"HELPPPPPPP!"
The piercing scream ripped through the quiet evening.
Alex's eyes gleamed as the Gacha System panel declared its new quest:
[QUEST: ELIMINATE STRAY DEVIL]
[1x RANK 2 GACHA TICKET]
"If I want to get stronger, if I want to survive, I can't keep running. This is a Rank 2 ticket. A chance to make up for the Rank 3 gacha, I ain't letting this one slide"
The scream still echoed with a desperate plea. He might not be a hero, but he wasn't a monster either. He won't hesitate to step in where he would survive. And promised rewards further strengthened his resolve to jump in this chaos.
With a deep, shaky breath, he pushed past the fear, replacing it with cold resolve. Survival meant power, and power meant taking risks. He clenched his fists, the faint warmth of the Cloranthy Ring a small comfort, giving him one last push to face some one far stronger than a Goblin King.
He moved towards the abandoned house with every step being cautious. The house loomed ahead, a silhouette against the dying light, its windows like vacant eyes gazing upon him. A faint, sickeningly sweet scent, like burnt sugar and smoke, hung in the air.
He slipped through a broken window, landing softly on a debris-strewn floor. Dust motes danced in moonlight slivers. The air inside was reeking of dark, oppressive energy. He moved slowly, his senses on high alert, Earthbending ready to be unleashed any moment.
"There is she"
In the center of what was once a living room, a young woman writhed, suspended in the air, eyes wide with terror. Standing over her, a cruel smile twisting her lips, was a tall figure with long, dark hair and eyes that glowed with unnatural, predatory light. Her skin was pale, and from her back sprouted two leathery, bat-like wings, black as night.
This was the Stray Devil, radiating terrifying malice with its chilling presence.
"Such a pretty little soul you have" the Stray Devil hissed, her voice a low, guttural growl "And so much fear. So, Delicious~"
Motohama focused his attention on the Gacha panel, hovering insistently. His fingers traced over the quest, then with firm determination, he tapped "ACCEPT." The panel shimmered, then vanished.
The quest was now fully active and it was time to go on rampage.
Sensing the sudden presence away from her, Stray's head snapped towards him, glowing eyes narrowed at him "Well, well, what do we have here? A little rat, sniffing around for scraps?" Her smile widened, showing pointed teeth "Just...a pathetic lowly human looking for death? Did you come to play the hero for this woman?"
Alex felt a sweat trickle down his back, but forced himself to stand his ground. "Let her go" he said, his voice surprisingly steady.
She laughed, a harsh, grating sound "Or what,... You'll stop me?" She flicked a wrist, and a dark, crackling orb of energy materialized in front of her "You amuse me. I'll devour you first!"
She hurled the orb, and he reacted instinctively. With a grunt, he slammed his foot down, and a thick slab of earth erupted from the floor, forming a crude earth shield. The orb struck it with a sickening CRACK, showering him with dust, but the shield held its impact surprisingly. The force still sent a jolt up his legs.
"Oh?" Her eyes widened, a flicker of surprise "A Sacred Gear? Interesting.." She dropped the suspended girl, who crumpled to the floor, unconscious but still alive "Don't think you can match the strength of a devil!"
He didn't wait. He knew he couldn't face her head-on. She was faster, stronger, and could fly. He needed to use the environment, his wits to turn this battle in his favor. As she lunged, wings beating, Alex stomped again. A series of large, sharp earth spikes erupted from the floor in her path, forcing her to twist mid-air. She snarled, annoyed.
He darted to the side, kicking off a crumbling wall. As she landed, he thrust his hand out, and the floor beneath her feet began to ripple, turning into unstable, quicksand-like earth. She lost her balance, sinking slightly, balance thrown off. She flapped her wings furiously to pull free.
"You really think pulling this trickery would kill me?" she hissed, eyes blazing with fury. She fired another volley of dark energy blasts, as she got out of it easily. He rolled, ducked, and weaved, raising small, temporary earth barriers to deflect each and every attack. He was barely keeping up, his stamina recovering with the help of his ring.
He needed a decisive move.
He glanced at the Goblin Chieftain's Crude Club he'd brought as he made his way here, and ran to get it in his hands. It felt unwieldy at the moment, but it was all he needed to win.
An idea sparked in his mind, guaranteeing his win.
As she charged again, her clawed hands were outstretched at his neck, but he didn't dodge this time. Instead, he slammed the club into the floor, embedding it. As it sank into the softened earth, he channeled his Earthbending through it, focusing all his energy with impact of both Club and earth control.
BOOOOOM!
The ground around the Stray Devil exploded out violently. Not just a tremor, but a concussive burst of earth, sending fragments of sharp rock splinters and stone at the incoming devil. It wasn't aimed to kill, but to disorient, to throw her off balance. She shrieked, caught in the sudden eruption of outburst, her wings flailing as she was thrown against a crumbling wall, shards of glass raining down.
BAM!
She hit the wall with a sickening thud, slumping to the floor, dazed. Her wings twitched, but she didn't immediately rise.
'Now!'
Motohama didn't hesitate, not even for a second. He rushed forward, pulling the club free. He focused on his Earthbending, and extended his energy on the ground beneath her. With a final, deep surge of his power, he caused a sharp, narrow earth spike to shoot up from the floor directly beneath her.
ARGHHH!
She gasped, a choked gurgle along with blood escaping her lips as the spike impaled her. Her glowing eyes dimmed, her body convulsed once, and then she went still, dissolving into a cloud of black particles that quickly vanished, leaving only a faint, acrid smell of her last existence.
Motohama stood panting, releasing the heavy club from his hand, his body trembling with adrenaline and exhaustion.
"This better be worth the Rank 2 gacha ticket"
As her last particles faded, the familiar blue Gacha System panel reappeared, glowing brighter than ever.
[QUEST COMPLETE: ELIMINATE STRAY DEVIL]
[REWARD RECEIVED: 1x RANK 2 GACHA TICKET]
A surge of relief, mixed with a strange, unsettling sense of accomplishment, washed over him. The panel whirred, colors swirling in front of his vision. A moment later, a new notification appeared:
[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: CROSS TAIL (TEIGU)]
He stared at it in disbelief "Cross Tail?" A sudden jolt of recognition hit him.
"Cross Tail? As in, Lubbock's Teigu from Akame ga Kill?" His mind reeled "If it was that Cross Tail, it was incredibly powerful, a weapon made of indestructible, versatile threads!"
It took the form of gloves with metallic fingertips with wire threads running through them, that can be used in various ways to attack, defend against, or immobilize opponents. A small, intricately woven ball of what looked like dark, metallic string materialized in his palm, cool and surprisingly light. The threads were almost invisible unless he focused.
"It's like being a Spider-Man, but nerfed to the grounds"
He extended his will, and a single, impossibly thin thread shot out from his hand. It was strong, taut, and almost imperceptible. He tried another, then another, weaving them with a sense of familiarity.
He could feel them, see their lengths, as if they were extensions of his own nervous system. He made a simple tripwire, then a small net, then a complex web that seemed non existent and retracted back as he focused on it. The threads were incredibly sharp, he realized, as one accidentally brushed against a loose floorboard, slicing through it cleanly.
"This is amazing! Traps, slicing from far away… the possibilities are endless!"
He spent a few minutes in admiration of it like meeting a long lost friend. It was truly fitting for a Rank 2 gacha ticket and worth the risk he took, and it was far more versatile along with his Earthbending.
Just as he was beginning to grasp the immense power now at his disposal, a sudden, blinding red magic circle materialized on the floor in the corner of the room, directly where the Stray Devil had dissolved. It glowed with subtle unfamiliar energy, casting a crimson light across the debris-strewn room.
He quickly reeled in his threads, the threads of Cross Tail disappearing back into his palm, as he hid the gloves in his pocket. He calmed himself, for his first real encounter with the main female lead of this world. To think, he would be the first one to meet her before Issei was enough to know the plot was not plotting anymore.
'Its time for me to show my truly remarkable acting skills'
. . .
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