Battle Record: Adventurer Jack Harper (Black Iron – Mid Rank) successfully slew senior Adventurer Brandon Caswell (Bronze – Upper Rank) despite the rank gap. Rewards: absorb 70% of the fallen's Survival Points; draw one random card from the fallen's Reincarnation Book; gain one random innate ability from the fallen; battle evaluation +1.
Adventurer Jack Harper (Black Iron – Upper Rank) receives 4,263 Survival Points.
He acquires one Black Iron – Upper Rank ability card, "Horsemanship" (sourced from the online game World of Warcraft).
He acquires one Bronze – Upper Rank item card, the Frostless Technique inner-power manual (sourced from the manga The Four Constables).
"Is that lucky…or just plain unlucky?" Jack Harper sat on a broken tree trunk in the unfamiliar forest, rubbing his temples. Killing his arch-rival Brandon Caswell was worth celebrating—yet Caswell's dying curse bound Jack forever to a Silver-rank Adventuring squad. No escape, no truce. According to his Reincarnation Book, that squad would include at least two Silver-rankers. In the X-Men world, even Magneto pulling up an ocean-spanning bridge was only a Silver-rank boss.
As for Caswell's spoils, Jack felt mixed. The Survival Points matched his expectations—if a bit generous. The random ability card, however, was underwhelming: Caswell's final Counterattack Storm move could obliterate most Silver Saints, yet Jack only drew Horsemanship. A treasure trove that offered little immediate benefit.
The real jackpot came from the drawn card in Caswell's Reincarnation Book: an ice-element martial-arts scroll. The Frostless Technique, when fully cultivated, promised at least Upper Bronze-rank inner power. Sadly, Jack held only the manual—and his aptitude dropped it to a Bronze-rank item card.
Caswell's death-triggered treasure card, "Blood Feud of the Underworld," proved equally bizarre.
"Effect: The user dies without fail. The cursed target is bound by hatred to the user's Adventuring squad. Hereafter, both parties will always be drawn into the same mission space, with directly opposed objectives. If one mission fails to settle the score, the next one resumes without end.
"If an Adventuring squad kills the cursed target—regardless of rank difference—they claim all the target's abilities, cards, and Survival Points. If the cursed target, against all odds, wipes out every senior member of the Adventuring squad, they earn normal kill rewards plus an extra treasure card. Its rank equals that of the massacred squad, and its attributes are random."
By unleashing this card before dying, Caswell ensured his team would avenge him. But Jack Harper refused to lie down and die. His Dark Aquarius Cloth and ice-cosmos placed his strength on par with most Silver Saints. Though he trailed true Silver-rank Adventurers in some areas, he still had a fighting chance.
Yet another worry gnawed at him:
"Damn it. I planned to head back to the real world and cram every game, novel, and movie reference I'd missed. Instead, Caswell dragged me right back into Reincarnation Space. Who can tell me what Claymore is all about?" Jack flipped open his Reincarnation Book, helplessly recalling his confusion in the X-Men mission.
Claymore—the manga, running since 2001—lay far outside the ken of a former ice-prison inmate with a decade-long blank. In a mature Adventuring team, someone would archive every mission world's lore in a searchable databank. Jack never had that luxury: he'd been yanked back before he could prep.
This time, his Reincarnation Book offered no mission hints—leaving him blind. At least he could see the opposing squad's info:
Team Rank: Silver – Lower Tier Members: 6 of 7 filled Captain: Silver – Mid Rank (1) Vice-Captain: Silver – Lower Rank (1) Senior Members: Three Bronze – Upper Rank Rookies: Not counted
Jack shrugged off any false hope. A team's rank told him nothing about their actual strength. They'd surely received his dossier too—an experienced squad would monitor every world they entered. Any misstep might expose him, and facing a full Silver-rank team now meant suicide.
But doing nothing left him equally stranded. Reincarnation Space wouldn't stay mission-free forever—if he couldn't even parse his objective, how could he hope to survive?
Even Jack Harper's iron will faltered. "It's like making a blind man map out a room, then expecting him never to trip."
Since his mother's death, Jack depended only on himself. He rose, resolving to observe from the shadows first. And hide his face—he couldn't risk exposing his features to a world of potential aliens.
Scanning the horizon, he spotted smoke drifting beyond a western ridge. A target. He leapt toward it and soon found a midsize settlement ringed by wooden palisades—dozens of dwellings clustered inside.
"Not an alien outpost, not some future tech world…Feels like medieval Europe. No high technology, maybe magic." Jack's mind raced. "For a Silver-rank mission world, the challenge must match—that suggests magic or supernatural foes: vampires, werewolves." He clenched his jaw. Without intel, he had to find out firsthand.
His Reincarnation Book granted basic supplies: food, water, clothing—for a small Survival Point fee. He summoned a set of garments that matched local style and a heavy hooded cloak to shield his face. Shadowmourne, Caswell's custom great-axe, wouldn't fit in the Book, so he fastened it to his back with rope. Ready, he strode down the slope.
He hadn't reached the gate when an alarm bell rang from within. Stout villagers slammed the wooden doors shut. An elder peered over the wall and barked, "Whether demon, bandit, or traveler—get out. We don't welcome strangers!"
Jack froze. Mountain folk usually greeted outsiders. And what was a "demon"?
He forced himself to reply calmly. "I'm a traveler from afar. Lost my way and most of my gear. Is there another town where I can find lodging and supplies?"
The elder's gaze flickered with something sharper before he answered, "Follow the mountain path east. By dusk you'll reach Pross. They have inns and shops."
Jack nodded and set off.
The path led him through woods to Pross—a bustling town of roughly a hundred households. Here, villagers greeted him warmly. In the tavern, a dozen locals raised their mugs in welcome.
Yet Jack felt his hackles rise. Two neighboring settlements could not be more different: one warned every outsider away, the other flung open its doors. No walls, no guards—Pross was undefended. Why the stark contrast? If bandits roamed the mountains, the larger town would be on high alert, not the hamlet.
Could the "demons" be the key? Pross might shelter them within. The mountain village, by pointing him here, ensured he'd feed the monsters instead of the villagers. Perhaps every outlying hamlet made the same bargain: prey coexist with humanity. He shook his head. Predator-prey coevolution wasn't limited to animals.
Jack booked a room after half a mug of ale—but he wasn't here to sleep. He opened the window to eavesdrop on the street—and froze again. No smoke curled from any chimney. Only ten or so houses had lights on; the rest sat in eerie darkness.
"Of course," Jack muttered. "Pross is a ghost town—pure façade. The old man knew exactly what he was doing."
He spotted more oddities: no children, no street vendors, no livestock, not a scrap of clutter. The streets were unnaturally pristine.
"Ha—looks like the entire town's staged. I must be a real dunce; I never spent time in European countryside." He braced himself. Tonight, Pross would show its true face.
"Knock-knock-knock-knock…" Heavy footsteps climbed the stairs, five or six of them. Outside on the street, a dozen more figures moved into positions, surrounding the building. From the opposite rooftop, three more silhouettes appeared.
Murmured voices crept through the window: "This traveler's mine—no one touch him." "Nonsense. I've gone three days without fresh meat. It's my turn for innards." "You lost your share last week. My rule says I get half the organs." "Rules? First grab the brain and run." "Zip it, or we'll carve you up."
Jack's Saint-forged hearing picked up every squeak and hiss. Despite all the killing he'd done, the thought of man-eaters chilled him.
"Towns of cannibals?" He swallowed bile. "Black-market butcher shops usually rob travelers for loot and use bodies as byproduct. Here, everyone's obsessed with human flesh—must be a village of lunatics."
A thought struck him: "No. Not lunatics—inhuman predators. These are the 'demons.' The mountain hamlet resisted them because they can't be spotted by sight. The elders sent me here to feed them, so they'd leave the villagers alone. Probably every nearby hamlet does this."
As his mind ran through the theory, the felled figures on the street began shifting. The tavern owner's voice drifted up in a deep, chanting tone:
"Far-flung guest, you know your fate: you stand in Demon Town. Each demon here welcomes you—your offerings bring us delight. Now choose your path: sip the peace-sleep wine, or take up arms.
"Wine grants tranquil slumber, sweet dreams eternal. Weapons grant the thrill of battle—let us taste your quivering heart. Whatever you choose, one of us will don your face and journey forth. Then they'll travel every road, every river, every mountain to your home, and reunite with your kin. A new feast will commence, and Demon Town will claim new denizens."
Jack clenched his fists. "They turned cannibalism into poetry." Yet if their words were true, he'd gleaned the world's darker truths.
"BANG!" The door exploded inward. The first transformed demon—the barkeep—towered over the entrance, muscles swollen past human limits, golden beast-eyes gleaming. He roared, "Guest from afar, have you made your choice?"
Before he finished, Jack delivered a single, brutal punch, sending the demon hurtling out the door.
"So weak!" Jack thought, surveying the remaining five. "Inflated muscles and size might boost strength and defense, but they're still within human limits—and unarmed villagers die quickly. A skilled special-ops soldier with a handgun would laugh at them. For a Silver-rank mission world, these foes are fodder. The real challenge must lie elsewhere."
Jack unleashed a rapid five-hit combo, each blow cracking open a demon's skull. From his window perch, he watched more figures transform on the street—gold eyes, bat-like wings sprouting, none hesitating.
He leaped out, but at the same moment recalled the sickly purple blood he'd spilled. He drew Shadowmourne instead—better to fight with a weapon than risk gore on his fists.
Though Saints favored bare-handed combat, they trained in dozens of weapons. In the manga, the Bronze Five brandished Golden weapons as if born to them; Seiya could nock an arrow in the Sagittarius Cloth without pause. Jack was no novice.
He swung Shadowmourne mid-leap, cleaving one demon in two. He landed and split another with a single arc.
"Hey—that frost!" As he felled two more with the axe, Jack felt a familiar chill surge from the blade into his "Diffuse Chill" cosmos—raising its constant flow slightly.
"This is incredible," Jack marveled. "Killing with Shadowmourne actually boosts my Diffuse Chill. Could there be a link between this axe and my old weapon? If I can grow my ice-cosmos this way, I might one day surpass the Gold Saints."
With renewed ferocity, Jack roared and charged the remaining demons.
Pross, once a hundred-strong town, was now fifty hungry demons. Each ranked around Black Iron – Mid Tier, with a few Upper. They might overwhelm special-ops in a forest skirmish—but against Jack Harper, they stood no chance.
Unarmored flesh couldn't withstand his axe's tear; their speed was sluggish beside his super-human reflexes; their strength paled to jackhammer blows. Their one advantage—appearing human—meant nothing here, as every inhabitant was a demon.
Within thirty minutes, Jack Harper had purged every last demon from Pross.
The deaths of fifty carved deeper frost into his cosmos—he could now unleash eighteen-fold bursts of power.
"A real shortcut," Jack admitted, fighting glee. "At this rate, if I kill five hundred, I'd double my power…ten thousand for Gold-level? That's a lot."
He paused at the foot of a gutted tavern. A soft, feminine voice came from behind: "Excuse me…did you do this?"
Jack whirled. Standing in the gloom was a tall, silver-eyed blonde girl—Windcutter Flora herself.
Even Jack Harper, whose emotions were famously dulled compared to the average person, couldn't help but pause in awe at the girl's beauty.
Her features were delicate, yet carried a serene and noble grace. Her long, pale-golden hair curled slightly, framing a pair of large silver eyes that held an almost inhuman mystery. She was tall—slightly taller than most men—but her proportions were perfectly balanced: neither frail nor overtly muscular.
At first glance, she could easily be mistaken for a noblewoman. Yet she wore lightweight steel armor and carried on her back a silver greatsword nearly as tall as herself. From her quiet elegance radiated the sharp, resolute aura of a warrior, making her cold beauty all the more striking.
"You are…" Jack Harper was stunned by both her appearance and the power she had shown by appearing silently behind him.
"I'm a warrior of the Organization. You may call me…" The sword-bearing girl replied in a voice that was sweet and clear, contrasting with her martial bearing. "…Flora."
Flora… Jack Harper unconsciously committed the name to memory.
Then the silver-eyed girl named Flora spoke again, her tone polite: "I heard this town had been overrun by demons, so I came to investigate. I didn't expect them to be completely wiped out. May I ask…was it your doing?"
Jack Harper didn't hide it. He nodded. "Yes. I came here to rest, but ended up dealing with a lot more trouble than expected. By the way…"
His gaze shifted to the silver greatsword on her back. "…Are you one of the 'Great Swords'?"
"Mm… Most people do call us that," Flora nodded. "But we refer to ourselves simply as warriors. I've heard of exceptional humans who could slay demons alone, but to defeat dozens single-handedly—even among us warriors, only a rare few can manage that. Your strength is truly impressive."
Jack Harper paused. "What do you mean? What makes you 'Great Swords' different from ordinary humans?" He had already found it strange: the girl didn't appear muscular, yet she carried a hundred-pound greatsword and had approached him without a sound. That alone spoke volumes about her strength. His instincts, honed on Death Queen Island, had been warning him all along—this silver-eyed blonde was powerful. At least stronger than Jack Harper without his Dark Aquarius Cloth.
"You didn't know?" Flora blinked, then explained carefully: "Demons have plagued this land since ancient times, feeding on humans and even mimicking their appearance. Compared to pure demon settlements like this town, those who disguise themselves among humans are far more dangerous. To eliminate them, the Organization developed a method to implant demon flesh into human bodies. That's how we warriors were created. Because we share the same aura as demons, we can identify them among crowds. And thanks to our partial demonization, we possess the strength to slay them. Physically speaking, we can be considered half-demons."
Jack Harper found it odd: half-demons stronger than pure demons? What kind of logic was that—was she a hybrid Saiyan?
Still, he sensed Flora's discomfort with her identity. Her tone carried a hint of melancholy when she spoke of being half-demon. So he didn't press further. Instead, a thought struck him: "You said you warriors can identify demons among humans. So your mission is to eliminate them?"
Flora nodded. "Yes."
Jack Harper hesitated, then said, "Then…may I travel with you?"
"Eh? What did you say?" Flora's calm expression finally shifted in surprise. She blinked her silver eyes, clearly puzzled.
Jack Harper looked at her seriously. "I mean, I'd like to travel with you and help you slay demons. You know I have the strength—I won't be a burden."
Flora quickly regained her composure and shook her head. "I'm sorry. Demon hunting is our mission as warriors. We can't involve outsiders."
Jack Harper didn't give up. "But it's my mission too."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Flora said, raising her silver eyes to meet his.
"Like you warriors, my power to slay demons wasn't something I was born with—it awakened after a life-or-death event. In a sense, I'm not entirely human either. After that, I found this great axe, which resonates with my power. Every time I kill a demon with it, I grow stronger. So I believe this power wasn't given to me by chance. Slaying demons with it is my divine mission. In that sense, we're the same, aren't we?" Jack Harper had heavily edited his story, hoping to evoke sympathy and convince Flora to let him follow her—to slay more demons and grow stronger.
But Flora didn't show any joy. She simply shook her head and replied coldly, "We are warriors under the Organization. We only act upon commission, and we charge a high fee afterward. So…we are different."
Jack Harper smiled faintly. "But the people of this town can't commission you anymore, can they? Yet you still came. Flora, maybe your Organization doesn't exist solely to slay demons, but deep down, you still feel responsible, don't you? How about this: you handle the demons your Organization assigns, and I'll take care of the rest. What do you think?"
Flora blinked. The icy distance in her eyes softened slightly, but she quickly returned to her usual calm and shook her head. "No. I refuse. Please don't make such difficult requests again."
Without waiting for Jack Harper's response, she turned and accelerated, leaving the town at a speed faster than Jack Harper's.
"She rejected me even after all that? Her resolve is unexpectedly firm… Maybe she has other reasons for sticking to her principles. Worth following up." Jack Harper watched the golden-haired girl disappear into the night and shook his head. "But she's faster than me, even without my Cloth. Should I wear it to catch up? Wait—I might have something better."
Jack Harper suddenly remembered another item—or rather, a pair—he had obtained from Brandon Caswell: the Headless Knight's Warhorse Reins and the Horsemanship ability card.
The Horsemanship card was somewhere between an ability grant and a knowledge infusion. Jack had used it upon arriving in this world. It had filled his mind with riding techniques and mount lore, but the only ability it granted was "Horsemanship Level 0." According to the card's info, flying mounts required hundreds of levels. Levels could be gained through training or by spending Survival Points. Though each level cost little, the total exceeded 3,000 points, so Jack hadn't spent any yet.
In fact, this was the real drain on Survival Points. His other ability card, "Basic Force Control," worked the same way: knowledge and a baseline skill, with further growth requiring training or Survival Points. The stronger the ability, the more expensive the upgrades. Jack hadn't spent points on Force either—instead, he fused it with "Diffuse Chill" and "Frost Grip," training for five years on Death Queen Island to create a new, original skill.
As for the "Headless Knight's Warhorse Reins," its name came from the Horsemanship card's lore. It could summon a death warhorse made of magic—capable of running and flying. Its speed wasn't fixed, but scaled to the summoner's own: twice the summoner's top running speed, and four times in flight. This was without any special skills or energy—just raw physical speed.
Jack had been confident in his own speed, so he hadn't bothered with the armored death horse. But seeing Flora's pace, he realized there was always someone faster. He spent over 3,000 points to max out Horsemanship, then flicked the reins to summon the warhorse.
The death warhorse was an undead magical creature, so it didn't remember past owners. Even though Brandon Caswell had loved it and named it, the horse appeared calm and neutral. It wore full-body armor made of dozens of large plates, smaller scales, and chains—silent, yet imposing.
Jack Harper mounted the horse and tugged the reins. The warhorse reared and bolted like a black lightning bolt. Even without using his cosmos, Jack could run over 200 km/h. The horse doubled that to over 500 km/h. In the real world, only jet-powered vehicles could match that speed on open ground. In flight, it might even break the sound barrier.
Flora was fast, but she hadn't maintained top speed. Soon, Jack caught up.
He didn't approach directly—just followed from a distance until Flora entered another town.
At the same time Jack entered the mission world, the "Dark Oath" Adventuring squad also arrived.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with three long whiskers, dressed in a traditional Chinese black robe with gold trim. Beside him stood a beautiful young woman in a black bodysuit, revealing patches of pale skin at her chest and thighs. Behind them were three more members: a youth in Western-style golden armor, a short man with messy hair in a white lab coat, and a bespectacled girl in a school uniform.
At their feet lay ten newcomers, sprawled in various positions.
But the five veteran adventurers had already changed expressions upon arrival.
"Where's Brandon Caswell?" asked the woman in the black bodysuit. "Everyone was supposed to be teleported in together at the start of the mission, weren't they?"
The bespectacled schoolgirl replied in a soft voice, "He said he had something to take care of in the real world, and then…"
"He's dead," said the middle-aged man in the traditional robe, frowning. "Check your Samsara Books."
The others quickly opened their Samsara Books.
"Huh? Brandon Caswell triggered 'Styx Blood Vow'… Wait, he was killed by a Black Iron-ranked adventurer? And it was a one-on-one fight?" the woman in the bodysuit exclaimed.
The golden-armored youth sneered. "What's so strange about that? The Samsara world is full of surprises. Battle ratings don't equal strength, and they certainly don't guarantee victory. I killed a Silver-ranked boss when I was still a rookie."
"That was just dumb luck. You got promoted to Upper Black Iron from that one fluke, then upgraded to a Silver-tier ability. But after seven missions, you've only reached Mid Bronze," the woman snapped back. "Brandon Caswell was different. He was a chosen seed of the True God, broke the rules to create his own skill, and reached Upper Bronze after just four missions. He killed two Silver-ranked bosses with raw power. How could he possibly…"
The youth scoffed. "Lady Night, you weren't even this upset when your husband died. So you really do like younger men."
"Goldie, you're full of crap. That skinless, shameless, uncultured ox—his death meant nothing to me. That gear-hungry trash? I cut ties with him ages ago," the woman—called Lady Night—snapped, then added, "Don't forget why the True God had us form this seed team. Now that Brandon Caswell's gone, we'll all face divine wrath."
"Enough, Goldie, Night," the robed man said calmly. "Brandon Caswell was a genius, but there are always greater talents. He was killed one-on-one by a lower-ranked adventurer. That's not our fault. Even if the True God finds out, we won't be blamed. But 'Styx Blood Vow' means a fight to the death. We need to find and eliminate the killer quickly. If he grows stronger, he could become a real threat. Alchemist, your thoughts?"
The short man in the lab coat nodded and spoke slowly. "We should be grateful this world is from Claymore. Its power system is singular—demonic energy. Unless the killer has a gene-devouring ability, he won't gain new powers here. So we don't need to worry too much about his growth. According to the Blood Vow rules, we entered this world simultaneously, just in different locations. So he won't have much support from local factions. However…"
"However what? Don't trail off, Alchemist," said the golden-armored youth.
The Alchemist shot him a look and continued at the same pace. "However, we only know his battle rating, not his appearance, gender, or ability traits. Finding him in a crowd will be difficult. The Samsara Book hasn't issued a mission yet. It may trigger at a specific time. If he hides in the shadows, we could suffer losses."
"Countermeasures?" the robed man asked calmly.
"First, we need to determine what stage of the Claymore story we're in. That'll help us predict the final mission. This world has a few Gold-tier powerhouses, but not many suitable for a Silver-ranked team mission," the Alchemist replied. He glanced at the ten newcomers on the ground and continued, "As for the one who killed Brandon Caswell—if he's hiding, we can't just wait. We should consider baiting him out."
"Agreed. Let's proceed as Alchemist suggested," the robed man nodded.
"Yes, boss," the others replied in unison.
During the time Jack Harper had been tailing Flora, he'd picked up on a few things. Due to their half-demon nature and inhuman strength, the people of this world seemed to shun the girls known as Great Swords. These silver-eyed blondes avoided human contact whenever possible. Flora, for instance, rarely approached towns unless her mission required it.
So when she entered a city two days later, Jack Harper was surprised.
"Could there be demons here?" he wondered, following her into the city. But he didn't see Flora take action. She simply turned a few corners and entered a house.
"Is that you, Senior Flora? I'm Clare, ranked No. 23. It's an honor to team up with you again. This is No. 28, Sannie, and No. 34, Kanisha. They're both defensive warriors. For this Awakened Being hunt, we'll be relying on your guidance." As Jack Harper approached the doorway, he heard the voice. When the door opened, he saw three more silver-eyed blondes inside. Though their faces and hairstyles differed, their armor and swords matched Flora's, and they were all tall and slender—clearly her comrades.
"So after demons come… Awakened Beings? What are those?" Jack Harper frowned. Without background knowledge, he was flying blind. "But they must be far stronger than demons. Flora's strength is unknown, but she could probably handle any demon under rank 100. Now she needs three other warriors to assist? That means these Awakened Beings must be hundreds of times stronger. If my axe, Shadowmourne, grows stronger with each powerful demon I kill, then maybe Awakened Beings will give me a real boost."
It was just past noon, so the warriors didn't linger. They left the city and headed south toward a valley. Since the others weren't as fast as Flora, Jack Harper didn't use his mount and followed from a distance.
By the time Jack Harper reached the battlefield, the four warriors had already engaged their target.
From his vantage point on a cliff, Jack saw that their opponent was also a tall woman—physically similar to the warriors, but with black hair instead of blonde.
"Not planning to introduce yourselves, my dear juniors?" the black-haired woman asked mockingly.
Her words clearly angered the three lower-ranked warriors, but Flora remained composed and replied with knightly precision: "I am Flora, currently ranked No. 8 in the Organization. The others are No. 23…"
"Enough. I only care about your name, since you're a single-digit warrior. The rest are trash—I'm not interested," the black-haired woman waved dismissively. "As for me, I used to be No. 14—Marilyn. I'm here to send you to your deaths… or your awakenings."
In the next instant, Marilyn's graceful body began to swell rapidly. And this wasn't the kind of growth where a person stretches from 5'7" to 7'2"—this was like a kitten turning into an elephant. In just one second, the beautiful woman had transformed into a monstrous beast.
The creature resembled a centaur, but its lower half was a crocodile-tailed elephant with thick limbs and armored scales. Where its neck should have been, its torso connected directly to its waist. Its upper half was a six-armed giant, with a lizard-like maw protruding from its belly. Its head resembled a wolf, but with four tusks jutting out like ivory spears.
"Spread out! Maintain formation!" Flora shouted. The other three warriors immediately fanned out into a triangle. The two lower-ranked defenders blocked the monster's massive arms, while Clare, ranked No. 23, leapt into the air and slashed at its head.
But Awakened Beings weren't so easily defeated. They were once warriors themselves, and their post-awakening power was immense. There was no way a lower-ranked warrior could take one down.
The monster opened its mouth. Its thick tongue shot out like a battering ram, slamming into Clare and sending her flying.
Then it unleashed its ultimate move.
"Finger Cannon?" Jack Harper muttered as he watched. The monster's attack was simple but bizarre. In that instant, its six arms—thirty fingers—suddenly extended like arrows, shooting out at lightning speed. The barrage pierced the two defensive warriors, riddling them with seven or eight bloody holes each.
The three Great Sword warriors were injured and unconscious—only Flora remained unscathed.
It wasn't that she hadn't been attacked. In fact, half of the Finger Cannons had targeted her. Yet the sweet-voiced, elegantly beautiful girl merely placed her hand on the hilt of the greatsword on her back, seemingly motionless. Still, every Finger Cannon was sliced cleanly in two two meters before reaching her—none could harm her.
"What a fast sword," Jack Harper couldn't help but marvel. With the strength of a Saint Seiya, he could clearly see what had happened: Flora hadn't stayed still—on the contrary, she had unleashed seventeen strikes in an instant. And they weren't continuous slashes. Each time, she drew her sword from her back, struck, then sheathed it again before repeating the process. Not only was she fast, she was astonishingly precise. It was truly breathtaking. While Jack Harper could throw punches several times faster if he activated his cosmos, wielding a hundred-pound silver greatsword would inevitably slow him down—and he could never match her precision.
The monster—or rather, the Awakened Being—also expressed admiration: "Such exquisite swordsmanship. Is that a technique you created yourself?"
"Windcutter Sword. That's the name of my technique. It's not particularly powerful, but it suits me well," Flora replied in her sweet, calm voice, without a trace of emotion.
"As expected, single-digit warriors are truly remarkable," the Awakened Being said darkly. "But your luck is terrible."
"What…" Flora was caught off guard. Before she could react, she felt a shift in the air behind her—and was suddenly hurled away by a massive force.
Flora hadn't seen what happened, but Jack Harper, watching from the cliff, saw everything clearly. In that instant, a scorpion-like tail over ten meters long shot up from underground, aiming straight for Flora's back. Though she instinctively dodged the tip, the sweeping tail still struck her, and the barbed shell tore a long gash across her left thigh.
"Hahahahaha—" the Awakened Being laughed triumphantly. "If you'd come a day earlier or later, I might've been in real danger. But unfortunately, today… I have a companion."
As she spoke, another massive figure emerged from beneath the earth—an Awakened Being with a scorpion-like body, slightly smaller than the first.
"Let me introduce her. This is Tenidia, a subordinate of the Southern Abyssal Being, Luschella. She came to recruit me into the Southern Abyss, but I refused. If you'd arrived a day earlier, she wouldn't be here. A day later, she'd be gone. But… you're just that unlucky," Marilyn, the first Awakened Being, said mockingly.
The scorpion-like Awakened Being, Tenidia, suddenly interrupted, "Enough, Marilyn. Single-digit warriors from the Organization are always dangerous. Let's finish her quickly."
Marilyn nodded. "Alright, I'll—" She raised three of her arms, preparing to strike the fallen Flora, when Tenidia suddenly shouted, "Watch out behind you!"
Another sneak attack from behind—two in under a minute, but this time the target was different. Unlike Flora, the elephant-sized Awakened Being lacked agility and couldn't dodge. With a loud crack, one of her shoulders and three arms were cleaved into the air by a blue axe shadow.
The attacker was, of course, Jack Harper—charging in on horseback, axe in hand.
By now, Jack Harper had deduced that Awakened Beings were the result of Great Sword warriors losing control of their demonic power and being overtaken by it. Though he found the logic questionable—creating monsters a hundred times stronger just to defeat monsters—it didn't concern him. What mattered was the vitality of Awakened Beings. He knew that his axe alone wouldn't be enough to defeat one, let alone two, so he had to rely on Flora's strength. Seeing the Awakened Being about to kill her, he rushed in to help.
After landing a successful strike, Jack Harper didn't slow down. He sped past Flora, leaned down with expert horsemanship, and pulled the beautiful warrior onto his saddle. Only after galloping several hundred meters did he stop.
"It's you…" Flora, though her leg was nearly crippled, remained mentally sharp. She recognized Jack Harper immediately. Surprised by his combat prowess on horseback, she still allowed him to lift her onto the horse, knowing they were allies.
"I didn't get to introduce myself last time. You can call me Jackie. No time for small talk—can you still move?" Jack Harper asked.
Flora glanced at the bowl-sized wound on her thigh and replied softly, "I'm afraid not. I'm not a defensive-type warrior. This kind of injury will take half a day to heal."
Jack Harper didn't hesitate. "Then fight from my horse. I can cleave through their bodies with a charge, but I'll be vulnerable to their attacks before I reach them. If your Windcutter Sword can shield me…"
Flora understood immediately and nodded without hesitation. "I'll protect you. Charge."
Though they'd only met twice and exchanged barely ten sentences, in that moment they felt like longtime comrades. A strange sense of mutual trust formed between them. Flora sat sideways in front of Jack Harper, leaning slightly to the right to avoid obstructing the sword's reach. Her right hand rested on the hilt. Jack Harper wrapped his right arm around her waist to steady her, gripped his axe with his left, and said, "Let's go!"
The death warhorse once again unleashed its terrifying 500 km/h speed, streaking forward like a black bolt toward the wounded Awakened Being. Marilyn sensed the danger and fired Finger Cannons from her remaining three arms. From beneath her beastly lower half, dozens of muscular, keratinous spears shot out—her hidden weapons.
But no matter how many attacks came, none could breach Flora's Windcutter Sword. Her arm and the meter-and-a-half blade shielded Jack Harper and the warhorse completely. In moments, they were upon the Awakened Being.
Flora's sword was fast and precise, but her sideways position limited its power. Jack Harper, on the other hand, wielded his axe single-handedly. With his cosmos unleashed, he lacked precision—but the momentum of the horse amplified his strike to the maximum.
"Supersonic Charge Axe!"
Unlike a barehanded punch reaching sonic speed, swinging a hundred-pound axe at supersonic velocity required exponentially more power. Jack Harper's strike wasn't just fast—it was devastating. Using the horse's speed, he condensed all his strength into the blow. The beast-tooth-shaped axe blade sliced through the air, unleashing a crescent-shaped vacuum wave. With a loud crack, the massive Awakened Being was cleaved cleanly in half.
A vast, icy power surged into Jack Harper's body through the axe—far stronger than any demon he'd slain before. In an instant, the frost energy of "Diffuse Chill" within him more than doubled. Killing this one Awakened Being yielded more than hundreds of demons combined.
Jack Harper and Flora exchanged a smile. Their brief moment of life-and-death combat had deepened their bond. But the scorpion-like Awakened Being nearby was thrown into chaos: "What are you? A new type of warrior from the Organization? Why do you have such terrifying power? I can't sense any demonic aura from you!"
Jack Harper ignored her and asked Flora, "Can we go again?"
Flora gazed at him for a moment and nodded. "Trust me."
"Alright, let's go!" Jack Harper charged again, targeting the scorpion-type Awakened Being.
This one was even weaker than the last. She tried to resist while fleeing, but there was no outrunning Jack Harper's death warhorse. In moments, Jack Harper and Flora dispatched her with ease.
"Victory!" Jack Harper swung his axe, flinging off the purple blood, and declared proudly.
Though the power surge wasn't as great as before, it still boosted "Diffuse Chill" significantly. Combined, Jack Harper's frost energy now reached nearly three times its previous level. If he could fully absorb it, he'd be able to sustain fifty times his cosmos output. Of course, the increase in energy only solved the source issue. Jack Harper had only mastered thirtyfold cosmos—no matter how much energy he had, he couldn't immediately convert it into combat power.
At that moment, the Samsara Book popped up again. Jack Harper glanced at it and saw that killing the two Awakened Beings had earned him 1,000 and 700 Survival Points respectively. In contrast, killing fifty demons had barely netted a hundred points.
"Huh? These two were at least Upper Bronze, maybe even Silver-tier. Why didn't I get any card rewards or battle rank upgrades?" Jack Harper frowned, then guessed, "Right—the Samsara Book says only designated bosses within the mission yield cards. So I haven't touched the main storyline yet?"
Not wanting to draw attention, Jack Harper buried the scorpion-type Awakened Being and quietly left. Flora revived her three injured comrades but said nothing about the second Awakened