Ander had been relaxing until he heard Kyrion begin an incantation. “Ok. If I heard that right, Kyrion intends to kill everyone still on the island. This barrier won’t be enough.”

“What?!” One of the ninjas that had been silently listening looked up.

“If he’s using blood as a component it means that no other being is present to borrow power from or compete with. His blood is dangerously effective for spells like this.”

“I thought you said that you were friend’s.” Chiyo said in surprise.

“I can get everyone in this tent to safety. But I need you to agree not to move much while in my sphere of wind.”

“Ah. If we disrupt it, there’s a chance we will fall to our deaths.”

“Correct.” Ander withdrew his spear and began to spin it in a circle, surrounding the tent with some earth. The land rose from the ground and began to fly away from the bleeding red-haired demon. Those who had seen his uncle fight in the past would have mistaken him for the Demon Lord of Rinvald. Back when he sacrificed his arm to fall the Sea Titan.

Ander knew his history and the power of an expert using their blood for a powerful spell. It had been confirmed that Kyrion’s potency was naturally higher than most due to dragon slayer ancestry and his condition.

“I thought you said he was going to avoid killing the others?”

“We were one of the last few groups on the island after the dragon attacked and he’s paused his regeneration to replace his blood loss. That’s why he hid his magic circle and continued to fly about avoiding attacks. He’s buying time.”

“Ah.” Chyo exhaled as they entered one NEU (North European Union) Branch of the Janitor’s air transport vessels.

The next sign that spelled disaster was when people fell from the ceilings of multiple other vessels, rapidly filling them up with the remaining people on the ground.

Now that Kyrion had finally gotten rid of collateral damage, it was time to finish the spell. The dragon was beyond pissed and fully molted; its size had doubled.

“Break through from the land in a cataclysmic flood.”

The island shook as the land tore in half and the ocean split, revealing a deep trench that seemed to lead to nothingness.

Both land and ocean parted with ease as a molten hand shot out, grabbed the dragon, and held it in place. The limb pulled with a force that the dragon hadn’t been able to resist, bringing the dragon deeper and deeper into the depths of the world, squeezing all the while.

“I loze. I loze! Zpare me!” The dragon bellowed.

“You surrender?” Kyrion tilted his head to the side.

“Yezzzz I ZZZurrender! ZZtop it!”

“Swear a binding oath to be my draconic servant for eternity.” Kyrion assumed it would negotiate for better terms.

“I z-z-zoooo zwear!”

It didn’t haggle. He’d done all this and made all those plans, and it surrendered halfway through his shenanigans. He just summoned a volcanic hand and manipulated it while making it look as though it was coming from the core. He’d covered the sea with thorns after splitting the land, then used the gathered lava to grab it. His spell wasn’t even done; this was just the part where he sacrificed his opponent to increase the land's fertility.

Kyrion felt a minuscule connection to him and scowled. The dragon was utterly subservient. Not an ouch of the oath would be taken from him. Well, it did try to eat him, but it was only fitting that it served him in return.

Kyrion sealed the ocean and extended the size of the island by cooling it. He then translated the land into something livable, growing grass and trees, adding rocks and various edible food sources.

“I’m Zorry Mazzer!” The long dragon lay on its back, burns exposed in the shape of a handprint.

“Oh.” The molten hand had bypassed its defenses and nearly split it in half. This was evident when he noticed that most of its bones were broken.

Kyrion sighed as he roasted his stump, triggering his regeneration and allowing his severed arm to finish regrowing. Multiple rips in space opened on the island now that the dragon had been removed, which initially seemed backward. Until he remembered the mass of monsters on the island that he’d eradicated. The monsters would continue to come, and the power of the rifts was stronger than Kyrion’s ability to manipulate space. Which meant something stronger than a god from his universe was opening these up and dumping creatures.

“Who’s a good dragon?” Kyrion rubbed his new pet’s belly and tickled it, causing it to begin shrinking.

“I am! I am!” the dragon said as it stung to the size of a long dog in minutes and then changed its form. The dragon looked like a blue wiener dog with red and green markings that resembled tiny eyebrows. Two tiny antlers resembling Kyrion’s protruded from its head.

“Remove the horns.”

“Yez mazter!” The dragon dog said unabashedly. Its horns sunk into its head.

Kyrion looked at the dragon, wondering if he’d accidentally broken its mind. He wanted it to submit, but this was way too much.

“Ok. Now that everything is settled. Where did you come from?”

“Eh?” The dragon responded, confused.

“What world are you from?”

“Uhhh…”

“How old are you?”

“Two?”

“Years? Centuries? Gimme details.”

“Days.”

Kyrion eyed the dragon and understood. It came into the world when the rift opened up. Could each rift be a dungeon? “Oi. Karl, read my subconscious and confirm.”

Karl’s connection solidified. “Ah, that. I’ll need access to satellites to confirm. Can you survive the void of space yet?”

“I'm not sure. But I'm not checking it out until I’m at least Expert tier.” Kyrion petted his new dog solemnly.

Kyrion’s thoughts were as follows: “If dungeons appearing with pockets of mana become strong enough, then it could be the precursor to the end of an era. It would only be an apocalypse if the earth people weren't ready. A dragon like this must be removed early before it can mature properly. Do monsters leave dungeons often?”

“Back home? No. There is a system that says if a dungeon is threatened or starved for fresh mana, it can send out envoys to scout out a new area or invoke its powers on the world outside. Like I said, satellite access would allow me to examine the leylines and pathways. You should speak to your handlers. Honestly, ripping that dragon from a dungeon will use up most of its growth points. Meaning lots of weak monsters for a while. Perfect clean up for the natives. You should make something for Ander, he could have bested a dragon this weak.”

“Weak? It tore off my arm and withstood most of my attacks before I started using an incantation.”

“Yes, a solid fifty percent of your offensive potential. A solid concentrated black bolt from Ander would have slain the creature as it was vulnerable to lighting. That's three inches of height he won’t have.”

“Don’t tell him that.”

“I won’t have to if you share. I want access to that dragon’s blueprint.”

“Mazter ztare into zpace?”

“Huh. Right. So the dungeon that created this island, where is its core?”

“Don jon?”

“Nevermind.” Kyrion sighed as he sat on a throne of obsidian that had formed when he transmuted the land under him. To many, it would have been uncomfortable, but his nerves were dead at the moment.

A group of people in camouflage approached the relaxing red-haired boy, their guns lowered but clearly in hand. They didn’t want a fight, but they were ready for one—or so they thought.

As the unit stopped in front of him. Kyrion used divine essence to swipe every bullet besides the first from each magazine on their person. They’d have only one chance to kill him.

“Oh hey. How can I be of service?”

“Is the dragon subdued?

“Yes. It will no longer be much of a threat. These monsters are newborns created the moment they appear for the most part. This island will be good for training new magic users. Well, the people of your world. You could attempt to destroy it but I don’t suspect it would let you do so easily. Don’t expect a boss but do expect extra lethal traps where the core is kept.”

“That…Can you repeat that?”

“I really hate to repeat myself. Where is the U.S. branch?”

“They are a few hours away. How did you outpace them?”

“I flew here on my own. Unless you have flying boats I don’t enjoy your metal birds.”

“So you dislike tight spaces?”

“Moreover, my body isn’t meant for sitting inside a metal vehicle. I can do it for a little while but I’ll be on edge the whole time.”

“Because it’s unnatural?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Do you have any metal on you ?”

One of the soldiers handed over a metal baton.

“Watch.” Kyrion bent the metal object with ease, breaking it in seconds.

“So you would be more of a hazard for everyone involved due to your strength?”

“More or less.” That and they were too slow would have been the more. His few seconds aboard the airplane told him they were designed for humans who could not fly independently and for mass transport.

“So, which unit are you in?”

“I’m a traveler. Capable of jumping planes…If I’m being specific. I believe that I was summoned here by someone looking to get in on the organ trade. A respectable business when using ethically sourced organs. He was not using those types of organs.”

“Oh… So you aren’t one of the Super Weapons developed in the states.”

“I wouldn’t say that so soon.”

“People with demigod levels of strength like what you showed. Most major players have at least one. The U.S. has four, as far as I’m aware. China has Three, Russia has two, U.K. one, Japan had one, England has two–”

“What is the Uk?”

“United Korea. After the secret war on monsters back in 1978, Korea ended its separation to keep from being utterly destroyed by a hoard of monsters. The new government kept things going to this day.”

“You were going on?”

“No, that’s about all I know from the top of my head.”

“Why is that?”

“The S.U.N. or South United Nations branch keeps their details to themselves.”

“Ah.” Kyrion withdrew a roasted haunch of meat and handed it to his new dog.

“Meatz!”

“I hate this,” Kyrion sighed. With a wave of his hand, the dragon and the meat vanished.

“What do you plan on doing with that?” Asked the unit leader in front of him.

“Forgetting about it I hope. This will be the second dragon linked to me, even younger than the first. Despite being slightly stronger.” Kyrion lied. Ceres was much weaker the last time they’d met, but it was likely that she’d grow fast and efficiently surpass what he’d fought.

Kyrion watched as a second wave of monsters appeared through various rifts: goblins, gremlins, and ogres. None of them had the spark of sentience he’d seen in those from his world.

“Ah. May want to find a way into those dungeons as well. That should be your priority.”

Kyrion summoned a bottle of orange drink saturated with enough vitamins and supplements to look milky. Losing that much blood made him much weaker than he had been letting on, and he needed to replace it sooner rather than later.

The unit left, allowing Kyrion respite for all thirty minutes as a brown-skinned man wearing various golden hoops approached him. They speak a language Kyrion hadn’t understood before, switching to another.

“Do you truely only know english?”

“Hmmm? If you can speak it then start with it. I haven’t been here long enough to care about every language on this planet.” Kyrion had managed to learn Spanish and the language of Ander’s family, but he wouldn’t admit that.

“You could learn more than one.”

Kyrion shut off his brain and entered a power-saving mode. He was too hungry for this.

After the ten-minute lecture ended, Kyrion felt his body had regained enough blood.”

“...and this is why the Amer—”

“What did you come here for?”

“I am here to offer you a chance to join an organization led by your people.”

Kyrion raised an eyebrow and returned to his home language. “Does my sister work for you?”

The dark-skinned man seemed surprised. “What language is that?”

“You are a low tier recruiter if you don’t understand that much about me. I don’t have the time.”

The older man began to speak, and Kyrion rudely teleported him aboard one of the flying machines before closing his eyes.

Another brown-skinned man arrived, although his shade was lighter. He wore a white turban and was serene. “Curious, did the previous man offend you?”

“More got on my nerves and attempted to prey on weaknesses I don’t possess. Who goes to a new arrival on the planet and expects him to know French despite not encountering it as of yet.”

“Ah. How many languages do you know?”

“Four, maybe five from here that I can speak six that I can understand.”

“Based on what I read, French should have been one of the first you learned. Given the many high quality restaurants that originate there.”

“Good food?”

“Yes.”

“See, you did your research. Start with my vices, food and medical knowledge.”

“Now then what do you need?”

“To confirm. You are an entity outside of our organizations but allied with us. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I have two intentions, make sure as many people as possible are prepared and find my sister. Which is something I’ll do next weekend.”

“You intend to go back?”

“Yes.”

“Then the previous man wasted time and effort recruiting you. As you aren’t joining anyone.”

“I leave in December, there is no point.”

“Should I tell the others to stop?”

“It should be fine. Unless they intend to act like the first guy. Also take two steps to the left.”

Two daggers stopped six inches away from Kyrion in midair as an invisible creature bled out in seconds. A lizard creature roughly human-sized, covered in scales, lifelessly faded into shards of raw mana. In moments, it solidified into a cloak made from its scales.

“You should be more aware of your surroundings, Kyrion.” Said a laid-back Jac.

“I mean. It couldn’t hurt me. If you took any longer to aim, then I’d have held it in place for you. Who are you, by the way?” Kyrion had been ready to split it in half before he noticed the daggers get unsheeted. That was when he noticed Jac was there, though something felt off.

“Ah, so you knew about it.”

“Also it dropped an item for you. I believe it should give you the ability to match your surroundings.”

“Hmm? You're giving it to me?”

“No, you killed it, your loot.” Kyrion responded.

Kilo arrived next, only to stop and place an arm in front of someone next to him. Jin looked confused as he nearly tripped while stopping.

“Hey, what are you doing over there?”

“Helping out. Nice to meet you?”

“Your name?”

“Right, Esper number 000 Beta, also known as Jac Ol’atte.”

“Huh. That's a pretty rare last name? Do you have any siblings?” Kilo now knew something was off.

“None. It’s just me and my dad. I recently learned that my mother has passed away.” Jac holds his head.

“No sister?”

“No. I was am an only child, right?” Jac seemed confused as he held his head.

“I must have met a cousin of yours, then.” Kyrion felt around the man's brain with his mana, finding no trace of his previous healing, meaning this was indeed someone else with the same name.

“It is possible.”

Kilo turned to Kyrion, then the head of the India branch of Cerberus. “I suspect that there are multiple dungeons here, meaning the dragon you saw was only one boss tier threat.”

“Oh…That would make a great deal of sense. The multiple rifts make sense now.”

“Multiple rifts?” The Indian man asked to be precise.

“Rifts. Breaks in reality that require a key to enter. I have been through one very recently.”

“It’s always good when one of our own feels comfortable sharing information.”

Jin squinted, “We should be sharing information like this freely. If we are going to survive we need to work together, not as separate branches working against each other.”

“Right, hopefully your generation will fix this when the world changes. I have suspected many of our teachings and understandings are incomplete pieces of a larger puzzle. But despite our meditations being taught worldwide as a way to regain physical and mental energy, many don’t wish to share their knowledge.”

Jac scowled, “Physical energy?”

“If Espers use Mental energy and their mind, Qi users use their body and lifeforce.” Kyrion explained.

“How do you know about Qi?” Kilo asked.

“Remember when I accidentally sent my mind through the cell phone? I accidentally went through quite a few files and saw some recently discovered secrets. Also, Jac, is one of the artificial Espers while Jin is a natural Esper. The power differences are obvious now, though Jin will gain in power with practice at a much higher rate, while Jac will need to work to improve naturally.”

“Natural Esper?” Jac eyed Kyrion for a long moment.

“People born with advanced minds, based on what I've seen many diagnosed with disorders such as Autism and ADHD, or various levels of psychosis, tend to have brains that naturally work at a higher level than most. What most see as a low attention span is an espers advance processing speed. Higher doesn’t always mean better in cases like this though. Some are unstable.”

“Where did you get a test group for something like that?” Jin was suspicious.

“Medical records aren’t as protected as they should be.” Kyrion had been examining the flow of energy through brains while bored. Those who showed advanced mental acuity tended to have some level of instability, most minor, a few major.

“Kyrion. Please don’t steal private information.”

“Is it really private if it pops up whenever I look at most people long enough.” Kyrion looked at Jin for a long moment as a white screen popped up in his vision. It was blank, as it appeared classified, but Jin didn’t need to know that.

“Oi! Quit looking at me like that.”

“Mmmhmmm.” Kyion tilted his head ninety degrees as a loud pop came from his neck. From there, he moved into some stretches.

“Don’t tell anyone what you saw?”

“What I saw?” Kyrion played dumb.

“Don’t–”

Kilo interrupted Jin. “Don’t fall for that, he's using cold reading techniques to throw you off. Can’t you see the future?”

“He’s a wildcard to my future sight. It throws me off.”

“Don’t tell me. You were born with two brains inside your skull.”

“Not how biology works and wouldn’t you know Mr. I have X-ray vision?”

“Huh? What's that?”

“Nevermind.”

“Wait. Can making someone an Esper grant them ADHD through artificial means?”

“To be honest, I don’t know which parts of your brain were altered for treatment or altered for obedience.”

“What?”

“Right. Most artificial Espers have their brains spliced in two ways You are currently spliced in four.”

“That's because I ranked up.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“The testing was brutal but now I can fight to protect my family.”

“What family? You're an only child with a deceased mother.”

Jac seemed somewhat confused as his head began to hurt.

“Kyrion stop!” Kilo yelled.

Kyrion closed his eyes and took a breath. “Something feels off. As though he isn’t the same person I talked to earlier.”

“What are you going on about? It hasn’t been a day.”

Kyrion examined the man’s bone structure and scowled. The cheekbones were slightly off, and it was disturbing.

“Fine. Jac why don’t you get monster hunting?” Kyrion grimaced.

“Yeah, I’ll go.” Jac ran off to get some air.

Kilo eyed Kyrion. “He doesn't have a caffeine monitor on his arm, his name is off and his voice doesn’t match. He also doesn’t have a Phoblade, and his words don’t match. I restored the damage done to the previous Jac that visited us, the injuries were present in this one although slightly altered.”

“Wait. A doppelganger?”

“No…I have a suspicion. I’ll ask your father. I know of tales involving parents that would do anything to bring back a child taken too soon.” Kyrion spoke from his experience with Psycho, stating that if one was convinced they were someone, one would fight to be that someone. Jac’s dad might have gotten along with his mother.