streets.
How long had they been running?
By now, Ragna's presence was nowhere to be felt.
A small smile crept across Rai's lips.
"......Good, I ditched Big Sis."
Rai's footsteps stopped.
"Now let's transform in peace."
La Place stepped in front of him.
Then, without a word, she raised her hand.
Her palm touched Rai's chest.
In that instant—
KUGUGUGUGUGUGUGU...!!!
Black light coiled around Rai's body.
As if darkness itself were taking form, pieces of black armor began to materialize one by one.
Heavy plating sheathing his shoulders.
A cuirass of black metal.
Sharply jutting gauntlets and bracers.
And then, black armor enveloping his entire body.
Finally, a helm closed over his face.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Fully transformed, Rai slowly clenched his fist.
A faint crimson light flickered between the joints of the black armor.
And then—
"Deploying."
___. ___
Meanwhile.
The heart of the city.
That place was already no different from hell itself.
Collapsed buildings. Burning cars. Fractured roads.
And a shadow so vast it seemed to swallow the sky whole.
At its very center—
LV 80.
A monster unlike anything in recorded history stood there.
It was a colossal dragon.
Its size defied imagination.
A body large enough to straddle an entire city district on its own. Every time it shifted, buildings crumbled and the earth itself buckled and warped. Each time its enormous wings spread, storm-force winds swept across the entire city.
Before it, countless Awakeners lay sprawled on the ground.
A-rank Awakeners, especially.
All of them drenched in blood, unable to move so much as a finger.
"A thing like that..."
One Awakener muttered with a trembling voice.
"I've never seen anything like it..."
Another, collapsed beside them, lifted their head with great effort.
"Is this... where I die...?"
Demons could be seen scattered around the battlefield as well.
Humans and demons.
Different races had joined forces to take down this monster together.
But it was useless.
Despite unleashing every attack they had, none of them had managed to deal the massive dragon even a proper wound.
Despair.
The same emotion surfaced on the face of every single person there.
No one could bring this monster down.
No one believed they would survive this place.
Then—
Tap.
Tap.
Someone stepped forward.
Alone, weaving her way through the bloodied Awakeners.
Absolutely composed.
A girl was walking toward the dragon.
The moment her figure came into view, the eyes of the fallen Awakeners went wide.
"That person..."
"No way..."
"Shalla Crosshope...?"
The girl walked slowly, her short hair whipping in the wind.
A modern combat suit built on a base of black.
Light, streamlined clothing that wouldn't hinder her movements.
And knuckle gloves fitted over both hands.
Her mere appearance was enough to change the very air around them.
Shalla Crosshope.
Barely fifteen years old.
The youngest A-rank Awakener in existence.
The being closest to S-rank.
A genius among geniuses.
And the title attached to her name: 【Dimension Breaker】.
Shalla looked up at the colossal dragon.
And then—
Grin.
She cocked the corner of her mouth upward.
"You look pretty strong."
Shalla rolled her wrist lightly.
Crack.
Crack.
Flexing her fingers, she tightened her knuckles.
At that instant, the dragon's massive eyes turned toward her.
Shalla tilted her head slightly.
"What are you looking at?"
KWAAAAAAAAANG-----!!
The next moment, Shalla's figure vanished.
No—she simply moved too fast to be seen.
The ground erupted beneath her as if it had exploded.
She had covered dozens of meters in a single bound.
Even the colossal dragon couldn't react in time.
And then—
Shalla's fist slammed squarely into the dragon's enormous jaw.
KWAAAAAANG---!!
Space itself warped in that instant.
Invisible fissures spiderwebbed outward from the point of impact.
KRAK.
KRAKAKAKAK-----!!
The fabric of space shattered outright.
The dragon's massive head was knocked backward by Shalla's single blow.
"GRUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO---!!!
"Ha!"
Shalla, suspended in midair, laughed.
"Don't you dare go down in one hit."
Both of Shalla's fists drew back.
And then—
"Now we're just getting started."
THWACK!!
She thrust a punch into empty air.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!!
A barrage at blistering speed.
But Shalla's fists were striking nothing—only empty air.
And yet, with every blow, space itself burst apart.
KRAK!!
KRAK!!
KRAKAKAKAK-----!!
Following the dozens—hundreds—of punches she unleashed, space ruptured in a cascading chain.
The fissures grew larger and larger.
And finally—
SHRAAANG-----!!
With a sound like the world breaking, the very space surrounding the dragon splintered into fragments.
""!!!!!!!!""
The nearby Awakeners sucked in their breath.
The dragon's massive body shuddered.
As if its very existence were coming apart at the seams.
Scales crumbled.
Flesh split open.
Its enormous form began to collapse piece by piece.
THRUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU...!!!
Shalla looked down at it from midair and grinned.
"That's that."
But—
In that instant, the dragon's massive jaws swung open.
GRUUUUUUUUUU....!!!!
Red light began gathering deep within its maw.
".........?"
Shalla's expression shifted.
"You've still got enough left to flail around?"
A massive breath attack.
Energy capable of swallowing a whole city was condensing inside the dragon's mouth.
Shalla thrust her hands out in front of her in a flash.
Spreading her fingers as if to seize the empty air.
"Then—"
The space around her began to warp.
"If I just block it with this—!!!
But at that moment—
Light exploded from the dragon's mouth.
KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG-----!!
"..........!"
Shalla's eyes flew wide open.
(It's fast—!)
The breath had been fired before she could fully deploy her space.
(Damn it---!!!)
Shalla gritted her teeth.
And in that exact instant, an enormous black light sliced across her field of vision.
KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAK---!!!
A black slash tore through the city as it flew.
And cleaved straight through the dragon's massive neck.
SHRK-----!!
The breath attack died midair, severed in two.
GRUUUUUUUUUUUU...!!!!
The dragon's colossal head tilted slowly.
And then its entire body began to crumble away.
Flesh turned to black ash, scattered on the wind.
FWOOOOOOOSH... Tap.
Shalla descended slowly to the ground.
Then she turned her head toward the direction that slash had come from.
".........."
There, a figure stood.
Dark night. Amid the ruined buildings.
The being who had unleashed that black slash was watching Shalla without a trace of emotion on his face.
The moment they confirmed his appearance—
The surrounding Awakeners sucked in their breath.
"No way..."
"That person is..."
Shalla stared at him too.
And the man's name surfaced in her mind.
【Akra Minus】.
The strongest Awakener alive.
And he had appeared here.
"Last hit, easy pickings."
Rai muttered quietly.
FWOOOOOOOOOO...!!
Once the dragon's body had vanished entirely—
A heavy silence settled over the ruined streets.
Shalla slowly raised her head.
And looked at the Akra standing before her.
Step. Step. Step.
After a moment of silence, Shalla began walking toward him.
Rai quietly watched her approach.
And grinned.
"Coming over to thank me for saving you, huh?"
A strange sense of satisfaction swelled in Rai's voice.
"Kid's got manners—rare these days, with how rude everyone is."
".........."
Shalla tilted her head up and stared dead into Rai's face.
Rai looked down at her in turn.
"Well, no autographs, though."
"........What?"
"There are people who take my autograph and post it on secondhand market sites."
Rai's armor shimmered faintly.
"So no signatures."
Rai paused for dramatic effect.
"But I'll throw in a handshake."
Shalla's eyebrow twitched violently.
"........"
"What? What is it?"
At his words, Shalla asked with utter disbelief.
"Hey. You."
"Yeah?"
"......Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Hmm...."
Rai studied her carefully.
Hair of red and silver. Red eyes.
And a face that seemed somehow familiar.
The moment Rai's memory began dredging up the past—
"Oh!"
Shalla's expression softened slightly.
Apparently, he'd finally recognized her.
However—
"Wait a second."
Rai opened his mouth with a grave face.
"You're the punk who scammed me on the secondhand marketplace, aren't you?"
"........."
Dead silence.
Shalla's face contorted.
"YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOTAAAAAAAAAAAA----!!"
THWACK!!
"KHUK!!"
Shalla's fist drove straight into Rai's helm.
Rai's body went airborne—
KUDANGTANGTANG!
—and rolled across the ground.
"Are you insane?! Why'd you hit me--!!!"
Rai's face slammed into the pavement.
Shalla stood over him, huffing and puffing.
"I'm the one who took down almost all of that monster just now! Who asked for your help?!"
"Oh."
Rai wiggled his fingers while still face-down on the ground.
"So you're pissed I stole the last hit?"
"What?"
"The monster was perfectly seasoned and prepped for a last hit—how was I supposed to just stand there and watch?"
"........"
A vein bulged on Shalla's forehead.
"I..."
Shalla, fists clenched tight, grit her teeth.
"I can't believe I was pathetic enough to be saved by a guy like you..."
"........?"
Rai cocked his head.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Then—
Hum.
A small sound came from beside him.
La Place had somehow made her way over to Rai's side.
Rai looked at her.
"Hey. What's with her?"
La Place regarded Shalla with a blank expression.
Then she stated flatly:
"Answer. That woman is the girl you met when you first donned the mantle of 【Akra Minus】."
".........."
Rai froze.
"What?"
He turned slowly toward Shalla.
"Hold on."
Rai examined her face again, closely this time.
And a scene long buried in his memory came back to him.
"No way..."
Shalla turned her head away.
Her short hair scattered in the wind.
Without looking at Rai, she spoke quietly.
"Yeah."
A moment of silence.
"The kid from back then is me."
Shalla slowly turned toward Rai.
Her red eyes gleamed coldly.
"But."
She smirked.
"Not a kid anymore."