Chapter 2

At the Metro Station

Sbyam Brius's footsteps echoed confidently across the station's cold tiles, steady and firm, as if he were planning something far beyond a mere daily commute. One hand rested calmly in his pocket, while his expectant gaze dropped downward toward platform B4.

On his way, he muttered, "I think I’ve figured out the game they’re playing…" Abruptly, he stopped and placed a hand behind his head in a relaxed gesture that contrasted his grim tone. "How boring! Fine, I’ll play along!"

Before him stood Campeis, Darwin, and Pico, their varied stances betraying both tension and anticipation. Sbyam broke the silence with a faint, mocking laugh.

"So, you’re finally here…" His sharp tone sliced through the air, leaving no doubt about his intent.

He stepped forward, one deliberate step at a time, pointing at them with a smile brimming with challenge."No excuses if you lose again. Right?"

Campeis responded with a smile, one that strained to appear confident.

"This time is different. We won’t lose! Are you ready for defeat, Sbyam Brius?"

Darwin, who had lost his arm previously, merely stared back with an icy glare. Sbyam smiled, his eyes fixed on him.

"Don’t worry… I won’t lose to you."

Campeis let out a faint laugh, tinged with sarcasm.

"And what makes you so confident?"

Sbyam stopped laughing abruptly, the air growing heavy with silence. He pulled his hand from his pocket, raising an eyebrow as if mocking the question itself. : "Because you’re simply weak."

Campeis’s face paled for a moment, but he quickly rearranged his expression into a nervous smile.

"Alright then… Let’s see who wins today."

Sbyam offered nothing but another taunting smile, while the trio exchanged tense yet determined glances. The air in the station thickened with palpable tension, as if the battle was moments away from erupting.

---

In the northern part of Ronda, Suero and Laura sat on the curbs of a quiet street within the magical barrier, both looking bored, their eyes fixed on the ground.

Suddenly, Suero stood up, visibly irritated, and spoke loudly, "Why are we here? Let’s go!"

Laura lifted her head, her brows furrowing as she stared at him in confusion.

"What?!"

Suero replied, his frustration clear, "Let’s go to the station!"

Laura stood as well, her expression darkening with irritation. "Why do idiots always end up with me?!"

Suero fixed her with a serious look.

"We need to help Master Sbyam! There are sorcerers from the Rizsius organization, right?" He raised his hands as if explaining himself. "And at platform B4, there are so many humans! How can Master protect everyone and defeat the sorcerers?!"

Laura sighed heavily, pressing a hand against her face as she muttered, "You idiot… It’s Sbyam."

But Suero insisted, "We have to help him!"

Laura removed her hand and snapped back, clearly annoyed, "Fine, shut up, you brat!"

Suero’s face lit up with excitement, like someone who had just received an unexpected reward. "So, what’s the plan?!"

Laura let out another sigh and pulled a folded map from her bag. Suero stared at it in surprise.

"What’s that?!"

Laura unfolded the map, pointing at it as she explained, "This is the metro station map underground…"

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

---

A map showing the floors of the metro stations and their connections

B1

└── B2

└── B3

└── B4 \ Sbyam

---

She continued, "Sbyam Brius is now at platform B4, so we need to go down to him."

Suero interjected, curious, "Can’t we take a shortcut?"

Laura shot him a sharp, irritated look. "No… Besides, according to Trainer Surichi’s techniques, there are plenty of monsters in the stations. We need to clear them out before we can proceed."

Suero’s face paled. "Monsters…?"

Laura glanced back at the map, her tone edged with growing unease. "But the real problem is here. If we encounter an A-class monster, we might not be able to defeat it."

She turned to the left, but Suero was gone. Spinning around, her eyes widened in shock as Suero’s body became engulfed in a fierce blue aura, sparks crackling violently around him.

"Suero?!"

He replied in a sharp, resolute tone, "I’ll wipe them out… I’ll annihilate every monster! I won’t let any of them stand!"

Suero began walking toward the metro, his heavy footsteps reverberating through the tense silence as the blue sparks intensified around him.

Laura froze, concern etching her face before she finally shouted, "Oi, Suero! That’s dangerous!"

He didn’t respond, continuing forward. His footsteps echoed in her ears, the crackling blue energy amplifying the tension.

Laura scowled, her voice thick with exasperation. "Oh, for heaven’s sake! Why are you men always so ridiculously obsessed with protecting humans?!"

Quickly, she broke into a run, chasing after him, her biting words barely masking the unease twisting inside her.

—

In the western part of Ronda, a massive beast stomped forward with earth-shaking steps. With every movement, the ground beneath its feet cracked and split, while the flames behind it devoured buildings, leaving only ash and ruins in their wake. The creature continued to spread destruction and chaos, thick smoke rising into the air, veiling the sky above.

Below, a small child ran frantically through the debris, tears streaming down his face as he screamed:

"Help me!"

But his cries were cut short as the beast’s enormous hand came crashing down upon him. The sheer force of the blow shredded the child’s body into bloody pieces, his limbs and blood scattering across the burning wreckage. The beast moved on, indifferent to the horror it left behind.

Suddenly, a pulsing blue light glimmered on the horizon. The beast turned its head toward the source of the glow, its anticipation clear. The light approached rapidly, transforming into electric blue lightning that crackled violently around Betma's figure. In an instant, Betma appeared before the beast, his hand radiating deadly energy as he muttered in a low, chilling voice:

"Shrine Punch."

The blue light darkened into a menacing blood-red hue, and a thunderous shockwave erupted, shaking the earth itself. The beast’s body was launched through the air like a shattered meteor, colliding with burning buildings and leaving behind a massive trail of devastation.

Betma stood amidst the wreckage, blue sparks still dancing around his hands. His gaze fixed on the flames before him as he muttered with quiet resolve:

"What’s happening in Ronda?... That wasn’t just a monster; it was a Shikigami. So, it’s someone’s technique."

Before he could finish his thought, the colossal Shikigami emerged again from the flames. Its face twisted in fury, its glowing eyes filled with hatred. It roared, its voice tearing through the air:

"You bastard!"

Betma looked at it with cool indifference and remarked:

"Ah, a Shikigami. They can speak, unlike ordinary monsters."

Purple sparks ignited around the Shikigami's fist as it roared once more, this time like a storm. The winds surged violently, and the western ground of Ronda trembled beneath its power. It stomped the earth, shattering it further, and snarled:

"That actually hurt!"

Betma smirked confidently and replied with a mocking tone:

"You haven’t seen anything yet…"

The Shikigami lunged toward Betma, its steps closing the distance in a blink, as if it were lightning itself. It swung its massive fist toward him with overwhelming force.

Betma remained motionless, his gaze locked onto the creature with a deadly calm. As the Shikigami’s attack neared, Betma began to laugh—a slow, unsettling, and hysterical laugh. Blood trickled from his mouth, yet he continued laughing. Then, in a deep, ominous voice, he declared:

"Blue Magic Technique… The Blue World."

In an instant, the world transformed into a boundless, blue void—a vast, endless space without gravity or limits, a nightmare that absorbed all light. Betma and the Shikigami floated in the strange, endless expanse as though they were trapped in an infinite abyss.

The Shikigami’s voice faltered, filled with fear and disbelief:

"What is this?!"

Betma continued laughing, his voice echoing ominously in the void. Blood still poured from his mouth as he said:

"It’s over for you, fool..."

Suddenly, the Shikigami’s legs began to tremble violently before exploding in a gruesome spray of blood. The creature’s panicked eyes darted to its disintegrating body, something unnatural tearing it apart from within.

Betma’s voice rang out, low and filled with dreadful finality:

"You’re finished."

In an instant, the Shikigami’s entire body erupted, its remains scattering into the blue void—blood and flesh splattering like crimson paint against the endless, nightmarish expanse.

When the Blue World finally disappeared, reality returned to normal. The Shikigami’s blood rained down onto the shattered earth, and Betma collapsed to his knees, sweat dripping down his face as he gasped for air:

"That… drained me… Damn it."

He remained there, breathing heavily, surrounded by destruction, watching the smoldering ruins while flames continued to consume the remains of the broken buildings.

---

At Metro Station B1, Suero and Laura sprinted through the echoing metro tunnels. Laura shouted loudly as they neared a sharp turn: "Turn right!"

Suero quickly picked up on the signal, pivoting with Laura to the right, their footsteps pounding against the wet floor, the sound reverberating throughout the tunnel. Laura’s eyes gleamed with urgency as she glanced ahead: "We need to get to the elevator! It’s the fastest way to reach Sbyam!"

Suddenly, they both came to a screeching halt, their shoes skidding across the damp ground as their eyes widened in horror.

Before them lay a station filled with corpses—dozens of decapitated bodies. Blood drenched the ground, splattering the walls and turning the scene into a sea of crimson.

In the middle of this hellish sight, a Shikigami crouched low, its head bent over the body of a dead man. Its blood-soaked mouth and razor-sharp teeth gnawed hungrily at the man’s severed head. Blood poured relentlessly from its mouth, dripping down its arms and pooling on the floor like grotesque little waterfalls.

Suero stared at the horrifying scene, disbelief in his eyes. Suddenly, he noticed something chilling: the severed hand of the man was twitching involuntarily. Deep within, Suero’s inner voice screamed in terror: "His soul… it’s still suffering!"

The Shikigami continued its monstrous feast, indifferent to the carnage surrounding it, the sounds of cracking bones echoing through the station. Finally, Suero’s sharp voice cut through the silence: "Oi ! "

The Shikigami slowly raised its head, strips of flesh still hanging from its mouth. Its glowing, predatory eyes locked onto Suero and Laura. A twisted, devilish grin spread across its face as it mockingly asked: "New food?"

Suero took steady steps forward, small red sparks flickering in his eyes. His voice was low but seething with fury: "What do you think you're doing?"

Seemingly amused by the challenge, the Shikigami gestured to the bodies around it and casually replied, as if it were explaining something obvious: "Eating… it’s food."

Suero’s eyes blazed with molten rage, his entire body consumed by intensifying blue sparks that enveloped him entirely, his features lost behind a fierce glow.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, the Shikigami dropped the half-eaten body and rose to its full height. Purple sparks crackled violently around its massive hands, and its glowing eyes narrowed with intent. It spoke, its tone now serious: "Are you sorcerers?"

Fully enveloped in blinding blue light, Suero shouted, his voice sharp and filled with cutting rage: "Stop mocking human life!"

Their eyes locked—full of hatred and malice—each ready for the battle that was about to unfold.

End of Chapter.