After introducing herself in such a stupid way, I briefly considered giving her an introduction worthy of a true legend.
"I am Shadow. He who lurks in the darkness to hunt the shadows."
Yeah, that would shut her up. Drown her in sheer awe.
But... there was no point.
I'd have to share my information anyway. Coming up with some grand, theatrical entrance just to ruin it seconds later would be more embarrassing than dying in this damn cave.
I sighed.
"Minoru Kagenou from the Tenth Division."
A beat of silence-
Then, Mei snorted.
"Ehhhh... So Mister Zombie's from the Tenth?"
Seriously. This zombie thing again?
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Fine. Whatever. More importantly, do you have a Dia Stone? Or better yet, the Dia skill itself?"
Alright, let's see if my C- rank luck is worth anything.
Instead of an immediate answer, she let out a dramatic, arrogant laugh-
"Fufufu~! Behold the might of my all-powerful Dia!"
I sense Magatsuhi-
Then, warmth.
A soothing wave ran through my body, spreading from my core to my limbs. The faintest sensation returned to my dead right arm, the overwhelming numbness fading into something just bearable.
Instead of being completely charred, my skin now looked just heavily burned.
Cuts and wounds across my body sealed up, minor burns disappeared entirely, and the bruises shrank-some even fading completely. I could even feel part of my face reconstructing itself.
Oh.
I get it now.
If my face was this messed up before, then...
No wonder she thought I was a goddamn zombie.
I exhaled, flexing my fingers for the first time in what felt like forever.
Damn.
I felt alive again.
A voice rudely cut through my thoughts.
"Oi, if ya done bein' all starstruck by my godly healin' skills, how 'bout ya tell me what you're doin' here?"
I let out a slow breath.
"After a fight with a Dark Summoner, I passed out. When I woke up, I was already in this cave."
Mei made a weird, exaggerated noise of shock.
"Whaaaat? You fainted in the Vortex World? Damn, you sure you ain't a zombie?"
There it was again.
But honestly, by this point, I was starting to get numb to it.
Still, before I could shoot back a reply, I heard her mutter under her breath-
"For real tho, what kinda busted-ass luck is that...?"
Luck?
Right. If I actually had good luck, I wouldn't have gotten burned alive and dumped in a death trap. But, if my C- rank luck had been any worse...
I'd probably be dead.
Shaking the thought away, I focused back on the important part.
"I told you why I'm here. Now it's your turn, what demon are you hunting?"
Mei gasp, she seems almost caught off guard-probably still not over my miraculous survival.
"Hah? Huh? Oh, right the demon!"
She suddenly put on a dramatic air, like she was setting up some grand reveals.
"There've been reports 'bout newbies Devil Summoners vanishin' 'round this area. And ya know what they all had in common?"
A pause. A silence so forced it had to be on purpose.
Then-
"They were all..."
She lowered her voice for effect.
"Young men!"
I mulled over her dramatic revelation.
If young men were the common targets, then maybe just maybe that was part of the reason why my vision was shot. The darkness wasn't just natural and it was a targeted effect.
Tastsumi could see just fine, which meant the spell was likely focused on young men. But... there was also a chance it could affect women too, just to a lesser degree.
Only one way to find out.
"Hey, Tastsumi. Since you've been in this cave, has anything been messing with your vision?"
A confused noise came from her.
"Hah? Nah, why?"
Then, in the most obnoxious tone possible-
"Wait don't tell me! My beauty blinded ya, huh?!"
I stood there, dead silent.
And thankfully, after a second, her voice turned more serious.
"Or maybe... ya got hit with a demon's spell?"
At least she could put two and two together. If I had to fight a demon in its own lair with some brainless moron, I would've lost my mind.
"Now that we've cleared that up," I said, getting back on track, "do you have any idea what kind of demon we're dealing with? And did you already have a plan to take it out?"
I crossed my arms or, well, I tried to. My right one still wasn't up for it.
"I'll also need your parameters. We can't come up with a proper strategy unless we know what we're working with. Don't worry, I'll send you mine too."
I heard Mei let out a long, exaggerated sigh before she checked her COMP.
I glanced at mine as well, and immediately, something caught my eye.
"Huh?"
Next to my Strength, Endurance, and Agility parameters, there were small upward-pointing arrows.
That was new.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what it probably meant. Some kind of growth indicator? My stats were on the verge of increasing? Still, better to confirm than to assume.
"Hey, Mei. What do these arrows next to some of my stats mean?"
"Hmm?" She barely sounded interested at first. "Oh. That means some of your stats are about to go up."
Figured.
"There are two ways to make that happen. First, ya keep absorbin' Magatsuhi 'til ya break through to the next rank. Simple grind."
That made sense. That was how most Devil Summoners got stronger.
"Second, ya mess with the Magatsuhi inside ya—meditate, train, do whatever—'til ya force the breakthrough yerself."
She paused, then added, "Lemme put it in a way even a zombie can get."
I chose not to react.
"Think of it like… a container filled with water. To level up, ya gotta break it."
I nodded along.
"You can either keep pourin' in water 'til the pressure pops it… or ya can stir up the water inside, makin' it burst from the inside out. Either way, boom! Next rank. Got it?"
Not a bad analogy, honestly.
"Say, Mei… You know any safe spots around here? And do you think I've got enough time to meditate and try forcing a parameter boost?"
She clicked her tongue, like she was chewing over the idea.
"I got a place that's… kinda safe. Not like, 'take a nap and dream of paradise' safe, more like 'you probably won't die if ya don't make noise' safe."
Comforting.
There was a pause, then she added, "As for time? Ya might get two quick shots at it. Three if we stretch it, but we ain't got time to play zen master in here. Demon's still breathin', y'know?"
I gave a small nod. Fair enough. Two attempts. I'd make 'em count.
"Lead the way, then."
Despite my eyes still refusing to process anything beyond vague shapes and light, I managed to follow her steps. Her boots made just enough noise to guide me—unintentional, maybe, but appreciated.
Little by little, I could feel the sensation creeping back into my right arm. Pins and needles, mostly. But it was a good sign. A sign of life.
Problem was… my katana was still broken.
So how the hell was I supposed to fight now?
Go full close-combat with my fists? Risky. Or maybe switch to long-range spells, though I wasn't exactly the best with elemental incantations.
That train of thought pushed a question to the surface.
"Hey, Tatsumi—can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure. But cut it with the 'Tatsumi' thing. Just call me Mei, aight? We're both Devil Summoners, part of the same org, no need to act all stiff."
I blinked, a little thrown by how casual she made it sound. But I rolled with it.
"Alright, Mei. What's your combat style? Before I got dropped into this cave, I used a katana. Now that it's broken, I have to rethink my whole approach."
She let out a short, satisfied chuckle, like she'd been waiting for me to ask.
"I rely mostly on magic when it's time to throw hands. So if you're comfy with close-range, I'd love for ya to take points. If you're hellbent on usin' weapons, I got a dagger you can borrow."
Magic from the back, fists up front.
Classic dynamic.
Might just work.
I gave a low hum in response, weighing the options.
But I had to break my current limits—fast. But what was the quickest path forward? Should I stick to meditation… or try something more unorthodox?
I was weighing the options when Mei's footsteps came to a stop.
"Alright, we here," she said, her tone carrying that usual lazy drawl. "Hope ya can get those stats up real quick, 'cause I got a bad feelin' the demons ain't gonna sit still for long."
I couldn't see far, but I could feel the space around us. Quiet. Unpressured. Stable. For now, at least, it was safe.
Time to move.
I sat cross-legged on the cold ground and shut out everything else—Mei, the groaning rock walls, the vague scent of sulfur hanging in the air. I turned my focus inward.
Magatsuhi. That swirling, dangerous essence.
It wasn't just energy. It existed on more than one plane—body, mind, soul… and something else. Maybe several others. I couldn't name them, but my instinct told me I didn't need to. Not yet.
Controlling Magatsuhi to cast spells was one thing—it only needed to move across a single layer. What I was doing now, though… it was about harmonizing all of them. Aligning every part of my being and turning that alignment into force.
I recalled Mei's analogy—water in a container. I visualized it.
Poured Magatsuhi throughout my body.
Then directed it inward, to my chest.
Faster. Denser. Like a whirlpool collapsing in on itself, forming a singular core—tight, volatile, on the verge of eruption.
And then—
I shoved it forward, all at once. Against this conceptual "wall" called Limits
Crack.
It felt like something snapped inside me.
Blood erupted from my mouth, hot and thick. I could feel it leaking from my pores. My organs screamed, twisting from the internal backlash.
"Hyaaa!" I heard Mei yelp behind me.
Then came the warm rush of healing magic.
A few seconds passed before she grumbled, "Daaamn. I seen folks do this before, even tried it myself once—but I ain't never seen anyone mess themselves up that bad. Like, ya went full kamikaze on your insides. That's how I do it too, but maybe ya need another method. Some folks use that martial artist stuff, like in those Chinese webnovels and whatnot."
I coughed and spat out the last of the blood in my throat.
"Thanks for the advice… even if it came a bit late. I'll go for my second try."
I slipped back into meditation, slower this time. No rush. I wasn't about to pulverize myself again.
Just breathe.
Let the Magatsuhi circulate.
Let the flow become thought, and the thought become shape.
But shape into what?
I let the energy move through me, tracing the familiar channels I'd forged. Still, the wall was there—cold, immovable, conceptually offensive.
That's when my thoughts wandered. Back to the reason I chased power in the first place.
Back to a time before the Vortex World.
Before demons and contracts and near-death experiences.
I remembered the desire.
Withstand nuclear power.
That was my goal. No less.
Back then, it had been a fantasy. Something unreachable, abstract.
Now?
Now I was a Summoner. With Magatsuhi and spells in my hands. Power was no longer a dream—it was a path. The only thing stopping me… was this cursed wall. These limits.
If I couldn't break them, I'd stay like this. Mediocre. Forgettable.
I'd never become the puppeteer behind the curtain. The Eminence in shadow I wanted to be.
I clenched my fists unconsciously. Think, damn it. Think.
All those hours of training.
Every drop of effort to shape magic to my will—what were they for if not this?
Come on, Minoru. You're not out of cards yet.
And then, the thought hit me.
Of course. OF COURSE!!!
Nuclear power.
Fission.
I changed the current of my Magatsuhi. Instead of circulating it like a river, I split it. I forced it apart at its core, dividing it into volatile halves—twin serpents spiraling in opposite directions, vibrating with unstable energy.
The pain was instant.
Soul.
Mind.
Body.
Each of them felt like they were being peeled apart and boiled from the inside.
But they weren't breaking. Not like before.
This wasn't destruction.
This was transformation.
The spiraling Magatsuhi reached a critical point—then ruptured in a way that felt less like an explosion and more like… detachment.
Like I was being torn from myself.
Or rather, the old self was being left behind.
Burned away by the fission flame.
Stripped down to make room for something new.
And then—
The wall shattered.
I didn't hear it. Didn't see it.
But I knew.
I had broken through.
I exhaled, slowly, like a man surfacing after a dive.
It took me a moment to return. To feel my body again.
Everything was… the same.
I checked my parameters.
They had increased, yet I still don't feel stronger.
But the ceiling—the invisible, oppressive sensation of being stuck—was gone.
The confinement was over.
I hadn't become a god. I hadn't transcended the world.
But I had taken a step forward.
Mei's voice cut into my thoughts like a splash of cold water.
"Daaaamn, you wrapped that up quick. You sure that wasn't your first time?"
I exhaled through my nose, wiping the sweat from my brow.
"No, that was the first time something like that happened… but I did train in magic before becoming a Summo—"
Crap.
I hoped that she didn't catch the last part.
There was a beat of silence before she laughed.
"Wait, you were messin' with magic before gettin' a COMP? Man, what a weirdo…"
Well. She noticed.
I stood up and turned toward where I thought her voice came from, brushing dust from my pants.
"Forget that. It's not important right now."
My voice was calm again. Focused.
"We need to come up with a plan. Figure out how to take out these demons and get out of this hellhole."
There was no more hesitation in me now.
---------------------------------------------
Name: Minoru
Race: Summoner
MP: 950/950
Resistances: [Physique][Dark]
Weakness: None
Strength: E+
Endurance: E+
Magic: E+
Agility: E+
Luck: C-
Skills: [Bufu][Sukukaja][Mudo][Eiha][Taunt][Maragi]
---------------------------------------------