Since the mont I harnessed ether and awakened my quirk—
Ice.
I'd been having this feeling.
This strange, inexplicable feeling.
I can't put it into words, but it's as though there's a sothing inside .
A power I just can't fit into words.
It's there.
But I can't grasp it.
It's not my bloodline; I don't know how I know that—I just do.
It's sothing else. But what?
"Hah," I sighed deeply, opening my eyes once more, staring at the horror before .
I was screwed.
Royally screwed.
I didn't even know where to focus my attacks—the monster was everywhere.
I was exactly where it wanted to be.
I regarded the mass of flesh lunging for . My sword struck true, but at that mont, my instincts scread. Another sword manifested in my left hand, and I launched into the air. Spinning mid-flight, I slashed at the grotesque hands reaching for from every direction.
BAM!
I landed, but the mass of flesh had already closed in. I was powerless to stop or thwart its attack.
BOOM!
It slamd hard against the fleshy wall behind . Then, hands erupted from the walls themselves, grabbing hold of .
FUCKING LET GO!
I scread. Suddenly, the hands froze solid.
At this point, I was risking mana pool combustion with every ounce of ether I used, but I had no choice. If I didn't use it, I was dood. If I did… well, I was still dood.
With a desperate surge of strength, I shattered their icy grip and dashed forward, closing the gap between myself and the grotesque mass of flesh before it could reform. My blade slashed at random, tearing into the writhing monstrosity, but every wound I inflicted regenerated instantly. It was hopeless.
BOOM!
The creature retaliated, striking with a solid hit. I went flying.
It was futile.
I was fucked.
That was the cold, hard truth.
"Argh," I coughed, spitting blood as I fell to one knee. The beast's other hand morphed into claws and lashed straight for my face. Quick reflexes saved —I raised the broad side of my sword just in ti. The impact rattled my entire body, and my arm felt as though it would snap in two. But I held firm, barely holding my own against the abomination.
"Die," I growled through clenched teeth, channeling the last remnants of ether in my mana pool. Frost spread from my blade, creeping up the creature's arm. It realized too late what was happening and tried to retreat, but I surged forward, pouring every drop of energy into the attack.
In an instant, the monstrous limb froze—a solid block of ice.
"Hah…" I exhaled, sweat trailing down my face as I surveyed the frozen mass. Its arm stretched outward like so grotesque statue.
I turned back, my relief evaporating as the floor writhed before . Suddenly, an arm began to crawl out from the ground, like a person erging from water.
"No…"
I stumbled back, colliding with the block of ice. Gripping my sword tightly, I rushed forward before the figures could fully manifest.
"Urgh," I groaned, slashing at them with everything I had. But the more I cut them down, the more they rose from the ground. I was determined to stop them. If they coalesced into another mass like the one I'd just frozen, I wouldn't just be screwed—I'd be dead.
I slashed and slashed, reckless and desperate. But then—those hands again. I looked down and realized they'd grabbed my knees.
Slash!
I hacked at them with abandon, trying to free myself from their relentless grip. But the more I slashed, the more they multiplied.
AHH!
Pain erupted in the soles of my feet, sharp and excruciating, as though the floor itself had turned to knives. My shoes felt sticky, and I didn't need to look to know I was bleeding.
Before I could recover, a hand seized my right wrist. I froze it instantly, but more hands grabbed hold. I lashed out with my left-hand sword, but the agony in my legs intensified, creeping up to my calves. My vision blurred as the pain consud .
Then, the hands latched onto my left wrist as well.
I was powerless.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I scread, channeling every last drop of ether into one final act of defiance.
In an instant, everything around turned to solid ice.
But the victory was short-lived.
More fleshy hands surged forward in a blur of motion, grabbing hold of and pulling down until I collapsed to my knees.
At this point, my legs were history. I looked forward, and the last flicker of hope I had was extinguished. Before stood a battalion of those flesh monsters I had barely managed to take down earlier. These ones, though—they looked even more powerful and far nastier than the one before. And now, there were so many of them.
I… am going to die here, aren't I?
… No.
No.
I can't die like this.
I can't waste Lily's sacrifice like this!
I can't die… NOT NOW!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I roared, mustering every ounce of strength I could to pull free from the grip of the fleshy hands. But—
SPLASH!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" This ti, it wasn't a roar of determination. It was a cry of pain—a pain that transcended pain—as both my arms were ripped out of their sockets. I was left there, armless, writhing in unbelievable agony. But the hands didn't stop. Instead, they surged forward, sensing my weakness, and wrapped around my body.
No.
Not like this.
It can't end like this.
My eyes drifted upward, locking onto the face above. That twisted grin filled with malevolent glee made my blood boil, but I couldn't do anything.
I had lost.
I wasn't strong enough.
I had gotten ahead of myself.
"Haah… Hah… Hah…" I panted, blood pouring from my wounds, staining the fleshy ground beneath . The ground seed to drink it in eagerly.
This was what the creature wanted all along.
My blood.
I looked ahead, watching the horde of flesh monsters rushing to finish off.
…It's ironic, really.
I ca here determined to hunt down this creature and make it my prey.
But now…
I had beco the prey.
Even with all my knowledge of the situation. Even knowing from the very start that this house was a trap, designed to lure in unsuspecting victims.
I had deluded myself into thinking I was the predator.
But… there's still so much I want to know. So much I want to uncover.
What were those visions I saw? Were they real? Or was the creature simply toying with my mind?
But if—by so chance—they were true… then why?
Why couldn't I rember them all this ti?
Doesn't that an I'm the one who paved the way for my own downfall?
Doesn't it an I'm… responsible for all the tornt I've endured?
I've always hated fate, despised it more than anything in my life. But… could it be that I am the fate of my own life?
Haah…
I exhaled as the first creature reached , its attack slamming into my broken body with imnse force. The next thing I knew, I was flying across the room.
BOOM!
I crashed to the ground, my head lolling to the side, my body unable to hold itself up.
"Ugh… Argh!" I coughed up more blood. My mind was slipping, my consciousness fading. I was so tired. So unbearably tired. But I tried to hold on.
I didn't want to give up.
I didn't want to die a aningless death—not again.
I didn't want to waste the second chance Lily gave , paying the price with her own life.
Why am I so stupid?
At this point I don't even know what to bla anymore.
Those... visions I saw, it complicated my already complicated feelings.
Why am I here?
What am I even here for?
I....
... don't know.
I am just... here, a pawn in ga I may never co to understand.
Sighs.
At that mont, when I was no longer able to stay awake—
It ca to .
It was like a forgotten mory.
At that mont, I suddenly understood it.
I grasped the feeling at last, and realized the true aning of the elusive power that had been inside since the incident with Lily.
The knowledge I suddenly gained, it was like back when I woke up in this world.
I never learned the language of this place, yet I understood it as if it were second nature.
Perhaps this is the very sa sensation felt by all who awaken their bloodline.
At that very mont, before I lost consciousness—
I finally connected with the power.
It fused with .
And then, in an instant, I felt it.
A strange, overwhelming feeling surged through .
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