"It seems someone is performing a level advancement ritual here," one of them said, his voice sharp and piercing into their minds.
The six of them looked up, staring at at least two figures hovering above the currents of air beneath their feet. The intimidating aura radiating from the two figures felt tangible, momentarily choking their minds and making them forget how to breathe properly.
Rather than flee, they remained rooted to the spot as the man spoke arrogantly, his gaze filled with confidence.
"You'd better stop your stupid quarrel and attack us with everything you've got."
Although the three of them were weak, Aaron instinctively shifted his foot, pushing aside small stones and raising a cloud of dust the moment those words were spoken.
'Attack us with everything we've got? I knew this would happen, especially considering we're not far from Vinohoshi, particularly Adcen County.'
Aaron clearly remembered how he had joined that underworld group, meeting Naseka Yashiki and Celina in the same place on the same day.
The presence of these two men, dressed in classic tailcoats and black trousers, along with flat caps, clearly marked them as supernatural ability users who wandered along the border between the two provinces.
They had initially been hostile toward one another, but each of them, except Celvira, realized that they did not belong in this place.
The black-haired man raised his head high and spoke in a low, controlled voice, "You attacked us first with your abilities; that gives us reason to strike back."
Antonius never relied on luck; instead, he could only hope his spontaneous strategy would go according to plan.
His expression was tense as the night air caused the tips of his fingers to stiffen, and he briefly glanced at Andreas, who stood to his left.
Andreas returned his gaze, looking into his eyes as though they shared the same thought.
'So that's what he wants? Fine, I'll follow your plan.'
In truth, his status as the squad leader was a mistake; Senlock Reston was the actual leader of that ten-man unit.
After losing three companions in a single night, Senlock felt that the title of "leader" was nothing more than an empty label. The burden was too heavy to bear, especially since NightField had lost so many personnel that night while defending the city against the threat of a Receivers. It was clear that the three people had fallen victim to the Black Death ability ritual in Layana City, right at the end of March.
Andreas lowered his gaze slightly and closed his eyes, as though their presence meant nothing to him.
Two seconds later, his mouth opened slightly as his pupils slowly narrowed.
From a distance, Antonius sensed that reaction through the change in his arm; his left arm turned pitch black as sharp black dust damaged his skin cells, rising from below to cover it.
"Thank you..." he said, his voice filled with excitement as he extended his left arm toward Andreas.
The black dust swirled through the air like beautiful flower petals blown about by a powerful wind before striking Andreas's body, causing torn wounds to appear across several parts of his body and spill fresh blood.
His body became brittle like a withered leaf battered by the howling night wind. The sound of cracking echoed longer than expected, drawing everyone's attention to the scene unfolding between the two of them.
Zuhen, who had been watching closely, sensed something strange about the cracks appearing across Andreas's body.
Deep within his subconscious, he consulted Tell about the important matter.
"Is there any Recipestele in this world capable of producing a high output of power for its contractor?" he asked hopefully.
Tell, in his ethereal form, remained silent for a moment before answering, "Of course. One thing is certain, a brilliant flash appears when 'they' do that."
"Oh?" Zuhen pursed his lips as he buried the information deep within his mind.
Emerging from his subconscious, he saw those "words" manifest into reality as a strange flash radiated from the eagle emblem on the left shoulder of Andreas's military uniform.
His sharp purple eyes observed the reaction as a pale white aura enveloped everything around Andreas.
The two figures hovering above enjoyed the sight, faint smirks etched across their arrogant faces.
Clearly, the two were testing them, or rather, seeking a fight out of their desire to battle over the "level advancement" they knew about and had followed here. However, they were mistaken; among the five of them, not a single one had actually undergone the advancement ritual.
...
Far from their location, hundreds of meters to the right, two figures emerged from battle and defensive stances simultaneously as the black dust and millions of curse-laden microbes forming crystals around their bodies faded before breaking apart without a trace.
With steady steps, the two approached the figure lying weakly on the ground, leaving behind a gruesome blood-soaked scene.
The man, his black hair tied back into a ponytail, sat with his palm pressed against the rough ground; his face was battered and dirty, yet his indifferent gaze remained fixed on the two figures before him.
He remained undaunted despite his battered condition. One thing was certain; he was planning an escape, even though the attempt risked further injuring his already weakened body, while his vision deteriorated with every passing second.
He clicked his tongue as he slowly rose from his pointless rest. There was no point in talking to them; they were clearly stubborn, bound by something the man himself did not understand.
'How troublesome.'
As he observed his surroundings, the man's mind went blank for a moment. No, it was not only him. The two men standing there had also frozen, their left feet hovering several inches above the rough ground. The gazes of all three were like those of corpses.
The night sky, which had previously been brilliantly lit, turned monochrome, illuminated only by the warm orange light surrounding them.
A story in progress had been forced to stop, waiting for the author to decide whether to move its characters again or leave them frozen.
...
There, after Andreas gained power from his Recipestele, his body spontaneously absorbed the darkness around him. It did not stop there; the shadows of the two figures hovering directly above him were almost sucked in as well, including Antonius, his fellow soldier.
However, one of the two pulled an old book from beneath his coat. Just as his shadow was about to be sucked away, the book, with its worn cover and faint ancient writings and symbols, opened by itself to page eleven.
A massive and oppressive spiritual presence emerged, bringing with it a monochrome shift and light that illuminated each of them, highlighting them while simultaneously forcing them all to behave like statues.
Receivers from Puppeteer, in its fourth level, Fairy Tale.
Where the world is formed by "His" will, the man becomes the "Puppeteer" who moves them all within the story he has created.
Aaron Kwok, Zavi Actitus, Celvira, Felina Ronatte, Andreas Nesta, Antonius Padanas, Xirus Ziman, and Leonard Horowitz fell into the history of the "Comet Era," when the war was at its peak.
Zuhen Mudelk broke free from that form, the story changing and falling into the hands of the "Puppeteer" master. Within the historical world, each of them played an important figure who ruled over that era.
Warm sunlight illuminated three mighty figure as they faced one another, their swords raised toward their opponents.
Amid the roar of the morning wind, the fur-collared cloaks worn over their armor fluttered gently.
Their gazes remained locked; the three embodied the roles of great rulers, each representing a different continent: the Continent of Chynoria, Najasma, and BlackLand.
Emperor Celeste Samano of the Sheak Empire represented Chynoria; Luciven Voldemort of the democratic state of Raqunisytearu represented BlackLand; and Herman Chiquato of the United Republic of Moonses represented Najasma.
Celeste Samano as Aaron Kwok, Luciven Voldemort as Felina Ronatte, and Herman Chiquato as Leonard Horowitz.
That great war was merely the beginning, sparked only one day after three prominent figures from three different continents met in the same room.
They wore confident expressions, although deep within their hearts, indescribable emotions churned in their chests.
From that moment onward, in the year 609 of the Comet Era, swords and shields became essential possessions, the most sought-after objects of the age and objects revered by certain individuals.
The hall was utterly silent, contrasting with the cold expressions and aura radiating from their faces.
One of them, Celeste Samano, lowered her sword and turned away, her long cloak fluttering behind her as she strode steadily away from the other two figures.