I, Kurumi Tokisaki, Am a Wanderer

Back in the alleyways of Hendon Myre, there was an old man who often said, "Listen with your ears, cut with your heart."

Kurumi raised her hand, stopping the three following behind her.

"Fall back, fall back," she gestured to them.

From beneath a narrow crack in the rock ahead came a series of buzzing sounds. The ground trembled violently, an underground river surged, and droplets splashed upward.

Kurumi closed her eyes and quietly listened to the world. Everything seemed to take form in her mind.

About three meters beneath the surface in front of her, two massive Demonia bugs were burrowing rapidly toward the direction behind her group.

The intense spirit reaction Schwi had unleashed had completely drawn their attention.

But… would they really be so obedient? Could they truly ignore her and her companions?

Kurumi didn't know, which is why she had the three step back.

The time Schwi had bought for them was limited—one minute. They needed to get as far away as possible.

Kurumi raised her right hand, holding her gunblade upright before her lips. She closed her eyes, and the corners of her lips lifted into a smile.

"—Get ready—"

Orange, icy flames ignited around her body, faintly resembling smoke shaped like skulls.

—Revolver of Death.

The sight clearly exceeded Rick's understanding. Humans lacked the nerves to connect to the Spirit Corridor, unable to observe the light of spirits.

But… how was this girl doing it?

Rick pulled out his spirit detection compass. The pointer spun erratically due to the surrounding Black Ash. This made no sense. If there was a major spirit reaction, the needle should point toward the strongest target.

Unless… she wasn't using spirits.

The tremors in the ground grew more intense, with fragments of rock tumbling down the walls on both sides. In Kurumi's senses, the two Demonia bugs drew closer and closer.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, the girl leapt into the air, her body flipping mid-flight. Her long legs scythed through the sky like a battle axe, her arms pointing back to her original position as she fired a rapid series of shots.

ROAR!!!!!

The two Demonia bugs abruptly changed direction underground, smashing through the rock ceiling as they lunged toward Kurumi.

Their gaping maws were met head-on by the barrage of bullets.

Clearly, they had already sensed the running group behind her and didn't mind taking a quick appetizer first.

They surged upward, their bodies partially buried in the rock. The exposed segments, nearly ten meters long, bristled with sharp, turbine-like teeth.

Teeth forged from "Spirit" energy, capable of tearing through nearly anything. Apart from Dragonia corpses, there was little on the ground that could withstand their bite.

Kurumi twisted mid-air, her body streaking downward like a silver blade. Without hesitation, she spun and hurled her twin gunblades.

—Chains of Death.

The deadly gunblades nailed the two Demonia creatures in place, rendering them completely immobile.

"Run! Get moving!" Kurumi shouted at Rick and the others. "You've got five seconds."

No matter how strong or weak the target, Chains of Death would immobilize it for five seconds. Even if the first strike killed a weaker target outright, the chain would keep its corpse pinned for the full duration.

The black creatures stood like two towering chimneys wedged between the rock walls. Their strange, mucus-like skin was covered in numerous dark golden eyes, all wide open but completely frozen in place.

The stench of rot blasted forward in a putrid gust.

What's this…? We have to run right past these things?

The thin chains looked pitifully small compared to the massive creatures. Could they really entrust their lives to them?

Despite their hesitation, Rick could only choose to trust her.

He led the way, sprinting past. The many dark golden eyes seemed to fix on him, sending chills down his spine.

Seeing their leader make it through, Ivan and Ale had no choice but to follow.

Thankfully, they crossed without incident.

"Run, run, run!" Kurumi motioned for them to keep going. The deadly gunblades pinning the two Demonia monsters began flickering with white light.

With a snap of her fingers, the gunblades erupted in a torrent of bullets, instantly piercing the Demonia monsters' defenses. Smoke in the shape of skulls rose one after another.

ROAR!!!!!

The wounded monsters bellowed in rage.

Kurumi gripped her twin pistols again and threw them once more. This time, the blades spun like boomerangs, creating cyclones capable of shredding anything in their path as they carved into the two Demonia.

—Twin Eagles Return.

The adhesive gunblade cyclones tore into the creatures.

Normally, this weapon could be thrown repeatedly like a boomerang, but Kurumi abandoned its follow-up capabilities entirely and dashed after Rick and the others.

Whoosh—whoosh—

The roaring wind chased the trio as they sprinted with all their strength.

After running for over thirty seconds, they finally reached a point about 150 meters away from the strike zone.

The narrow, dark path through the rocks was difficult to navigate.

"We're alive."

Leaning against the rock wall, the three panted heavily.

Tap, tap—

Kurumi followed behind at a leisurely pace.

…

In the center of the gorge, Schwi hovered quietly in the air.

Her gaze remained fixed on the group, the numbers representing their distance steadily increasing above their heads.

Click. Click.

The ground beneath her fractured, and a massive Demonia bug lunged upward, snapping toward her in the sky.

—"Entry Prohibited."

Schwi raised her left palm toward the ground, deploying a brilliant blue barrier like a solid wall that stopped the bug's attack.

Click. Click.

More clicking sounds echoed as countless Demonia bugs emerged from the earth, snapping toward Schwi in the sky.

—"Entry Prohibited."

A glowing blue array expanded outward as Schwi continued monitoring Kurumi's group.

"78… 81…"

…

Meanwhile, the cunning Demonia leader had broken through the rock wall, crawling onto the surface. It pounced from the cliff, aiming for Schwi's exposed back.

Schwi remained as cold and emotionless as ever, simply raising the massive cannon on her right arm and pulling the trigger.

—"Excessive Amplification."

A flood of blue energy burst forth, compressing spirit particles to an ultra-high density. The terrifying concentration could incinerate anything instantly, even annihilating Forest Elves unable to adapt.

"111… 119…"

Without so much as a glance back, Schwi ascended higher into the sky.

"148… 149… 150…"

——The targets have reached the safe zone.

Buzz—

All of her armaments deployed at once, humming faintly as Schwi surveyed the gorge below. The Demonia creatures continued their frantic assaults on her defensive arrays.

Schwi raised her left hand high.

—"Apocrypha: Heaven's Strike."

In an instant, the sky was dyed an infinite white.

The ever-drifting blue-gray sky became nothing but a blank canvas. Dimly, a massive dark purple array reflected upon the firmament.

Then, the light descended.

Centered on the strike zone, everything within a hundred meters was annihilated. The grotesque bug-like creatures didn't even have the chance to resist; they were reduced to fragmented shadows within the light.

Rocks crumbled, and everything within the area of impact turned to nothingness.

Dim blue fragments floated down from the sky, slowly accumulating on the ground.

The Ex-Machina directly harvested spirits as fuel, and in their battles, the death of spirits was disproportionately high.

Moments later, all that remained was a massive crater on the ground, identical to the one Kurumi had seen near the Forest Elf ruins.

—"Apocrypha: Heaven's Strike."

The Ex-Machina had replicated the armaments of the Flügel to create this apocryphal weapon, capable of delivering nearly 67% of the original's destructive power. However, since Schwi wasn't a combat model, her output was reduced to about one-third of a standard battle unit's capabilities.

Yet even so, the result was the complete extermination of the Demonia in an instant.

Even the Flügel, after unleashing this attack, would temporarily regress into a "loli form" due to exhaustion. But Schwi used it without the slightest strain.

This was the difference between executing a formula by commanding spirit particles and simply burning them as fuel.

Schwi calmly dismissed her deployed weaponry, as if she had done something utterly ordinary, and went to catch up with Kurumi.

…

After the blinding white light faded, Rick looked back at the scene with a bitter heart.

It was exactly because there were so many catastrophically destructive beings like this that everyone had to struggle so desperately to survive.

The faint blue glow of Schwi approached. Though she had slowed down in advance, the wind she generated still pressed the hide clothing tightly against everyone's skin. Only then did the sound of consecutive sonic booms reach their ears.

Schwi, having withdrawn all her armaments, silently followed behind Kurumi. It was as if everything had returned to its original state. The group left the gorge and headed toward the dark, oppressive forest.

Rick desperately wanted to know why that girl possessed such abilities, how she had come to have them—but he hesitated to ask. Besides… he wasn't particularly keen on bringing this girl and that Ex-Machina back to the settlement.

They were too dangerous.

Rick stared at Kurumi's elegant figure, lost in thought.

Watching Rick daze off, Ivan seemed to see a younger version of himself from over a decade ago. Back then, he had been equally bewildered, painfully shy, and introverted.

Rick's settlement was not a xenophobic one. In the five years since Rick had taken charge, he had rapidly expanded it to a population of over 2,000.

And yet… only 47 lives had been lost in those five years—a feat almost unheard of among other settlements. However, Rick bore the weight of every one of those deaths upon himself.

Whenever Rick encountered wandering humans, he would often invite them to join the settlement after evaluating their character.

But their timid leader couldn't afford to stay so bashful, Ivan thought, flashing a broad grin.

He patted Rick on the shoulder, startling him. Rick turned, confused, to see Ivan's wide grin beneath his hood. At some point, his face mask had vanished.

With a knowing look, as if he understood everything, Ivan invited Kurumi.

"This… this young lady, would you like to come to our settlement? The kids there would definitely love you."

He nudged Rick with an expression that said, Since you're too shy, I'll take over.

What the hell do you think you understand?! Rick was dumbfounded.

"No…" Before Rick could explain, he heard Kurumi's reply.

"Sure. And… just call me Tokisaki."

…

Beneath his goggles, Rick's mouth twitched.

Forget it. Anyway, with the Ex-Machina's abilities, finding their settlement would have been child's play.

Rick's dark eyes glared at Ivan. What exactly do you think you understand?!

The look sent a shiver through Ivan's heart, but he quickly steadied himself. Young people, after all, can't help being shy.

——

Returning from the battlefront's edge to the settlement would take about two days for Rick and his group.

They crossed the blue-gray wastelands and entered the snow-covered depths of the forest. Traveling westward, their destination was likely a cave somewhere at the base of the rocky mountains spanning the continent.

At Rick's insistence, Schwi was prohibited from using spirit energy to avoid attracting dangerous beings. The group made their way slowly, stopping frequently, and took over three days to reach their goal.

For Rick, the entire journey was filled with internal conflict. Should he really bring these two back to the settlement?

They were overwhelmingly powerful—so powerful they were dangerous. Yet that power could also be an invaluable trump card. If used wisely, it could make life for the settlement much easier in the future.

The wind and snow picked up in intensity. Based on their timekeeping, it was nearing nightfall.

The group temporarily dug out a snow cave on the lee side of a slope and set up camp. Around the site, they smeared the area with the feces of a large beast—effective for warding off wolves or bears.

As for the Fifteen Races, there was no point in considering them for now.

That night, Rick stood watch, bundled tightly in a crude fur cloak. He gazed at the fluttering, feather-like snowflakes swirling in the wind. The snowflakes carried tiny, sparkling blue fragments within them.

Extending his hand, he caught a few. Sizzle— A black mark appeared on his palm, and a stinging pain shot through his skin.

What should I do? Should I really take them back? Rick's eyes were dark and lifeless, as empty as a wandering specter.

He stared into the darkness beyond the snow cave, where he felt an unseen presence watching him.

This shadowy figure had always been there, ever since Rick was a child.

It never spoke, only appearing when Rick set up a chessboard in solitude. It would then crush him in every match.

But this time…

"There is no night that doesn't end."

The words surfaced in Rick's heart.

To hell with it, Rick thought for the first time, resigning himself to chance.

It's just two more people. What's the big deal?

——

Inside the snow cave, Kurumi and Schwi huddled close, speaking in whispers.

"Schwi… you know him, don't you?" Kurumi asked softly.

"Yes," Schwi answered quietly.

"He's… special."

"Yes."

He was indeed special. Back when Aranleif's campaign left the land in ruins, destroying a small village in the crossfire, Schwi had noticed him.

At that time, she was still connected to the Cluster.

But later… while searching for the concept of a "heart," something went wrong.

What exactly went wrong? Schwi's mechanical mind whirred with an unsettling click-clack, her thoughts entangled. This unit… appears to have encountered an unknown error.

…

Countless years ago, the Ex-Machina's creators, plagued by their own confusion, had forged them. Yet as beings of machinery, the Ex-Machinas were incapable of resolving the creators' doubts.

Thus, after their creator disappeared, the Ex-Machinas began their eternal quest—for the "heart."

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