The moment it turned, everything changed. Not the ground. Not the air, but something much deeper.
Yuto stepped forward, and his body didn't follow immediately. A fraction. A small delay.
The mana inside him did not respond cleanly. It moved, then slowed. Like something was pressing against it. From outside.
Yuto stopped. This was wrong.
The thing at the center didn't rush. Didn't lunge. Didn't react. It stood. That alone was enough.
"…Don't move," Mira said quietly. Yuto ignored it.
The creature's form was stable. More than anything they had seen. Its body wasn't stretched or broken. It was complete. Balanced. Every limb placed where it should be. Every movement controlled.
That made it worse.
"…This one's different," Ryn muttered.
Yuto stepped again. This time, he forced the movement. The pressure inside him tightened, compressed, pulled inward.
The delay lessened. Not gone. But reduced.
Adaptation.
The creature moved. Not forward. It raised one arm. Slow. And the pressure dropped further.
Yuto could feel it clearly. The mana inside him was being suppressed.
Not removed. Not taken. It was forced down.
"…It's affecting mana," Mira said with a terrified expression.
Correct.
Ryn cursed under his breath.
"…That's bad, right?"
"…Yes." It's really bad.
Yuto moved. Not waiting. Not testing further. He closed the distance.
The creature didn't dodge.
Didn't shift.
It struck. Direct.
Yuto met it. His arm shifted—edge forming—but slower. Not instant.
The strike connected and stopped. Not because it pierced. But because it was blocked. Clean. No slip. No break. The creature's strength matched the structure.
Yuto adjusted. Pressure increased, forced, compressed deeper. The response lagged. Not enough.
The creature's second arm came in. Yuto twisted, barely avoiding full impact. It clipped him. Not shallow. Deeper than before.
His body held, but the force pushed him back. More than before.
He stopped.
The mana inside him, unstable for a moment, was forced back together by him.
Compressed. Contained. Stabilized.
The creature didn't chase. It watched. Analyzing their every move.
"…It's not attacking" Ryn said.
"…It doesn't need to" Mira replied.
Correct.
Yuto stepped forward again. Slower. More deliberate. He adjusted his flow. Less spread. More density. Instead of forcing the entire body, he focused only on the point of contact. Efficient. He moved.
The creature reacted. Faster this time. Its strike came first. Yuto redirected with minimal movement.
His arm drove forward. This time, it pierced. Not deep. But enough.
The creature's movement stuttered. Then, it reacted.
Fast.
Too fast.
Its body shifted—not dodging, but changing. The pierced area tightened. Closed around his arm.
Pressure. Yuto felt it. Not external. Structural. It was adapting.
Yuto pulled back.
The creature didn't release immediately.
For a moment, they held. Then, it let go.
Yuto stepped back.
That was new.
"…It just adjusted" Ryn said.
"Yeah." Mira's voice was tight. "…We can't win like this."
Yuto didn't respond. He was already analyzing.
Suppression field. Adaptive structure. Coordinated earlier units.
This was the source—
or close to it.
Yuto stepped forward again. Not rushing. He needed to test something.
The pressure inside him shifted. Instead of spreading, he pulled everything inward. Compressed. Tighter than before. Denser. Reduced exposure.
The suppression weakened. Not gone. But less effective.
Yuto moved.
Faster.
Closer to his normal speed.
The creature reacted. This time, Yuto struck first.
His arm shifted—sharp edge forming, compressed. The strike landed deeper.
The creature jerked but didn't stop. I
ts limb came in.
Yuto didn't block fully. He redirected. The impact slid past, reduced.
He stepped in again. Second strike. Deeper.
The resistance held, then cracked.
The creature adjusted again, but slower this time.
Yuto saw it. The adaptation wasn't instant. It required time.
That was the weakness.
"…Ryn," Yuto said. "…Yeah?" "…Force it to react."
Ryn didn't question it. He moved. Direct. His blade came in—not clean, not perfect, but aggressive.
The creature turned and blocked.
That was enough.
Yuto moved from the side.
His arm shifted—more compression, more density.
He struck deep. The structure broke.
The creature's movement stopped for a moment.
Yuto didn't hesitate. He pushed further.
The mana inside him held.
Didn't slip.
Didn't collapse.
The resistance failed.
The creature went completely still.
Silence took over the place.
The pressure in the air lifted instantly.
Yuto stepped back. The mana inside him returned to normal flow. Clean. No delay. No resistance.
"…It's over?" Ryn asked, a bit dumbfounded.
"…Yes."
Mira didn't relax immediately. She watched the body. "…That thing…"
Yuto looked at it. Even now, it's obviously different.
He stepped forward and crouched. The pressure inside him reacted again. Not suppressed, but pulled toward something inside.
"…There is another core."
Ryn exhaled. "Of course there is."
Yuto reached in. Deeper this time. More resistance. Then,
he pulled it out.
This one was different. Not unstable. Not uneven. Dense and Clean. It pulsed steadily.
It was stronger.
Yuto held it. The pressure inside him responded immediately.
Not recognition, but alignment.
"…This one is usable," he said.
Ryn stared at it. "…Yeah… that's not a normal core." Mira's voice was quieter. "That's definitely high quality."
Silence.
Yuto looked east again. The mana inside him was steady. But something remained. Faint. Further.
"…This was not the origin," Yuto said.
Ryn blinked. "You're kidding, right?."
"…No way.."
Mira closed her eyes briefly. "…Then this was just…" "…A layer."
Silence.
Yuto closed his hand around the core. The mana inside him tightened.
This time, he did not stop it.
"…We continue."