---
-Lv14-
The whole group plummeted from above. Screams tore through the void, echoing into nothingness.
Helen turned toward Ryan, only to see him inching closer to Linus.
Ryan: "Hey, your power—how exactly does it alter your body?"
Linus: "Huh? I can't hear you!"
Ryan: "Your body! How does it change?"
Linus: "I can grow or shrink at will, but I'm not sure about transforming. One time I heard my younger self asking about good refractive materials, so I thought of silver!"
Ryan: "Then what has good elasticity?"
Linus: "What?"
Suddenly, Helen's eyes widened—Ryan punched Linus downward at terrifying speed. For a brief moment, that stance... reminded her of Sacium.
Linus hit the ground and instantly bounced. His body had turned into rubber. In that fleeting instant, understanding bloomed.
He shifted into metal to gain speed again, then expanded his body while reverting to rubber to catch the group.
They all bounced on his body like a trampoline. Ryan grabbed Helen midair, landing safely on Linus's rubbery frame, then quickly moved to catch the others.
Linus returned to normal and regrouped with the team.
Linus: "Hey! Ryan! You couldn't have just said 'giant bouncy house' instead?"
Ryan: "Ah, true. Guess I panicked."
They both burst out laughing, while the rest of the group looked pale, traumatized by what just happened—how were these two laughing?
But suddenly, Ryan's expression turned grim. Something clicked.
Ryan: "Everyone! DRINK YOUR ALMOND WATER NOW!"
But… it was too late.
The level's effects had already taken hold.
Helen: "Wow… This place is beautiful… It really is paradise..."
They began performing rituals, praying, like devotees in a sacred ceremony. Slowly, like moths to a flame, they walked toward the forest.
For a while, they wandered mindlessly…
BR-Brrrrr-BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
A chainsaw's roar tore through the tranquil silence.
It shattered Helen's trance first—pure terror seizing her chest.
"No. No, it can't be that creature."
"That was just a nightmare, right? It can't exist in the real world… right?"
But the roar didn't stop. It grew louder.
"Ah… that's right—Ryan."
She turned and shook him violently.
Helen: "Ryan! Ryan!! Wake up, Ryan! RYAN!"
Ryan: "Chill out~ There's no danger in this paradise~"
But she remembered—the last thing he screamed was "drink the almond water."
Frantically, she grabbed the bottle and poured it into his mouth.
He blinked.
Ryan: "Wha—what just happened? Where are we?"
Helen: "Thank god... you're awake..."
Ryan: "What's going on, Helen?"
Helen: "IT'S COMING!"
Ryan's instincts kicked in. Without another word, he drew his long blade.
Ryan: "Yeah… I feel it too."
Suddenly, a shadow lunged at Helen. Ryan acted fast—shoving her aside and parrying the incoming strike.
CLANG!
Steel shrieked against steel. The sound ripped through the world like a demon's cry. Ryan's sword trembled under the sheer force of the chainsaw. Each sweep was a hurricane of destruction. Ryan… was barely holding ground.
The fiery-toothed saw carved the air inches from his eyes. He stumbled, slipped—but thrust his blade into the ground to stay upright. Blood, sweat, and dust stained his face—but his eyes didn't blink. Focused. Calculating.
He countered, slashing diagonally—cutting a shallow gash in the monster's shoulder. But it didn't flinch. Not for a second.
BOOM!
The punch hit like lightning.
Ryan flew. His body smashed into a pillar. His back cracked, blood burst from his mouth. Before he could even breathe—
CRACK! —a brutal headbutt.
SMASH! —another.
SLAM! —again. And again.
Metal screamed. Blood spattered.
It rammed Ryan like a rabid beast. Every blow stole a piece of his life. Bones groaned. His blade flew from his grip. The world blurred…
But Ryan lived.
Crushed. Shattered. Sinking into violence.
But alive.
Not through power—but through sheer refusal to fall.
"Not... not yet…" —his voice cracked through blood.
His hand twitched, grasping the hilt of his sword.
A faint light stirred within the ash.
Jesse activated her vision—reading its data.
And she froze.
---
[Redacted] – WRATH
HP: 15,726 / 35,257
Stats:
Strength: 17,000
Endurance: 20,000
Speed: 120 km/h (restricted), 1200 km/h (original)
IQ: 120 – Wrath, 200 – [Redacted]
Status: Thrilled, Relishing, Enraged
Weakness: Will be replaced if overwhelmed by [Redacted]
---
Jesse: "RYAN! YOU CAN'T WIN AGAINST THAT THING!"
Ryan knew. Deep down, he knew.
Ryan: "EVERYONE, FALL BACK!!!"
The group fled in a panic, not realizing Helen had frozen—paralyzed with terror.
The monster grabbed her by the throat. Its voice snarled, distorted and savage.
???: "I am Wrath!"
Wrath: "Born from a fury long buried—sealed inside him!"
Wrath: "I had no body. No senses. Just rage—borrowed form. To avenge him!"
Wrath: "He's in hell, staring up at heaven. He gave everything—for you!"
Helen: "W-What… are you saying…"
Her limbs went numb—not from the choking grip, but from the words—like venom sliding into her mind.
"Him?"
"Sacrificed? For me?"
She didn't understand.
Couldn't.
Helen: "I-I… I don't understand...!"
Every word was a dagger in a language she never learned. Her breath shook, her eyes widened—not in guilt, but confusion.
"Who is he?"
"Why me?"
"I know nothing…"
Wrath: "Look at you. Weak. Afraid. Why did he love you?"
Helen: "I… I don't… understand…"
CRACK!
Her hand snapped—twisting grotesquely. She screamed in blinding pain.
Wrath: "Feel that agony? Don't worry—it's just the beginning. He endured far worse!"
Wrath: "But you don't need to understand. Because I'm the one who'll end you!"
He raised the chainsaw—ready to slice her soul apart.
CLANG!
A ringing blade cut through the moment—a metallic scream that shattered death itself.
---