"Suitable one…"
It was a city steeped in a chilly air.
Buildings had crumbled in on themselves, and bloodstains dotted the streets. A sour, decaying stench wafted in with the wind.
Aurora swallowed hard.
"…When are you coming? Suitable one!"
She trembled like a child who had lost her way, nervous and uncertain. The faintest sound from somewhere made her tense and alert.
Eyes wide, she glared toward the noise.
"If you're a ghost, don't come out. And if you're a person—don't come out either. Please, just… don't come out at all…"
Luckily, it must've only been the wind.
Staring at the motionless cityscape for a long while, Aurora finally let out a shaky breath.
Then came the surge of resentment—fierce and sudden—at the suitable one who had so carelessly abandoned her here.
"What kind of lunatic leaves a beautiful girl like me alone in a place like this?"
This wasn't fear—it was concern. In a world this dangerous, being left alone was the worst-case scenario.
Especially here, where B-class monsters still roamed freely.
Even without an S-rank destructive skill, enough damage piling up could mean serious trouble. Even for her.
Really now.
This wasn't fear. It was just… concern.
Tadat!
But all her excuses evaporated in an instant when she heard the sudden sound of footsteps. Aurora froze, startled, holding her breath.
Her neck stretched forward like a wary turtle.
Her gaze darted around, wavering.
"…Suitable one?"
No reply came. Instead, heavy footsteps rapidly approached.
Too rapidly.
"Aaah—Emperor, please!"
And then—
Screeeee?
With a thump and a hiss, the source of her frantic prayer revealed itself: a single lizard.
It was Rocket, the giant bone lizard.
He was carrying an NPC slumped across his back, blood trailing down the figure's side.
Rocket tilted his head at Aurora, who stood there trembling.
What's he doing? she wondered—but only for a moment.
Recalling his master's command, Rocket gently handed over the NPC he'd been carrying to Aurora.
"Ah… ahh… it's you, Rocket."
Aurora gave an awkward laugh as she spoke.
"Don't tell the suitable one about this, okay? It'll be our little secret. Just between us. Got it?"
Had she forgotten that ghost beasts like Rocket shared a mental link with their master at all times?
Rocket merely huffed and gave his head a shake. Seeing that, Aurora let out a sigh of relief.
Then she took a closer look at the NPC.
"Looks like a kid… hmm."
He appeared to be around high school age.
Despite that, the palm that once held nothing but pens was calloused. His body bore clear traces of healed-over wounds.
Scars that no ordinary school life could explain.
Then suddenly, realization struck her.
"…Wait. That's a school uniform."
So there were other players in Exodia 1 besides Jhin?
Fascinated, she inspected the boy more closely and spotted a metallic device peeking out from his pocket.
It looked like a smartphone.
"What's this?"
The light rising from the object only grew brighter and brighter.
It was a monster like none he'd seen before.
'Is it even a monster?'
The way it spoke—it sounded more like a system message. Its movements were mechanical, rigid… but fast. Blindingly so.
If he had to describe it—
'It's like a backspace key or a pair of scissors grew a consciousness.'
Then, as the creature made a decision and moved toward him—
A system message flashed in front of Jhin's eyes, warning of imminent danger.
[Activating skill: Danger Sense (A).]
Without a moment's thought, he threw himself aside.
From the spot he'd just vacated, in a perfect line—
Everything vanished. Buildings, structures, anything that had been there… simply ceased to exist, as if it had never been.
'So that beam really does erase everything it touches.'
It didn't take a genius to realize—charging in with Calamity Meteorblade in hand wouldn't help. The blade would be erased right along with him.
Assessing user level…
3… 2… 1… Assessment complete.
Adjusting to Phase 2 according to user level.
Suddenly, wings sprouted from the orb, and its size doubled.
From the size of a watermelon, it grew twice as large.
Deleting data.
Jhin gritted his teeth and dodged another blast from the monster. The only saving grace was that the beams fired only in the direction the creature looked.
'If I can predict its line of sight, I can dodge it.'
Zzzzzzhhhnnnng!
He triggered Distortion Step, leaping across rooftops. There was no room left to worry about NPCs now.
Besides, they were running away too—fleeing in panic from the very thing they'd summoned.
'They're the ones who called it here…!'
Frowning, he kicked off a crumbling wall, vaulting over more debris.
'The real problem is—I know absolutely nothing about that thing… hmm.'
He considered running away, but shook his head.
'No. As risky as it is, I need to gather intel now, while I can.'
Know thy enemy, know thyself, and you'll win a hundred battles.
His eyes shimmered gold as he dodged another beam, closer than before. He wasn't imagining it—the shots were getting faster.
"…And this still isn't its full power?"
Analyzing user status… Phase 3 activation conditions not met.
Maintaining Phase 2.
Entering a narrow alley, Jhin stooped to grab a small rock from the ground.
Then he hurled it at the creature still flying after him.
Ssshhk.
"…It erased that too."
So his backspace analogy had been closer to the truth than he thought.
Damn it. Not even close-range attacks worked.
Next, he conjured flame into one palm.
'Let's try magic…'
[Activating skill: Fireball (F).]
The firebolt screamed through the air—and disappeared without a trace. Just like everything else.
Jhin grimaced and picked up his pace.
'…Didn't even make a dent.'
As time passed, the thing grew more aggressive. Had the earlier stage been mere warm-up? The frequency of its beam attacks was increasing too.
And it clearly had a third phase.
'It's already pushing me to my limits—if it evolves again…'
Finally, Jhin triggered the Wing of the Dragon Fang and soared across the skies above Kanubis.
The moment wings unfurled behind him, the creature accelerated, keeping pace with terrifying speed.
'There has to be a strategy. No way this is just a regular monster…'
In truth, it was closer to a system function. Maybe even a program designed to erase a world once its service had ended.
In that case, level probably didn't matter.