The Gamer's POV

’How do I beat him?’

Right from the beginning, that thought had been hammering over and over again in Aika’s head.

She had found herself in a dilemma that completely stumped her.

She had known that despite now almost being at level twenty five, this fight would not be easy because the being in front of her was from Xinthrea, a Grade Four territory in the Second Ring.

If there was any consolation, that was the fact that causality was currently acting upon this being. Aika had no way of telling what would have brought a creature from that territory all the way to the Grade Three territory where this Red Gate was located.

But the rules of the world were absolute, and since he had come into a Grade Three territory, causality had brought him down from Grade Four to Three, and had also placed seals on just how much power he could unleash.

Even though he had come out from the bridge into this Gradeless world, those restrictions were still firmly in place. It was because of that that Aika even saw the slightest glimmer of hope.

But then, there was another problem.

This being was a Weapon Master. And not just any weapon master, but one that had lived quite a long time to hone his skills.

’Weapon Masters can perform up to ten weapon arts,’ Aika thought. ’From what I know, their first art is the weakest, and the power climbs until their last art, which is usually devastating but consumes a lot of aura. I also know that some of them have arts that can cut both body and soul in one swing.’

Aika hoped that even though he was a Weapon Master, he would not be one of those who could imbue soul attacks into their arts, and that causality would work with her to suppress his most lethal arts.

However, reality shattered her optimism instantly.

As the light of the demon’s art, Shattered Stars, flashed across her face, and as the notifications from her gamer privileges began flashing desperate crimson warnings, Aika could really see death coming for her.

’Shit.’

Many options flashed through her mind. At first, she thought of dispersing into many ravens, but she immediately abandoned the thought.

She looked up to see many ravens flying above. But instead of swapping with them, she chose to swap with little Ced who was stationed outside the estate at where she had been before swapping with it earlier to the balustrade.

***

It happened so fast.

The demon swung his spear, and the world in front of him changed.

The walls of the ruined courtyard...

The ruined building quarters beyond the walls...

The ravens above...

Every single thing shattered into a million glittering fragments, reduced to nothing but dust and splinters.

As the demon straightened, all he could see was a completely hollowed-out wasteland of empty air and flattened debris extending for almost a hundred meters.

Seeing this work of art, an excited smile tugged at his lips.

***

Meanwhile, somewhere outside the estate to the east, Aika was lying on the ground.

She looked to be in a really bad condition and was curled up like a ball, writhing in agony.

Her entire body was covered in bruises that were bleeding, but that was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her soul.

It felt as if her soul had been sliced in many places and it made her consciousness begin to fray at the edges. She kept twitching her fingers as she turned around.

And for a moment, she almost blanked out but was holding on through sheer will alone.

"Help me. Help me, Athena!" she cried.

She had barely finished her plea, however, when hundreds of daffodils appeared in the air around her, turning into emerald mist.

The wounds on her body closed up, but more and more daffodils kept appearing to try and mend the invisible, agonizing lacerations she felt to her soul.

Aika coughed.

Although she had known a bit about the abilities of a Weapon Master, experiencing it now was an entirely different level of terror.

She had definitely tried to use One with the Ravens as soon as she saw him get ready to use his Weapon Art, but then, it was as if a force was anchoring her to that spot.

No, to be precise, the demon’s aura refused to let her leave.

It not only burned up all the mana she was emitting in order to activate the skill, it completely shattered her hold over her magic.

It was no wonder why the demon had brazenly said she could not block that. In fact, she had only managed to escape in the nick of time after using up more than half of Cedric’s essence for a simple skill as swapping with a raven.

If the demon was with its full power, and not constrained by causality, tonight would have been the night Aika died.

’What do I do?’ She desperately questioned herself, and her mind spun. ’Do I run? Do I ask for help?’

She bit her lip and her body trembled as she really pondered the few options left for her.

***

Back in the courtyard, the demon who was smiling, suddenly began to frown.

He slowly turned his head to the direction leading out of the ruined estate.

"She really survived that?"

He crouched, then jumped towards her direction.

A moment later, the demon landed on the ground a few meters from Aika, who was now slowly pushing herself off the ground.

Seeing her struggle, the demon hugged his spear and tilted his head in curiosity.

"You surprise me. Seeing as you not even at the stage to control aura, I really thought that you would have been dead after that attack."

He was still speaking when the space around Aika began to darken and her demeanor suddenly changed. She had now stood up but was now hunch over a bit, chuckling darkly.

This caused the demon to pause and arch a brow.

Then, Aika lifted her head slightly and exhaled deeply.

The light of the moon reflected in her pitch-black eyes as she whispered, "I see now."

She exhaled a thin stream of black mist.

"How can I say that I want revenge? How can I say that I want all your deaths, when I am afraid of death itself? How can I say that I will tear down your entire kind, when I still have attachments to my own survival?"

As she spoke, she slowly turned to the demon, finally letting go of her reasoning.

The creature smirked condescendingly, then said, "You seem to have some kind of grudge against me. Or should I say my kind? Why is that? Who are —?"

He was still speaking when an explosion of black flames burst out from Aika, swallowing the space between them in a fraction of a second.

However, the demon had leapt back just before the inferno could engulf him. When he landed on the ground several meters back and looked up, he could see Aika hovering in the air.

But then, he frowned because almost everything about her was different.

Her hair, which was black before, was now a long, flowing silver that danced in the wind, and she opened her eyes to reveal sharp gray eyes that flickered before turning back to black.

Large, midnight-black wings resembling those of a raven erupted out of her back, shedding dark embers with every beat. And a crown of thorns made of black flames manifested around her head.

Since she had lost her katana somewhere, she reached for one of her feathers and ripped it free. The plume then shifted into a katana in her grip.

Bathed in the sinister moonlight, she pointed her newly formed blade directly at his throat. "I am Aika Soryu, the Raven of Decay belonging to the Darkness at the End of Everything."

All of a sudden, a look of malice crossed her face and she yelled, "But I am Thalia, the last daughter of the noble House of Asha’vail and the blood heir to the Al’Ghul Duke!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!