Haruto's mind raced as the pieces clicked into place. Of course. Achieving a level beyond 84 at such a young age was biologically and mathematically impossible in this world's system. He had been right—Daisy wasn't just a prodigy; she was something else entirely.
Daisy stared at him for a long moment, and then, a slow, cold laugh escaped her lips. It wasn't the laugh of a Commander, but of someone who had finally found a long-lost secret.
"I knew it," she said, her voice dripping with a mix of relief and mockery. "I thought, how could I be wrong? I never miss a beat. But you... you're such a fool."
She stepped closer to him, her eyes scanning him with clinical detachment. "Even if you are a reincarnator, you're still just a Level 6. That means you're essentially a newborn in this world's hierarchy. You just woke up from a coma, and after thirty minutes of jumping around in this wasteland, your stamina must be at its absolute limit. You're running on fumes."
She turned back to the vehicle, her tone hardening again. "I was going to leave you here alive, but if you're stupid enough to confront me and think you can survive, then fine. Be my guest. I'm done wasting my time."
Daisy looked at Retro and held out her hand. "Retro, weaponized form. Maximum output."
"As you wish, Master!" Retro chirped. In a flash of nanotech light, he transformed. The weapon that materialized in Daisy's grip was no longer the sleek railgun from before; it was a massive, jagged cannon, pulsing with a volatile, glowing purple energy that seemed to distort the very air around it.
Haruto stood his ground, his heart pounding in his chest. "Wait! Before you kill me, at least tell me... which god are you the reincarnation of?"
Daisy tightened her grip on the cannon, her face devoid of mercy. "I'll grant you that final wish. I am the reincarnation of the Goddess of Technology."
Haruto stared at her, stunned. "You hunt other reincarnators? Why?"
Daisy's eyes flashed with a cold, divine ambition. "Your native god didn't tell you? Every god is hunting the others. We are all locked in a cycle of devouring our kin to reach the apex. You're just a seed right now, Haruto—a nobody—but my calculations show that in the future, you have the potential to become a threat to my throne."
She raised the massive purple cannon, the barrel charging with enough energy to erase the entire crater.
"The only way to ensure my path to the top is clear," she said, her voice echoing with a hollow, godly resonance, "is to erase the threats before they even begin to bloom. Goodbye, Haruto."
The purple energy reached a blinding intensity. Daisy's finger brushed the trigger, the power ready to annihilate him
Just as Daisy's finger began to squeeze the trigger, a surge of adrenaline rushed through Haruto—a strange mix of heart-stopping terror and exhilarating excitement. This is it, he thought. If I don't trigger my Emotional Resonance now, I'm dead.
He focused all his energy inward, forcing his emotions to spike. In that split second, the system glitched violently. Haruto's HUD flickered, transforming before his eyes.
[SYSTEM ALERT: EMOTIONAL RESONANCE DETECTED][LEVEL GLITCH TRIGGERED]
Haruto stared at the screen in disbelief. His [Creation] level, which had been at 6, and his [Nothingness] level at 2, were both skyrocketing. They bypassed 10, 30, 50... until they locked firmly at Level 60.
[CHOICE REQUIRED: CHOOSE YOUR ASCENSION PATH: CREATION OR NOTHINGNESS]
He had already seen the destructive potential of Creation. He tapped [Nothingness].
Instantly, his body shuddered. The half black streaks in his hair turned whole white, and his eyes shifted into a deep, piercing crimson. A cold, silent pressure radiated from him, silencing the hum of Daisy's cannon.
Everything became crystal clear. He could see Daisy's true level—Level 89. He could see Retro's core glowing with SSS-Rank energy. He could even feel the crushing atmospheric pressure of Layer 5 as if it were nothing. Most terrifyingly, he could read Daisy's surface thoughts like open text: 'He's... he's glowing? What is this energy? It's not magic... it's a void.'
Daisy fired. The massive purple beam roared toward him, capable of vaporizing anything in its path. But Haruto didn't flinch. He didn't even move.
The beam hit him, but instead of an explosion, the energy simply... dissolved. It vanished into the black aura surrounding him, eaten by the Nothingness.
Haruto stood in the center of the smoke, his body enveloped in a chilling, white aura. Daisy stared at him, her mouth agape, her cannon vibrating uncontrollably as it struggled to maintain energy. She didn't have the eyes to see what he saw; she only knew that her ultimate attack had been nullified by a boy who was supposed to be a Level 6.
"What..." Daisy whispered, her voice trembling for the first time. "What are you?"
Haruto stood amidst the swirling dust, his crimson eyes glowing with a calm, predatory intensity. He let out a dry, chilling laugh. "Now... shall we play a real game, Daisy?"
Daisy's railgun-cannon sagged slightly, her face pale. "You aren't Level 6... you aren't even close. Tell me the truth. Which god are you the reincarnation of?"
Haruto locked eyes with her, his presence now so heavy it made the very air around them vibrate. "I'm not just one, Daisy. I'm the reincarnation of two: the God of Creation and the God of Nothingness."
Daisy's reaction was immediate. She recoiled as if he had struck her. "Stop the jokes! That's not funny. The God of Creation is a supreme power—there isn't a body in existence that could withstand even a fraction of that power. And to hold it alongside the power of Nothingness? That's impossible. You're talking nonsense!"
Haruto didn't flinch. He just held her gaze, his expression unchanging. "Believe what you want. It doesn't change the truth."
Suddenly, Retro materialized out of thin air, his metallic form shaking. He didn't look like an SSS-Rank weapon spirit anymore; he looked terrified.
"Master!" Retro shouted, his voice flickering with static. "Listen to him! I was confused before, but I just performed a deep-core scan. When I looked at his aura, it was so massive, so incomprehensible, that it nearly fried my processors. And when I tried to look into his 'Nothingness'... it was like staring into an infinite void where no data exists at all!"
Retro pulsed a frantic blue light. "He's not lying, Master. The data... the data matches the ancient myths of the Dual-Gods!"
Daisy looked from the trembling spirit to Haruto, her hands shaking slightly. The reality of the situation was settling in: she hadn't just rescued a student—she had accidentally brought the most dangerous entity in history right into her own home.
Daisy took a shaky breath, her gaze scanning Haruto as if trying to dissect him. "What do you want, Haruto? If you're really the God of Creation and Nothingness, why are we still standing here?"
Haruto's crimson eyes glowed with a strange, detached excitement. "I don't want to kill you. You saved my life, after all. I'm just... exhilarated. Let's spar, just for the thrill of it."
Daisy let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. "You're either a complete idiot or you think I'm one. Two reincarnations fighting for 'fun'? You think you'll just let me walk away after this?"
"Of course," Haruto replied calmly.
"I don't believe you," Daisy spat.
Retro chimed in, sounding desperate, "Master, we need to retreat! His energy signature is defying every physical law!"
"We never retreat from the battlefield!" Daisy barked. She struck her bracelet, activating her suit's full offensive array, but the tech hummed and flickered, unable to lock onto Haruto.
Retro warned her, "Master, that's just technology! You're trying to use logic-based tech against magic that bends the laws of the universe itself—how can you possibly win?"
Daisy gritted her teeth. "I have the intelligence of a Level 89 operator. I've killed monsters in the high layers that make gods look like pets. I just scanned him—he's only Level 60! I can handle this!"
Haruto watched her with a faint, chilling smile. It was time for the game. "Three."
Daisy braced herself, her systems glowing.
"Two."
Daisy's eyes widened, sensing the shift in the air. She realized too late that she had fallen for the same trap she had set for him.
Haruto tapped his HUD, pulling up the list of spells unlocked by his intense emotional state. His finger hovered over a single, terrifying word: [BLACK HOLE].
He summoned it—not at her, but just inches to her side.
The void tore open. For a split second, the world turned inside out. The black hole didn't target her soul, but it acted like a cosmic vacuum, violently draining the MP, HP, and kinetic energy from everything in its radius. Even though Haruto dialed it back, the pull was immense.
A massive, jagged crater tore through the wasteland. Daisy's high-tech armor shrieked as it was shredded. Her health bar, which had been at a staggering 50,000, plummeted instantly to 50. Her suit sparked and died, and she collapsed to the ground, her breathing ragged.
She struggled to push herself up, her clothes torn and her armor failing. "Ugh... I knew... I knew you were going to kill me," she coughed, her voice weak. "Good thing... I wore my special army-grade emergency suit. Otherwise... I'd be dust."
Haruto's crimson glow faded, and he rushed to her side, his expression shifting from god-like detachment to genuine panic. "Daisy! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"
She slumped against the scorched earth, her MP gauge flashing [ZERO]. She looked up at him, her eyes glassy and defeated. She slowly reached out, grabbing his sleeve, and whispered, "Finish it. Just end it."
Daisy let out a weak, raspy laugh, her head lolling back against the scorched earth. "I calculated every variable... but this? This is the most catastrophic, messy way to die I've ever imagined."
Haruto stood over her, his hands trembling. He looked at his HUD in horror. His [Nothingness] and [Creation] levels hadn't just stabilized—they were continuing to climb, now hitting Level 90. He could feel his own power vibrating beneath his skin, a volatile ocean he couldn't keep a lid on.
What have I done? he thought, his heart racing. I can't control this. If I had been even a second angrier, my Emotional Resonance would have completely triggered... and there wouldn't be a crater left—there wouldn't be a Layer 5 left.
Suddenly, the air around them began to scream. A blinding, prismatic light swallowed the wasteland. Before Haruto could even blink, the ground beneath them vanished, the scorching heat of the crater was replaced by an icy, biting chill, and the silence of the void was shattered by the howling of a blizzard.
They weren't in the wasteland anymore. They were standing in the middle of a vast, frozen expanse, with towering snow-covered peaks stretching into the clouds.
Daisy shivered, her damaged suit struggling to regulate her body temperature. She looked around, her eyes wide with genuine shock. "Impossible. This... this is Layer 80."
"What?" Haruto gasped, the freezing wind stinging his face.
"Teleportation across layers?" Daisy stood up unsteadily, her gaze locked on him with a mixture of terror and disbelief. "Do you have any idea what you just did? You jumped us over seventy layers in a heartbeat. Did you plan this all along? Was this part of your game?"
"No!" Haruto shouted, his voice cracking. "I didn't do this on purpose!"
He frantically opened his HUD, his fingers shaking as he pulled up the map. The coordinates pulsed in a cold, unforgiving blue.
[CURRENT LOCATION: LAYER 80]
The blizzard grew louder, but it was drowned out by a sound that vibrated through Haruto's very bones. He spun around, and his blood turned to ice. Towering over them was a colossal creature—a Snow Terror. It had over a thousand spindly, shifting legs, and its entire body was a swirling sphere of razor-sharp ice and freezing fur.
Daisy's eyes widened, her professional mask shattering. She was at zero MP, her suit was in tatters, and her body was failing.
"Retro! Weaponize, now!" she wheezed.
But the metallic sphere hovered, flickering with a panicked red light. "Master... I cannot! If I attempt to manifest any energy in this state, the backlash will kill you instantly. Your core is completely drained!"
Haruto stepped forward, his body shielding Daisy from the creature's massive, looming shadow. "Daisy, listen to me! I don't know what just happened. I'm new to this... I haven't even been here for a month. I'm losing control of my own power!"
He looked back at her, his crimson eyes filled with desperate sincerity. "I really am just a Level 6. But my powers... they react to my emotions. If I get worked up, my levels skyrocket temporarily, but it's reckless! I don't know how to channel it. Please, help me!"
Daisy stared at him, her lips trembling from the cold. "If you don't figure it out, we're both going to be frozen statues in the next ten seconds."
Retro pulsed, his voice low and solemn. "Master, he is telling the truth. I am reading his internal logs. A few minutes ago, his level was 60. Now it is 90 and climbing. He is a walking cataclysm of unstable divine energy.."
The Snow Terror let out a deafening screech, its thousand legs slamming into the ice, causing the ground beneath them to crack.
Daisy scanned the monster with her remaining energy, but her stamina finally collapsed. She slumped onto the frozen ground, her breathing shallow. "Since you are begging Listen... the center of its core... that's its only weak spot."
"Got it," Haruto said, desperation driving him. He tried to summon his [Black Hole] spell to crush the creature, but the skill flickered and vanished before it could form. Panic surged through him, and his other spells failed just as quickly. The monster roared and launched a massive, jagged icicle toward them.
Haruto didn't think; he bolted, throwing himself in front of Daisy to shield her. But just as the deadly green-tinted icicle was about to pierce his chest, it froze in mid-air—suspended in a frame of ones and zeros.
Haruto looked up in shock. The Snow Terror had stopped moving entirely. Perched on top of the creature's frozen head was a girl. She wore a green and black outfit with a hood and looked down at them with a curious, playful expression.
"Hello there!" she chirped.
Haruto stared, baffled. "Who are you?"
She hopped down, landing gracefully, and walked right up to him. Her eyes widened with interest. "Wow, you're actually handsome!"
"Hello?" Haruto repeated, trying to regain his composure.
"You're the Reincarnator, aren't you?" she asked, then glanced at the unconscious Daisy. "Oh, is this Daisy? That's unfortunate."
Haruto realized with a jolt that Daisy couldn't see or hear her—she was drifting in and out of consciousness, her eyes barely open.
"Did you do this to her?" she asked, her voice tight.
Haruto answered "yeah but by mistake"
The girl giggled. "By mistake ! My bad. I suppose she's become your prey today."
"I don't understand!" Haruto shouted. "Why are you here?"
"You didn't kill her, so you're at least a bit strong," the girl said, completely ignoring him.
"But that spell you tried earlier? It was sloppy and completely uncontrolled. If you want to survive, you need to practice. Don't waste your potential. So we will meet again. I also wanna fight you."
She snapped her fingers, and a ripple of reality distorted around them. Haruto felt a sudden, sickening pull—a teleportation effect that felt like being dragged through needles.
When the world stopped spinning, Haruto opened his eyes. The biting cold of Layer 80 was gone. He looked around and realized he was standing back in the dusty, familiar ruins of Layer 5, right where he had first arrived. Daisy was beside him, still unconscious but breathing steadily. The girl was nowhere to be found.
Haruto looked at his hands, his mind reeling. Who was she? And how does she know Daisy?