An ancient cult that worships dragons thought to have gone extinct long ago. Forgotten worshippers.
They are beings who temporarily gain immense power by consuming magical potions and elixirs made from the remains of ancient dragons, along with spells left behind by those dragons.
In particular, the doping effects of drugs enhanced with Advanced Spells or elixirs made from dragon hearts are powerful enough to rival even a Master.
“Khh-!”
“Attack all at once! The enemy is alone!”
So, the fact that special agents of the cult, powered up with drugs, were struggling meant their opponent was stronger than an average Master.
A monster with six arms and standing over two meters tall. This chimera beast, created by the Academy but uncontrollable, wielded impossible Swordsmanship with its six arms in ways no Human could replicate.
Watching the Sword strike with trajectories impossible for human joints, the agents felt as if they were facing not one monster, but an army of dozens.
─Again, it’s overwhelming.
Hecate smirked and swung her sword. Six swords crafted from her own extracted bones flew toward the agents.
Attacks that other Monsters or Humans couldn’t possibly block—yet these humans somehow managed to parry her strikes.
Their secret wasn’t something they could hide. From their swords emanated a crimson Aura Blade, glowing like blood.
─Aura Blade…!
The radiant blade once used by the Swordsman who was both his and his parents’ sworn enemy. A power Hecate had desperately sought but never obtained.
Her crude imitation produced only a weak, black energy ripple on her blade—hardly worthy of being called an Aura Blade.
Unlike the elegant Aura Blades of true Aura Masters that cut through everything gracefully, Hecate’s Aura Blade was brutally violent.
Kwaaang-!
“Khhhuu!”
“Number Two!”
“This monster…!”
Every time Hecate’s sword struck something, a massive explosion followed, sending shards flying everywhere.
It wasn’t beautiful, but it was brutally efficient in combat.
Combined with Hecate’s transcendent strength, this ability became nothing short of catastrophic for her opponents.
“Numbers Six and Seven. Die.”
“Yes, understood.”
“At your command.”
Believing there was no way out unscathed, the squad leader issued orders to his team.
Upon hearing the leader’s command, the agents immediately targeted Hecate’s openings and charged forward.
Mockingly, Hecate swung her sword at the charging agents. Her swift strikes would’ve astonished even Schwartz, once an Aura Master, with their speed as they slashed past the agents.
─Heh, heeek.
A bug-like mocking laugh echoed, and Hecate casually bypassed the agents she had just slashed.
Or rather, she intended to bypass them—but couldn’t.
─Huh?
To her shock, chains suddenly bound Hecate’s body. Even with her superhuman reflexes, she hadn’t noticed until it was too late. Just like that, she was trapped.
With her six arms and legs bound, Hecate collapsed forward before realizing what had ensnared her—a power different from the Aura others used.
Magic.
─Human, spare me!
Hecate, rolling on the ground, immediately begged for her life. Seeing a monster plead for mercy, the agents burst into derisive laughter.
“Even lower than beasts, yet you beg for your life?”
“What do you think, Captain? It seems to possess some unique abilities. Should we take it back to headquarters…?”
“─Three men are dead. No mercy.”
While the agents laughed mockingly at Hecate, the squad leader coldly ordered her execution.
The leader’s orders were absolute. The agents steeled themselves and slowly approached Hecate, their sharp Aura Blades piercing toward her.
Watching the scene, the leader turned away and took a sedative.
“Damn, to use the fruit here…”
Thump-! Thump-! Thump…!
As the sedative took effect, the raging Aura began to subside. The fruit granted superhuman strength to whoever consumed it, but like everything else, it came with side effects.
If you consumed it and didn’t take a stabilizer-like antidote within a set time, you’d die. If too much Aura was used after consumption, you’d also die.
Even after taking the stabilizer, you’d be unable to use Aura for a period. Considering all agents were Experts, losing Aura for just surpassing a wall seemed excessively harsh.
─But that was the Master level for you.
“Ghh, Ghhhk-!”
Turning at the groaning sound, the leader saw Hecate already up on her feet, having killed three agents in the brief moment of distraction.
How did she escape her bindings? Actually, she hadn’t escaped.
She simply grew new legs to walk and spat out swords to kill the agents. The surprise attack was so effective that even three agents nearing Master-level abilities fell simultaneously.
“What the hell is…”
Having just taken the stabilizer and rendered incapable of using Aura, the leader couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.
One thing was certain: Ancient Spells, designed under the assumption the target’s form wouldn’t change, were useless against a creature capable of freely altering its body.
It was like trying to tie up a slime with ropes. Realizing his mistake, the leader bit his lip in frustration.
“Kill it—no mercy!”
Before the leader’s words finished, Hecate charged at them first. The drugged agents swung their wobbling Aura Blades in response, but Hecate tore through their defenses and began slicing off their heads one by one.
A monster that ten men couldn’t stop now effortlessly mowed down half their number.
“Number Two! Number Eight! Use the spell scroll─!”
“Whoa, why are these guys fighting among themselves?”
“─!?”
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice interrupted. The leader gasped as he noticed a man casually resting an arm on his shoulder.
It was Kail Meyer, one of their targets. A face he’d memorized down to the smallest detail from photos and sketches in newspapers.
Staring between the monster and their target, the leader hesitated.
Kail, however, moved without hesitation.
“Ariah, brainwash this guy first.”
“Okay, got it. La, la la la─♬”
The sudden singing triggered an involuntary sense of calm in the leader, who felt his consciousness slipping into an abyss.
This shouldn’t be happening—he was fading away right in front of his target…
As the leader collapsed, Kail turned to the agents still battling the monster.
“Hmm… They look like bad guys. No need to hold back, right?”
Smirking at the familiar-looking monster and the crimson Aura Blade, Kail grinned.
Everyone here was a villain.
“─Then die.”
The sky darkened as countless Aura Blades filled the air.
Startled by the sudden shadow, Hecate and the agents looked up just as dozens of Aura Blades rained down upon the earth.
* * *
Seeing the Aura Blades falling like meteors, Ariah commanded the man she had just brainwashed.
Following her mental command, the man dropped to all fours, and Ariah, gripping his hair, gave the signal to move.
“Let’s go—puppy!”
“Grrrrr…”
The man ran as fast as possible while maintaining balance, as though crawling on all fours was second nature.
Screaming with excitement, Ariah held on tight as they sped toward safety.
Watching Ariah flee while preserving her dignity, Kail chuckled and turned his head.
─Aura, Blade…!
“Still alive, huh?”
Kail tilted his head, spotting a small monster impaled on one of his Aura Blades, barely clinging to life.
The face seemed familiar, though it was strange since he’d never befriended any monsters.
While lost in thought, Hecate chuckled and stood up. Though the Aura Blade had pierced her torso and left a long gash, the wound sealed shut the moment she pulled free.
“Oh, aren’t you…”
─K, yleeee…!
The last name Hecate’s parents had heard before their deaths.
That name was etched into Hecate’s genes, cells, and DNA.
Her destined mortal enemy.
To kill him, Hecate reached for the Aura Blade. Until now, it had been impossible. But here, amidst the surplus of Aura Blades, opportunity presented itself.
Grasping the Aura Blade that had pierced her body, Hecate endured as her palms crackled and tore from the hostile Aura embedded in the hilt.
Yet, succeeding in wielding the Aura Blade, Hecate began overlaying her own Aura onto Kail’s stolen blade.
If she lacked her own, stealing another’s would suffice. Thus, her makeshift Aura Blade was complete.
─Die, Kail…!
Gripping the dark Aura Blade, Hecate charged toward her origin.
