Move or die.
That was the only thing inside Kandril's mind as he stared at the shimmering orb at the tip of the lanky one's finger.
A threat unlike anything he had faced before. He wasn't prepared for something like this. And right now, he had no idea what to do.
But this feeling?
It wasn't new.
It just brought back memories.
*FLASHBACK*
Thirteen Years Ago.
Colony of Aros.
WARF! WARF! WARF!
A group of wild dogs was chasing Kandril through the dense forest of the colony, their loud barks ripping through the air.
The small boy sprinted for his life, his little legs blurring as the dogs closed the distance.
Ahead of him—
His grandfather.
Demetricus Lionheart Kinrad Zien
Former Ark-Knights Defense Council
(Five Years Retired)
Even in his sixties, the man still had an energetic air about him. Six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and fast. Far too fast for Kandril's legs to match.
"HEY! WAIT FOR ME, OLD MAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOUR OWN GRANDSON KILLED?! UWAAAAAA!!!"
The growls got closer. And closer. AND CLOSER.
"AGHHHHHH!!!"
"HELP! HELP! HELP! HELPPPPPPPPP!!"
His grandfather heard him and slowed his pace. But instead of help, Kandril received a—
BONK!
"O-o-ouch! Why'd you do that?!" Kandril yelped.
His grandfather laughed, loud and unbothered. "HA-HA-HA! That's what you get when all you do is complain!"
Without breaking stride, he reached back, grabbed Kandril by the collar, and spun him around so they were face to face.
Then he leaned in, eyes sharp.
"Listen to me, brat."
"This world is cruel. It will break those who cannot endure it..."
His grip tightened.
"...and even those who can endure?"
A pause.
"They're never truly unbreakable."
Kandril blinked. "...Uh? W-what do you mean?"
His grandfather looked at him blankly. Then he planted his foot, grinding it into the earth as he came to a full stop.
He wound up. Kandril dangling from his grip like a ragdoll.
"This is what I mean..."
READY. SET.
Then—
THROW!
"AHHHHH, YOU CRUEL OLD MAN!!!"
*FLASHBACK END*
He never understood it back then. No child would. All he cared about was adventure. Freedom. Noise. Fun.
But time carved into those words.
Slowly. Painfully. Completely.
And now—
That same feeling crawled up his spine again.
Kandril grinned.
"That's right, old man," he muttered under his breath. "I still hated you ever since you mercilessly threw me at those wild dogs."
BZZTT.
"But..."
"It taught me a lesson."
CRAACK!
"Hnggg~"
"Never back down…"
"…Never give up."
--
Chapter 06: Druva Clan
The shimmering orb at the tip of the lanky one's finger flickered violently. Locked. Ready to fire.
But—
'Huh?'
One blink. Kandril was gone.
'W—where is he?'
His eyes swung right. Left. Up. Then down—
There.
Below him.
Kandril.
Fist already screaming upward. Supersonic. Wrapped in crackling lightning. Aimed straight at his jaw.
He needed to deflect. But his muscles wouldn't move. His mind screamed at his body and his body didn't listen. It was too fast. Far too fast for any of it to matter.
All that remained was a single question.
'H-how did he get there?'
No answers.
Just—
BAAAM!
The fist connected. The orb died on impact, snuffed out like a candle in a storm. His jaw shattered. His vision swam. Eyes white and vacant, soul seemingly knocked clean out of his body.
Kandril didn't give him a second.
He slid right.
BAAM!
A solid left hook.
He slid left.
BAAM!
Another.
Left hook. Right hook.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
Relentless. Unstoppable. Each blow landing before the last one even finished hurting.
Then he stopped.
Not out of mercy.
He wound back. Right arm stretched, energy crackling at his knuckles.
Then—
BAAAM!!!
An uppercut. Clean and devastating.
The lanky one's body launched skyward, hovering mid-air for one suspended second.
But Kandril wasn't done.
He seized the lanky one's foot.
And with zero hesitation—
SLAMMED HIM DOWN.
BAGAAAAAM!!!
The ground cracked beneath the force. A fissure tore outward as dust and debris exploded in every direction.
Up above, the toddler-like watched it all unfold.
Seven seconds. Maybe ten. She doesn't know. It happened so fast she couldn't even move to back him up.
She couldn't believe it.
But she already knew what came next.
She was next on Kandril's radar.
And she was right to be.
SWOOOSH!
Kandril shot out from the cloud of dust like a bullet, heading straight for her. But before he could close the distance, the Hollowed Beast's massive tentacles surged forward and launched toward him.
Kandril twisted mid-air.
One tentacle. Dodged.
Another. Slipped past.
A third—he spun beneath it, momentum unbroken, still closing in.
But before he could get any further, the beast let out a roar.
KRAAAAAAAA!!!
The sound hit like a physical force—a shriek so sharp and piercing it split the air and rattled Kandril's skull.
"Ghkk~"
His momentum shattered. His body seized mid-flight. He was sent crashing down to the ground.
And before he could even land—
The tentacles followed.
Then—
BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAAM!
They hammered down in savage succession, relentless, each impact sending staccato quakes rippling across the district.
Then silence.
Dust and debris everywhere.
From the wreckage, the Hollowed Beast's tentacles reached down and recovered the lanky one's unconscious body, hoisting him back onto its shoulder beside the toddler-like.
The toddler-like stared down at the settling cloud of dust, still and patient. Waiting for confirmation. She was confident about what she'd find.
Dead. Had to be.
But—
She was wrong.
A yellow-golden light burst through the dust cloud without warning. Blistering. Radiant. Expanding outward like a shield thrown open against the dark. It scattered the dust in one sweep, clearing everything instantly.
And standing at its center—
A figure.
Still. Composed.
But it wasn't Kandril as he was still on the ground, scratching his temple, ears ringing from the monster's shriek.
"Ugh... t-that hurts," he groaned, pressing his fingers against the side of his head to push out the noise.
Slowly, he pulled himself upright. His vision blurred, then swam, then gradually sharpened.
When it finally cleared—
He stiffened.
"Huh?"
Then jolted.
"Y-You?!!"
Standing before him, in the least place he expected, was the same girl he had accidentally bumped into earlier.
The same straightforwarded, mysterious bandage girl.
The girl didn't look back at him. Didn't even glance his way.
She lowered her arm gradually, still completely ignoring Kandril, as if talking to him is a waste of her saliva. The blistering yellow-golden barrier faded into existence. Her focus was locked entirely on the Hollowed Beast looming above.
Up above, the toddler-like had gone completely still. Her burning purple eyes were fixed on the girl below. Unblinking. Unreadable.
Then, barely above a whisper—
"Lilith."
Beside her, the lanky one was coming back to himself. Slow. Groaning. One hand pressed against his jaw where the hit had landed. He straightened up, rolled his neck, and said nothing.
But the look on his face said everything.
He was furious.
"Tchh…" He clucked in irritation. "I was really caught off guard."
Then—
"OOO!! THAT'S HER! THAT'S THE GIRL FROM THE DRUVA CLAN WE WERE LOOKING FOR!!"
The lanky one's voice exploded across the district like he had absolutely no filter and zero interest in acquiring one. His furious state seemed to have vanished. But it is still there lingering inside him.
"Hey, Lilith!" he continued. "Lord Rejevulth has been looking for ya! Why can't you just come home and make our job a little easier!"
Lilith's shoulders stiffened.
"Tch."
"Scumbags."
"Don't you dare," she muttered, low and sharp, "mention that filthy name again."
Kandril caught most of it.
'Her name was Lilith?'
He looked up at the two strangers above.
'L-Lord... what?'
'What are they even—'
He never finished the thought.
Lilith moved.
Her right arm snapped up in a quick draw toward the Hollowed Beast and the two strangers above, and whatever Kandril had been thinking dissolved on the spot.
"Spell Unfold..."
A magical circle blazed into existence from Lilith's palm. It spun fast, expanding outward, growing larger with every rotation. From its center, a shimmering light began to build. It was slightly similar to the orb the lanky one had conjured earlier. But this one was brighter, dazzling, and almost blinding.
Then—
"A R M A G E D D O N"
As the word left Lilith's lips, the blinding orb tore free from the magical circle like a lance.
ZWIPPP!
It screamed forward like a laser beam, until—
KAAAABOOM!
It connected and erupted at the Hollowed Beast's face. A clustering combustion followed. Like chain reactions detonating one after another.
Silence.
Smoke drifted slowly, pulled apart by the wind. And as it cleared, the two strangers came back into view.
Unbothered. Untouched. Still.
The toddler-like had one arm extended, a faint spherical barrier shimmering around her and the lanky one. No doubt that was the only reason they were still breathing.
It then dissolved quietly into the air as she lowered her arm.
Then—
A sound.
Kandril's gaze snapped to the Hollowed Beast's face.
A hollow cavity of scorched flesh. It's the aftereffect of Lilith's attack. But it was closing. Slowly. Steadily. Flesh and bone knitting itself back together, sealing the wound like it had never existed.
Then the lanky one stepped off the monster's shoulder and dropped.
He landed without a sound.
"How rude, Lilith." His voice was almost casual. Almost gentle.
He took one step forward.
"You'd disgrace your own father?"
Then another.
Then he stopped.
"AND YOU TRIED TO KILL US?"
Silence.
A shadow fell over his face. He stood on his ground quiet and still.
Not until—
CRACK!
A foreboding pressure erupted, emanating around his body. The ground beneath him cracked and fissured in a small distance.
Then, it began. He started to change.
His body morphs.
His thin frame split open at the seams, muscles surging, doubling, tripling beneath his skin. Two additional limbs tore free from below his arms, making it now four. His legs thickened, tendons coiling like cables pulled to their limit.
A tail like a komodo dragon's erupted behind him, dragging across the ground. Two devilish horns split at the sides of his forehead, shattering his plague mask into pieces. Saber teeth pushed through his gums, curling over his lip.
He was no longer the lanky-one we once knew.
Now?
We call him...
'The jacked-one.'
When his eyes snapped open again, they weren't looking at Lilith.
They were looking at Kandril.
His anger returned. His voice was deep—barely human.
"AND YOU..." He snarled, pointing a hand. "I'LL MAKE SURE YOU END UP AS A CORPSE."
TBC…