Erelier City had fallen. What was once a bustling city had become nothing but rubble. Buildings, streets, homes, all were reduced to debris. Monsters rampaged throughout the City, eating whatever people they could find. Half-mutilated corpses littered the streets. As far as my eyes could see and as far as my mana could reach, I was the only one alive here.

  I was standing in front of a crater where a skyscraper once stood. It was the site of an intercity conference on how to deal with a mysterious terrorist organisation. I wasn’t on the security detail, but my captain was. He had to take over after his old friend had died a few months prior, which we both thought was due to that same terrorist organisation. For good reason.

  I looked up at what should’ve been a clear blue sky. A red barrier enveloped the entirety of Erelier. It rose up all too suddenly and before we could even begin to analyse it, monsters and people began dropping out of the sky. It was a crude method of attack.

  Several monsters and people were unable to survive the fall, or were injured, but any who could still move, moved to attack, and raid the City. The monsters did not distinguish between the people on its side, they were merely dropped in, allowed to act however they want. The terrorist forces did what they wanted as well. We were caught completely off guard.

  Once I and the hunters around me got things under control, I was sent to scout out the situation at the skyscraper. The others would try to re-establish the communications that went down. I was the fastest of them all, so I was the natural choice. Evidently though, I was too late. The entire skyscraper was gone. No rubble remained. Just a massive crater.

  It was strange. Not only was the skyscraper reduced to nothing, there were no humans around here too. Not even any raiders. Just a few monsters that didn’t want to approach the crater. I didn’t blame them though. The mana that permeated the crater was strange and ominous. Murky, deep, and dark. As if it had a will of its own. It almost didn’t feel like mana. It was completely different from the ambient mana around it. It felt like something that shouldn’t exist. It wanted to devour anything that got close, any mana and any living beings. It was like standing in front of a predator, a beast who only hungered. Whatever it was, or whatever it came from, was something completely unnatural. Which was exactly why I had to investigate.

‘Purity levels are a bit high. Around 85%? That’s higher than Captain Galas. And it’s at the level it could kill me.’

  I observed the purity level of the monstrous mana in front of me. 85%. My own mana purity was 58%. With a difference greater than 20, the mana could kill me. Luckily, I knew a few spells that could filter out the mana around me, so I could probably make some progress in investigating this. But once I figured something out, I’d have to leave it to the job of people with purer mana than me. Like my captain. If he happened to still be alive.

  I expanded my mana around myself. After taking a deep breath, I slowly made my way into the crater. The dark mana leapt at me, trying to claw its way into my body. It wanted to devour me whole. But I pressed on, slowly but surely.

  It was a dense packet of mana. So dense it acted similarly to fog. Perceiving anything through it would be difficult. In no other circumstance would I even dare to approach it. I just wanted to understand this even a tiny bit more.

‘Is that… a sword?’

  After walking slowly down the slope, I saw it. What had to be the source of the mana. A jet black greatsword half-buried into the ground. Its top half was broken off, but there was no doubt about it. Both pieces emanated this deadly, devouring mana. And the way it was broken, it was… familiar.

  This was enough. I had to go. I turned around and slowly made my way up the side of the slope. I didn’t want to risk letting my guard down for even a second. If I were to fall here, all the deaths I had witnessed, that had been for me, would have been for nothing. Make it out and start running for my life to help others. That was the plan. And if any of their higher-ups were to find me…

‘A sniper bullet in my dead angle.’

  I’d kill them.

———————————————————————

  Machua jumped forwards, flipping in the air to look towards the direction the bullet came from. The bullet passed just beside his ear, taking with it a few tufts of hair. But where that bullet landed, out emerged a man.

‘Teleportation. A classic,’ Machua thought.

  The man stabbed at Machua with his ferocious dagger. Machua’s eyes followed its movements steadily, and stepping off of the air, he blocked the strike with the sole of his shoe. The impact forced him back into the crater, deeper than he had ever stepped into it. The devouring mana quickly surrounded him, but he pushed it back steadily.

  Suddenly, what sounded like a small explosion burst from behind the man, launching him into the crater as well. Machua capitalised and sent a kick flying his way. The man, despite being caught off guard, adjusted and blocked the strike. But the sudden launch sent him rolling into the ground.

“If you wanted to kill me, you shouldn’t have implanted mana in that bullet. It was just too unnatural,” Machua spoke, observing the man as best he could through the devouring mana. He could tell he had a large dagger and a huge sniper rifle on his back. That was what took the impact of the burst, leaving the man mostly unharmed.

  The man detached his sniper rifle from his back and quickly got up. The devouring mana surrounded him as well, but he was dealing with it much easier.

“Your sensory abilities are superb. And I didn’t realise you had laid down a trap. I should have expected as much from a student of Galas the Mad Hare.”

“Hey, being extra is what me and my captain do.”

  Machua rapidly sped up his thinking with magic. He had to take this opportunity to observe the man as much as possible before any of them struck at each other. No doubt he was doing the same to him.

‘Didn’t realise? He expected to have known it? I sensed the area around the crater in a wide range, so he was probably outside of it. The bullet came through the devouring mana, so didn’t he shoot from that direction?’

  Machua sighed deeply. Oh boy, the guy in front of him was going to be much more of a pain that he thought.

‘Even with a scope, observing someone through the devouring mana is crazy. And to shoot someone and nearly hit a headshot is absurd. It’s like shooting through a storm. I was both obscured and the devouring mana must have affected the trajectory.’

  Machua’s swift thinking brought him to one conclusion.

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‘He must have experience with the devouring mana. Must be an ally’s ability. Right now, even if it’s affecting him, he has the advantage.’

  Machua’s frown was interrupted by a rapid strike from the man. He had dashed forward and positioned his dagger to pierce Machua’s neck. Machua swiftly backpedalled and retaliated with a fist. But just as it was about to make impact, Machua suddenly disappeared.

‘A feint. Behind me!’ The man recognised.

  He quickly held his dagger up to his head and blocked the powerful kick. The sheer force of it launched him away.

  The man did not have time to gather himself though, as Machua appeared right above his head. He leapt off of the air as if it was a ceiling and spun his body for a devastating axe kick.

  Quickly, the man tossed his dagger at an angle and Machua found it had almost reached his neck. At the last second, he kicked towards the side, the air repelling him like it was a wall.

  The man’s dagger flew back to his hand. Both combatants stood on the ground again, no progress having been made by either. Machua shifted into a stance, prepared to move again at any moment.

“It’s Major Convergence right? And Minor Space maybe? Though that bullet could have been enchanted by someone else,” Machua asked, not expecting an answer.

‘Convergence is an Aspect that perfectly suits a long distance fighter. The knife looked like it flew towards my neck, almost like it was centring onto it, and it also flew back into his hand without following an angle. I think I remember a classmate having had it back in the day but I’m not sure.’

  Machua walked forward as he thought. His foot eventually stopped on that big sniper rifle on the ground. He wrapped his mana around it, but as he expected, the spell he was casting broke.

“… Did you really think your Major Dimension Aspect would work on that?”

  Machua shrugged. “I was hoping the devouring mana would take all the mana out of it. But I guess you’ve got enough protections-“

  Suddenly, Machua kicked the sniper rifle into the air and launched it straight at the man. The man’s eyes widened. The sniper rifle barely missed him, but just as he was prepared to strike at the Machua who was surely following up, behind it, he found no one was there.

‘Completely disappeared? No, he’s…’

  The man rapidly turned back to his sniper rifle, just in time to protect himself from it being rapidly launched at him again. Even through the devouring mana, he could see Machua was already far up into the sky. Whether he was preparing for an attack or escaping, it didn’t matter. It was a liability either way. He braced himself against the ground and prepared to take a shot.

  Machua flipped around in the air, steadying his feet onto ‘solid ground.’ He was poised to hop at maximum speeds. It was just as he was about to bounce, that his mana told him something was wrong. Just the slightest bit was off.

‘Is he doing something? I can’t tell, the devouring mana is in the way.’

  Machua figured it would be best to take out a dagger just in case.

  He bounced.

  And he shot.

  It was at the very last second that Machua spotted something coming his way. On sheer instinct, his mana flowed into his dagger and he hurriedly blocked the strike. The dagger’s blade broke clean off, but the impact forced the bullet’s trajectory to move slightly off its path. Instead of penetrating Machua’s neck, it pierced his collar instead.

  The sudden pain made him lose control, and he crash-landed onto the ground instead of striking his target.

  Machua’s hand grasped his wound and his mana flowed into his blood to quickly clot it.

‘Went straight through me. At least it didn’t break my collarbone.’

“Hah…” Machua deeply sighed. “You laid your rifle on the ground when it still had a shot in it?”

  Unexpectedly though, nothing came at him. Normally, his enemy should have lunged straight at him, opportunistic as he was. It gave him time to treat his wounds a little, but he couldn’t help but feel an ominous feeling.

  A feeling that was quickly proven right when all the devouring mana began swirling towards the centre of the crater. The dark and ominous mana stopped trying to devour Machua, revealing the red sky above.

  Machua quickly stood up and watched as the devouring mana retracted and began to reveal more and more of the crater. First was the broken pieces of a sceptre, something he didn’t recognise at all. And the other was something he’d recognise anywhere. A pair of shoes that were the same brand as his. A piece of wear he had seen almost every day and had stamped on his face too many times.

  Machua’s hands gripped tighter. His face scrunched and grew serious. There was no more room for joking.

  The devouring mana rushed to the centre of the crater, to a half-broken greatsword that the man was now holding. His hand gripped it tightly, and his face was sweating as if it took a great amount of effort even just to hold it.

“Akzeriyyuth, it’s me,” he mumbled. “Get ahold of yourself for just a few minutes so we can accomplish the mission.”

  Machua didn’t say anything. He spotted that the man had dropped his large dagger on the ground, so he went and picked it up. It was a finely enchanted piece of work, but rather bulky for a dagger. It must have been made for monster hunting rather than hunting people, but with the threat in front of him, it might as well be a monster.

  With the devouring mana having returned back to the weapon that made it, Machua finally had a full view of his opponent. He was a muscular middle-aged man with dark blue hair tied into a ponytail. He wore a bandanna on his head so his hair wouldn’t get in the way of his eyes. His clothing was sleek and almost skin-tight, designed for flexibility above all. He had a belt and pants that held various little pockets and items on them. But other than that, the first thing to be noticed was that he was missing an arm.

  His left arm was missing, and it looked like it was blown off. It was recent, as the bleeding hadn’t stopped and the bandages on it were hastily put together. As best as one could with just one arm anyhow. It was clear the left section of his chest was also injured as well.

“That…” Machua pointed with his hand, “must have been because of my captain, right?”

Once he confirmed the blade stopped wriggling in his hand, the blue-haired man allowed himself to sigh. “You’re right. Your captain blew us all up, killing not only himself but at least one of my allies.”

“And injuring you. Now that you’ve met me, I’ll make sure the job is finished.”

  The ferocious dagger in Machua’s hand glistened with his mana. The mana began to glow in its natural colour, purple. But amidst all the purple, steaks of green, red, blue and a bevy of other colours shone as well. Machua’s eyes, now that he wasn’t restraining himself, began to shine those same colours.

  The man held out his greatsword. The greatsword began to emanate that same black and sinister mana as well. Both combatants took no time in rushing at each other.

  Their blades clashed with a heavy clanging noise, quickly superseded by the sound of scraping. The purple mana on Machua’s dagger rotated like a chainsaw, each colour taking its turn clashing against the heavy greatsword. Machua’s other hand quickly grasped the back of his dagger and pushed.

‘Come on! Break through, break through damn it! Let me just cut through this guy and finish him off! I’ll add as many dimensions as I need to!’

  His blade was losing steam though. Streaks of colour fizzled out into the air. Each one that was lost meant less and less power flowing through. And the less power meant that that broken greatsword was slowly making its way to him. Machua gritted his teeth and pumped even more mana into it.

*Clang!*

  Suddenly, another sword lodged itself into the clash. It pushed back against the greatsword alongside Machua’s dagger. After a second, it then easily launched the greatsword and the man behind it away.  

  The sleek sword then tapped the tip of Machua’s dagger, absorbing all the mana inside of it. The purple mana with all of its colours now swirled around the new sword and it swung towards the man. Clear flashes, with each colour coalesced in each of them appeared. Each one impacted the greatsword with great impunity.

[Kaleido Shredder]

“Suka!” Machua happily called.

  Suka turned to Machua with a gentle smile. He was wearing some dirty clothing and had purplish-black hair but the most prominent features he had were his large and twisted horns and the shining, sleek sword in his hand.

“Even when I’m its inventor, you’re still the best wielder of Kaleido Shredder, huh?”

“You’re the only one who can coat a weapon in all the dimensions for it to work,” Suka responded.

“Well, now that you’re here, we can finish him off together! Let’s get this done!” Machua exclaimed and walked past his friend.

“No, Machu.” Suka’s hand laid on his friend’s shoulder. “You have somewhere else to be.”

“Wha-? He’s right here, Suka! This is the guy that killed my captain! Galas of Erebus Squad! We already lost 2 of them, Suka! You’re telling me to let him go!?” Machua’s voice raised higher than he wanted to.

  Suka waited for Machua to finish.

“Suka, he’s one of their higher-ups, he has to be! He fought my captain right here in this crater! He might even be the reason why…” Machua trailed off.

  Suka slowly balled his hand into a fist and thumped it against Machua’s chest. “I know. Jing’s dead. And your mother is too. You’ve lost practically everything. But I’m not telling you to give up on vengeance. I’m telling you to go help out Kalina.”

  That singular word. Kalina. It shook Machua out of his stupor. As if all the resentment, sadness and anger that built up in his body had disappeared.

“Where is she?” He asked.

“She’s somewhere near Monad Square. All the buildings around it collapsed and there are hordes of monsters around it. You’re the only way we can reach her. She’s fighting a higher-up right now.”

  Machua knew the location well. Monad Square had a department store and movie theatre around it. Places he had frequented with his friends and his mother many times. He could definitely reach her in time.

“Machu. I’ll cut him down for you. You focus on saving Kalina and everyone else. And after that, you can cry as much as you want, okay?”

“I’m not a crybaby anymore, Su. But thanks for the offer. I’ll be going now. And you better not lose.”

“Have you ever known me to lose a battle of swords? And besides, this man isn’t a swordsman. In his hands, what he’s wielding might as well be a hunk of junk.”

“Still, be careful. It’s alive or something like that. It can emanate mana that devours other mana or living things. Bet you haven’t seen that before,” Machua warned.

“I’ve seen something similar,” Suka coolly responded.

“You’ve- WHAT!? Aagh, never mind. I’m really going now! Win!”

  Machua tapped Suka’s sword and surrounded it with the same purple mana as before. After giving him a nod, he took off to the skies and began running on the air away from the crater.

“Thank you for waiting,” Suka said as the blue-haired man slowly carried his great sword.

“This wasn’t a mercy. In my injured state, I thought it best to fight only one of you.”

“I see. Thank you regardless. It let me comfort Machu. Now, I can fight you with no worries.”

The blue-haired man looked at the direction Machua was going in. “You’ve just sent him to his death. The Qliphoth member fighting Kalina Arswell is a brutal man who relishes in combat. He will destroy the both of them.”

“Then you underestimate their friendship. But why don’t we stop this here? I’m not a chatterbox like Machu is. And you don’t like talking. Let’s focus on our duel.”

  More mana emanated from the greatsword and the two rushed at each other.