164 – An Incomplete Rift -3-

─ Flesh…! Flesh bathed in fresh blood…!

─ Kyaaak!!!

From Pandora’s shadow poured forth dozens of pitch-black monstrosities, stirring to action.

Creatures of bizarre form, unrecognizable even as monsters.

They obeyed Pandora’s will, her commands, dividing into groups and moving to intercept everyone.

Pandora’s command was skillful.

Before the battle, she’d shown a chaotic obsession to kill Carrot, but once engaged, she thoroughly concealed that blind rage.

Though sporadically, emotional glimpses of her prioritizing Carrot surfaced whenever an opportunity arose.

“Heh! Where do you think you’re aiming, Auntie?”

But the monsters’ attacks slashed uselessly through the air, over and over.

The shadows’ repeated strikes against empty space drew a grinding sound from Pandora’s teeth.

‘For a rabbit, she’s as slippery as a rat…!’

That woman, Carrot, is excessively fast for her level.

The reason, of course, is known. The Academy City’s key figures are all accounted for.

‘A user of the Fleeting Footwork (脚炷瞬步), a technique that only a select few rabbit Therians can master.’

If Pandora focused all her attention on Carrot, the outcome might change, but she had to be wary of Jooyeon, making it difficult to capture the infuriatingly swift Carrot.

As such, Pandora couldn’t hope to achieve any significant results against everyone within a short amount of time.

More precisely, Jooyeon was the problem.

─ Quiiiiik!!!

The only one to break through the seemingly endless regeneration of shadows and reach Pandora was Jooyeon, as if proving their attacks futile.

[Infernal Flame]

As merciless strikes poured from Jooyeon’s greatsword, Pandora moved her hand.

A viscous, tar-black mass surged from the floor, its maw gaping wide to swallow the strikes. It swelled like a balloon, unable to withstand the impact, before finally bursting.

Pandora could only marvel at Jooyeon’s power.

“Impressive, wouldn’t you say? It’s been a while since a human shattered that in one strike.”

The silent thought that killing Omega was no mere fluke had to be stifled.

“…”

Jooyeon closed the distance in silence, bringing her sword down once more.

Pandora drew a weapon from the shadows.

It was a pair of scissors, the blades a blend of black and crimson.

Had it not been for the split between the blades and the handles, it could have passed for a greatsword of immense size.

*Kaaang!*

A deafening roar and shockwave erupted as the greatsword clashed against the scissors.

The ground beneath Pandora’s feet caved in, an image that would have crushed a mere mortal made of flesh and blood under the pressure. But in the battles of the superhuman, such an end held no purchase.

Only a flurry of blows, too swift for the untrained eye to follow, exploded forth.

*Kwaaah──!!!*

The mere exchange of blades between Juyeon and Pandora turned the tranquil road inside out, unleashing a tempestuous gale.

In close-quarters combat, Juyeon held the advantage.

However, piercing through Pandora’s unwavering defense, enforced by the shadows themselves, was not a feat achievable in a fleeting moment.

Juyeon swung his greatsword with ferocious force, yet remained composed, beginning to assess the situation.

“So, the Grand General is an even more barbaric woman than I heard.”

“…”

Amidst the relentless assault, Pandora attempted a change of direction, an action bordering on the absurd.

Juyeon seized upon that instant without hesitation.

‘Those monsters are connected to this woman’s shadows. Sever the connection, or create some distance, and there’s a good chance they’ll vanish.’

He immediately surveyed his surroundings.

The gap between two electric poles.

‘The range of movement she’s displayed thus far… approximately 100 meters, perhaps. It’s possible it could shrink or expand, depending on the individual creature she controls.’

Pandora’s smile vanished, overwhelmed by Juyeon’s increasingly fierce attacks.

Juyeon, in turn, narrowed his eyes as he faced her.

‘Where did someone like her come from?’

She possesses the ability to manipulate what are likely summons, yet this woman’s own martial prowess is also top-tier.

An opponent who has compensated for her greatest weakness becomes nigh-perfect.

Even if one knows the solution, it becomes maddeningly troublesome.

If she hadn’t dispersed the monsters and had focused solely on facing him, she wouldn’t have yielded so much distance.

‘The Monolith’s anomaly… the explosively increasing frequency of dimensional rifts… and now individuals like this…’

An unease settled within Juyeon, prompting him to recall the Omega who had appeared out of nowhere on that deserted island.

If an Omega was a one-dimensional lump of ill-feeling, this woman was a tangled skein of complex malice.

Rather than feeling strong compared to the impulsive Omega, she gave off more of a sense of… fastidiousness.

Even so, a gut feeling told her they were definitely connected.

As if dealing with the Monsters wasn’t headache enough, one existence like this could darken the future of humanity.

‘Capture is impossible. This individual must be eliminated here.’

Radiant heat flickered in Ju-yeon’s eyes as she hardened her resolve.

“!”

Sensing the danger, Pandora roused her shadow and sliced it apart with scissors in a single motion.

A jet-black whirlwind arose from the gaping void in the shadow, forcefully pushing Ju-yeon back and creating distance.

“Tch.”

Ju-yeon landed, having blocked Pandora’s attack with her greatsword. After checking on everyone battling the shadows,

she was about to kick off from the ground again.

But then she sensed a figure approaching from the opposite direction of the Academy City.

A presence even more ominous than Pandora.

Wooong───.

At the same time, an alien sensation permeated the space.

The instructors and law enforcement officers, even the pitch-black monsters, all moved sluggishly.

It was as if time itself flowed slowly only in this place.

‘This ability…!?’

Ju-yeon’s eyes widened, but she chose not to escape.

She spread her magical energy wide to protect her companions.

Before Ju-yeon’s decision could fully take hold, Pandora snipped the shadows connecting her to the monsters with her scissors!

The pitch-black entities, now disconnected, writhed and gurgled, their voices distorted in slow-motion howls.

They began to swell, expanding as if about to explode.

“That little rabbit, next time I see you I’m really going to kill you. Just you wait.”

Pandora warned, trying to avoid being caught in the slowed space as she increased the distance between them.

And as a man, presumably an ally, arrived, she turned to face him.

KuuuNG!!!

Pandora’s swollen monsters exploded, pushing everyone back with immense force.

Ju-yeon shielded those who had come with her and watched closely.

A lean, middle-aged man’s form.

Those clockwork eyes of his.

*

“Euryahhh!”

Noah swung his axe, a tempest of cold erupted.

Morbid Frame shattered to pieces. With monstrous force, the frames flew from the wall, colliding and splintering.

Rohan’s party wasn’t planning to hold out until the Peacekeepers arrived.

They’d guided the civilians to the shelter; they meant to end this here, with their own hands.

“It’s out.”

At Rohan’s voice, everyone turned their gaze.

As the fissure widened completely, a special specimen of Morbid Frame revealed itself.

Compared to a common Morbid Frame, it was many times larger, bearing arms made of bone, devoid of flesh, extending from the frame.

The bones forming its fingers were sharp as blades, and within the frame, something like the skull of a beast, not human, was situated.

“Rooohaaan!!! Go and smash it already!!!”

“Don’t let it draw you in.”

“I know!!! Safety first!!!”

Gilbert and the students were left to handle the remaining Morbid Frames.

Rohan and the girls focused on the special specimen.

─ ＜em＞Ehehehe!!! Insignificant humans. I shall grant you the honor of becoming my work.＜/em＞

For a monster, it spoke boldly in human tongue.

But none of the party paid it any mind.

Nor did they wait for it to strike a pose and descend slowly, like some god come to earth.

“Eat this!”

Using his axe as a pole, Noah leaped up and delivered a dropkick.

─ !?

The frame shuddered, descending rapidly.

Clara, who was on the third floor, jumped down, pulling on the wire she had set up with her entire body.

The perfect moment to spend the mana she had been rationing, without holding back.

＜em＞Kwa-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh──!!!＜/em＞

The sharp wire carved relentlessly into the frame.

The aberrant thing flapped, a desperate scramble out of Clara’s trap.

— Humans dare… !

No chance for the monster to even form a proper retort.

Bang!

Anticipating its movements, Rohan and Sion squeezed their triggers.

A target impossibly large. Child’s play to hit.

[Weakness: Physical applied to target.]

[Debuff applied to target.]

Rohan, satisfied with the notification, inflicted confusion on the monster.

He then gripped Radiance with both hands and bolted alongside Ichinose.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Sion’s covering fire allowed them to close the distance.

They kicked off pillars, stepped onto railings, ascending from below.

Reaching the optimal distance, at once.

Rohan gripped the sword tightly with both hands, and Ichinose, with a thumb, slid the blade out— *click!*

[One Sword – Flame Sever]

[Ephemeral Shadow Dance Style – Wing Shadow Flash]

Their slashes intertwined.

No collision, no entanglement; their movements filling each other’s gaps.

— Krrraaah!!!

The picture frame, a mangled mess of cuts, screamed as it spewed black liquid through the cracks.

Its glass-fractured arms flailed, grasping for Rohan and Ichinose.

But then, hanging from the shopping mall’s ceiling chandelier, the tiger girl leapt down. Descending, she slammed her fist down with all her might.

“Pretty Girl Punch!”

*Wazarak!* An impact too great for the physically weakened frame to withstand.

A huge crack spiderwebbed across its entire torso.

The Morbid Frame fell, unable to even scream, as Sion and Clara watched from below.

*Chk!* A blade sprang from Clara’s boot heel.

Sion, laying down his sniper rifle, drew a dagger into one hand, channeling magically-formed electricity into it.

*Pajijik!* Sion’s mana crackled ferociously on the blade.

The elven girl thrust her electricity-spewing dagger, skewering the monster, as simultaneously, the twin-tailed girl, cheeks flushed, pressed down firmly on her skirt, flaunting a supple grace.

A daring spinning kick, a stark contrast to her bashful expression.

*Pshew──!*

Clara’s blade cleft the beast’s skull inside the picture frame with uncanny precision.

Bony arms dissolved away, and Rohan noted the point tallying upward.

The real vacation had begun.