Akito opened his eyes and instantly felt something strange — the world had come to a halt. Right next to him sat Kronoran. The wall clock was frozen at 7:04; the second hand didn't move, a bird outside hung mid-air, cars were completely still at the intersection. Everything was silent.
"Hey, Kronoran," Akito said calmly, getting up from the floor.
The other simply looked at him.
"Show me your world," Kronoran said.
Akito walked over to the window.
"See that?" he pointed down at the street. "People, cars, the city. They're not moving, but they're all alive."
He quickly changed clothes, and together they stepped outside. Kronoran slowly walked through the frozen streets, observing people frozen mid-action: one was holding a baby, another leading a toddler by the hand, others smiling at their loved ones.
"So that's how it works? Two people create a third — only smaller?" Kronoran asked, pointing at a family, clearly confused.
Akito scratched his head awkwardly.
"Uhh… not exactly. It's… a bit more complicated."
"How?"
"Let's maybe talk about it another time," Akito said quickly, redirecting the conversation. He ran up to a frozen car. "This is a car. It helps us move around. Without it, we'd be much slower."
Kronoran just stared silently.
"You know what? Let's go to a library. A big one. You'll find answers to everything there — books about our world, history, science…"
Akito started walking in the right direction, but suddenly Kronoran stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Where is it?"
"About nine hundred meters that way. Straight and then right—"
The next moment, they were already standing at the library entrance.
"What the… You move that fast?" Akito asked in shock.
"This is my regular speed," Kronoran replied as he opened the doors.
Inside, Akito began showing the different shelves and genres, but Kronoran's attention was immediately drawn to the section about the world. He walked over and pulled out several thick volumes.
"This will do. It's what I needed. Thank you, Akito."
Before Akito could reply, he blinked — and suddenly, he was back home. The world had resumed. Cars moved outside again, birds soared into the sky, and the clock ticked forward.
"What the…?" he muttered, still trying to process what had just happened.
A system window popped up:
[Quest: Defeat Hana – The Flesh-Eater]
[Time Limit: 2 hours 57 minutes]
Akito's eyes narrowed.
"So they're still going… It's time to wipe them out."
He turned to his Guardians.
"A new enemy has appeared. This time, I'll handle it myself," he said.
"I want to fight," Arden stood up. "If I manage to grab her, I can pull us into my dimension. But not sure if I can appear unnoticed in a crowd."
"I'll handle that part," Akito replied. "I'll use [Will of the One]."
"Good," Arden nodded. "Let's go."
It was a warm, sunny day outside. The marker led them to an old, almost-abandoned park. As Akito made his way through the streets, he noticed a girl walking ahead — pink ribbons in her hair, heading in the same direction.
"She's unusual…" he thought and activated [Eye of Truth].
[Name: Hana – The Flesh-Eater]
[Rank: B]
"That's her," Arden's voice echoed in his mind.
"I can't attack her on a public street," Akito replied mentally. "I'll follow her into the park. That's where you intercept."
Hana casually entered the park — then, without warning, turned and bit half a pedestrian in two. Screams erupted. People ran in terror.
"What are you all yelling for? I'm just a cute girl… a little hungry," she said, wiping blood from her lips, her eyes gleaming with madness.
"[Will of the One]," Akito activated the skill.
The world turned gray-blue. Time froze. In five seconds, he was already in front of Hana, grabbed her face, and a moment later Arden pulled them into his dimension.
They landed in an empty white space. Hana didn't understand what had happened — until her head slammed into the ground with a crunch. She was thrown aside, Akito standing over her, breathing heavily.
"You disgusting freak…" he growled. "I gave your kind a chance. That was the last one."
"Akito…" Arden began but fell silent after seeing his eyes.
"I'll handle this," Akito snapped. "Don't interfere."
He rushed at Hana. A kick to the face, followed by a flurry of punches. A flash of steel — her arm was gone. Hana shrieked, morphing into a hideous beast — a blob of flesh with a massive meat grinder for a mouth. But the next moment, her lower jaw vanished from a single punch.
"Who's in charge of you?" Akito asked coldly.
No answer. More blows followed — fast, brutal. Wounds spread across her flesh, green blood oozing from the cuts.
"One last time — who?"
Hana reverted to her cute form — missing her jaw, horribly disfigured.
"Mi—" she tried to speak, but a blow from Akito's hilt silenced her.
"Aurelia," Akito said sharply. "Erase this event from everyone's memory within a 10-kilometer radius."
"But Akito… that'll take a lot of mana…"
"Do it."
Aurelia appeared in the park. People were panicking — until they saw her. A golden flash — and their memories were wiped clean. She retrieved the man's corpse and vanished.
Back in the dimension, she returned to find Akito still pummeling Hana. His face was twisted with fury.
"Who?!" he shouted with each strike. "Who?!"
Finally, between gasps and blood, came a response:
"S… Stop… It's… Miyuki… she's the leader…"
"Where are you meeting?"
"In a basement… near VIRIA… yellow building… white entrance…"
"I see," Akito muttered.
And with that, he sliced off her head — then kept cutting, again and again, until all that remained were bloody pieces of flesh.
[You have defeated: Hana — The Flesh-Eater]
[Level Up: 265 → 275]
[Reward: 5,000 enni | Bonus Points: 10]
Akito didn't even glance at the notification. He walked over to Aurelia and Arden.
"Today… we end this."
"Arden, shut down the dimension."
In a blink, Akito was back in the park. Just before time resumed, he jumped into a bush, avoiding public attention. There weren't many people around — no one saw him.
He quietly headed home.
"Tonight…" he whispered to himself. "It begins."
[Noxveil]
Hey there, reader!
If you've made it this far, thank you so much. I'm writing this story in Russian and translating it into English — so I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Even one small comment gives me huge motivation 💬💙
Let me know who your favorite character is so far!