I was alone in the street, surrounded by fallen trees and mostly empty buildings, save for the Jikininki King across from me. I was on my back, doing my best to feign defeat as I looked through my Skill Codex. Unlike [SACRIFICE], I hardly used my single other Skill, even during my training with the Horsemen. Admittedly, I needed a slight refresher, so I opened my Skill Codex. The Skill Codex was another incorporeal scroll, and it only displayed three abilities. There was [SACRIFICE], [FIRE MANIPULATION] with a star next to it to denote its temporary status, and at the very bottom, the Skill I was looking for.

[REINFORCE] - STRENGTHEN YOURSELF AT THE PERPETUAL COST OF YOUR [VITALITY].

Unfortunately for me, my System didn’t come with a health bar like those expensive Mamoru brand Systems were supposed to. Instead, all I had was my intuition and the wooziness that came along with being near death. As soon as that kicked in, I’d have to deactivate my [REINFORCE] Skill. Until then, I had free reign to do whatever I wanted.

“AT YOUR CURRENT LEVEL, [REINFORCE] WILL IMPROVE YOUR UTILIZATION TO ABOUT 9%.”

You’re strong, right? 9% of your power should be more than enough.

“IT’S MUCH MORE THAN ENOUGH. IT’S OVERKILL. YOU WOULD DO WELL NOT ANTAGONIZE ME; THE ONE PROVIDING YOU WITH YOUR POWER.”

Oh, hush. Yugo told you to play nice, right? Don’t go forgetting that, now.

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself, though judging by the Jikininki King’s face it must’ve assumed I was laughing at it. Not that I cared either way. I stood to my full height and drew my sword, but I was forced to drop it when it suddenly combusted into flame just like my shirt had.

So this thing can make specific items burn. Guess I need to move fast.

I kicked off with enough force to leave a small crater in the ground. My hand was at the creature’s face before I’d even realized I’d been there. Adjusting quickly, I grabbed it and slammed the creature into the pavement before pelting it with a flurry of punches. The Jikininki eventually gained its footing, kicking me back a few meters as it finally regained its footing.

When it stood back up, it wasn’t nearly as aggressive as it’d been moments prior. It was far more patient now, circling me like a wolf trying to gauge its prey. Unfortunately for it, I wasn’t in a position to fight slowly. As long as [REINFORCE] was active I needed to move fast. I kicked off again, and the Jikininki put its guard up as I approached. I struck the creature’s waiting guard but wasn’t fast enough to guard or dodge a simple uppercut from the Jikininki. Thanks to [REINFORCE], though, the attack didn’t hurt as much as it might’ve without it active.

“You need to be better than that if you want to kill me!” I boasted, ego overtaking me.

Rather than step back, I pelted the Jikininki’s guard over and over again with a barrage of punches. It didn’t take long to break through the Jikininki King’s defenses, extending an open palm to the creature’s face and blasting it point blank with the strongest fire blast I could muster. With [REINFORCE] active, the blast took up more of the city block than every other one I’d conjured. Still not quite at Yugo’s level, though.

In time.

I didn’t let up when the smoke cleared. As soon as the charred body of the Jikininki King was visible I dashed for it, ducking under a weak hook and uppercutting its body. I followed that with a combo to the body before sending it flying down the empty street with a palm strike. Ash from the fire blast stuck to my now sweaty torso with each attack, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

As I made my way toward the creature, I noticed that it had something clutched in its right hand. A sword. My sword. I allowed myself to laugh. Surely it didn’t think it could use a sword? Surely, it did. I made my way towards it, dodging its childishly pathetic sword slashes and punishing each miss with devastating combos of my own. After my amusement had been sated, I kicked the creature into a tree that immediately fell into the empty facade of an abandoned electronics shop.

For the first time in a while, the Jikininki King screeched. It was louder than any of the others had been, and while I couldn’t understand the creature’s language I could recognize the emotion behind it: Anger. I picked up my sword and pointed it at the creature.

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“Your mistake was fighting against me. Don’t be angry at me, be angry at your own weakness.”

The Jikininki King clenched a clawed fist, channeling its energy to ignite my sword once again.

“Fool. Did you seriously think this would be enough to stop me?”

I leaned back and aimed, adjusting my hold of the sword and aiming with my left hand. As soon as my aim was perfect, I launched the flaming sword into the chest of the Jikininki like a javelin, pinning the creature into the felled tree it stood in front of. The creature screamed as steel met flesh, and I kicked off to close the distance one last time to finally end this fight.

It was then, the moment I kicked off, that I started to feel that “wooziness” take hold. If I had one of those Mamoru Systems, it’d show my health bar as being in the red right now. I cursed, but I didn’t let up for a second. If I showed even a moment of hesitation, the Jikininki King would take that as a sign to strike…

…Not that it made a difference. The moment I closed the distance between us, I grabbed the sword and began to drag it upwards with all of my natural strength. Without [REINFORCE] active, though, it wasn’t enough to finish off my opponent. Before I could step back, the Jikininki King activated its combustion skill, setting the ash that’d been on my body on fire. While it didn’t hurt, the stuff had been around my eyes. For a few, vital moments, I couldn’t see anything. The Jikininki didn’t waste any time, biting me in the neck and pulling at my arms as if to rip them off.

I managed to pull away through sheer willpower, but my body was at its limit. The Jikininki King didn’t gloat or show any sort of satisfaction, though. It still had the face of cornered prey. The Jikininki King instinctively knew who its better was, and I needed to play the part. Fallen Star still disgusted me, and using this power wasn’t something I enjoyed doing, but if I wanted to kill my real enemies I needed to use every tool in my arsenal. At the same time, I needed to know which tools simply weren’t necessary.

The Jikininki King ran straight for me, roaring wildly as it dragged its arms behind it. Rather than engage, I maintained distance as I gathered my thoughts. This fight needed to end, and I already knew how to do it.

I want to [SACRIFICE] my [FIRE MANIPULATION] Skill.

“IN EXCHANGE FOR WHAT”

I need my health replenished.

I sidestepped a claw strike that cut deep into a parked minivan. The moment I registered Fallen Star’s “SUFFICIENT” response, I cast [REINFORCE] and launched a flurry of punches at the Jikininki King. I struck over and over again, refusing the give the creature an inch of room. Finally, I slammed a foot into the creature’s chest hard enough for it to cough up blood. It landed directly on my Brand, and the Jikininki King ignited it the moment it made contact, but it was a futile attempt at fighting back.

With a smile, I reached down, grabbing both of its arms as I began to pull. The creature screamed and thrashed beneath me, but I ignored it.

“It’s like I told you: Your mistake was fighting against…me!”

The Jikininki King’s arms separated from its body like raw chicken. I laughed all the while as the creature screeched beneath me. Loud, angry wails slowly turning to weak, defeated whimpers. Finally, when its voice was weakest, I crushed its skull beneath my boot. Just like that, the Jikininki King was dead.

I observed my handiwork for a while, not saying anything even as the Level Scroll popped into existence. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be feeling. Sure it was fun to win a fight, but I’d done it using Fallen Star… Intentionally. There was no reluctance here. I’d decided to use Fallen Star, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy myself.

“No matter where you go, you will always be Fallen Star.”

How true was that? Was this all part of Ares’ plan? Is this what he saw for me at our last meeting? Either way, the harsh reality was that unless I used Fallen Star’s power to my advantage I wouldn’t level, and if I didn’t level I’d be stuck with it. Not only that, but I’d essentially be letting the Horsemen get away with everything they did to me. To my mother.

“Fight for your happiness, Rui. Fight for your freedom! Don’t you ever stop fighting for them, okay?”

There was no happiness to be found in a world the Horsemen existed in. There was no freedom in a world where those four were stronger than me in. With that, I finally made my mind up about Yugo and his “Seekers”. At the same time, I reached down for the Level scroll. Eager for the first time ever to read its contents.

LEVEL INCREASED

22 > 26

UTILIZATION PERCENTAGE: 5.28%

HP: 30

STR: 28

STM: 26

A-STR: 24

A-STM: 24

“It’s gonna be a while until I’m caught up to you four, but the moment I am…”

“THERE WILL BE NO CAVE FOR THEM TO HIDE IN. NO CULT FOR THEM TO MASQUERADE WITHIN. DEATH IS NOT A POSSIBILITY…”

“It’s an inevitability.”