The group made slow progress through the bowels of the underground complex, treading uneven ground strewn with black sap, broken shells and chitinous debris. The slightest step could trigger an ambush. Since the Megamant’s brutal elimination, the monsters hadn’t become less numerous - just more cautious. And more violent.
The mutant insects they now faced no longer charged in disorganized packs. They harassed, flanked, hurled jets of corrosive acid into blind spots, then retreated, crawling along the walls like shadows. Some spat clouds of paralyzing poison. Others possessed hooks that vibrated at supersonic frequencies, rendering mages unable to concentrate.
And yet... the team held together.
Roland took charges with tank-like precision, his mana solidifying his skin like basalt. Ivy conjured impressive walls of ice to trap the most aggressive or slow them down before Isaac or Jonah could cut them to pieces. Nael would emerge from invisible shadows to stab acid glands before they could project their venom, then disappear as quickly as he’d come. Sanae, stoic, chanted healing songs and diffused her regenerative halos even under pressure.
He moved like a living blade. His katana split the air, his mana blending with his movements. He linked Shidensen to strike the joints, then Raijinzan to pierce the shells. He used [Vol] to leap above assaults, and as soon as the creatures’ poison got close, his system intervened.
[Would you like to absorb physical stats or a physical skill?]
Isaac selected [Physical skills] without hesitation.
[Venom Skin - Partial immunity to poison (Lv1)]
And as the battle went on, the skill grew:
[Venom Skin - Lv2: Total immunity to weak poisons / Reduction of moderate effects]
[Venom Skin - Lv3: Effects of poisons are analyzed and neutralized more quickly].
He felt his skin and internal organs react differently. His breathing no longer slowed in toxic gases. His throat no longer burned. His blood was no longer affected.
He became... resistant. He was evolving.
The group was beginning to run out of steam when, at last, the final cavern opened up before them.
A gigantic organic chamber. Gleaming stalagmites, as if woven from biological glands, rose from the floor. In the center... an enormous nest. White mucus, cracked eggs... and insect remains everywhere, reduced to bloody mush.
But something wasn’t right.
Isaac felt the chill, the tension in his mana core. His heart began to beat faster. His sensory perception, amplified by his scales, suddenly lit up.
His eyes turned orange.
- Stop," he murmured. Something’s wrong...
- Where’s the boss?" asked Roland.
Ivy moved forward, looking around.
And then they all saw him.
In the center, where the Insectoid Queen should have been...
Her corpse lay disemboweled. Her carapace broken in two, her brain splintered, her chitinous spine snapped like a twig.
And sitting on his corpse’s throne, someone was watching them.
A humanoid figure. Imposing, muscular, upright as a statue. He wore black armor veined with red, plates of an unknown metal, vaguely reptilian, hugging every curve of his body like a second skin. His skin was charcoal gray, his eyes yellow, slit like a dragon’s. But above all... it was her presence.
The group became dizzy. As if the air around him were too heavy, as if gravity had thickened. No words. No gestures. Just his eyes, planted in Isaac’s.
Not a word. But all was said.
He recognized that energy. That magical scent. That draconic aura that didn’t belong here.
Not a thoroughbred. No, he didn’t have the imposing form or wings of a nobleman. But he was a warrior. An agent. A silent killer. Sent here... to eliminate.
And judging by the way he’d slaughtered the boss without leaving a single drop of blood on him... he was awfully efficient.
Isaac didn’t move. But his heart was pounding. His brain, in a state of cold post-combat lucidity, connected the dots:
- They’re already here. They’ve already sent out scouts. They know. They’ve spotted me. And this... is only the first.
- Who is this guy?" murmured Jonah, gun ready and outstretched.
- He killed the boss for us..." stammered Sanae.
- He’s not human," gasped Isaac. Stay behind me.
- What do you mean he’s not human?" snapped Ivy, taking a step back.
The creature stood up.
Almost calmly, its imposing silhouette silhouetted against the strange greenish glow of the crystals. Its armor seemed alive, black as soot, streaked with crimson lines. His gaze stared at Isaac... but also beyond. As if gauging.
A guttural, unfamiliar dialect, rolled down his throat, with sibilant consonants and low tones that cracked like whiplashes. A foreign language, ancient, and above all non-human.
- "Vesh’tak oruun d’makar..."
- What language is that?" murmured Sanae, confused.
- What’s he talking in?" said Jonah, raising his weapon suspiciously.
- No magical translation system picks up this dialect," added a tense Nael.
Isaac remained frozen. But in his head, the words lined up clearly, as if they’d been translated the second they were spoken.
- Observation completed. Result: non-compliant. Power level above expected average."
- "Protocol 7 initiated: group eliminated."
Her temples pulsed. His heart was pounding. He understood.
But he showed nothing. Not an expression. Not a breath. He clenched his jaw and kept his gaze neutral. Under no circumstances was he to arouse suspicion.
The warrior inclined his head slightly. Not towards Isaac... but towards the whole group. Like a beast contemplating meat to be sliced.
And suddenly... he disappeared.
Not an incantation. Not a magic circle. Just... speed.
The ground exploded beneath his feet. A sound of air breaking, like a dull detonation, preceded a flash of shadow.
- IT’S DISAPPEARING!" shouted Roland.
- I CAN’T SEE IT!" cried Ivy.
Isaac opened his eyes wide. He managed to perceive a rip in the air, a blurred silhouette melting towards them at superhuman speed.
He wanted to scream. But it was too late.
A wet noise. Clean. A figure thrown backwards.
Naël collapsed, half his torso severed. He hadn’t even had time to scream. His empty gaze remained fixed on the ceiling, incredulous.
- NO!" screamed Sanae, running towards him.
The draconic creature reappeared upright, in its original position. As if it had never moved. Its blade was dripping black liquid.
They’ve started. They’re already here. And they’re not testing portals anymore. They’re testing... the fighters.
He stared at the assassin.
And this time, it was personal. The next moment, Isaac was already moving.
Anger and fear mingled in his veins like molten steel. Nael was dead. Brutally, without a sound. Without glory. Lightning struck.
The draconic warrior was no ordinary adversary. He was a weapon. An executioner. A blade sent to slice away hopes.
But Isaac... was no longer the E-rank kid he’d once been.
He let out a short, hoarse cry, and his mana exploded around him.
A glowing halo surrounded his body, his mana core spinning at full speed like a hungry engine. Ethereal wings sprouted from his shoulder blades, pure manifestations of compressed mana, vibrating in the cavern’s heavy air.
The dragon watched him hurtle towards it at superhuman speed, Shidensen splitting the air. The violet flash of the lightning kata lit up the room, and the katana struck at the creature’s throat.
But the blade passed right through.
The dragon had faded... at the same rate.
- Can he keep up with my speed?!
Behind him, a blade whistled. Isaac pivoted, narrowly dodged, unleashed Narukami, and disappeared sideways through a spray of mana.
The clash between their weapons cracked the ground.
- Damn it," Jonah muttered, backing away with the others. Is he fighting it alone?
- He fights... like a monster," replied Roland, his mouth agape.
The duel was inhumanly intense.
Isaac appeared and disappeared, chaining techniques together, his feet pounding the ground to trigger mini-earthquakes, slowing down his opponent, creating an opening. Several times, the dragon almost skewered him.
But with each fatal attack, Isaac triggered Intangibility. His body turned into an elusive mist, and the blade sliced through the void.
For a moment, their eyes met at point-blank range. Isaac saw the cold astonishment in his opponent’s reptilian eyes. Not human surprise, but analytical recognition.
The dragon leapt back, planted his sword in the ground, and muttered to himself.
- "These techniques... this speed... this intangibility... It’s impossible."
Isaac, still straining, heard. And understood.
And his blood ran cold.
- "I’ve seen it... in the other world. In a slave’s house."
He froze for a split second. The dragon was looking straight at him.
- "You’re not supposed to exist... in both worlds."
Isaac felt his orange pupil pulsate, his heart stop.
The link between his two identities. Mordred... and Isaac.
But the warrior still didn’t seem sure. He observed him now as an anomaly. An unstable factor. A problem in the equation.
And Isaac knew, in a flash of lucidity:
If he figures out who I am... he’ll kill me. And he won’t stop there. He’ll trace it back to me. To Léna. To my world. To Paris.
He clenched his katana until his palms bled.
Then I must kill him. Right here. Now