Part XVI Mutation

After practicing with the control ball, Lazuro met Fiore in the girls' dormitory backyard. Fiore, who was waiting by the wall separating the kingdom and the academy, led him to a damaged section of the wall connecting the two, hidden by grass. Ensuring they were alone, Fiore moved the grass and entered the opening

"Are you just going to stand there, leaf boy? Come in!" Fiore ordered.

"Why does this feel so familiar?" Lazuro stroked the back of his hair.

Feeling indebted to her, Lazuro couldn't refuse Fiore's request. The skinny, black-haired boy finally crawled through the hole and reached the back of the palace.

"Come with me!"

Fiore crept into a basement, which contained a secret passage. Using a torch, Fiore guided Lazuro down the many branching paths. Lazuro looked at Fiore, who was still focused on the dark path, and couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Where exactly are we going?" Lazuro asked.

Uninterested in answering, Fiore led Lazuro to a staircase, lit a torch, and ascended. Lazuro followed. They arrived at an inn above a bar, where Fiore gave Lazuro a hood and mask

"Here... could it be you..." Lazuro touch mask and hoodie.

"Right, put on the hood and mask and accompany me on patroling town." Fiore put on the hoodie and mask.

"Patrol, are you crazy? So this is why you told me to bring Mythbreaker. No... no, I don't want to." Lazuro threw away the mask and hood Fiore had given him.

"No, it's not like I saved your life. I just want you to accompany me today." Fiore opened the window curtains. "There are so many evil people in this kingdom, and I just want to protect the helpless. For once, I want to know what it feels like to have a partner in crime."

Fiore's unexpected vulnerability unsettled Lazuro. He hadn't realized that beneath her assertive personality as a princess and student council president, she harbored a soft side. With a tired sigh, Lazuro donned the hood and mask Fiore had given him. With their masks and hoods on, they left the street and slipped into a dark alley. In that place, Fiore leaped across the walls until she reached the building's roof.

"What are you doing? Come on up!" Fiore ordered.

"No, that's impossible. How am I supposed to jump over walls like a monkey?" Lazuro made a questioning gesture with a shrug.

"Just concentrate your mana on your feet and use the wall as a foothold. Didn't your parents or clan leader teach you, leaf boy?" Fiore Asked.

"That…" Lazuro ran a hand through the back of his hair, making a confused expression.

Seeing Lazuro's expression made Fiore uneasy. She then descended from the roof to approach Lazuro.

"Could it be that you can only control mana when you fuse with your mythbreaker?" Fiore asked.

"I just learned yesterday that you can use mana even without fusing with a mythbreaker." Lazuro smiled foolishly.

“Humans can store mana energy from mana crystals through Mythbreaker. When they don't fuse, there's mana left in their bodies that can be used for self-defense. You should start learning that, or you'll have trouble hunting, especially if you have to constantly fuse with your Mythbreaker,” Fiore suggested.

Fiore suddenly stood behind Lazuro and did something unexpected.

“W—wait, what are you—”

Fiore carried Lazuro like a princess and climbed onto the roof.

“Damn, this is too embarrassing.” Lazuro covered his face, red as a boiled shrimp.

The two of them continued in that pose, stopping when someone started having difficulty. After two hours of wandering around, they finally rested at a clock tower about seven meters tall. Fiore sat down, looking exhausted from carrying Lazuro. Lazuro himself was the same, but he was more interested in the beautiful city view.

“I never thought there was such a beautiful place in the city. I thought this clock tower didn't have a viewing room.” Lazuro walks around.

"Yes, the Huan Kingdom is truly beautiful. But the population here is dwindling. Besides the food shortage, there's a lot of crime." Fiore rubbed her hands together, making a sad expression.

"Why don't you all live in the underworld? Isn't there plenty of food there?" Lazuro asked.

"The underworld is a dangerous place. That's what most people think. Turtlians have been indoctrinated with that idea since childhood. We've always been taught that the safest place is on the back of this protective turtle. It's not easy to get everyone to live in the underworld. Besides, if all the Mythbreaker users leave this place, everyone will surely die because there's no food supply."

While they were chatting, someone suddenly screamed, startling Lazuro and Fiore.

"What happened?" Lazuro and Fiore said in unison.

Fiore immediately led Lazuro to the scene of the scream and found a man with a right hand like a gorilla and a normal left hand like a human. The man's face looked frightening, with fur and two protruding upper and lower canine teeth. Seeing that, Lazuro and Fiore hid in a building while deciding what to do.

"What the hell is that? Isn't there a beast on a turtle's back?" Lazuro looked shocked.

"No, that's not a beast. That's a human."

Fiore's statement nearly made Lazuro's chin drop.

"H-human, how can a human transform into something like that?" Lazuro asked, his voice trembling.

"That's a mutation," Fiore replied flatly.

"Mutation?"

"A mutation is when the user's consciousness is devoured by their mythbreaker. You should know that beast in mythbreaker don't die completely. Those who are devoured by mythbreakers gradually transform into beasts," Fiore said.

"Isn't that very dangerous? We should leave this to the guards. This isn't our business as students."

Lazuro intended to leave, but Fiore stood up and drew the rapier from her hip. Fiore's rapier looked exquisite, with a green blade and four small wings curved on a crossbeam. Fiore swung her rapier slightly and prepared herself.

"I will stop that man." Fiore prepared to leap.

"Fiore, that's too dangerous. Let's leave this to someone more qualified," Lazuro urged.

“Didn’t you see the corpses around that beast? That’s a city guard without a mythbreaker. It’ll be risky to wait for the Mythbreaker user right now. If that man were in his full mutated state, there would definitely be many casualties. It’s still possible to defeat him now.” Fiore hits the wall.

Fiore dabbed the blood on her little finger on her rapier. The rapier sent out a tendril that pierced Fiore’s upper shoulder. In an instant, the rapier transformed. The four previously curved wings now flapped. The wings also widened and lengthened, revealing some of the flesh characteristic of a mythbreaker. Fiore unhesitatingly jumped off the roof, leaving Lazuro to protest.

“Arghh… damn, it can’t be helped, I’m an idiot!” Lazuro ruffled his hair.

Lazuro finally jumped as well, and now he and Fiore were in front of the monster.

“I was right to choose you as my partner, leaf boy.” Fiore waved her rapier.

“Watch out!”

Fiore pushed Lazuro aside as the half-gorilla creature leaped toward them. As blood poured down, debris flew, cutting into Lazuro and Fiore's faces, hands, and bodies. Fiore decided to move forward, zigzagging even though the half-gorilla creature was still covered in dust. Fiore focused as she entered the cloud of dust. Suddenly, she realized something, stopped in her tracks, and ducked. Her hunch was correct, as the creature had already swung its arm. Fiore then stomped and delivered a slash, aiming for the half-gorilla creature's neck.

“Fiore, what happened!” Lazuro shouted in panic.

Fiore emerged from the smoke and approached Lazuro.

“Are you okay?” Fiore asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about—"

Lazuro swallowed hard when he saw the half-gorilla, no longer covered in dust. Blood was visible on the gorilla's collarbone, causing the creature to angrily slam its large right fist into the ground.

"Damn, looks like I missed. But it won't happen a second time." Fiore sighed.

Fiore bent her back and zigzagged once more, aiming for the half-gorilla's neck. As if expecting Fiore's attack, the half-gorilla swung its arm, forcing Fiore to pause and step back. Fiore seized the momentum from the half-gorilla's failed attack and charged forward with a stabbing motion. The gorilla roared, then swung its arm, sending Fiore flying into a residential house.