At this mont, Kobayashi Rindou stood besides her father, Kobayashi Ieyasu, the high-ranking Superintendent whose very presence commanded the respect of the dozens of officers swarming the staging area.
The night was alive with the strobing blue and red of police lights, reflecting off the polished hoods of a dozen patrol cars.
The cool air was shrouded with the scent of exhaust and the heavy, tallic tension of an impending raid as they waited for the perfect mont to rush to the Kurosaki Family manor.
Ieyasu was checking his watch, his face a mask of stern duty, while Rindou stood beside him, her long ponytail swaying slightly in the evening breeze.
Her hand rested on the hilt of her wooden shinai—a weapon that, in her hands, was more lethal than any service pistol.
Just then, Rindou felt her phone vibrate against her thigh.
Thinking that it might be Seijirou sending an update or perhaps just checking in, a small, genuine smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
She imdiately pulled it out to check the screen, but her expression shifted to one of mild disappointnt when the ID revealed it was only Tadano Taro.
They had exchanged contacts so ti ago since Taro was the one who had first ntioned the masked man, and Rindou had deed it necessary to keep the witness within reach.
"Strange, why is he sending his location?" Rindou frowned, her thumb hovering over the screen.
The ssage was a simple GPS pin. There were no accompanying words, no frantic explanations, and no context, it was just a simple digital heartbeat pulsing on a map of the residential district.
She tried calling him imdiately to see if sothing was wrong, but the ringing tone just keeps echoing in her ear, yet there was no answer.
She followed up with a quick text, but the "Read" receipt never appeared.
At that mont, a prickle of unease, a refined instinct honed by training she received from her grandfather who spent decades of hunting supernatural anomalies, crawled up her spine.
Sothing was wrong.
Sothing was really wrong.
That guys, Taro, was timid beyond reason, and he will never do sothing like this just to get attention.
She turned toward her father, her eyes sharp. "Dad, can you give a ride? Or lend a car? An acquaintance of mine might be in serious trouble. It’s not that far, and the raid probably won’t happen soon."
Ieyasu looked at the map on her phone and then back at his daughter’s determined face.
He frowned, knowing the importance of the Kurosaki raid, but he also trusted Rindou’s intuition above almost anyone else’s.
So without much questions, he turned toward a nearby officer and barked an order. "Hey! Bring a car here! Now! And get two n to follow her!"
Rindou turned her gaze back to her phone, her grip tightening on the device. ’Tadano Taro... if you’re really in danger, you’d better hold on until I arrive.’
*
*
*
"Gah!?"
Taro’s world spun as he was slamd down onto the cracked linoleum floor of the abandoned apartnt.
The impact knocked the wind from his lungs, and he felt the sickening pop of a rib fracturing.
The entity hovered above him, its hundreds of mouths laughing in a discordant, bubbling harmony. "This is what you get for refusing ! This is the price of your pathetic pride!"
Taro reached out, his fingers digging into the smoky, translucent limbs of the creature as he gathered every ounce of his remaining strength and sent a Ki-infused punch straight into the mass of eyes.
But his fist passed through the entity’s body as if it were nothing but cold fog, completely having no effect.
Instead, the entity simply manifested another limb and slamd him down once again, pinning him to the floor with crushing weight.
"I really like tornting humans," the entity whispered, a dozen tongues lolling out in anticipation. "They are so fun to break. Their hope tastes like a fine cuisine, and their despair... ah, their despair is like fine wine."
Taro gritted his teeth, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
His mind was racing, fueled by the cold clarity of near-death as he thought that, if he can only do what that entity can; create those limbs from thin air, maybe he can try and hit it as well... His eyes widened in a sudden, sharp realization.
’If it can materialize limbs from its spirit body,’ he thought, ’then why can’t I do the sa? If Ki is energy, it shouldn’t just stay inside my body... it should be able to take a shape.’
He stopped fighting the grip of the entity and instead closed his eyes, focusing all the warmth in his core into his right palm.
Although he doesn’t know if it’ll work, but he knew one thing, he didn’t just want to hit the thing; he wanted to cut it.
The entity laughed as it raised a sharp limb to strike once again, but this ti, Taro reacted.
He swung his hand in a wide, desperate arc, and under the stunned gaze of the entity, the limb that was about to pierce through Taro’s skull was actually severed, dissolving into foul-slling black mist.
Taro scrambled to his feet, using a burst of speed to jump back and gain distance as he stood in a low crouch, breathing heavily.
At this mont, in his right hand, he held a flickering, glowing blue light.
It was flickering and unstable, but it had a distinct edge—a blade made of pure, compressed Ki.
[Skill Acquired!]
[KI Blade (D) - By compressing the user’s Ki outwards and manifesting it into a focused edge, the user can create a weapon of pure energy.]
The entity stared at its stump of a limb, its hundreds of eyes twitching in a synchronized wave of fury.
It let out a loud, piercing screech that vibrated through the very walls of the building.
"You sliver of at! You dare!?"
It lunged, no longer playing as it began to beat against Taro with a dozen limbs at once, moving with a chaotic, frenzied speed.
The sound of its screeching was a physical assault, causing Taro’s vision to blur and his focus to slip.
He tried to parry, his Ki blade clashing against the shadowy limbs with a sound like humming electricity, but he was simply overwheld by the sheer volu of attacks.
Finally, his concentration broke.
The Ki blade dissipated into sparks as the entity landed a crushing blow to his chest, slamming him down to the floor, and before he could roll away, a spear-like limb descended, piercing through his chest with a wet, sickening sound.
It pinned him to the floorboards for a heartbeat before being ripped out, causing a violent spray of blood to paint the dust-covered floor.
"Ah!" Taro’s scream was cut short as his body went into shock.
He slumped back, his vision rapidly fading into a tunnel of gray and black, the only thing he was seeing was the puddle of blood beginning to form.
Ah... I’m going to die.
The thought was surprisingly quiet.
And honestly, it wasn’t as scary as he thought.
It’s just...
He felt disappointed.
Dying like the pathetic loser that I am... in an empty room where no one will find .
He let out a hollow, bloody wheeze.
Heh... what was I even expecting? That the System made special? That I would suddenly awaken so mysterious power and beco a hero who saves the day?
How pitiful. Even in my final monts, I can only keep on dreaming about being sothing I’m not.
The entity lood over him, "Die slowly. This can be considered as the price for refusing ."
Die slowly?
Hah. Truly pathetic.
Well, it’s not like my life has any value anyway.
I have no friends, I have no one that cares for , even my parents all think that I’m a disappointnt.
So, maybe dying isn’t so bad after all?
...No!
Taro’s fingers twitched, digging into the floorboards as he gritted his teeth, a spark of pure, unadulterated stubbornness igniting in his soul.
He forced his Ki to circulate, not toward his limbs, but toward the gaping hole in his chest, desperately trying to cauterize the wound and prevent his lifeblood from spilling away.
I don’t want to die yet!
I don’t want to die without even being able to change myself for the better!
I want to be a man... just like him! I want to stand on that finish line too!
Before I can beco soone who can raise his head high with pride... there is no way I will die here!
Slowly, impossibly, Taro began to push himself up, his legs were trembling so violently they threatened to snap, and his vision was a hazy red, but he rose.
He stood amongst the rubble, a picture perfect image of a broken, blood-soaked boy who refused to stay down.
"Persistent... little... maggot," the entity hissed, its forms roiling in frustration.
Taro raised a shaking hand, his fingers curling into a fist as despite the blood leaking from his chest, despite the fact that he felt like he was about to collapse into a thousand pieces, his gaze remained firm and locked onto the monster.
"Co on!" he croaked, a bloody smirk on his face. "You think... a little toothpick like that... is enough to kill !? I’ve had worse... from the gym teacher!"
The entity’s mouths all opened at once, a terrifying roar building in its throat. "Very well! I will devour you whole and let your soul scream for eternity!"
The entity’s aura flared, releasing a black tide of energy that shook Taro to his very soul.
He braced himself, gathering the last of his Ki for one final, suicidal charge.
...
...
...But the attack never ca.
Slowly, Taro raised his head, and his eyes widened as in a single, silent flash of movent, the entity had been bisected, and a clean, glowing line appeared across its middle, and the creature’s scream was cut short.
"W-What... Im... Impossible..." the entity muttered, its hundreds of eyes rolling back.
Its body began to dissipate into a foul, black smoke, as if declaring that the entity of the mask was crumbling into nothingness.
And there, standing behind the vanishing mist, was Kobayashi Rindou.
She held a simple wooden shinai in her hands, her posture as graceful and noble as a princess from a forgotten era.
She didn’t have a speck of dust on her uniform, and her presence radiating a calm, overwhelming authority.
She turned toward Taro, seeing his mangled state, and offered him a small, rare smile. "Well done, Tadano-kun. You held your ground."
Taro felt a massive wave of relief wash over him.
The adrenaline that had been keeping his heart beating finally ran out, and his knees gave way.
Before he could say a word, his vision went dark, and he passed out.
The last thing his fading consciousness perceived was a flurry of blue light—the System screen delivering its final verdict.
[Ergency Quest: Complete!]
[Issuing Rewards....]
[All Stats Increased by 10!]
[Skill: Ki Manipulation (A) has been acquired!]
[Origin is Awakening....]
[Based on Host’s performance during the quest, Host’s Origin has awakened as...]
[Origin: ENDEAVOR - The power of to persist. This Origin allows the host to transcend his limits through sheer repetition and effort. The more the host struggles and refuses to yield, the faster his growth becos. "Endeavor" turns every scar into a permanent stat boost and every failure into a stepping stone for evolution. You are the one who climbs the mountain, step by agonizing step, until you look down upon the gods.]
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