Her eyes lit up with fierce determination. She pressed both hands together, gathering her fire into a sphere so bright it painted the fog in molten orange.
Then she split it into three smaller orbs.
With a flick of her wrists, the orbs shot forward.
They struck the monk's chest, shoulder, and mask detonating in a rapid chain of fiery bursts.
The explosions shattered the silence of the village, sending burning embers spiraling through the mist.
The corrupted monk staggered, parts of his robe now scorched black, his mask cracked at the edge.
But he didn't fall.
Instead, a guttural sound escaped him something between a growl and a chant.
The crimson in his eyes flared brighter, and the lightning on his body began to strain under his will.
"Hold him, Klaus!" Sofie called, already forming another volley of fire.
Klaus pushed more power into the storm, lightning snapping from his body to the ground and back to the monk. His muscles trembled from the strain, but he kept him bound.
Sofie unleashed her next barrage this time, each fireball erupted mid-air into shrapnel-like blasts of flame. The planks beneath the monk's feet splintered, and the surrounding fog became a swirling furnace.
Finally Klaus saw it.
The monk's movements slowed, his stance faltering. The lightning and flames together had seared deep into him, making his once-unstoppable form stagger like a wounded beast.
"Finish it?" Sofie asked, her grin wild.
"Finish it," Klaus replied, lightning coiling tighter around his arms.
Sofie's final fireblast roared across the bridge, slamming into the monk's chest with enough force to shake the red-leafed trees around them.
The corrupted figure staggered backward, then crumpled to the ground, smoke curling from the blackened robes.
Sofie landed lightly, fire still flickering along her fingertips.She turned to Klaus, grinning ear to ear. "Did you see that? I totally roasted him!"
Klaus smirked and raised his hand. "Yeah, yeah."Slap! Their palms met in a satisfying high-five.
But Sofie wasn't done. "Come on, admit it! I've gotten way stronger! You saw how clean that blast was!"
Klaus sighed, already slipping into lecture mode. "You have gotten stronger, but your stance was sloppy. And you wasted mana with those extra swings of your arms"
"Oh, come on" Sofie started, ready to fire back.
That's when Klaus's instincts screamed.
Without thinking, he grabbed Sofie by the arm and yanked her aside. A blade cut through the space she'd just been standing in, the air itself splitting with the force.
They both froze.
"…How!?" Sofie gasped.
"…How!?" Klaus echoed.
The monk's body convulsed where it lay.Then something writhed beneath the cracked mask.
With a sickening tear, the head split open.
A massive centipede burst forth, its countless legs wriggling, its mandibles snapping as if tasting the air.
Sofie clamped a hand over her mouth. "Eww… gods, that's disgusting."
Klaus stepped in front of her. His eyes narrowed not just in readiness for the fight, but in recognition. This isn't about her missing the kill… this thing's tied to some curse.
Before he could advance, a shadow detached from the trees.
"Well, would you look at that! Found you two!" Ryouma's cheerful voice cut through the tension, his grin visible even in the mist.
Neither Klaus nor Sofie looked at him—they were locked on the centipede-thing that had once been a monk.
Klaus inhaled deeply, forcing his mind to steady. Lightning crackled faintly at his fingertips before shifting—warping into something darker, sharper.
His negation power.
A swirling sphere of red energy, wrapped in streaks of violet and white light, formed in his palm. The air bent and twisted around it, the raw force threatening to snuff out all magic it touched.
"Stay behind me," Klaus muttered.
Then, with a single step, he lunged forward straight at the writhing abomination.
The red-violet sphere of negation energy swirled in his palm, its tendrils slicing through the mist as he closed the distance.
The centipede-headed monk shrieked, the sound a blend of human rasp and insect chitter, before swinging its massive blade in a wide arc.
BOOM!
The impact rattled the bridge, but Klaus didn't falter. He twisted with the blow, letting the force slide past him, and slammed his negation sphere into the monk's chest.
A surge of red light exploded outward. The monk's cursed aura hissed as if burned, its rotting robes snapping in the force. The centipede's mandibles clicked frantically, but Klaus was already moving low, fast, relentless.
From the side of the bridge, Ryouma whistled low. "Goddamn… your boyfriend is strong."
Sofie didn't answer. Her eyes were locked on Klaus, her knuckles white where she clenched her fists. She barely even heard him.
Ryouma glanced at her, then back at the fight. "…Guess that's a yes."
On the bridge, Klaus weaved between sweeping strikes, every movement precise.
Sparks of negation energy scattered off his hands like meteors as he cancelled each blow.
The centipede's long, twisting body whipped out from the monk's neck, snapping toward him like a spear, but Klaus sidestepped, slicing a chunk of chitin clean off.
The creature recoiled with an unearthly hiss. Klaus pressed forward, his breathing steady despite the ferocity of the duel.
Ryouma folded his arms, still watching intently. "This guy's not just strong… he's dangerous."
Klaus's eyes never left the monster. "You're not crawling away this time."
Klaus's palm hummed with power.A second sphere of pure negation bloomed into existence, swirling like a storm of black lightning and crimson fire tendrils writhing outward, tearing at the air itself.
The centipede-headed monk froze for a heartbeat, its many legs twitching in primal fear.
"You're done," Klaus growled.
He drove the sphere forward, pressing it against the monk's corrupted chest. The negation energy didn't explode it simply ate.
The cursed miasma around the monk hissed violently, shrinking back as though devoured by an unseen predator.
The centipede screeched, its monstrous head snapping toward Klaus, but he was already moving. In one motion, he vaulted upward, his boots slamming into the monk's shoulder for leverage. With his free hand, he grabbed the centipede just behind its mandibles and pulled.
Black ichor sprayed across the red bridge.
The centipede writhed, legs thrashing, its cries more human than insect now — desperate, almost pleading. Klaus didn't hesitate. With a final wrench, he tore the creature free from the monk's body, snapping its spine-like segments apart in a single, brutal motion.
The beast convulsed once… twice… then went limp.
Klaus landed lightly on the bridge, the corpse of the parasite dissolving into nothingness behind him. The air felt cleaner. Lighter.
From the side, Sofie's shoulders sagged in relief. "It's over…"
Ryouma let out a low chuckle. "First trial — cleared." He raised a thumb toward Klaus. "And damn, you made it look easy."
Sofie stepped forward, a small, proud smile creeping onto her face despite herself. Klaus said nothing, just exhaled slowly, his eyes already shifting toward the path ahead.
Because they all knew…This was only the beginning.
---
"Man… you're a monster, Klaus!" Ryouma laughed, clapping his hands together in mock applause. "That was some god-tier fighting back there."
Klaus clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing slightly at the sound sharp in the stillness after battle.
"Here." Ryouma tossed a bottle of water toward him. "Hydration's important."
Klaus didn't take it. "No thanks." His voice was flat, almost too polite.
But then… something shifted in his gaze.
Before Sofie could blink, Klaus had stepped forward and grabbed Ryouma by the collar, yanking him close. The sudden movement made Sofie's eyes widen.
"W–Whoa, hey!" Ryouma's hands shot up in surrender. "What's this about?"
Klaus's voice was colder than the mist around them, laced with an unshakable killing intent."Look here… I don't know what your game plan is."
Ryouma blinked, feigning confusion. "What?"
"That monk…" Klaus's grip tightened. "It fought back after we finished it off once."
"Yeah, I saw that" Ryouma started.
Klaus cut him a sharp look. "You saw that?"
"Shit… my cover's blown."
"I know you were purposely hiding from us," Klaus continued, his tone like a blade, "and that you led that monk straight to us."
The mist swirled faintly as Klaus's eyes narrowed even further."I noticed, the fog was getting heavier… so I released my Ryōki covering at least the entire village to track you."
Ryouma's smirk faltered. "Impossible… how does this kid have that level of Ryōki?"
He scrambled for a lie. "Hey, hey, you've got it wrong. I was just—"
Klaus abruptly released him, straightening his coat with a small, dismissive motion. "You led us here. You gave us vital information on the Dragon Tears. For that, I'll let you walk away."
He stepped closer, just enough for Ryouma to feel the pressure in his bones."But… I'll be watching your every move."
Ryouma chuckled awkwardly, scratching his neck. "Hah… good to know."
Sofie glanced between them, her gut telling her this little alliance just became a lot more dangerous.