Second Genesis

BANG.

The sound was nothing but an echo in Grey’s mind. It wasn’t real. It was entirely in the core of his soul itself.

It was truly a heavy attack, the sort of thing that would easily incapacitate a Proving Class warrior for several seconds.

Unfortunately for them, though, Grey had one very special ability.

—

[Lv. 1 Abyssal Anchor > Lv. 2 Abyssal Anchor]

—

[Lv. 3 Mental Fortitude > Lv. 7 Mental Fortitude]

—

Grey’s eyes didn’t so much as flicker.

Silva attacked wildly, expecting Grey to be completely frozen in place. Grey, though, was anything but.

In a sudden burst, Grey explosively side-stepped. Silva shot by him, brushing against his shoulder and taking a chunk that ripped out everything down to the bone. But Grey didn’t so much as flinch.

Instead, he extended his blade and pointed it toward Mauve, his blood already repairing the wound.

Its size explosively increased and in a roar of red, a blade more than ten feet long ripped right through her body.

"MAUVE!"

Stella and Brad roared in unison but it was worthless.

Danger warning signs pinged in Grey’s ears, but he hardly reacted to it at all. His blood retracted and flooded back into his body.

—

[Lv. 1 Iron Veil > Lv. 2 Iron Veil]

—

Plumes of blood ripped out of his back and formed a shield that solidified into a black crust.

BANG.

It shattered on contact, but by the time Silva’s claws scratched against Grey’s skin, the power had dissipated enough that the latter’s Metal Body could take center stage.

A shallow white mark was left behind as Grey was sent flying forward, right toward Stella and out of Brad’s rampaging path.

He appeared before the red-head in a flash, landing deftly on his feet as though he had run over here himself rather than being propelled forward by a raging fox man. The difference didn’t matter in the slightest, not when his DEX was so high.

"I really can’t stand you." Grey said coldly.

Stella didn’t have anything but an empty bow to protect herself. She raised it to do exactly that but Grey cut through it like it was made of butter, splitting her face in two.

It was too shallow of a cut to kill her, but that hardly mattered when Grey’s second dagger flashed, cutting right across her throat.

Stella’s hands shot for her neck, trying to stop the bleeding in a futile effort. Realizing it was useless, she grabbed at her waist, trying to pull something out. But that was when Grey kicked her chest in.

Her rib cage splintered, skewering her heart and lungs through. By the time she landed on the ground, she was dead.

"YOU BASTARD!" Brad’s roar sent waves through the air. Silva made it there first, but Grey didn’t seem to care what the difference was.

He tapped a foot, accelerating back, but Silva was faster, closing the distance with a claw that cut across the air.

Grey’s thoughts moved with a great amount of speed. He knew that every time he antagonized one of these NPCs, some imprint would be left behind. That meant that next loop, it would only become harder to actually deal a surprise blow like this to Silva.

Right now, the Established Class fox man only had one useful arm, and that was a huge advantage. Meaning...

Grey had to succeed in this battle right here, and before any Holy Knights could come skewer him through for killing in the city. To make matters worse, he couldn’t kill Silva. He needed answers from him first.

He was going to win this right here and now.

His crimson eyes became deeper and he pivoted. Placing the surging Silva between himself and Brad, his blades began to dance.

The silver fox was fast, almost too fast. But he only had one hand to attack with and Grey had two. He shortened the length of his blood daggers to curved short swords and his feet left blurs in the raging winds that kicked up between them.

He just managed to attack twice for the fox man’s every one attack, the sparks that flew through the air starting to leave larger and larger bruises on the connection point between Silva’s paws and his claws.

Grey could see blood pooling. Terran might have been able to ignore his blood blades, but Silva most definitely could not.

Taking a step forward, Grey pivoted around Silva, using his body to block the absolutely apoplectic Brad once again. He jammed a blade toward the fox man’s liver and he twisted out of the way, using his claw to block Grey’s follow up.

But this time, Grey had focused his attack between the fox man’s claws, and then he twisted his wrist.

A yelp of pain came from Silva as his claws were spread unnaturally apart, the skin at their webbing shearing apart and spilling out with blood.

Grey jabbed his second dagger out again, shrinking it further so it worked at the proper distance, but Silva was still too fast, dodging again despite the distraction of the pain.

It didn’t matter to Grey, though.

"Eat shit, meat head."

His dagger exploded in size and ripped through Brad’s head before he could even swing again.

Grey explosively retreated, dodging out of the way of Silva’s swipe for his head.

The butler huffed for breath. But it was hard to tell if he was truly so tired or if he was just enraged beyond reasoning.

"You have truly..." Silva couldn’t even finish the words. It was like he was caught between trying to find his usual polite pattern of syllables and roaring in fury.

"Just shut up and fight." Grey said. "There’s nothing I hate more than people who keep pretending to be something they’re not."

Somehow, these were the words that set Silva off the cliff.

His fur flashed with crimson, his claws lengthening and turning a bloody shade of rage.

He bent forward almost as though to go on all fours, his claws leaving sparks in their wake as they dragged across the cobblestone.

Then he lunged in a blur of chaining afterimages.

Grey could tell that he had activated his Frame.