With that failed attempt, my position was exposed. The crimson hexagons that made the creature’s eyes blinking right at my direction was the most definite proof. Meanwhile, I didn’t have the kind of super speed that Akabane or Aozaki had. Running away from it was impossible.

However, not all hope was lost. If I could just run to its stomach area again, like the others had done, I would be fine. I would be stuck there for a while, but it would still be better than dying. Then, even if I didn’t prefer the outcome, I only had to wait for Aozaki and Yamabuki to come and help me. It was the logical solution.

There were only two issues. One, if I had enough speed and strength to run away from the dragonfly’s wings in time. Its shortest charge of air blast was three seconds, and the distance between it and me was no mere meters away. And secondly…

I tightened my cradle towards Akari. She was already barely breathing from the hit before. Being smaller than Akabane, she suffered a lot more damage, and with no healing thanks to the bastard taking all of the pills to himself, there was no way to be sure how much time she had left.

Should I just throw Akari to the others? The thought quickly ran through my mind, but I could never accept such an outcome. The last thing I needed was to entrust her to others ever again. But carrying her around, my speed would decrease, and that would put both of us in danger again.

“Yakushi-kun, look out!” Yamabuki’s shout reminded me of my situation, and from just a glance, I had to react right away.

There was another miscalculation in my thinking—the dragonfly still had its shout as its fastest attack. It knew it too; it was why it didn’t bother to beat its wings for me. However, because the supersonic hit had to come from its mouth, the area of effect was undoubtedly the smallest, and thus I could dodge this with the easiest effort, even if the charge was much faster than the giant storm.

Going to the stomach was still my direction, and so, I ran straight ahead. Sonic blast after sonic blast, all I could tell was the bursting sound of the ground behind me breaking apart. But that was fine, since it also meant that I wasn’t injured from such blasts. But this time, my opponent wasn’t that simple.

This giant dragonfly was still nothing more than a baby, at least from what it had shown. It never moved from its spot, and its attacks were slow—telegraphed, even. Almost too similar to a game boss. But not anymore.

For the first time since its awakening, the dragonfly moved.

The lost leg and the anger from constantly losing its prey had finally pushed it to the limit. However, with its giant size, moving alone was already an attack of devastating effect. With a flap of its wings, the creature zipped forward faster than sound, leaving in its trail a violent wind hole that tore through the air and ground alike.

If the trees and ground weren’t enough to take the destructive force just a wing flap brought, then how could I? It was only due to sheer luck that I survived, but as soon as I felt a shocking pain below me, I already knew that my fate was sealed.

I didn’t need to see the stream of crimson oozing out of what was supposed to be my legs to know what had happened. If anything, I was miraculous enough to only lose my leg after that razor wind. However, my luck had run out—the dragonfly had finally moved, and it was now directly facing me.

Once again, I felt through my bones how powerless I was. Once again, I could do nothing but wail in defeat. All my previous life had amounted to nothing. I died, was reborn, went through multiple trials of life and death, but in the end, for what? I still couldn’t do anything without powers. I still had to let others protect me, and I couldn’t save the ones I wanted to save the most.

“Akari…” Clutching my partner, it was the only thing I could do. “I’m sorry…”

At that moment, a miracle happened.

When my tears touched her shell, Akari’s body burst in a bright, warm light of white and red. It was soothing like the sun, yet fierce like flickering flames. Her body floated into the air, and to my surprise, it changed.

Still wrapped in the white light, Akari’s body grew longer. Slimmer. More defined. More… humanoid. Her forearms were no longer scythes, but I could see the features of a human arm. Her hind legs grew as well, growing into something similar to that of a woman, before being hidden away by her lengthened wings. From her arms grew out the bladed scythes from before, but they weren’t attached to her anymore.

Emerging from the light was an Akari that I had never known.

Her wings had grown long enough to cover her whole body like the Shinjoura, but instead of being an elegant dress, their shape more resembled an old swordsman’s haori, though the signature red and white halves still made their main colors. Like the queen bee, her arms and legs had grown to that of a human’s, but instead of just a smooth line through the arm’s length into a drill like the Shinjoura, Akari’s arms were spiky and ragged, similar to Akabane’s. With a glimpse of her face, I could see that she didn’t have a mouth like the others, but her white eyes were much gentler and kinder than anyone else. The horn on her head had also evolved to be more ragged and slicked to the back, almost like a messy hair bun.

However, the most prominent feature on her right now was undoubtedly the two swords in her hands. One red, one white, they bore the same curvature as her old scythe forearms, yet looking much more refined, almost as if they were sparkling. With one resting on her shoulder and the other pointing at her foe, Akari was like a long-time master, ready to challenge even the toughest foes to achieve her pinnacle in the way of the sword.

It was at that moment that a voice—gentle, yet almost shy—sounded directly in my mind, the same kind of telepathy that the Shinjoura once showed.

“Master… Don’t stare at me too much like that.”

“... Akari?”

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Yes, Master. It’s still me.” The figure before me nodded. “I’ve been longing for the moment to finally communicate with you, yet this moment isn’t such a good time for us to indulge in stories.”

“Did you perhaps… evolve?”

“If you mean my current form, then yes. I’m not sure how it happened either, but I was able to evolve into my next stage without needing to consume you. Now, I’m a full-fledged Onisatsu.”

“You… don’t mean to eat me eventually, right?”

“Pff, of course not,” Akari held a chuckle, bringing her hand close to where her mouth would be, akin to a maiden’s laugh. “Besides, I would hate to cut Master into pieces, and my mouth isn’t big enough to swallow you whole. But don’t worry...”

Our conversation was cut short by a powerful gust and a grating screech. Faced before the assault, however, Akari remained still.

“Tch, stupid god trying to get in between me and Master’s moment…”

Finally drawing both her swords into position, she shouted:

“Hear me, foul monster! I bear the crest of Utsuto, my name is Akari! On my Master’s honor, I shall be his arms, his legs, and his blades! With me alive, there will be nothing that can harm my Master anymore!”

Her bold declaration was the signal for the first wave of air blades and sonic blast to fire at us. Almost immediately after, Akari moved to a combat stance… though, calling it a combat stance would be too much.

Instead of the showy movement she had just done, Akari only raised one of her swords—the white one—upward, while still keeping it close to her body. The other sword, she pointed it down on the ground, making a single line with her two weapons. Her eyes were closed, and her face gave a serene presence, as if she was alone in her own world.

“Hidden Sword: Endless Zero.”

There was no movement. I couldn’t even tell if she really didn’t move, or if her movement was so fast that even my enhanced eyes couldn’t keep up with her. But all that I was able to see was Akari standing still, and the wind that was supposed to tear us apart dissipated into nothing.

“Were you satisfied, Master?” A light chuckle came from my partner.

“What did you do?”

“I just cut the air; simple as that. Endless Zero, as its name suggested, was the power of the Onisatsu to cut things that shouldn’t be possible to cut. Air, water, fire, lightning, even darkness… my blades can cut through them all. Just like how a ‘zero’ can feel infinite, the blades make untouchable things touchable.”

“That’s… look out!”

“Don’t worry, Master. Victory is already ours.”

As soon as the words came into my mind, Akari faced forward again, just in time for another barrage of gust and tornadoes to come. Still with the same pose, the attacks from the dragonfly dissipated before it could even come close to where we were.

However, even I wasn’t blind after witnessing her technique so many times. Although Akari had said that she could cut through anything with her swords, I could see her position ever so slightly shifting after each gust disappeared. It was only a couple of millimeters at most, but there was a shift. And that was proof enough that even her ultimate technique had a limit of its own.

“Akari, don’t overdo it!” I gave a warning. “If you can, then finish the fight as fast as possible! You can’t win a war of attrition!”

“Aw, and I was about to show off to you more…” her voice turned slightly sulky, but Akari followed my orders nonetheless. This time, moving her red sword to the top and putting the white at the bottom, she took a single step forward. Yet, a single step was all she needed.

“Hidden Sword: Bounded Infinity.”

This time, her movement was clear. A flash of crimson ran from her original spot all the way to the other side of the forest, where the dragonfly’s tail was at. Her arms swung much faster, much harder than ever before. The red and white blades crossed with each other, creating a perfect arc. But most importantly, there was a line that appeared on the giant creature’s head, splitting it in two equal halves.

A dash of crimson appeared again, and Akari was already standing before me.

“Was that enough, Master?” I could tell that she was letting out an endearing smile as she raised her hand towards me, finally picking me up.

“Yeah, let’s go…”

I couldn’t finish my words. The line that once appeared on the dragonfly’s head, now appeared on Akari’s body, vertically splitting her into two.

Her hand grew cold. Her legs felt limp. There was no force holding me upward anymore.

“Akari!!!” I cried out in pain.

As I turned my attention in front of me again with teary eyes, I still saw it. The giant dragonfly from before, but its shell was no longer there. There was no mistaking it—Akari had killed it with her attack just now. But neither of us knew that it was only the beginning.

The dragonfly… no, now it was only a dragonfly in shape. In front of me was a mass of green energy taking the shape of the giant insect, still with its same massive size, but now, only a look at the thing was enough for my eyes to feel pain from a thousand cuts. It had shed its mortal body to ascend into what it was truly known for—a God.

At that moment, the cold hand that I was holding suddenly moved. Breaking free from my grip, Akari wiped the tears rolling on my cheeks, her eyes lightly curled to signal a smile.

“Master…” she had no mouth, and there was nothing stopping her telepathy from working, so I could still hear her properly. “Don’t be sad…”

“But… you…”

“All I wanted… was to be by your side… So, remember the prophecy?”

“You mean…”

“Consider it… my last wish, Master… Consume whatever is left of me… that way, I can still be by your side… even after I’m gone…”

“Don’t give me that look!” I roared in anger and regret. “You’re supposed to save me, and both of us will live to return home! Don’t die on me… Not like this…”

“Don’t cry, Master… Your face is cuter… when you smile…”

Those were the last words that I heard from her, as Akari’s body grew limp. At the same time, a cursed message replaced her soothing voice, as if spitting on me for one last time.

[Conditions met. As you are a ‘Player’, you cannot partake in Evolution. Evolution will instead turn into Transformation. Will you accept?]

Was this your plan all along, Akabane?

How long had you been waiting for this exact moment, you damn system?

“Forcing me to follow the path you laid out for me… Robbing me of everything that mattered to me… My home, my friend, my loved one… Was that it? So I could be your damn hero?”

“Fuck off! I’ll admit it, I’m worthless! I’m powerless! I can’t do anything alone! But that doesn’t mean that you can decide what I get to do!”

Gripping Akari’s severed arm to the point of bleeding myself, I raised it to my mouth.

“Fine! If you want me to have power so badly, then so be it! But I’ll have you know, after I’ve become the hero you so desire, this world is the first thing I’m taking down!”

I bit into the arm. The scent of blood invaded my mouth and nose. It was awful. It was soft and bouncy, but it tasted like metal. And yet…

It was sweet. It was calming. It felt good.

[You have consumed your partner Omushi. Would you like to undergo Transformation?]

“... Yes.”