The room suddenly fell silent.
Not an ordinary silence—
but the kind born from fear that no one had yet dared to put into words.
Lin stared at Arou with widened eyes.
"The ruler… of dreams?"
Nano clenched his teeth.
"A creature like that… is on your side?"
Chiyo took a step back.
"That isn't just some monster…"
Yui clenched her fists.
"If he can control the real world… are we even real?"
Riel swallowed nervously.
"If Zata really knows we're talking about him… then we're in serious trouble."
Lin glared at Arou.
"You've been hiding something like that… and you're only telling us now?"
Arou answered calmly.
"Because even I can't control him."
Silence filled the room once again.
In the middle of the tense atmosphere, Nova stepped forward and faced Ruin.
"Ruin."
Ruin flinched.
"Y-yes?"
"I'll give you another spell."
Ruin looked surprised.
"W-why are you giving me your magic?"
Nova smiled faintly.
"Because I like you."
Complete silence.
"…Huh?"
Ruin froze.
"W-wait… what do you like about me?"
"Your personality," Nova answered casually.
"Awkward. A little naive. And honest."
Ruin turned his face away.
"Hmm…"
"Now use the spell," Nova continued.
"W-what spell?"
"Information Magic."
"So you can make better use of your abilities."
Ruin hesitated.
"How do I use it?"
"Just ask whatever you want to know."
Julian raised an eyebrow.
"Like the Internet?"
"Exactly," Nova replied.
Ruin took a deep breath.
"Then…"
He activated the spell.
Question:
Who can defeat Zata?
Arou gave a faint grin.
"Good thinking. I'm getting tired of him too. He always underestimates his opponents."
The result appeared.
Ruin stared at it for a long moment.
"…No one."
Everyone was stunned.
"There is no being capable of defeating Zata," Ruin continued.
"Because Zata has ten forms, each with its own abilities."
Ruin began reading the data one by one.
Zata's Ten Forms:
1. A half-bat human
2. A four-armed, one-eyed human
3. An eight-armed human covered in countless tiny eyes
4. A humanoid figure made of light
5. A sun with a gigantic eye
6. Pure white light
7. A colossal eagle
8. A golden, winged gateway
9. A dark purple vortex resembling a black hole
10. A question mark "?"
The atmosphere grew heavier.
Abilities of each form:
1. Can destroy entire universes.
2. Is not bound by time, space, or fate.
3. Can take over the role of the author.
4. Can place beings inside its own narrative.
5. Can weaken every being within its narrative.
6. Its will cannot be blocked.
7. Can alter the fate of beings outside its narrative.
8. Its narrative cannot be erased.
9. Can erase everything, both inside and outside the narrative.
10. Has no physical form—a transcendent being without a heart.
No one dared to speak.
Ruin swallowed hard.
"There is still one more piece of information…"
"There is one being who can resist Zata."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Her name is… Angelica Shina."
Arou immediately reacted.
"Her again? Who the hell is Angelica Shina?"
"She is your partner in the real world," Ruin answered.
Arou frowned.
"I don't even know her."
Rei raised a hand.
"Then… what are her abilities?"
Ruin shook his head.
"There is no data at all."
Nova narrowed his eyes.
"Try the Winner Prediction spell."
"Zata versus Angelica Shina."
"Maybe the previous data was wrong."
Ruin nodded.
"Good idea."
He activated the spell again.
Winner Prediction:
Zata vs. Angelica Shina
The result appeared.
"Zata wins," Ruin said slowly.
"However… he has to use ten percent of his power to defeat Angelica while she is using one hundred percent of hers."
Arou fell silent.
"What the hell…"
Akari shook her head in disbelief.
"Our enemy hasn't even reached one percent of Zata's power… yet there's someone who can actually put up a fight against him?"
Rei shuddered.
"I can't even imagine what would happen if those two actually fought."
Shion spoke quietly.
"Zata can split the earth with just 0.1% of his power… so what would happen at ten percent?"
Nova stepped forward.
"My turn."
"Nova versus Angelica Shina. Who wins?"
Ruin activated the spell again.
Then—
his expression changed completely.
"T-the result…"
"Angelica wins without even fighting."
Everyone froze.
"Because," Ruin continued in a trembling voice,
"time and space do not recognize her existence."
Nova fell silent.
"What…?"
Arou clenched his fists.
"What kind of monster is she… if even time itself refuses to acknowledge her?"
Ruin slowly shook his head.
"I don't know."
"But one thing is certain…"
He looked at everyone in the room.
"Angelica Shina… is an extremely dangerous being, because she is the only existence in this world capable of forcing Zata to use ten percent of his power."
And for the first time that night—
Zata no longer felt like the only threat.
---
Suddenly, the air in the living room grew heavy.
A black crack appeared in the middle of the room, like a screen being torn apart from the inside.
From the rift, Zata stepped out casually, as if he had been invited from the beginning.
Zata smiled faintly.
"Looks like someone has been talking about me."
Arou sighed.
"Ah… Zata."
Everyone in the house froze.
Airi took half a step back.
"Z-Z-Zata…"
Nora instinctively raised her cat ears, the fur on her body standing on end.
Hikari unconsciously grabbed Priscilla's arm.
Lin couldn't move at all.
Nova reacted first.
Without saying a word, he raised his hand and pointed directly at Zata.
Pale blue light spread outward, forming a time barrier that pressed against the space around Zata.
Time slowed.
The air grew heavy.
Even dust hanging in the air stopped moving.
But—
Zata simply walked forward.
One step.
Then another.
He casually passed through the barrier as if he were taking a stroll through a park.
Nova's eyes widened.
"What…?"
Ruin stumbled backward.
"He… isn't being slowed down?"
Zata turned toward Nova, his expression calm but mocking.
"Time?"
"That concept doesn't apply to me."
The time barrier cracked.
Then shattered like glass.
Zata now stood in the middle of the room.
"Interesting," he continued, looking at Ruin.
"You got a new spell."
Ruin trembled.
"W-when did you—"
"Since you asked," Zata interrupted.
"I always hear it whenever my name is mentioned."
Lin finally found her voice.
"What… exactly are you?"
Zata turned toward her.
"A creature?"
He gave a faint smile.
"I prefer to call myself a living narrative."
Arou stepped forward slightly.
"Zata. You didn't come here just to show off, did you?"
Zata glanced at Arou, his smile widening.
"Of course not."
"I just wanted to make sure…"
His eyes swept across everyone in the room.
"…that you all understand how insignificant your position is."
Silence fell once again.
Zata folded his arms, staring at everyone with an empty gaze.
"So… what were you actually talking about?"
Arou let out a quiet sigh.
"We were discussing how to defeat Vowl."
Zata tilted his head.
"Vowl?"
"What is that?"
Lin gathered her courage and stepped forward.
"Vowl is a monster from my dream."
Zata slowly nodded.
"Oh… another dream-born creature."
Lin was startled.
"E-eh? You're not going to kill us?"
Zata turned toward her and smiled faintly.
"A creature like me?"
"No."
He glanced around the room.
"I just feel sorry for seeing innocent little bacteria like you die for nothing."
Arou clicked his tongue.
"Still acting like you're above everyone else."
Zata chuckled softly.
"What's wrong with stating a fact?"
The people who had been frozen in fear began breathing a little easier.
Nora relaxed her shoulders.
Hikari loosened her grip on Priscilla's arm.
Lin was still tense, but her fear no longer paralyzed her.
Slowly, the cold and terrifying atmosphere began to ease.
Zata was dangerous—
but tonight,
he wasn't a wild creature that had come to destroy everything.