The last manifestation

After leaving the guild, he headed to the grandmother's small shop to reassure the young girl of his return and inform her of the nature of the task he intended to carry out. However, upon arrival, he realized the timing wasn't ideal. The place was bustling with activity—the voices of customers blending into a mixture of laughter and haggling, and the air was saturated with the scent of new fabric, a smell that radiated a gentle warmth reminiscent of home on a winter's night.

Emilia was moving gracefully among the customers, her enchanting smile ever-present on her face, though tinged with a hint of fatigue. Her hands were full of rolled fabrics, which she seemed to present like precious treasures. Her eyes sparkled with vitality, as if she were the very soul of the shop. Ace stood there by the window, silently observing, hesitant to intrude upon her lively world. He considered calling out to her, but seeing how immersed she was in her work, giving each customer her full attention, he decided to postpone the matter.

He then made his way directly toward the town gate, expecting to find the twin brothers stationed there as guards, or perhaps seated and absorbed in their books—books he had intended to ask about. Upon arrival, he found two unfamiliar men guarding the gate. Their clothing was stained with mud and dust, as if they had just returned from a grueling journey through rough terrain.

Their posture was noticeably relaxed, lacking any semblance of military discipline. The spears they carried were certainly meant for guards, but they held them more like burdens than tools of defense. There was something off about the situation; it seemed they hadn't chosen this task willingly—it had been unexpectedly imposed upon them. As Ace approached, he asked them about the twin brothers. The two men exchanged quick glances. They appeared to be bronze-ranked adventurers. They conferred silently before one of them, tightening the worn strap of his leather glove, replied:

"The Korlin brothers asked us for a favor—to guard the gate on their behalf for a while. Then they quickly left for an unknown destination."

His tone held a trace of irritation, as if he was on the verge of abandoning his post at any moment. The other adventurer scratched his chin thoughtfully and looked out toward the horizon before adding with a tone laced with suspicion:

"I've never seen them like that before. They were unusually excited. I don't know what's going on with them."

The words were ambiguous, but Ace didn't want to waste time with questions. He nodded a brief thanks and turned to leave, walking away and leaving behind a mystery he couldn't yet unravel.

He moved swiftly down the path, just as he had before. His steps were so quick they barely touched the ground. The map the clerk had given him was simple—just a line marking the route he needed to follow. Only thirty minutes of continuous running through open terrain had passed before he reached a road that cut through a small forest. The air there carried a distinct scent of light ash, as if a fire had recently blazed nearby.

He stopped walking, his senses on high alert. He closed his eyes, focusing his hearing and sense of smell in search of any unfamiliar sound or nearby scent. Soon, faint breathing noises reached his ears.

He opened his eyes, moving quietly without making a sound. After walking a short distance, he noticed some of the tree trunks were charred. They were definitely burned, yet still standing. It was as if the flames that consumed them were not ordinary fire, but something far more destructive and cruel.

He continued cautiously until he reached one of the blackened trunks. He extended his hand to touch it, and as his fingers brushed the surface, it crumbled into ash—almost as though it had been waiting for that single touch to collapse.

What also caught his attention, and puzzled him, was that the fire hadn't consumed all the trees. Many stood untouched among their scorched peers. That irregularity defied logic—fire typically engulfs everything in its path. Yet this fire had moved with purpose, almost as if it had chosen its targets.

Ace pressed forward toward the distant breaths, now accompanied by deep snoring. Before long, he reached a point where he could see the source of the sounds. He hid behind a nearby unburnt tree, peering ahead no more than twenty meters to a patch of blackened ground still glowing with embers. Lying atop it was a creature resembling a giant lizard. Its body was covered in hard, lustrous scales that reflected light in shimmering colors, glittering like gemstones.

Those scales were definitely different from the description he'd heard. Narrowing his eyes, Ace studied the scene. Two possibilities came to mind—either the creature could change the color of its scales depending on its mood—bright and radiant when calm, fiery orange when agitated—or there was more than one of these creatures in the area. But his finely tuned senses detected no other movement, making him lean toward the first theory.

Carefully, his hand slid to his waist where his military dagger rested. As he unsheathed it, the faint sound of blade against scabbard broke the stillness. It was soft, yes, but enough to shatter the silence.

Suddenly, the creature's eyes snapped open, reacting instantly to the faint noise. It sprang into the air with agility that defied its size, spinning midair, and once its feet touched the ground, it launched directly at Ace with lightning speed and precision.

At that moment, Ace recalled a similar scene he had faced days earlier. He remained calm as he saw the creature's wide-open jaws revealing rows of sharp teeth. But what truly startled him wasn't the fangs—it was the strange glow emerging from deep within the creature's throat. A blue light, like a suppressed flame, building up to release.

With agile precision, Ace leapt away. In that exact instant, the creature unleashed a blue firestorm from its mouth, engulfing the spot where Ace had just been hiding. Though the color was different, this wasn't ordinary fire. The tree he had hidden behind immediately turned to char, then crumbled into fine dust. Ace instantly recognized the danger—this creature wasn't just a passing threat. It was a walking catastrophe.

Once he landed, he gripped his dagger tightly, his breathing steady, eyes locked on the beast. It began to blur into its surroundings, not merely changing the color of its scales but disappearing through a visual illusion, gradually fading until only a faint mirage remained.

The sight reminded Ace of the cloaking technology used in his broken vehicle—technology that replicated surrounding colors to blend seamlessly into the environment. Yet he understood this wasn't a mechanical trick. It was an evolved, natural skill.

The creature appeared, vanished, then reappeared, as if playing with his perception, making him question whether he was seeing reality or illusion. Its footsteps began circling him—light, nearly silent. But Ace didn't need sharp hearing. His senses were heightened, detecting even the slightest movement. He knew the creature was waiting for the decisive moment—when he would be vulnerable.

Suddenly, everything went silent. All he could hear was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Without warning, the creature lunged at him from behind, teeth bared for the kill. Ace felt the air split behind him—a final warning before the beast struck. But he was ready.

He spun his body swiftly, his hand delivering a sharp slash with his black dagger. However, the creature had anticipated it. It twisted midair with unnatural flexibility, dodging the blade effortlessly.

That moment was enough for it to change direction. With a sudden spin, it used its long tail like a whip, landing a powerful blow on Ace's back. He felt the heat of pain spread across his spine as the strike tore through his clothes, leaving a vivid mark on his skin. He stumbled back, catching his breath, while the creature began twisting its body in a surreal dance, limbs slipping between reality and mirage. In that instant, there were no longer one—but three, or more.

Ace saw overlapping images of the beast moving in unison, like mirror reflections. But which one was real? He gripped his dagger more firmly. This was no longer just a battle of strength. It was a battle of perception against a cunning, ferocious foe.

The illusions twirled before him, vanishing and reappearing like phantoms in a dance where reality and trickery blurred. Yet Ace, with his sharp vision, noticed subtle differences—small variations in how the light reflected off the shimmering scales. The real one had a gleam the others lacked.

Then, all the copies charged at him. Without hesitation, he bolted forward, striking at the neck of one. It was the real body—but he was stunned. His blade slid over the creature's scaly skin as if against polished glass.

There was no wound—not a drop of blood, not even a scratch. The scales were an impenetrable shield, as if nature had granted the beast immunity to cutting weapons.

Only then did Ace realize he had underestimated his opponent. This would not be a simple test of speed or accuracy—it would be a challenge of comprehension and adaptation. As they passed each other, Ace smoothly sheathed his dagger, never taking his eyes off the creature, which seemed equally perplexed.

Then, the beast lifted its short arm, lowered its head, and scratched its neck—as if checking whether it had truly been decapitated. For a moment, it froze, then stared at Ace with eyes no longer the same. They now glowed as if filled with blood.

Then the unexpected happened. Its body began to radiate—an internal ignition, as if its blue fire had ignited from within. The surface of its body started to glow like a blue ember.

These weren't ordinary flames. They were savage, consuming even the air. Sparks spun around it in a wild, blue inferno.

In that moment, the beast was no longer just a creature spewing flames—it had become a master of chaos, a ruler of destructive disorder. Its body moved through the air with a fluidity that resembled a skilled dancer performing a final death waltz to a savage rhythm. Its sudden contortions, strange bends, and the fiery whirlwinds it unleashed turned everything around it into an unpredictable battlefield. There was no way to anticipate its next move. Ace had no choice but to find a way through the blazing inferno before the flames devoured him. Relying solely on his speed was his only path to survival.

He moved, his body gliding between the fiery vortices erupting around him. The heat felt like burning claws tearing through the air. Some flames scorched his clothes, leaving behind charred patches and shallow burns on his skin. The pain was sharp, yet not enough to slow him down. The torrent of fire raged for a full minute, every second pressing relentlessly on his nerves.

Finally, the beast began to slow. Its glow and flames gradually diminished. Its breathing grew heavy, as if it had lost control of its fury. Thick smoke filled the air, cloaking the scene in a black veil. At that moment, the beast, with a look of arrogance, believed its enemy had turned to ash—eliminated, just like the hundreds before him.

But as the smoke began to clear, an unexpected sight emerged. Amid the glowing embers, the young man stood tall. The body that should've been reduced to cinders remained upright. His eyes burned—not with fear, but with something far more terrifying—unshakable resolve and piercing intensity. His gaze carried something that made the beast instinctively step back, an unfamiliar feeling it refused to name but sensed clearly.

Its pride wouldn't allow retreat. It roared, a sound that shook the ground, then lunged forward with all its might in a scene that mirrored what Ace had faced the night before. The beast's jaws parted, revealing fangs ready to tear apart. It was a desperate attack, slower than the last—a feeble attempt to reclaim dominance or perhaps a last-ditch effort to survive.

In a fraction of a second, everything fell into complete silence. Only the deafening thud of a body hitting the ground remained. The beast's form crashed with such force that the earth beneath it shattered. It didn't comprehend what had happened. All it saw was the blur of a powerful hand striking its head with inhuman strength. For a fleeting moment, it heard the sound of its skull cracking before its senses could process the blow. Its massive body rose slightly from the force, then collapsed again—motionless.