VOL. 1: CHAPTER 5 — "THE CAPITAL'S SHADOW, THE PRINCESS'S HEADACHE, AND THE HUMAN WHO TRIED ANIME ATTACKES"

We resumed walking through the deeper forest after my accidental “punching an apex beast to death”  moment.

Lythiriel kept glancing at me about every twenty seconds, like a teacher checking whether a student had set something on fire yet.

Aerin wouldn’t let go of my arm.
The guards marched in tense silence.
And I…… was bored.

Dangerously bored.
Which is bad.
Because when I get bored, bad ideas happen. 

Like incredibly bad ideas.
Terrible.
Catastrophic.

Lythiriel sensed it. She slowed her steps, eyes narrowing.
“Kai,” she said in a warning tone, “you are thinking something stupid.”

“No I’m not.” I denied.

“You absolutely are.” She pressed.

“Nope.” I denied again.

She glared. “…Speak.”

“…Okay, so how do spells work in this world?” I asked.

She blinked. “Elves channel mana through Spirit Arts or elemental circulation. Humans use formation-based magic or enchantment matrices. Why?”

“Because I wanna try something.” I said honestly.

“Try… what?” She pressed further.

“…Magic.” I answered.

“You already used magic.” She said.

“No, I wanna use cool magic.” I explained her.

Lythiriel frowned. “What does that mean? Magic is magic.”

“Oh no, princess. Magic is not just magic.” I stretched my arm out.

The guards tensed instantly.

“Kai—”
“Idiot human, be careful—”
"Don’t explode—”
“Princess, step back—”
“Elven Oracle save us—”

I cleared my throat dramatically.
“Amara,” I whispered mentally.

> 『Yes, Master.』

“Uh… theoretically. Just theoretically. Can I use attacks from anime?” 

> 『Clarify: What is “anime”?’』

“Japanese animated story art.”

> 『Irrelevant. Specify attack parameters.』

“Okay so like… Rasengan from Naruto.”

> 『Description?』

“Rotating chakra sphere of destructive spiraling force.”

> 『Chakra does not exist. Mana equivalent? Possible. Structural rotation? Achievable. Spiral compression? High instability. 7% chance of arm removal.』

“…is that low or high?”

> 『For Master, it is tolerable.』

“Okay, then what about Kamehameha?”

> 『Description?』

“Concentrated beam of punchy light energy.”

> 『Mana beam? Feasible. Execution primitive. Efficiency poor.』

“…Wow. Even my childhood dreams get roasted.”

> 『Statement: Accuracy prioritized over sentimentality.』

“Amara, please. Don’t kill my childhood.”

> 『I cannot kill a temporal segment you have already experienced.』

“…That’s not what I meant!”

A guard whispered, “Is he… talking to himself?”
Another muttered, “Princess… should we knock him out?”

Lythiriel rubbed her temple. “Kai. What are you doing.”

“Science.” I replied.

“That is never a good answer.” She said.

I ignored her and stretched my hands forward. “RASENGAN—!!”
Nothing happened.

Lythiriel stared. “…Rasen… what?”

“It’s a cool ability from my world.” I explained.

“Your world has terrible naming sense.” She replied.

“Kame… ha… me… HAAAAA—!!”

Still nothing.

I tried again. “GETSUGA TENSH—”

“NO!” Lythiriel slapped her hand over my mouth.

“Mmmph?!”

“Stop before you tear open a dimensional rift!” She said in panic.

I blinked up at her.
She was red in the face.
Not from embarrassment.
From panic.

“W-what are you DOING?!” she hissed.
“Magic is NOT a toy!!”

I struggled to speak through her hand.
“Mmph—Amara said it’s possible—!”

Her eyes widened in horror.

“You asked your… whatever she is… and she agreed?!”

“She said Rasengan might ‘remove my arm’—” I said casually.

Lythiriel slapped both hands on my shoulders.
“Kai. Listen to me. Carefully.”

“…Mm?”

“YOU—ARE—NOT—ALLOWED—TO—BLOW—YOUR—ARM—OFF!” She shouted.

We stared at each other.
A long, tense, silence.

“…Fair enough.” I said.

She exhaled like she’d survived a natural disaster.

I muttered, “So… no Getsuga either?”

“NO!”

“But—”

“KAI!”

“A little Kamehameha—?”

“NO!!”

“But what if—”

“I. SAID. NO!” She cleared that very loudly.

Aerin raised a timid hand.
“U-Um… big brother?”

“Yeah, kid?” I answered.

“What’s a… Rasen-gun?” He asked curiously.

I smiled softly. “It’s like a spinning ball of friendship that explodes people.”

Lythiriel slapped her forehead.

“THIS HUMAN WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME.”


 —A Few Minutes Later, Serious Conversation—

After the anime-attack chaos, Lythiriel made me walk beside her with strict supervision.

“Since you are incapable of behaving,” she said.

 “I will educate you. Slowly. Carefully. For the safety of this entire forest.”

“…I feel judged.” I said.

“You should.” She replied quickly.

I groaned. “Okay, so tell me about magic again. Properly.”

She sighed, but her tone softened a little.

“Aetheryon’s magic starts from the Primordial Iris. Her mana flows through the ley-veins under the ground. These ley-veins create elemental fields.”

“Elemental fields?” I said.

“Yes. Every forest, desert, mountain — they all have different elemental signature concentrations.”
She gestured at the glowing trees. “This is a pure Astral-Nature region. Very safe. Normally.”

“And the demons?” I asked.

She frowned.
“The Abyss should not pierce this far. Something is disturbing the balance.”

Something.
I knew exactly what she was talking about.
Me.
But I didn’t say it.

Instead, I asked, “What about humans? Do they use magic like elves?”

She clicked her tongue.
“Humans… mostly use external formations and enchanted tools. Their mana control is weak.”
She said weak like she was being generous.

“Hey,” I retorted,

“I’m human.”

“You are the exception.” She said reluctantly.

“So… I’m special?” I teased her.

She looked away. “…Unfortunately.”

“Aw~ Princess, are you praising me?” I teased her again.

“I am stating a fact.” Her tone sharpened.
“Do not twist my words.”

“Heh.” I smirked.

“…Idiot.” She said.

I laughed.
She pretended she didn’t hear it.


— Aerin’s POV —

Kai is funny.
Kai is warm.
Kai makes Princess Lythiriel shout a lot.
But…

Kai also explains things to me gently.
He holds my hand so I don’t get scared.
He smiles when I smile.
I really hope he stays.


— Elorin’s POV —

I have never seen the princess flustered like this.

Not once.

Not during negotiations with nobles.
Not during war drills.
Not during monster hunts.

But this boy……is chaos incarnate.
He is too comfortable.
Too playful.
Too unpredictable.

And yet…

He is gentle with the child.
And Lythiriel — despite glaring — keeps glancing at him.
This is dangerous on multiple levels.


 — Revenant POV —

The mirror cracked again.
“…He bonds deeper.”

Aerin’s thread thickened.
“…The heart weakens.”

Kai’s image glowed faintly.
“…Soon.”

Aerin’s glow brightened.
“…The tether must be severed.”


 — Back to Kai’s POV —

We finally left the deeper forest and entered a clearing near a shimmering elven ward.

Aerin tugged my sleeve.
“Big brother, are we going to the capital?”

“Yeah.” I answered.

“Will you stay with me there?” He asked anxiously.

“…I’ll try, kid.” I replied honestly.

Lythiriel glanced back sharply. “…Try?”

Yeah.
Try.
Because I could feel it.

Deep inside.
Something was following me.
Watching me.

Something connected to the Rift.
Something that didn’t want me to stay.
I forced a smile for Aerin’s sake.

“Yeah. I’ll be there.”

He hugged my arm tighter.
My chest ached.

“Alright,”

Lythiriel said. “This ward marks the boundary of the capital territory.”

“Cool,” I said. 
“So no demons inside?”

She hesitated. “…Normally.”

“…Why do you sound concerned?” I asked.

“Because… recently… the wards have been flickering.” She replied.

I frowned. “Why?”

“We don’t know.” She said.

Elorin spoke gravely. “…But it began the day you arrived.”

The world fell silent.
The wind stilled.
My breath caught.

Aerin froze beside me.

Lythiriel closed her eyes.
“That is why we must take you to the Queen. Quickly.”

I swallowed.
So it was true.
My arrival wasn’t a coincidence.

It was a fracture.
A tear.
A mistake.

“…Alright.” I said loudly.

Lythiriel blinked.

She expected me to argue.
To joke.

To resist.

But I couldn’t.

Not when Aerin’s small voice whispered: “Big brother… don’t let them take you away…”

I ruffled his hair gently. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

He tightened his grip. “…Promise?”

“Yeah.” 

Even if it’s a lie.
Even if I disappear tomorrow.

Even if fate tries to tear me away.

“I promise.”


— The Forest Shifts —

The air trembled.
A wave of mana surged.
A monstrous shape emerged behind us—Not Abyssal.

Something else.
A primal, ancient beast.

Lythiriel whirled around. “Swords! Defend the child!”

Amara’s voice echoed coldly:
> 『Master. Threat: Very High.』

I sighed dramatically. “…You guys go ahead.”

Lythiriel whipped around. “Kai—?!”

“I’ll handle this.” I said casually.

“You can’t handle—!” She told me angrily.

I cracked my knuckles.
“Princess. I just beat your forest’s apex beast to death with my bare hands.”

“That was—!! That was a FLUKE—!” She retorted.

I grinned. “A very sexy fluke.”

She choked. “STOP SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT!”

Aerin tugged my arm, worried. “Big brother…”

I whispered, “Stay behind me, okay?”

He nodded slowly.
I stepped forward.
The creature roared.

Lythiriel screamed— “KAI—!! Don’t use ANYPARXÍA carelessly—!!”

I raised my hand—“…Kamehameha?”

“NOOOO!!” She shouted.

I smirked. “Kidding.”

“STOP KIDDING DURING LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATIONS!!” She told that, very very loudly.

“But Princess~, anime attacks are cool—” I replied.

“KAIIII!” She screamed.

The monster lunged—

I moved first.