"So… you really chose that option?"
In the middle of a forest swallowed by darkness, Gabriel walked forward at an easy pace—within his original form.
His footsteps were nearly soundless, as if the soil and roots beneath him chose to move aside rather than resist.
The night didn't feel threatening; instead, it bowed in silence.
He wasn't wearing Ash's costume.
Nor his adult form.
Just Gabriel.
But he was not alone.
On his left shoulder, Morgan—now shrunk to only about ten centimeters—sat cross-legged.
Her legs swayed lightly, matching the rhythm of Gabriel's steps, like a spectator enjoying the show from the best seat in the house.
"Yes," Gabriel finally answered.
His voice was calm.
Neither hesitant nor defensive.
"Besides," he continued, eyes fixed ahead, "destroying the Sanctuary was never… my role."
His gaze briefly dropped to the sword in his hand. "I'm already satisfied. Played a bit, cleared the side quest… and took this sword from the Sanctuary."
_________________
Sword Magic
Tier: Bronze
Type: Weapon
Description:
A mithril blade forged by Cult of Diablo researchers using advanced technology. Designed as a standard weapon for Heroes, this sword can channel Mana more steadily than ordinary artifacts.
Magic Conductivity: 65%
Price: 20,000 System Points.
_________________
A faint smile formed on his face. Beneath his bangs, his eyes closed for a moment.
"For the next stage," Gabriel said quietly, "I'll leave it to the future Shadow to handle."
Morgan's gaze shifted to the sword in his hand.
"You didn't take that to use it, did you?" she asked flatly.
Gabriel opened the eyes that had been hidden behind his bangs. He glanced toward his right shoulder, where Morgan sat calmly.
A confident smile curved his lips.
"Of course not," he replied lightly. "Ash only uses humanity's strongest weapon as a weapon. Not Olivier's sword."
{In case anyone forgot: Gabriel means the shovel.}
His steps paused for a moment.
His right hand tightened around the sword's hilt, and pale white mana flowed out, coating the blade in a faint glow.
"Even so," Gabriel continued calmly, "this sword… is decent enough."
SLASH—!!
The blade swung.
A wave of mana shot forward, cutting through trees like thin sheets of paper, even sweeping away several monsters far in the distance.
The arc of the strike kept traveling, only stopping after nearly two hundred meters from where Gabriel stood.
Morgan watched the sight without any change in expression.
"In that case," she said, "what for? Your collection?"
Gabriel lowered the sword. He planted its tip into the ground, his gaze resting on the clean-cut line that split the forest ahead.
"Not this time," he replied. "Though it is tempting. A pale mist carrying a hero's sword—sounds cool, doesn't it?"
He looked at the sword once more.
"Initial estimate puts its value at twenty thousand system points," Gabriel said. "Not bad to bolster the funds… for the backup plan to summon Sith."
Morgan fell silent for a moment. Her eyes—no bigger than tiny specks of light—studied the sword, then shifted back to Gabriel's face.
"It's always like this," she said at last, her tone flat but edged with faint sarcasm. "You call it a backup plan, when for most people that already qualifies as an extreme decision."
She adjusted her seat on his shoulder, her small legs still crossed.
"Selling a sword of that quality just to summon Sith…" Morgan continued quietly. "Strange efficiency. But consistent with the way you think."
Gabriel gave no reply.
He simply kept walking, leaving the clean-cut line behind him—a silent trace, without a name, without witnesses, like the pale mist that never intended to be remembered.
***
Sanctuary.
Aurora sat casually on a set of white steps, her legs swaying back and forth as she hummed a quiet tune.
The staircase led directly to the altar where her hands were sealed—a glowing geometric structure clearly not created by the level of technology that existed in the current world of Kage no Jitsuryokusha.
Around her stretched a bizarre sight: metal walls, tubes filled with greenish liquid, and analytical devices emitting a low mechanical hum.
It was a laboratory—foreign, cold, and far too advanced for its era.
Not far from her, an old man stood trembling with rage.
His robe resembled that of an Archbishop, yet the top of his head was bald and shining, emphasizing the hatred burning in his eyes.
He was Jeck Nelson—one of the highest authorities of the Cult of Diablo, the mastermind behind this Sanctuary, and the figure responsible for creating the Pill: Tears of Diablo.
"Damn brat… insolent wretch…!" he snarled, slamming his staff against a metal table. "A lowborn child dares to toy with me! Dares to interfere with the Sanctuary system! Ash—damn you, Ash! I will—!"
Aurora turned her head slightly, a faint smile still resting on her lips.
"Even if you curse him until your tongue rots," she said lightly, almost mocking, "not a single thing will change, old man."
Jeck Nelson froze for a moment. The veins in his neck tightened.
"Shut your mouth, Aurora!" he roared, his face flushed red. "You are nothing more than a sealed specimen! A failed demon who—!"
Aurora did not respond at all.
Her gaze drifted instead toward the ceiling of the Sanctuary, toward the pale white light reflecting off the metal surfaces.
Her smile did not fade—if anything, it deepened, as though she were recalling something quietly amusing.
She let out a soft laugh.
Low.
Almost meaningful.
"Ash, was it?" she murmured. "If what you said is true…"
Her violet eyes gleamed faintly.
"…then I shall wait. For the day your twin finally appears—and frees me from this place."
Jeck Nelson ground his teeth, yet for a brief moment, his fury seemed to… waver.
***
Beneath a dark sky smothered in heavy clouds, the sea raged without mercy.
Waves as tall as buildings crashed into one another, yet in the heart of that chaos, a lone man stood calmly atop the water's surface.
Cid Kagenou.
Before him, a colossal octopus towered from the ocean, its body pitch-black like the shadow of night itself. Eight tentacles, slick with slime and lined with barbed magical spines, lashed in every direction—rending waves and air alike.
Cid watched the spectacle without expression.
"…Oh."
The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"So the type that regenerates, huh."
He raised his sword once more. Dark light began gathering around him, and the sea beneath his feet trembled faintly.
"Alright," he murmured casually. "Then this time, we'll end it in one go."
The output of the magic circuits within his body spiked sharply. Mana pathways lit up in bluish violet, spreading beneath his skin like veins of living light.
Mana surged under perfect control, spilling into the air and sea around him, spreading fast until it encompassed a three-hundred-meter radius.
The very next second, the space trembled.
A massive circuit field formed and began to glow— as if the boundaries of the world had been rewritten, and the space itself now submitted as a medium for magic.
The ocean quaked.
The air hardened.
The giant octopus shuddered.
Its instincts screamed—this wasn't merely danger, but the certainty of destruction.
Its tentacles writhed in disarray; some recoiled, others lashed wildly at the sea, as though trying to flee from the suffocating pressure.
At the center of that domain, Cid smiled faintly.
He spread both arms.
"I am—" he began flatly, his voice nearly drowned within the hum of mana.
But then—
"Hah—tschh!"
Cid suddenly sneezed.
Silence followed.
He blinked once, then wiped his nose with the back of his hand, his expression still perfectly calm.
"…Sea breeze," he murmured lightly, as if nothing of note had happened.
On the other side, the giant octopus jolted violently.
The slight disturbance in mana caused by that sneeze made the pressure spike erratically.
Its body trembled hard, tentacles locking up—some of them even exploding on their own from excess energy they couldn't withstand.
Cid took a short breath.
"Okay," he said casually.
With a swift motion, he raised both hands. The slime sword in his grip spun above his head—smooth, precise, almost elegant—forming a ring of violet light.
His eyes sharpened.
"Archtype Atomic."
In an instant—
—DUNN.
Bluish-violet light collapsed into a single point, then detonated.
It wasn't an ordinary explosion, but perfectly controlled destruction.
Sea and air split apart in silence first, then vanished within an absolute radius, forming a temporary pillar of emptiness before the ocean rushed back in to fill the erased space.
The giant octopus never even had the chance to scream. Its body, tentacles, and mana were completely erased, as though they had never existed.
A massive wave followed, crashing outward in all directions.
And in the middle of the sea now raging once more, Cid stood atop the water's surface, his black coat fluttering softly.
"…Hmm," he hummed in satisfaction. "Yeah, that damage output feels just right."