Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

The monster’s wings, spread wide, only made its massive size even larger.

Its sharply curved beak faced the ground, and the rest of its body twitched restlessly as it stopped short midair.

The white whirlwind struck.

"Run—"

Crash!

The upper body of a student who was trying to escape flew through the air. His mind not yet caught up with what had happened, the student watched his lower body fall to the ground.

"Ahhhh—!"

Wham! Bang!

He was cut off before he even had the chance to scream, his whole body torn to shreds by the whirlwind that followed the monster. 

Other students in the vicinity were also in bad shape. Although they had managed to avoid taking a direct hit, one of them stumbled into the slicing wind, and even the many who avoided being hit by the attack were swept away in the aftermath.

Realizing their lives were on the line, the students' faces turned white as a sheet.

“I-I’m leaving! Fuck! I'm getting out of here!"

"I'm going home! Camille! Come on, let's go!"

“Shit, I shouldn't have come to the Academy. I never even wanted this…”

The others were no exception, including those who were handling the remaining guardians and those who were fending off monsters coming from afar.

Yet before they could escape, the shadow shot by again.

Then, the wind stopped.

Crash!

"H-help me!"

"W-where are the professors?"

"Master Jaqnelle! Please, please."

From that point on, the students began to run away. Their drive to best the monsters had run dry. How could they choose to continue fighting after witnessing such a scene?

"Everybody! Just hang in there a little longer! The Academy will figure out something soon…!”

The third-year upperclassman in charge of the present battlefield tried to prevent the students from leaving, but it was to no avail. Now overwhelmed by fear, the only thing the student had left was their survival instinct.

"Please! Stay with me! Help me!"

"If we just stay hopeful, we will overcome thi—!”

Boom!

"Ahhhh!"

The body of the third-year upperclassman was tossed aside like a scrap of shredded meat.

An attack by such a massive monster, airborne and aided by the wind, was not something that a mere student could withstand.

With the students’ beacon of leadership now discarded, the students who still remained all ran for their lives.

"P-please, help me! My legs won't move!"

"Give me some potions! I'll be indebted to you forever, I’m begging you!"

Voices scattered along the wind pleaded with their peers for aid. From here and there came the sound of shattering destruction.

Allen managed to move in an attempt to block the monster’s attack. However, the hawk evaded him, beginning its rampage meant to dispose of the remaining students. No matter what magic he used, even as he revealed his full strength and used his inherited power of the giant, Allen’s foe ignored him.

Vedrfolnir could not keep Allen’s sturdy body pinned down, but Allen could not keep up with the hawk’s mid-air maneuvering.

It wasn’t like there weren’t others who took advantage of their scuffles and made attempts at the monster, but those efforts had ceased once the monster started selectively retaliating against its attackers.

Not even Julius could help. He’d been incapacitated and was now lying unconscious. 

Amidst all the blood and confusion, through all the screams and death and across that chaotic battlefield moved one white-haired woman.

—Stand out in this dungeon practice-raid.

Maria Caritas.

She stared at the monster with an expressionless face, showing as little emotion as possible.

—I couldn't check it out as I was unable to leave the area of the Holy Sword… but an ancient monster is likely to be there.

A white wind wrapped around a body black as shadow.

Screams rang out as it disappeared from view, and the smell of blood wafted through the scattering wind.

—It will be too much for the students to deal with, so after a few have suffered some damage… take care of it.

She tried to ignore the light ripples tugging at her heart, and went on with her magic. Iridescent mana resembling a bygone divine power pooled at her stomach.

When she closed her eyes, there was a door—one that divided humans from something ‘other’. She opened it, stifling her instinctive repulsion.

With that flick of a switch, she changed. 

Tree of Sephiroth.

Way of the Serpent.

Tenth Sephirah: Malkhut. 

Her already faint emotions went entirely numb. The wall marking her limits vanished. She stepped onto the other side—becoming something inhuman.

A halo rose from her body, driving away the inky darkness.

It took great devotion to submit oneself to a non-human body.

Eighth Sephirah: Hod. 

A flawless, unfeeling, perfect spirit settled over her head. Any unnecessary emotion faded into the darkness of her black pupils. From her back, a pair of wings unfurled, the white light of her magic blazing bright.

She stepped forward.

Tap, tap, tap.

She glided over the blood-soaked sand, her steps quiet.

Emerald-colored roses bloomed in her wake.

Seventh Sephirah: Netzach. 

The pandemonium around her calmed, allowing her to clear her mind.

"H-help… Ah."

"P-please help… Wait, what…”

The panic-stricken people around her came to their senses. Reason resurfaced, still dwelling in those who grappled with their new, excruciating pain. Their frenzied emotions subsided as they regained their composure.

At the same time, a hexagram shone upon her chest.

Sixth Sephirah: Tiferet.

"C-could you spare a potion…? Huh? H-how did…”

"I-I'm alive…”

The wounds of the students who touched the halo gradually faded away.

Tap, tap, tap.

Once again, logical thought returned to the battlefield.

Behind her, countless students retreated in an orderly manner. Those with clarity of mind made the rational decision to move the injured with them as they hurried to the rear.

Finally, the ancient monster, too, focused its gaze on her. 

The monster felt a twinge of surprise.

"———What are you?"

Maria ignored the monster's question, and instead searched for ways to kill it.

First Sephirah: Kether. 

A crown of light hovered around her head, lending her an 'understanding' of everything her vision touched, as if it all were mere cogs in some sort of machine.

"———What exactly are you? What strange power, hmm…”

Weight, size, degree of vision, reaction speed, physical strength, speed, wind strength…

Each piece of consumable information, changing moment to moment, flowed into her head. Her newly adopted ‘state of being’ sorted through all of this information.

Ninth Sephirah: Yesod. 

Based on all that information, she predicted the opponent's next moves.

"———You’re unlike anything I've seen in the last tens of thousands of years. It's hard for me to see, even through my 'eyes’."

The predictions were based on previously analyzed actions, and even were centered around the total sum and quality of stimulated muscle activity.

Fifth Sephirah: Gevurah. 

The understanding, interpretation, and subsequent predictive use of the exposed information bore from it extreme levels of combat assistance.

Her power output, strength, and reaction speed all increased. Combat-related movements and instincts were maximized.

A clear purpose was etched in her emotionless eyes, and a sword of light appeared in her right hand.

"———Are you the new ruler? This is strange—abnormal, to say the least. The body is the same, but the spirit is overlain.”

The understanding of monsters.

The prediction of movement.

The potential application in battle.

And the judgment that pushed forth the right answer out of dozens of choices.

Third Sephirah: Binah.

Using all the information flooding into her mind, she finalized her judgment.

"———Who summoned your creation? No, who made you…”

"Calculations complete."

She raised her head. A sword composed of ten lights began to hover over and circle around her. Her pupils constantly darted around, as she received information about the movement.

She uttered indifferently, “It has been determined that in following the events laid out in scenario 7,182, the target may be exterminated.”

Her wings of light flew up into the sky. The ancient monster burst into laughter with an amused face.

"———An intriguing ability. No, it’s a bit of a downgrade from the original, huh? Let me guess…”

"Beginning the extermination of the Fallen Incarnation, 'Vedrfolnir’."

A sword of light arched through the sky.

At that very moment, the monster spread its huge wings, tearing the sky asunder.

The battle between the white angel and the black monster had commenced.

* * *

* * *

Allen watched Maria and Vedrfolnir’s confrontation with a cold expression.

Crash!

Vedrfolnir attacked, moving at such a high speed that its body appeared to physically stretch. Maria evaded all those attacks by a beat, or even a few, allowing it no opportunity to strike her down.

Hundreds—maybe even thousands—of wind gusts flew at her, perhaps angry as she moved her much smaller body too tactfully, dodging all of the attacks.

While evading the weaponized natural forces, she even hurled swords of light toward the monster, not letting up on her assault.

It was a match between unshakable prediction against unstoppable speed.

There wasn’t the slight hint of disquiet in Maria's eyes. After all, nothing was beyond her prediction.

Everything fell within her calculations.

As the damage done to others had been dwindling steadily since the start of her battle, Allen lowered himself, quietly gathering his mana.

⟬What are you going to do? I think it's better to take your aim next time you see an opportunity,⟭ she asked in a low voice.

Allen shook his head. 'The next time I see an opening, I’ll cut in right away.’

Allen wasn't just getting hit and beat down. All the while, he’d been thinking about how to make up for his slow speed.

His sensitivity interfered with his expanded consciousness. His five amplified senses—all of which were deeply embedded in his processing perception—assimilated into his body as they gazed out at the world.

His thoughts raced, despite his blurred vision.

'I was supposed to predict its movement like Maria, but…’

Allen watched her battle and realized that it was impossible.

He was capable of seeing a few moves ahead in battle, a skill that typically allowed him to stay ahead of his opponent, but there was no way he could predict dozens upon dozens like her. Even if he tried to precisely copy that skill, Allen’s brain wouldn’t be able to handle the influx of information.

Then what could he do?

‘Give up?’

That wasn’t an option.

He wondered for a second if he could escape, but remembered that he’d still yet to find any clues about Julius. 

Allen ran through the facts he knew about the ancient monster.

It possessed feathers that could deflect most attacks. It could accelerate to speeds even he could not read. It could freely generate wind.

And the gravest fact above all above all else was that it possessed overwhelming intelligence.

However, did all that make that monster worth running away from?

‘Is it intimidating enough that I would do away with all my plans?’

No. Absolutely not.

The monster was not an opponent worth despairing over, even if it had presented Allen with some hardship.

There were countless monsters that Julius killed on his first go-around. Some of them were tougher opponents than this ancient monster. However, that didn’t mean he could necessarily say that Vedrfolnir was stronger in their first life.

‘Then the issue is…?’

The conclusion made itself apparent as quickly as the question had crossed his mind.

A shortage of offensive power.

Allen's magic in this life was lacking, and the number of attacks he mastered was relatively quite small. He’d been working hard to save Julius in this runthrough, instead.

Allen couldn't do space-shifting or transportation magic like Rachael.

Until now, he’d gotten by with weaving together threads of mana to make objects or to run through space itself, but that had now proven insufficient.

The shape of his mana-composed tools was just the best method to maximize Allen's strengths.

'I can't just rearrange threads anymore now.’

That was a bit of a shame; if he were to try it now, the magic wouldn’t be stable. Being able to use time magic on his opponent would have been a great help.

Nonetheless, it was currently beyond him.

Allen resolved to find a way to increase his offense when he returned to the Academy, and gripped Vestla tight.

In that case, the task before him was simple.

‘If magic wouldn’t work…’

He would have no choice but to use his sword.

The third form he’d just learned.

Jotunnsverd Ljossol.

He’d seen earlier that the attack would work. If he constantly aimed at Vedrfolnir from the ground, the monster wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

If he created an opening for her, Maria wouldn't miss it.

As soon as I tried to wring my magic by ringing in the Yongno-sim, I heard a loud laugh and a voice that had disappeared for a while.

The very moment he was about to squeeze out every last drop of mana from his humming dragon’s core, he heard a voice he hadn’t heard in a while accompanied by a loud laugh.

"Fuuuck! Get out of my way! Brother, you powered up, huh. Vroom, vroom, Brother! Here I come!”

Crash!

When Allen looked up in shock, he saw Julius flying through the sky on a spider awash in shining starlight.

A spider-shaped tattoo glistened on his back in the shape of a constellation, and Julius sent down a bolt of lightning with a big smile plastered on his face.

⟬Now, what the fuck is that?⟭

That's what Allen wanted to say.

Allen assumed he wouldn’t see him again after Julius had been flung away from the force of the attack. Yet, he’d suddenly shown up with some kind of newfound strength?

‘Average day for Julius, I suppose…’

It was an entirely unrealistic move, and it was absolutely something that would have happened to him.

Allen nodded, convinced.

This was a common occurrence in Julius's life.

He gained newfound strength in moments of crisis, would receive a helping hand when in desperate need, and received rewards from conveniently constructed events.

The only reason he felt surprised was because it was the first time he’d seen the phenomenon so up-close, but it certainly wasn't strange.

'Well, things will be easier because of this, at least.’

If Allen could still manage to create an opportunity, the rest would be settled by these two people.

Having found his bearings, Allen was about to try using his magic again, when someone called out to him.

"Sir Allen."

Under most circumstances, it was a call he would have ignored.

However, he had no choice but to turn his head toward the next voice that spoke.

"Allen, what are you doing here?”

"…Rachael?"

Behind him, Rachael stood with Alexius, looking exhausted.

"Rachael, why are you here…”

"You’re going off to fight a dangerous battle, but you’re telling me to stay out of it?"

"No, it's not like that…”

"Well, what is it, then? You wanna do this together now? All of a sudden? Do you really think you’re in a position to say that to me?”

As Rachael took a step forward, her expression enraged, Allen stepped back, looking troubled.

"I, now…”

When Rachael was about to stomp forward once more, Alexius stepped in at the prime moment.

"Now, now, let’s do this after the battle. We can do this together.”

Rachael closed her mouth upon his interjection, as if she suddenly remembered the current situation. Her glare toward Allen, however, didn't fade.

⟬You're going to have a hard time later, aren't you? Hmm.⟭

Vestla laughed in a merry tone.

As Rachael stepped back, Alexius looked at him with clear eyes.

"Sir, the chief called for you."

"Is it related to that?"

Allen pointed at Julius, who was running wild, like he owned the sky.

He nodded. 

"Yes, that's right. Though it appears that this should be good for you, too."

Rachael grabbed Allen's hand hard. When she noticed no change in Allen's expression, she immediately relaxed to see if she was more hurt by this action than he was.

Allen's glaring eyes grew fiercer.

"Hurry up, let’s go. There's not much time left."

The night was fading away.

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