CHAPTER 12 : First Mission (3)

Several seconds passed.
There was no pain.

Mira was confused. She slowly opened her eyes.

A drop of green blood trickled down her forehead.

Above her body, barely an arm’s length away, a Velkan hung lifeless. An iron sword had pierced straight through the creature from behind—its blade gleaming coldly, as if untouched by blood. The Velkan’s heavy body was suspended in midair, as though pinned in place by an invisible force.

Gasping, Mira followed the length of the sword with her eyes.

The blade was… too long. Far longer than any normal sword.

Only when her gaze reached the tip did she finally see someone standing there.

Shiru.

He stood casually, one hand gripping the impossibly long sword. Then, slowly—without a sound—the blade shortened, as if the metal itself were being drawn back into the hilt. When the sharp tip vanished, the Velkan lost its support and crashed heavily onto the ground right in front of Mira.

Mira remained frozen. Shocked. Confused.

“Hah… looks like I pissed them off.”

Shiru spoke lightly, almost lazily.

As if on cue, the remaining Velkans began to change. Their muscles swelled unnaturally, their short bodies bulging like bodybuilders forced to grow instantly.

Suddenly—BOOM!

Five Velkans leapt at once. The ground beneath their feet shattered as if struck by explosives. In an instant, they shot toward Shiru with clear killing intent.

Shiru only let out a small sigh.

He swung his sword from right to left—casually, almost without effort.

The distance was still too far.

Far too far for an ordinary slash.

And yet, in midair, all five Velkans’ heads were severed simultaneously. Their bodies collapsed into a pile, green blood splashing and flowing across the ground.

“W-what the hell was that…?” Ren gaped.

“They were still so far away…”

“That’s one of Shiru’s abilities,” Kenta explained quickly.
“Sword Manipulation. He can freely manipulate the shape and length of his blade.”

“Hee… that’s insane—”

“Oi, stop spacing out.”

Shiru’s voice cut them off.

“These bugs haven’t shown their main ability yet.”

At that very moment, the remaining Velkans began to split. One became two. Two became four. Their numbers multiplied endlessly—ten… twenty… a hundred… until thousands of creatures flooded the area.

“WHAAAAAT?!!” Ren screamed in panic.

“Y-you’ve gotta be kidding… how are we supposed to beat all of them?” Kenta swallowed hard.

Shiru grinned.

A smile far too calm—and just a little… unsettling.

“Well, what else can we do?” he said as he took a fighting stance.
“We cut off their heads… until they can’t duplicate anymore.”

The Velkans went berserk.

They charged all at once, roaring, swarming toward Shiru, Ren, and Kenta from every direction.

The real battle had just begun.

The screams of the Velkans merged into a single horrifying sound.

Thousands of creatures surged forward at once, covering the ground, the air, and every gap between the ruins. Their short, muscular bodies ran without formation, without fear—driven solely by pure killing instinct.

Shiru stepped forward alone.

His sword changed.

The straight blade extended, widened, then split—transforming into something like a massive steel fan. With a single swing, dozens of Velkans were cleaved apart at once. Green blood sprayed as their bodies were flung aside like broken dolls.

The sword changed again.

This time, it became a long spear that pierced into the ground. Shiru planted it and spun. The earth around him was sliced into a perfect circle, creating a dead zone.

Ren and Kenta instinctively retreated beyond the edge of the circle, while Mira remained several meters behind Shiru, frozen on the ground.

Any Velkan that tried to approach lost its head before it even realized it was dead.

“Don’t let them surround us!” Shiru shouted.

On the other side—

Ren vanished.

Blink.

He appeared midair—too low.

Each jump pulled him farther from Shiru’s position, dragging him toward the collapsed ruins on the battlefield’s edge.

Blink.

He reappeared behind a Velkan, nearly grabbed.

Blink.

He appeared again—his breathing ragged. His teleportation was chaotic, completely uncontrolled. Every time a Velkan got close, his body reflexively forced a spatial jump in a random direction.

“Damn it… focus… focus…!”

But there were too many Velkans.

One nearly grabbed his arm.

Blink!

Ren appeared directly in front of a half-collapsed wall—zero distance. His body slammed into it hard. His vision spun, his breath knocked out of him. For a moment, the world went dark.

“Hah—!”

He dropped to one knee. His teleportation had nearly killed him.

The Velkans ran toward him.

And then—

The ground shook violently.

“REN, MOVE!”

Kenta’s voice echoed—deep and heavy, no longer sounding like that of a normal human.

Kenta’s body began to change.

His skin hardened, cracked, then turned to stone. His muscles swelled, merging with the ground beneath his feet. Within seconds, the human figure transformed into a massive golem as tall as a three-story building.

The Velkan charging toward Ren was struck head-on.

A single swing of the golem’s arm crushed dozens of Velkans at once. The ground split apart, bodies flying like scattered debris.

“I’ll hold them off!” Kenta’s voice boomed from within the golem’s body.
“You finish off the rest!”

Shiru let out a small laugh.

“So you finally decided to come out, huh.”

His sword transformed once more—this time splitting into dozens of thin blades that floated around his body like metallic wings. With a single motion of his hand, the blades shot out in every direction, severing Velkan heads one by one with terrifying precision.

Ren staggered to his feet. His chest ached, his head throbbed.

He took a deep breath.

“One more time… but this time, I’m in control.”

Blink.

Ren vanished—and this time, reappeared exactly where he intended to.

Above a Velkan’s head.

Ren appeared directly above the Velkan.

Gravity pulled his body downward, and without thinking, he drew a small knife from his waist—the one he had obtained back in the cave during the evaluation. The blade was plain, not long, and looked completely ordinary.

But when Ren stabbed—

CRAK.

The knife pierced straight through the Velkan’s skull with ease, as if its flesh and bone were nothing more than wet soil.

The Velkan’s body collapsed silently, green blood spraying lightly into the air.

Ren landed unsteadily, staring at the knife in his hand with wide eyes.

“Holy—what kind of knife is this? It’s stupid sharp—”

Before he could finish his sentence—

WHOOSH.

The air split.

Ren’s instincts screamed before his thoughts could react.

He turned—too late.

Another Velkan had already leapt toward him, its short muscles bulging, arms raised to strike.

“HAH—?!”

Blink!

Ren vanished just before the blow landed. The air where he had stood exploded, the ground shattering into fragments.

He reappeared several meters away, gasping for breath, his heart pounding wildly.

“Insane… insane, insane, insane—”

But the situation didn’t improve.

Quite the opposite.

The Velkans that had been cut down, crushed, and destroyed began to split apart.

Their numbers swelled once more.

“KEN—TA!!” Ren shouted in panic.

The massive golem turned around. From Ren’s perspective, Kenta’s stone face looked tense.

“They’re… increasing!” Kenta’s voice echoed, heavy yet clearly panicked.
“I can destroy them, but they just keep coming back!”

The giant stone hand slammed into the ground, annihilating hundreds of Velkans at once—but from the remains of the shattered bodies, new creatures began to form.

Ren swallowed hard.

This didn’t look good.

Not at all.

Amid the chaos—

Shiru stopped moving.

The sword in his hand slowly extended, curved, then reshaped itself. The blade became a gigantic scythe, its arc so long that its tip scraped the ground far in the distance. A cold aura spread through the air.

Shiru spun the scythe once, slowly.

SWOOOONG.

The air trembled.

“Hoo…” Shiru grinned widely, his eyes narrowing with an expression that looked almost… delighted.
“It’s been a long time since I used this form.”

He glanced at the sea of Velkans endlessly duplicating, filling the ruins as far as the eye could see.

Shiru only smiled—an unsettling smile.

Ren stared at him, caught between fear and relief.

The Velkans shrieked and charged once more.

And Shiru—

stepped forward, his massive scythe raised, ready to sweep across the battlefield.

Shiru’s scythe moved without pause.

One swing—

SWAAAASH.

Dozens of Velkans were split apart at once, their bodies cleanly severed before they could even react. Green blood swept through the air like a thin mist. Shiru spun, his scythe extending even farther, its arc cutting through both ground and sky.

The Velkans were destroyed.

But—

they returned.

The severed bodies writhed. Green flesh pulsed, split, then divided again. One became two. Two became four. Within seconds, the area that had been cleared was once again flooded with creatures.

“Tch… troublesome,” Shiru muttered, still smiling—though now his eyes were cold.

On the other side—

Kenta began to be pushed back.

The massive golem’s body destroyed anything it touched, but the Velkans were now attacking from every direction. Poured in from the shattered buildings, crawled up from the broken ground, and leapt down from the ruins above. They climbed up its stone legs, struck at its joints, even leapt onto its chest.

“GRAAA—!”

Kenta slammed both hands into the ground, creating a shockwave that crushed hundreds of Velkans at once. But their numbers didn’t decrease—instead, they increased again.

“Ren…!” Kenta’s voice sounded heavy, strained.

Ren himself was already at his limit.

Blink.
Blink.
Blink.

His body kept shifting without pause. Each teleport made his head spin more violently, his vision growing blurrier.

He was gasping for air.

“Kh… damn it… the distance… it’s getting harder…”

One small mistake, and he could appear in the wrong place again—or worse.

Meanwhile—

Mira was still sitting on the ground, several dozen meters away from the main clash, pressed against the remains of a fallen pillar.

Her body was stiff, her face pale. Her eyes stared blankly at the battlefield—at the Velkans being split apart and duplicating themselves in grotesque ways: flesh tearing, bones regrowing, green blood flowing like slime.

Her stomach churned.

“Ugh—”

She covered her mouth, leaning forward, almost throwing up.

Her vision swam.

But—

Suddenly, the sensation vanished.

The nausea faded. Her breathing steadied. Her heart, which had been pounding wildly, now felt calm—strangely calm, as if wrapped in warmth.

“Huh…?”

Mira lifted her head, confused.

That sense of peace wasn’t coming from herself.

She turned.

Not far from her, the wolf stood—silent, upright, its eyes glowing softly. Its gaze was fixed directly on Mira, as if observing her… or protecting her.

“Are you…?” Mira whispered.

The wolf didn’t move. But the calming aura grew stronger.

A few seconds later—

TING.

A transparent screen appeared before Mira, floating in the air.

White letters were clearly displayed:

Rune Wolf is attempting to form a contract with the user.
Do you accept?
[Yes] [No]

Mira froze.

She stared at the screen, holding her breath.

“A contract…?”

Her hand trembled. Her mind hadn’t fully processed what was happening. But when she looked back at the battlefield—Ren blinking in and out, gasping for breath; Kenta struggling to hold the line; and Shiru fighting alone against an impossible number—her hesitation collapsed.

“If I just stay here…” she muttered.

She swallowed.

“Screw it.”

Her finger pressed [Yes].

For a moment—

silence.

Then—

LIGHT.

A silvery-white light erupted from the wolf’s body, spreading outward like a wave. Too bright. Too powerful. The air trembled, as if space itself was rejecting whatever was being born.

“—TCH?!” Shiru shielded his eyes, stepping back half a step.

“WHAT IS THIS NOW—” Kenta’s voice boomed from within his golem body.

Ren reflexively raised his arm, turning his face away. “Damn—!”

Mira herself was pushed back by the glare. She shut her eyes tightly, tears spilling out unconsciously. The sounds around her felt muffled, replaced by a deep, heavy thumping—doom… doom…—like the heartbeat of a giant.

Several seconds passed.

The light slowly faded.

Mira opened her eyes carefully.

And froze.

The wolf… was no longer the same.

Its body now towered high—far higher. Much larger than Kenta even in his golem form. Its legs were planted into the ground like pillars, its fur shimmering with faintly glowing rune patterns along its body. Its golden eyes stared straight ahead, sharp and deep, as if they could pierce the soul of anyone who met its gaze.

Its aura—

was overwhelming.

The air felt heavy. An invisible pressure made it hard for Ren to breathe and caused Kenta to straighten his golem body instinctively. Even the ground around the creature showed fine cracks, as if it could barely endure its presence.

“…Ho,” Shiru smiled faintly—the only one still standing calmly. “This is interesting.”

The Velkans stopped.

One by one, they turned—not toward Ren, not toward Kenta, not toward Shiru.

All their green eyes locked onto the giant wolf.

Then, as if receiving the same command, they turned and charged.

Thousands of Velkans ran, leapt, climbed—everything aimed at a single target.

The wolf did not retreat.

It stood tall, head held high, gazing at the oncoming horde with a cold, majestic expression. There was no excessive anger, no panic—only pure, calm power, like a ruler judging insects before it.

Mira stared, her chest trembling.

“So… this is,” she whispered softly,
“my contract partner…?”

Slowly, the wolf lowered its head.

Inside its mouth, dark crimson energy gathered, swirling, condensing like a core of destruction. The surrounding air shook violently. The ground groaned, cracks spreading in all directions as if the battlefield itself were screaming.

Thousands of Velkans charged without hesitation.

They screamed, duplicated themselves mid-run, filling the field with impossible numbers—a living wave that knew only the command to kill.

The energy reached its peak.

The wolf opened its mouth wide.

—DORR.

The explosion was not a sound, but a decision.

The crimson energy fired forth, then split in midair, branching like lightning born from a single core of annihilation. Each branch struck the ground and the Velkans with terrifying precision.

DUARR—! DUARR—! DUARR—!

The ground exploded in a chain reaction. Red light swept across the battlefield, consuming everything. The Velkans that were touched had no time to react—their bodies unraveled, destroyed down to the core of their existence. No regeneration. No duplication. No remains.

Only total annihilation.

“—TCH!” Shiru reacted instantly.

His scythe widened, thickened, transforming into a massive shield. He planted it into the ground and took cover behind it, his coat and hair whipping wildly under the shockwave.

On the other side—

“REN!”

A giant stone hand grabbed Ren and yanked him back.

“WOAH—!”

Kenta bent forward, his golem body becoming a protective wall. The explosion slammed into his back, rough cracks spreading across the stone surface—but he held his ground.

A few seconds later—

Silence.

No screams.

No footsteps.

No Velkans.

Dust slowly drifted down from the air. The red light faded, leaving behind massive craters and scorched earth. The battlefield that had once been filled with thousands of creatures was now empty—completely wiped clean.

Mira remained seated on the ground, cold sweat running down her temples, her mind in chaos from what had just happened.

She slowly lifted her face.

“E—eh…?”