[You...] The dragon let out, recalling the one in front of him. [You're the one who took my eye, right?]

A silent growl escaped his humanly lips along with an arrogant and devious smirk. He didn't even need to wait for an answer. Whatever the case was, it didn't change the fact he was going to kill all humans present in the city.

It was just a question of order.

Raven barely managed to escape his clutch but, in this case, she was as good as dead. Now that Rin got in his way, the dragon, Tenma, decided to kill her next instead of Winter.

Thus, with his two newly healed eyes, he glared at the masked, black-haired girl with unhidden killing intent. Ten atrocious claws extended from each of his draconic yet humanly fingers with an evident thirst for blood.

With his otherworldly power, he buffed his legs before kicking and destroying the ground to leap at Rin with extreme momentum. Petty as he was, his left hand targetted the girl's left eye.

And what was supposed to happen, such as blood sprawling everywhere, a feminine head gruesomely pierced through, and another casualty on the human's side—didn't happen.

‘—A fluke?!’ Was the first thing that passed through the dragon's head.

His attack hit nothing but air, yet it didn't appear as though Rin had dodged. The black-haired girl just stood there, in the same place she was a second ago. The only difference was her head. It was tilted a tiny bit to the right allowing the dragon's clawed hand to avoid it by a very, very thin margin.

From every perspective possible, it appeared more like the dragon had missed his target rather than Rin dodging the attack. Thus, Tenma naturally perceived it as a stroke of luck on his opponent's side.

However, now that his human form stood so close to the long-haired teens, a strange feeling budded in his chest. A bad feeling. For the first time since he entered this world, he felt a chill ran down his spine.

For the first time, his feeling of superiority disappeared.

This human was dangerous.

His instinct told him, making him fly backward inadvertently.

“Believe me,” Then, Rin finally spoke. “I'm gonna take so much more than just your eyes.”

The girl looked up and the dragon shivered. Hidden by the faceless 'nano-mask', a pair of red vivid eyes seized him up. Bead of sweat ran down his scaly forehead and his heartbeat hastened, all pointing to one single thing,

‘Impossible!’ Tenma denied the thought immediately. ‘There's no way I'm afraid of a puny human!!’

His vein pooped up on his humanoid figure, he clenched his hand with an unbelievable will, anger and strength. Then, from the mid-air position he placed himself in, he shouted with all his lungs,

[Don't get cocky, you bug!!!!]

Showcasing his demonic pair of wings, he flew down at Rin again, entirely breaking the barrier of sound. From Lia and Winter's perspective, who had now reverted to being normal high school girls, the loud crashing sound, the ground cracking open, and the ensuing shockwave who blasted them backward were the things they couldn't even see happening anymore.

The cloud of dust rose only afterward around Tenma's target's position.

‘—!’

However, much like earlier, the dragon didn't feel anything apart from the ground his draconic hand had smashed. Hesitantly looking up with the short stature of his human form, his eyes landed on Rin.

The worst part, the girl wasn't even far away from him, which should be the case if she had normally dodged. A few inches of air was the only thing separating the two. Again, it appeared as though Tenma's aim was off and that he had missed his target.

[You!]

Anger reigned over his confusion. Using his entire body to give enough momentum despite the nonexistent distance, he thrust his hand forward, ready to rip apart Rin's chest.

—A second later, another loud crashing sound was heard among a cloud of dust and shockwave.

[Huh?] Was all the dragon could express.

His scarlet eyes welcomed a blue vast scenery painted here and there with moving white marks. The sky. Along with the hand he used to attack, his entire body laid awfully on the worst bed nature had to offer. The ground. Last but not least, his humanoid back received an amount of damage he could not ignore, resulting in a barely contained shriek.

The next thing he know, black long hair entered his vision and even touched a little of his face skin. Directly above himself was a masked head.

Rin had crouched on her two slender legs to look closely at the dragon.

“So strong and so fast. As expected of the highest-ranking monsters. But...” She spoke with apparent awe in her tone. So much awe one would wonder if it was meant as sarcasm. “Too bad.”

Tenma remained stuck on the ground, unable to see the expression of his opponent. However, whether he could see it or not, a wide and extremely arrogant smile made its way inside his mind.

This was not his imagination. Rin was looking down on him. She gave off this feeling of superiority that even Tenma's intimidation couldn't match.

‘I'm the strongest.’ Earlier, the dragon dismissed those words as just some random rambling of a desperate human, but now, for just an instant, he genuinely felt like he was weaker than the black-haired girl.

“It doesn't seem like you're a match for me.” Rin finished with an unbelievable amount of confidence.

◇

“There, you'll survive with this, Raven.” A single dignified voice said, having sent a microscopic engine carrying a certain medicinal solution toward the amputated little girl.

A fair distance away, the silent observer of the crisis wore a brilliant smile on her face. Violent draft flew by in her direction, caused by the monster's roughness, yet, let alone her not even a piece of her clothes fluttered in the wind.

Logical, considering her current appearance was just a projection—an hologram taking the form of her real body. Her name remained unknown but her beauty was without a doubt.

Her hair adorned an enticing black color that glistened under the sunlight. Their length, too, was eyecatching, as it far exceeded waist level and nearly touched the tip of the ground.

Adding to her mysteries was the color of her eyes, remaining hidden under well-maintained eyelids. Nevertheless, the high-class clothes she wore gave a hint as to how wealthy she was.

“...So this is the reason why your awakening was forcefully stopped, huh,” The woman spoke, a tender look on her face as she looked at the abnormal state Rin was currently in.

Having witnessed the development from the very beginning till now, the woman managed to formulate some guesses for the reason Rin's personality had slightly shifted from her normal behavior.

“I guess yours is a mental type then.” The woman continued, expressing her conclusion. “A dangerous one that eats at your sanity. No wonder the World decided to destroy your Seed”

The woman's expression changed into a sympathetic one as she looked at Rin's masked face from afar. From the bottom of her heart, the woman felt sad for the black-haired high school girl.

“As for your singularity...” However, the woman continued her observation.

Looking carefully at the teen's movements against the dragon, hoping to see even the slightest glimpse of the ‘incomplete’ Rin's real power. Alas, no matter how long she observed, all she could see was Aiden and Winter's boost being skillfully used.

“Unfair!!”—Was the word that interrupted her focus on the young girl.

Before even being able to see the owner of the new voice, a feminine hand protruded through the woman's chest. Of course, since her body was just a hologram, she just shook a little with nothing gruesome happening.

“Illusions are my thing!” The new voice continued, seemingly mad. “How come you're using it!?”

The protruding hand moved right and left, trying to dissipate the woman's body in vain. On the other hand, the woman herself finally managed to get a good look at the one complaining to her.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, light clothes that revealed too much skin despite it not being that hot, and a pouting face showcasing an apparent childish side. What's more, a few beads of sweat ran down her forehead, making it easy to guess the newcomer had done quite a bit of exercise (though she didn't appear to be that exhausted).

“...Ursa Saith.” The woman called, realizing the blonde's identity.

The woman's smile loosened up a little and her brow twitched almost imperceptibly. Nonetheless, she remained calm and maintained a relatively friendly expression before proceeding to greet the blonde.

“Very nice to meet you.”

“Hm?” Finally deigning to look eye to eye, Ursa stopped her waving hands and let go of her childish act. Though, it was with a wide grin that she answered, “Indeed!”

As though losing interest, the blonde passed by the woman and surveyed the carnage brought about by the monster. Although she lost interest in that pretty quickly, too. Only on Rin did her gaze remain a bit longer.

“Woa...!” Ursa exclaimed inadvertently, witnessing Rin give out a one-sided beating to the dragon.

She closed her mouth for a while to try her best to understand the situation. However, with her stupi— average brain, it didn't take long for her to give up. Why bother when she could just ask?

“So, what happened here?” Ursa spoke toward the woman at her side. “How did Rin become so....savage?”

The blonde continued to look on with a curious expression. Disregarding Rin's abnormal strength, her masterful movements in battle, and everything else, Ursa's eyes stayed stuck on the younger girl's mask. She couldn't see what expression was behind it but she was certain, based on the feel she perceived, that a wide-open grin filled with insanity was plastered on Rin's face.

“Well,” The woman opened her mouth after also returning her gaze on the far-away black-haired girl. “...Who knows.”

This time, it was Ursa's turn to twitch her brow. Turning her head and wearing the fakest smile she could muster at the woman, she replied, “Oh my, are you perhaps wary of me?”

“Who wouldn't be? You're known to be insane, after all.” The woman, on the other hand, let go of courtesy and transmitted her honest opinion.

Ursa twitched once more before she let out a resigned sigh. Looking once again at Rin, she released her fake smile, and instead, she wore on a new genuine smile filled with dark intent.

“You know,” She began, with a slightly menacing tone. “Jokes are only funny when I'm the one who says them. So stop doing it please, Ruler of Ark.”

The woman maintained a calm smile while avoiding direct eye contact with Ursa. She remained quiet, observing the situation with wariness and cautiousness. Even though her real body wasn't present, it was best to avoid unnecessarily provoking someone who was nearing Rank I. And even more so when that someone was crazy.

“I'll ask it again, what happened to Rin?” Ursa asked, for the first time in a long while, with caution. There's a certain number of people in this world that should never be antagonized, and this woman was among them. (Well, Ursa, too, is among them, though.)

Filled with tension, the air around the two women almost seemed to shake. Silence reigned for a while, detaching their immediate surrounding from the outside world. It was only after a long minute that the ice was broken.

The woman sighed before finally opening her mouth, “...Are you aware of what ‘side-effect’ are, Ms. Saith?”

Ursa raised her eyebrow at the unusual way she was called but didn't bother rectifying it. She just answered the question with a tone that bragged about the obvious. “Of course. You're talking about the recoil of a ‘Miracle-tier’ singularity, don't you?”

“Correct.” The woman confirmed. “And that is exactly what's happening to Rin right now. She's suffering from her side-effect.”