—Ack… that hurts—
Deep within the cave, a blonde-haired girl lay on the ground, rubbing her head with a furrowed brow.
—So careless.
Beside her stood another girl of the same age, wearing the same armor. Her hair, just as abundant, contrasted with her companion's: black like a polished semiprecious stone, and eyes a deep blue, similar to a calm sea.
Before them rose a quadrupedal beast.
Its claws, long and sharp, gleamed with a scarlet hue.
Its fur was orange along the body, but turned an intense red over the head, as if it had been dyed in blood.
The sclera of its eyes was black, and at the center burned rhomboid pupils of incandescent red.
From its snout protruded curved fangs, exposed even at rest.
The sword struck the beast.
Nothing happened.
The creature roared, and the entire cave trembled as if it were about to collapse.
The sound was so violent that it pierced the girls' minds, forcing them to cover their ears as the air vibrated around them.
—Careful, little witch!
It was the nickname she had given her because of her long black hair. They had no names, only that.
Both crouched without thinking, and the beast passed over them like a burning gust.
Realizing they had evaded the attack, the beast grew enraged. Flames erupted around it, enveloping its body.
The heat rose immediately and the air became heavy, suffocating.
Sweat began to slide beneath their armor.
—I really don't like sweating —the blonde growled—. We should finish it and then go take a shower.
—I agree —replied the black-haired girl—. Besides, I think the armor won't hold much longer. Want me to open a path for you?
—No, I'll hold it back; finish that beast in one strike.
The blonde advanced first, driving her sword against the beast. The clash between steel and claws echoed throughout the cave.
The creature roared again.
—Ugh… you stink —the blonde growled, making a face.
She stepped back and, with a clean motion, swung her sword from right to left, opening a deep wound in the beast's head.
Blood clouded its vision.
From above, the black-haired girl was already prepared. She took a leap, raised her sword… and at that instant the beast reacted.
Its pupils contracted as they focused on her.
The flames intensified and launched directly toward Noah.
—…?
For a second, her armor became heavy. "Too heavy."
Her body did not respond. "It read me," she thought, with a flash of surprise.
The blonde stepped in without hesitation, blocking the advance to buy her time.
The flames struck her armor.
—Agh! It burns! —she shouted—. Now!
The sword came down.
The beast's head was sent flying, accompanied by a spray of blood. The cut was clean, final.
The body fell with a dull thud.
—Why did you take so long? Look at my hands.
—Your hands are still as pretty as ever; I don't see what you're complaining about.
—They're burned! Burned! Do you know how much time I put into them?
—Ah, I'll buy you something, all right?
—Only if I like it.
They continued on without further chatter as they left the cave.
The World Heroes Association usually carried out the registration of all those who possessed powers and peculiar abilities; they were also in charge of order and missions.
Each country had a headquarters that also kept records of guilds, although many of these did not provide detailed information about their members. It was mandatory to have a record of every metahuman.
Little Witch and Blonde were under the orders of an organization that instructed them to register and act under the laws of the Association; although they were not given details, they had to report periodically.
The Association's building stood out among the others, bearing the golden initials W.H.A. It was located in the city of Alexandria, in the country of Acix.
Blonde and Little Witch entered through the main hall to deliver the items to the receptionist.
—Hello, welcome. Wow, you came back quickly —the receptionist was quite attractive; many men used to say she was very beautiful and even proposed marriage to her.
—Here's what we got—
Blonde placed a bag on the desk, pulling out various items.
—Wow, these are the scarlet claws of the Agnir beast, class B beast cores, two puppet gems. Honestly, I'm surprised; the Agnir beast has left A+ class heroes injured —the receptionist was surprised not so much by the items, but because it wasn't a team.
—Well, it took us a bit.
—A bit? Look at my hands.
Blonde raised her already bandaged hands for the receptionist to see.
—Oh, how terrible, your nails looked so nice.
—See, little witch? Beatrice understands. How is it that you don't?
—I told you I'd buy you something —little witch retorted.
—Sun and Moon fighting again?
A man taller than average wore clothes that exposed his abs and scars. His hair was slicked back, and he carried a metal sword.
—Ruben, you of all people who know what troubles a lady, go back to your seat —Blonde replied harshly.
—But my beautiful Sun, I worry about you. As soon as I heard you entered an A+ class portal with only your friend, being only class A, I was anxious. You know, I wanted to go in there and kill all the monsters.
—At it again with your sweet talk. Blonde already rejected you; you should stop insisting —little witch retorted bitterly, after hearing the disdain for her own rank.
—Oh my, don't get jealous; I also like rough and gloomy ones like you.
Ruben leaned over little witch, making her uncomfortable; she only stepped back with a look of disgust.
—Hey, come on, Ruben, stop flirting. Your team was looking for you —Beatrice interrupted.
—Fine, fine, I'll see you later, my precious Sun and Moon.
—Well, I'm done appraising the items. I'll deposit the payment directly into your accounts.
—You heard her, little witch, let's go get my gift.
—Yeah, yeah.
—Wait… I forgot to mention it. Didn't you notice anything strange about the beast?
—Strange?
—I didn't —Blonde answered.
—Yes, the core seemed damaged. I assume the beast might have been under control or something similar.
—Uh, well, it did seem very angry.
—Well, if you see anything like that, don't hesitate to tell me.
—Okay.
Both left the building. The streets were full of people, as if they had forgotten that there had been a rift just weeks ago, but that was good; it showed their trust in the heroes, it meant they were doing a good job.
—Hey, what do you think the receptionist meant about the core?
Blonde asked her, but she didn't seem to be listening; it was normal with the bustle of the streets.
—Hey, are you feeling okay? —Blonde noticed that little witch's silence wasn't normal; her breathing was ragged and she looked pale.
—Hey, are you still with me? —"Little witch looks dizzy," she thought—. You should sit down.
Little witch closed her eyes, frowning with an expression of pain, feeling a sensation of bodily desynchronization, and when she opened them, the world seemed to fall sideways to the right.
—Little witch! Wake up! Hey, hey, wake up.
Darkness enveloped her.
Many voices emerged—harsh, sharp, deep—forming a single voice.
—Remember who you are.
She saw shattered crowns and empty thrones devoured by dust.
—You were not born of common clay. You descend from kings… and from those who were erased from the world.
The world closed over her like a hungry mouth.
—The world will swallow you… and when it spits you out, you will not recognize yourself.
Something within her body twisted… and then aligned.
From the darkness, a hand emerged.
Then another.
A body reconstructing itself from within, until it rose whole before her.
—The corruption that restrained you has dissipated.
—What was sealed in your blood has been restored.
The shadows reacted.
From them sprang deformed hands, trying to reach her, touch her, or claim her.
—You are an anomaly.
The sky fractured.
From the cracks descended figures armed with ancient relics, covered in dull gold, as if time itself had worn them down.
—They will descend.
—And if they find you… they will consume you.
The earth answered with a roar.
The air grew heavy.
Her mind trembled.
—Wild creatures will recognize you.
—And they will hate you.
One more whisper, laden with contempt.
—Demons will try to corrupt you.
And the voice began to fade.
—Do not forget.
One final sentence, without affection or mercy.
—You are Noah.
Everything fell silent.
In the organization's medical room lay little witch, still in her sleep… or so it seemed.
—Age? —the supervising doctor asked the nurse about the patient.
—Sixteen years.
—Height?
—1.67.
—Experimental series?
—N.
—Designation?
—N-15.
—I see, so she's from the advanced nanotechnology series.
—Well, if she were one of the unstable ones it would be V, and she wouldn't even be allowed outside.
—Even so, I didn't expect her designation to suffer a collapse.
—That's true; besides, her iteration isn't the lowest.
—What advanced nanotechnology was implanted in her?
—It was the Spatial Anomaly.
—Spatial? So it was true, they already used it. What was the quantity?
—9,482,040,000 nanomachines.
—Is that true? —the doctor lunged toward the nurse, surprised—. Show me, I want to see her connection.
The nurse handed him the screen, and on it little witch's data could be seen.
—Connection type… cerebral? It's cerebral and she's still alive, that's incredible.
—Yes, I was informed they let her go out to see how her power would react, but recently there have been failures in its readings. We're still discovering what the technology found in the rifts is capable of.
—So they've already begun using alien technology. Could it be superior to our nanotechnology?
—Well, considering that our nanotechnology has advanced slowly because we've avoided its leakage, it might indeed be superior.
—True, but it's incredible that they could use alien technology to create the nanomachines for this girl; even more impressive is that this girl will endure them.
—The N designation was already incredible on its own. I wonder if those with designation M will receive alien technology.
—Mental modulation with alien technology would indeed be impressive.
—Let's hope to see it one day.