Rakina was surprised when Shun suddenly collapsed onto her, but after checking his breathing, her worries eased. He was simply exhausted.
Elsewhere in the area, Ordinal lay motionless, though his eyes remained open. No one knew what he was thinking, but he understood that his time was drawing near. Then, he felt a presence nearby.
A silhouette entered his field of vision—a young man with messy black hair and cold, empty silver eyes. He held a [Beginner's Sword].
Elias looked at Ordinal. Stabbing the sword into the ground, he crouched beside him.
"What do you think of those brats, Ordinal?"
"Annoying pests. They got in the way of my goals." His voice was full of irritation.
Elias replied calmly, "Yet you lost. What does that make you?"
"Lost? The Hideous Sage defeated me—not those brats!"
"The same brat who defeated the Hideous Sage."
Ordinal had no retort, falling silent before shifting the topic. "Why are You here? And why does the world allow Your existence?"
He knew Elias's true identity and struggled to comprehend the laws of this world.
Even possessing a vessel or borrowing a mortal body shouldn't be enough to conceal an Outer God.
"This world... this universe... is different from the one you knew," Elias said.
Ordinal paused, then slowly began to understand.
"A world where gods can descend to the mortal realm without consequence? Or... is it only You who can do that, while others perish?"
"Who knows," Elias said. He rose, pulled the sword from the ground, and stepped closer. He examined Ordinal's face and couldn't help but feel impressed.
Even on the brink of death, Ordinal's expression remained calm and flat.
Elias stabbed him in the neck. Blood spilled out, quickly pooling beneath him.
"You will... never be... a human," Ordinal whispered with a faint smile before the last spark of life left his eyes.
"..."
***
Elias approached Rakina. His eyes were on Shun—battered, full of wounds, and no longer resembling a human. He had become a living alloy.
All of that... just to save her. Elias pondered this.
"Why did he save you?" Elias crouched beside Shun, inspecting him more closely. His gaze was unreadable. Was it admiration? Condescension?
"There were no merits. He got injured instead—nearly killed himself," Elias continued, reaching his hand out toward Shun.
Rakina pulled Shun away, watching Elias warily.
Elias noticed her guarded reaction and retracted his hand. "I won't hurt you."
He pulled a slip of paper from his inventory and began writing on it. With each symbol he completed, the rune glowed faintly.
Rakina frowned slightly, uncertain of his intent.
Just as he finished, Elias suddenly dashed toward her. Her eyes widened in surprise, and before she could react, he slapped the paper onto her chest. A loud thud echoed.
The glowing runes lifted from the paper and sank into her skin. Her expression turned anxious.
"What did you do?" she demanded.
"With the Hideous Sage taking control of your body, his power will soon flow through your veins," Elias said.
"Your mortal body can't control such power. Everything you touch would eventually be reduced to the purest form of data." He gestured toward Shun. His body was marked with runes—part of the same process.
"I almost killed him…" Her voice trembled with guilt. She turned to Elias and bowed. "Thank you, Elias."
Before he could respond, she looked up and quickly asked, "Why did you help me?"
"It's too early for us to talk," he replied.
"What?" Rakina tilted her head, confused—only to feel Elias poke her forehead.
No, it was too fast for her to react.
Her mind grew foggy. Her vision blurred. Her eyelids drooped.
"What… did you do?" she murmured, eyes closing as sleep overtook her.
Elias caught her before she fell, holding her a moment longer than necessary. He studied her quietly, then gently laid her beside Shun.
"Rest, little one," he whispered.
He looked at the two of them—wounded, unconscious, breathing unsteadily. Yet beneath their skin, he felt something ancient stir. Not just power.
Memory.
"I didn't expect to meet old friends." A faint smile flickered across his face, then vanished.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a mask—ornate, smooth, etched with shifting constellations that moved with each breath. He slid it over his face.
"Reincarnation is truly a curse," he murmured, as if repeating something long forgotten.
Turning away, he walked into the shadows.
Behind him, the runes on Shun's alloyed body sparked briefly.
Rakina stirred in her sleep, brows furrowing. A tear slid down her cheek.
***
A loud, raspy caw echoed in the distance. The deafening chirp of a cricket seemed to compete with it, rubbing its wings faster to create an even louder melody.
Rakina lay on a soft patch of grass. The golden light of dawn wrapped around her. She stared at the orange-tinted sky, her thoughts unreadable.
A bird flew across her vision. She blinked—and when her eyes opened again, she was in the sky, looking down at her own body. Oddly, it didn't feel strange. The only thing on her mind was food. She turned her gaze to the river and spotted prey.
She circled once, then dove.
Just then, something caught her eye—a blue flower, reflected in her pupils.
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she was the flower. Dancing gently in the wind.
Maybe because she was now a plant, she felt nothing but peace. Everything was quiet and safe, like a baby in its mother's embrace.
A dog approached her. She couldn't make out its features—it was only a silhouette.
Then it spoke.
"You haven't forgotten our promises, right? Even if the stars have."
Rakina jolted awake, eyes wide. Her breathing was heavy and fast. Sweat clung to her skin.
"A dream?" She quickly recognized reality. Though part of her wished it wasn't.
The dream felt like something she'd been searching for. But she shook off the thought and scanned her surroundings.
A hospital.
She had been in the school bunker a few hours ago. Or was it days? She wasn't sure how much time had passed.
Checking her phone, she saw it had been twelve hours since she lost consciousness.
Then she remembered Shun.
She was about to get out of bed when she heard a loud snore. Turning her head, she saw him sleeping on the floor.
She wondered why he wasn't using the chair.
Then she noticed the chair beside him—and the wet mark on her bedsheet.
It seemed he'd been sleeping with his head resting on the bed before slipping off.
She pulled out some tissues and quietly covered the mark.
Just then, the door slid open, and footsteps approached.
Rakina looked up to see a young girl with straight black hair enter. She wore a business suit. Behind her were two nurses.
"Please, you can't disturb the patient. She just woke up."
"Yes, she needs plenty of rest before she receives visitors."
The girl halted, clearly irritated. Her hands clenched.
"Oh, shut up! Do you think I don't know that? It's not like I want to disturb a sick person. But this is important!" she snapped, flashing her badge.
The nurses were momentarily stunned into silence.
When they saw the badge, they seemed to understand the situation and turned away without another word.
The girl sighed softly.
Rakina had watched the whole thing unfold, unsure of what to say. But she didn't need to speak.
"Sorry for bothering you, Rakina. I'm Teresa, a representative from the Hunter's Guild." She held up her badge.
"What does the Hunter's Guild want from me?" Rakina asked.
"I don't want to disturb your recovery for long, but I need your cooperation," Teresa said as she took a seat. "An outbreak occurred at your school. Mid-level monsters appeared. A squad was dispatched, but those monsters recovered too quickly. We couldn't exterminate them.
"Then, suddenly… they vanished."
She paused, raising one finger.
"That would normally be a good thing—except for one detail."
Rakina remained silent, waiting.
"We detected a boss presence. In the bunker, to be exact. And it's more terrifying than the first boss humanity ever defeated."
She leaned forward, her tone sharpening.
"My question is this… how did you defeat such a boss?"