Walking away from the smoking remains of the cavern was Metsuri, carrying Albion securely in her arms. Her pace was steady—almost comfortable—as if the life-or-death struggle that had just transpired belonged to another world entirely.
In her embrace, Albion sat quietly, his tiny hands holding his half-finished bottle of goat milk.
'I guess he enjoyed his meal,' Metsuri thought, her stoic expression unchanged. She recalled how, even during the height of the violence, the infant had simply continued to drink without a care. That was when the reality of his situation clicked in her mind.
'Right... he's probably been trapped in that fluid tank his entire life. He's never even tasted real milk before.'
She stopped walking, her dark gaze lowering to the child.
"…Hey, Albion." She gently tapped the glass bottle. "Do you even know what that is? It's called milk."
"Mmmhmm…!" Albion nodded softly, tilting his head.
Metsuri gave a small nod in return, trailing off into her own thoughts. "…Do you even understand what I did back there?"
"Mm… eeh…?" Albion tilted his head in the opposite direction, giving her no real answer beyond innocent confusion.
"I slaughtered that beast because I needed to survive," Metsuri said flatly, her grip on his small frame remaining steady. "Nothing more. Nothing complicated. And I feel absolutely no guilt for it. The worth of another life means nothing to me."
Her pitch-black eyes stayed trained forward, cold and unmoving.
"If you're weak, you simply become a tool for someone stronger to utilize. That is the first lesson I ever learned. If you're weak, you can't change a single thing. That is the law every living thing follows… whether they choose to accept it or not."
She resumed her steady stride. She didn't know if Albion could process the weight of her words, but she knew one thing for certain: he was not a normal child.
A human is typically born without understanding. They cannot walk. They cannot speak. Their fragile consciousness has not formed into structured thought, existing only as a chaotic rush of sensation—cold air biting sensitive skin, sudden pressure, loud sounds, and the ache of hunger.
There is no meaning assigned to the universe yet.
As time passes, cognitive patterns form inside the developing mind. Hunger becomes recognizable, physical discomfort gains a sharp definition, and what the world defines as a "human being" is built layer by layer through experience.
But Albion was different.
He had never tripped and felt the sting of the dirt floor. He had never tasted something sweet and learned the concept of pleasure on his tongue. When the Vulcan had snatched him earlier, he had not shed a single tear—not out of unique bravery, but because fear was not yet a concept his mind could comprehend.
Yet, despite that blank canvas of a mind, he clung to his bottle of milk.
That warm taste was new—his very first real experience of something beyond mere primal survival. Albion Ebonveil had only just begun to form his sense of self.
His fuchsia-colored eyes—soft and red-pink like fading embers—remained fixed directly on Metsuri's cold, black gaze as they stepped out under the open sky.
Metsuri came to a slow stop and scanned the treeline. "…I need to get to Darry to secure a place to stay," she muttered.
She considered using Floating Magic to cover the distance through the sky, but quickly dismissed the thought. After betraying her clan, conserving every drop of magic power was a survival necessity.
"…No. I need to conserve energy. That means proper preparation."
Stepping forward, she gently placed Albion onto a patch of soft grass.
"…Mrr…?" Albion tilted his head up, watching her every action with quiet curiosity.
Metsuri stood in front of him, bringing her hands together in a precise, prayer-like formation before her chest. Magic power gathered tightly between her palms, flowing smoothly.
"Six edges, six truths—align and stand eternal. From the frame that none may fracture."
A faint, crystalline glow bloomed between her pressed hands. Soft, drifting shapes manifested around her silhouette—ethereal white butterflies constructed entirely of pure, high-density magical aura, drifting through the forest air like falling starlight.
"Bind the space between… unbroken, unmoving. Hexagon Barrier!"
A transparent, geometric barrier erupted around Albion. Six perfect, interlocking sides formed a seamless defensive shell, locking into place with alignment as faint lines of white light traced each sharp edge.
"That should keep you safe," Metsuri said, exhaling as the light-butterflies faded. "I don't need you wandering off the moment my back is turned."
She turned to survey the path ahead, but froze instantly.
Standing directly before her was a bipedal, octopus-shaped magical beast, towering three meters in height. Dull gray and dark blue tones coated its thick hide like layers of cold oceanic sediment. From its upper torso extended two elongated, heavily muscled arms. Where a human head should have been, its form twisted into a distorted fusion of skull and cephalopod architecture, subtle tentacles twitching at its jaw.
Metsuri let out an exhausted sigh. "…And who exactly are you supposed to be?"
"Blrrrghhh… Glorp… glorp…" the beast gurgled.
Without sparing the creature another glance, Metsuri turned around and fluidly scooped Albion up—still safely encased within his glowing hexagonal shell. Balancing the barrier on the top of her heel, she snapped her leg upward in a controlled kick.
Albion shot high into the air, suspended several meters above the treeline by her active Floating Magic.
Metsuri turned back toward the aquatic creature. 'My priority right now is keeping Albion unharmed. If possible, I'll avoid an unneeded skirmish.'
Despite her lethal training, Metsuri didn't actively enjoy killing. At least… that was what she chose to believe about herself.
"Hey. You," she called out calmly. "Do you understand human speech? My only priority is protecting the package above us. The only reason I slaughtered that Vulcan earlier was because it took him hostage. So if you'd just step aside and let us pass… I'd highly appreciate it."
The creature tilted its head sideways. "tkk… tkk… wrrrl?"
An awkward silence lingering over the clearing was shattered as the beast bent its muscular legs and charged.
"GGRRRAAAALLLP!!!"
"…Yeah," Metsuri sighed, her forced smile vanishing. "I'll just have to show you the difference between our levels."
Within the blink of an eye, the monster closed the distance, its massive fists crashing down in a relentless barrage that shattered the soil into a widening crater. By sheer physical strength alone, it vastly surpassed the raw power of the Vulcan.
When the dust settled, the beast stood panting, waiting to see its crushed prey.
"Sesshoku-zan."
In a fraction of a second, a series of thin, precise lacerations carved across both of the beast's arms. The monster recoiled violently, a heavy spray of blood spilling freely from the wounds. It froze in utter confusion—it hadn't detected her movement at all.
"Do you see it now?" her cold voice drifted from within the dust cloud as she emerged unscathed. "It doesn't matter if you hit harder than a landslide. You still possess zero chance of beating me."
She casually brushed dirt off her white shoulder cloak, clicking her tongue. "…Tch. I literally just stole these clothes."
"Gluuuurrrk… tch… tch…" The beast clicked its appendages in pure irritation.
Turning away, it stomped toward a massive, deep-rooted tree at the edge of the clearing. Wrapping its bleeding hands around the trunk with a guttural groan, it yanked backward, ripping the massive tree clean from its roots. Hoisting the trunk like a colossal club, it turned back to face her and charged.
"KRRAAAL-CHKKK!!!"
The massive tree swung in a lethal arc aimed directly at Metsuri's skull. Instead of crushing her, the heavy section of wood exploded into millions of flying splinters, breaking apart on contact as if it had slammed directly into an absolute, localized field of solid iron.
"KKRRK!? …GLORRRGH—!" The beast froze mid-swing.
Instinct overtaking confusion, it leaped backward, hurling the remaining fragment of the trunk forward like a projectile.
"This is such a chore…" Metsuri dropped her stance slightly. "Suntetsu."
Her ninjatō flashed from her hip. A compressed, crescent-shaped blade of white energy erupted from her draw, slicing through the incoming tree trunk with precision. The wood split into dozens of sharp splinters that scattered mid-air like arrows.
In that same motion, Metsuri exploded forward, stepping through the gaps of falling debris. Her heel snapped upward, striking one of the heavy wooden splinters flush. The launched fragment shot forward like a high-caliber bullet, striking the beast the exact moment its feet touched the ground.
"GRRRAAAH—!!"
The jagged wooden shard pierced deep into its abdomen. The massive creature staggered, dropping heavily to one knee as a pool of dark blood seeped into the earth. It yanked the splinter out, pressing its free hand violently against the wound to keep its internal organs intact.
"You'll bleed to death at this rate," Metsuri said, sheathing her blade. "Blame your own primitive arrogance."
The beast responded with a low growl, raising its webbed hand. A sphere of pure white light manifested above its palm—bright, highly volatile, and dense with magical power. It detonated the blast, firing a beam of concentrated light straight through the atmosphere.
Metsuri simply stepped an inch to the side as the beam struck the earth, causing a violent explosion. She rolled smoothly across the dirt, sliding into a balanced crouch.
'It can use Light Magic? The exact same attribute as my raw energy.'
"KRAAAL-CHKKK!!!"
Another sphere formed, but this time, the creature fractured the cast mid-flight, splitting the magic into multiple separate rays of concentrated light that fanned outward like glowing spears.
Metsuri exhaled, tapping her foot against the ground. "Glass Barrier."
A transparent, rectangular wall resembling thick glass surged upward from the earth. The rays of light struck the surface, colliding with a loud hum before scattering harmlessly into the trees.
"Did your primitive brain truly believe I only knew a single barrier spell?" Metsuri walked forward as the glass wall sank back into the soil. "I should have slaughtered you from the very beginning. There is no point in attempting to reason with a beast."
The creature tensed, inhaling deeply as if swallowing the atmosphere.
"GGRRRAAAALLLP!!!" A deafening acoustic war cry erupted from its throat, shaking the surrounding trees.
'A war cry?' Metsuri observed, stepping directly in front of its face mid-scream. 'It means nothing.'
"I'll utilize this variation," she whispered, her eyes sharpening to a lethal point. "A close-range execution technique best used to bypass internal durability entirely. Sesshoku-zan."
With a single, fluid swing of her bare arm—
SKLCH!
silence fell over the clearing. A second later, the beast's three-meter frame didn't merely fall—it split into perfect, uniform cubes. Precise, cuts divided its flesh into countless fragments, scattering its remains across the grass before flames erupted, consuming every ounce of flesh until nothing remained but drifting ash.
"This is the natural conclusion when you are weak," Metsuri stated flatly. "And that's that. I should probably bring Albion back down now."
Quake.
Quake.
Quake.
Slow, immensely heavy footsteps began to approach the clearing from all directions, making the ground tremble.
Metsuri's gaze sharpened as she turned around. Out from the dense foliage, several massive, towering silhouettes emerged. Each one stood at least fifteen meters in height—humanoid in shape, but far more distorted and imposing.
"…I don't understand," Metsuri whispered dangerously. "Where did this many beasts come from?"
Then, tactical realization struck.
"…The acoustic war cry from before. Was that a wide-range signal?"
One by one, the fifteen-meter titans advanced, closing the perimeter around her. Metsuri reached up, pulling her black cloth mantle higher to cover her lower face.
A quiet, annoyed sigh escaped her mask.
"…Now the entire forest itself is deemed a threat. What a massive pain."