Iyo swiftly dodged the wraith’s claws as it lashed out at him. He did not waste even a centimeter as he moved. In stark contrast, the wraith’s attacks were wild and irregular. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them.

‘It’s hard to envision this hazy creature really being controlled by someone.’

Iyo did not let his guard down though. Its wild movements were easy to react to but extremely difficult to predict. It was an uneasy balancing act as Iyo was chased throughout the construction site while keeping his feet light on the dirt ground.

While Iyo backpedaled away and flipped over any heavy claw swipes, the specter charged head-on at tremendous speed. It made a sudden lunge and crashed into a pile of metal beams that sent them tumbling in all directions with a raucous noise.

Iyo had dodged at the last second and now had his goggled eyes focused on the back of the wraith. He grit his teeth and his hands half-clenched. He went into a stance that planted himself firmly on the ground. The young man’s sights were on the creature but he struggled to put his body into action.

‘What am I waiting for? I should attack it while I’m in its blindspot.’ Despite what he consciously understood, he could not move in kind. This allowed the wraith enough time to turn around and rush towards him again.

It unleashed another flurry of strikes that Iyo was able to deftly deal with before the specter’s claw swiped the ground and sent a cascade of dirt into Iyo’s face.

“No-”

Blinded by the unexpected maneuver, Iyo’s side was struck by the wolf-like specter’s claws and his body was flung along the ground until his back hit the side of a large bulldozer. His body was wracked with pain and his shirt was torn where the attack had landed.

He groaned as he brushed the dirt from his goggles.

‘What’s wrong? Did I come all this way to not even end it and just hope it stops by itself? What kind of murky plan is that? Even though I could’ve done something before…’’

Iyo had felt something was off for a week as soon as the incidents started. He thought it could be a specter attack but did not sense any miasma there himself. He had not even considered looking around the area surrounding the site until that night when he had seen Allen and Nera.

That was when he had spotted the Warg for the first time since it had attacked Hisato Takamura, the person Iyo saw as a cherished mentor. At that moment, Iyo confirmed to himself two things, that the specter was there because of him and it was his indolence that was putting people in harm’s way.

Iyo was snapped from his deprecation by the ear-piercing sound of a howl that resonated throughout the entire construction site. The wraith was emitting a howl so strong that it created fierce gusts of wind that pushed Iyo back against the bulldozer.

“Ugh…” Iyo used his arms to shield himself from the intense wind while struggling to deal with the pain that assaulted his ears. Then, silence as the air stood still like nothing had happened. Iyo gradually lowered his arms as he looked on in complete bewilderment.

‘I didn’t see it do this before. Did something escape me about this monster’s true nature?’

The Warg specter then stood up on two legs and its mouth viciously ripped open in four directions. So wide was its maw unhinged that Iyo could see all the way to its cavernous throat. The young man’s eyes widened in fear as he came to a revelation.

‘That howl was not an attack. It was a prelude.’

***

Allen and Nera were racing through the city streets hoping they would make it in time before anything terrible happened. The street lights illuminated their way as they ran down the sidewalks toward their destination.

“Are you sure this is the location?” Nera called from ahead of Allen.

“That’s what it said in the file. We don’t know what they’re planning, so we gotta hurry.”

“Yeah, hopefully, we can warn Iyo before he gets into any more trouble.”

Allen nodded his head. “Affirmative, if they went after Hisato before with that thing, then it makes sense that Iyo would be their next target.”

‘Even if I’m not sure why.’

They continued to rush frantically while wishing that time would not be too far against them.

***

Meanwhile, Iyo was in the middle of a rock and a hard place. He stepped somewhat to his side and the beast’s muzzle followed him like a sniper that locked its sights on him.

‘If the range of this blast is even a fourth of what its howl’s was then avoiding it will be exceptionally difficult.’ Iyo pondered to himself as he narrowed his eyes. ‘It’s not unleashing it immediately. Is its master waiting for the right moment? Maybe I can manage to get behind this bulldozer to shie-’

Iyo’s thoughts were halted as he spotted a leaf fly past him from behind. His eyes widened and his instincts immediately told him what it meant. The next moment was filled with a thunderous cacophony like a grand ship being torn apart by an unforgiving sea.

At the same time, a blinding sapphire light obscured everything else. That light only lasted for an instant but the lingering remnants of the event were plainly visible. A large crater had formed out from the Wraith and stretched to the other end of the construction site. There was a semi-circular hole carved out of the right end of the bulldozer Iyo had his back to a few seconds prior.

Coughing could be heard as Iyo’s lungs desperately tried to force out all the dust that was entering them from what had been dispersed into the air. Iyo got to his feet, now missing one of his shoes with that pants leg frayed at his ankle. He had used his foot to propel him out of the attack’s range and, as always, his power was accompanied by destruction.

‘Trying to hide behind that machine would’ve been pointless. It wasn’t a blast but a bite, everything within the path of its fangs gets drawn in and chewed up. This monster surely lives up to the name, Warg. Kin of the legendary wolf Fenrir, Sköll and Hati, the ones said to chase the moon and sun and one day plunge the world into darkness.’

Iyo glanced over to where he had been and saw a wall of pitch black that rose high into the air. Even the light had not escaped from its jaws. He focused his attention back on the wraith charging once more at him.

He dodged its claws again but his worry was much higher than before. He had avoided its bite once but he was not sure if he could do so at close range. He did not even know how much time, if any, needed to pass before the specter could use that ability again.

‘Even if I can make it out of this, what about another person? They’ll just go on to target someone else.’ Iyo blocked a swipe that scraped against his arms’ tough skin.

‘Using your inborn skills to the fullest is how you should live.’ The words that had replayed in his head over and over resounded once more.

The Warg’s mouth ripped open again and Iyo leaped over it. The area where he stood was reduced to a crater in a flash of sapphire light as the wraith shut its mouth while dispersing the dirt from the ground through its teeth.

Without turning its head, the creature quickly grabbed Iyo’s leg while he was still in the air and slammed him to the ground.

“Aghh!” Saliva flew from Iyo’s mouth and his wind was knocked out of him. Seeing the claw approaching him from above, he rolled out of the way and got to his feet. The Warg’s strike hit the ground with a loud thud and its claws sunk into the ground while filling the air with more dust. Iyo used that moment to try to gain as much distance as he could before catching his breath.

Iyo quickly recovered and reflected how someone like Allen who barely had any power of his own compared to him was still trying his best to fight against Atelier City’s schemes. Meanwhile, he could not even muster the will to truly fight.

‘It’s simple and direct. If I can do that much myself, I can’t say I’m following sensei’s words.’ Iyo dug his foot’s sharp nails into the ground and emitted a burst of power that crushed the ground beneath. The ability he was born with allowed him to manipulate the explosiveness, direction, and severity of any damage he caused.

‘Every time I use my power in conjunction with these claws of mine, it seems like something important to me ends up getting destroyed as a result. But this time…this time, it’ll be different.’ Like a spark of fire being set ablaze, yellow light erupted from where he stood. As he raised his heel, the power started rushing back like nitro thrusters.

The dust settled and the Warg regained sight of him. It readied its claws that glistened in the moonlight and charged at Iyo who was motionless. His body was still overflowing with reluctance, but he had resolved to meet it in kind.

“Now.” Iyo declared this under his breath and bounded forward, propelled by an explosion of energy that followed. It razed the ground under his feet while rocketing him forward and straight past the Warg. He was a blur so fast that the monster did not even have a chance of striking him.

Iyo could viscerally feel the hide of the wraith peel away as his claws raked through its neck. He skidded along the earth to stop himself. A deep crevice marked his trail. Across from him, the Warg collapsed to the ground.

Dark red blood dripped from Iyo’s claws onto the ground.

***

“We made it!” Allen declared as he and Nera reached their destination. He crouched over in exhaustion.

They were now in front of Iyo’s home, the former residence of Hisato Takamura. It was a small one-story house with Japanese decorations adorning its exterior. The yard was neatly trimmed with rocks lining a pathway to the front door. Along its windows were distinct wooden carvings of various shapes.

Allen was breathing heavily from the long run when Nera told him something distressing to hear.

“He’s not here, Allen. There’s not a single sound of a living person coming from this spot.” Nera scowled in frustration.

Allen grimaced. “Then, that means…”

“We chose the wrong place.”

****

‘What?’ The blood dripping from Iyo’s claws felt way too different from what he was expecting. It was too viscous, it stuck too much to his hands, and the color was not that of specter’s blood but that of something else.

Iyo looked around and witnessed a sight that he had not ever imagined. The black spectral flesh around the right side of the Warg’s neck and face had been torn off and revealed a human’s face, the rest of their body surrounded by the wraith’s.

“No…no, it can’t be.’ Iyo tried to deny what he was seeing with his own eyes but he could not. The person covered by the Wraith like a demented costume was Liam Ware, one of the people he had known for the longest time in Atelier City. He was someone that Iyo had looked up to as a role model, a person he thought was genuinely using their skills to the fullest to pursue their dreams.

Now, Iyo could see the grievous wound he had just inflicted on him. A gash along Liam’s neck that was leaking blood. Despite the injury, the eye of Liam’s face that was visible was vacant and his expression was blank.

‘This is all my fault.’

Iyo fell to his knees in shock and dug his fingers into the ground. He wished this was simply a nightmare but it all felt too real, the sensation of the ground beneath his hands, the sound of the wind blowing fiercely past his ears, the smell and taste of the gritty dirt thrown into his face. He could not ignore those as the Warg’s grotesque flesh once more covered Liam’s face and started to approach him.

Iyo was completely still as it raised a claw and swung it straight towards him.