"Die, filthy tyrant!"
One scream. Then another. A tide of insults and hatred.
My skull throbbed under the weight of those voices. My vision wavered, blurred by the blood running into my eyes. I could barely distinguish the silhouettes—only shifting shadows armed with knives, stones, and resentment.
Twenty people? Thirty? No… judging from the uproar, there were far more. Maybe a hundred. Maybe a thousand.
At this point, what difference did it make?
Their blows fell without pause: slaps, fists, knife thrusts. Each strike was accompanied by a torrent of the vilest curses imaginable.
But it didn't matter. I hadn't felt pain for a while now. My body was nothing more than a battered carcass, numb, a hollow shell tossed around by wave after wave.
I was tired.
I awaited the end with impatience. Because maybe… I finally understood.
Or rather: I was supposed to understand.
No… if I was here, at the center of this storm of hatred, then there had to be a reason. But what was it, really?
… I wasn't sure.
Even at the threshold of death, I couldn't be certain of the life I had lived. Was this my punishment? To die without ever truly knowing?
Then, at last, silence.
And then, darkness.
I was finally dead.
…
"Ugh… my head…"
I slowly regained consciousness. A dazzling blue sky greeted me, so bright and pure it felt as though it was burning my eyes.
[Congratulations! You are the youngest person in the world to have reached Rank S!]
A floating blue screen appeared before me as if by magic.
"Rank… S?"
I froze.
That voice… it wasn't mine. It was too high-pitched, too… childlike.
Before I could even grasp what was happening, another window appeared.
[However, for the sake of fairness, the Higher Entities have sealed your abilities.]
[You are now only as powerful as a Rank F.]
Rank S. Rank F. Higher Entities. This was nothing more than a bad dream, wasn't it?
[To break the seal and regain your true adult body, you must grow stronger.]
[Penalty for failure: you will remain in this child's body until the day you die.]
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Who exactly were these "Higher Entities"? And why seal my abilities?
I looked with dismay at my hands, now so small and shrunken.
I didn't yet understand where I had landed, but one thing was certain—
I would not let these wretched beings have their way with me.