"So, to sum it up, you can see incoming attacks a few seconds before they happen and dodge them?"
Sefer summarized. Although he was driving, the vehicle's autonomous driving system allowed him to join the conversation.
"Yes. I'll relay everything through the earpieces."
"Good. First, you'll need to know who we are. Looking at our uniforms, I'm Number One, he's Number Two, and that's Number Three."
"That way you won't have to worry about remembering our names."
"The next question is how precise your vision is. Can you only give rough directions, like 'an attack is coming from Number One's front-right'?"
"I can pinpoint it exactly. I can call out the clock direction and estimate the height within a few centimeters."
"Impressive."
Number Two looked genuinely amazed.
"But we've all got plenty of experience. Most obvious attacks we'll probably dodge on our own without needing your warning."
"I think you can ignore the ones that are easy to see. Just let us know about attacks coming from blind spots or strange angles."
"But how do I decide?"
"Trust your own judgment. It's fine if you end up saying more than necessary. This kind of teamwork takes time to develop."
"We're almost there."
Sefer took hold of the steering wheel again.
A short while later, the vehicles came to a stop.
Everyone put on their communication earpieces and protective gear before grabbing their weapons and stepping out.
As Ethel was about to follow Number Three out of the vehicle, someone caught him by the shoulder.
It was Soth.
The man had remained silent throughout the ride, making it easy to forget he was even there. Now only the two of them remained inside the vehicle.
Ethel instinctively thought Soth was about to start insulting him again.
Instead, he spoke with complete seriousness.
"Once the fight begins, your only job is to watch. No matter what happens, do not step in to help."
"The most important thing is this: never leave my side. Stay behind me at all times. Don't move more than three steps away from me. That's an order."
"Understood."
"Also, even if something attacks us, don't warn me, and don't dodge. I'll handle the defense. Nobody from the First Squad—including Tia—is going to worry about us. You're my responsibility. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Lastly... if I die, reinforce yourself with Force and run straight back to the vehicles. If everyone dies except you, don't stop for anyone. Pour every last bit of Force into your body and run back to Sunblaze City. Under no circumstances are you to try and save any of us."
"Am I clear?"
"Crystal clear."
"Good."
"Stand behind me from now on."
Soth tossed him a pistol and a combat knife, both powered by Force.
"These are for escaping. Don't use them during the battle."
The two climbed out and joined the others.
The landscape stretched into an endless desert, broken only by several enormous rock formations.
"The target is one kilometer southeast. We'll jog over. Don't waste Force—we'll need it for the real fight."
Standing at the rear of the formation, Tia gave the order.
It was obvious she was saying it mainly for Ethel's benefit.
Sefer led the group from the front, his three floating spheres hovering several meters ahead of him.
The three Force Users followed a few steps behind with their weapons ready.
Soth and Ethel came next, Ethel staying close behind Soth, while Soth repeatedly glanced back to make sure he hadn't fallen behind.
Tia walked at the very rear, every bit as vigilant as the others.
The only difference was that she carried no weapon.
"Are you scared?"
Tia asked.
From beginning to end, she had never questioned why Ethel had joined them, nor had she shown the slightest dissatisfaction. One word from Oenone had been enough for her to accept the arrangement.
Even now, her concern was entirely genuine.
Although she had no idea what awaited them ahead, she still put someone else's feelings before her own.
"I'm not."
"I'll do everything I can to help."
"This is your first mission. If you make mistakes, we'll fix them afterward. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"From this moment on, there are no ranks between us."
"We're equals."
"And you're an official member of the First Squad."
"Just remember that."
"I will, Captain."
"Good."
Despite her position, despite gaining a new teammate without warning, Tia treated Ethel exactly the same as everyone else.
In her eyes, he was already one of her squad members—
Not dead weight.
At that moment, Ethel completely suppressed the voice deep inside him that had constantly forbidden him from using his Concept.
He was ready.
Just as he had been trained to be long ago.
"Prepare for contact."
Sefer's voice came through the earpiece.
Then—
Ethel saw it.
His first wild Concept Demon.
The creature towered nearly four stories high.
Its entire body was covered in something resembling seaweed. Long green strands concealed every inch of its skin, making it impossible to tell whether it even possessed limbs.
Only a small patch near the top remained uncovered.
There, two round crimson eyes stared ahead.
The enormous creature slowly inched across the ground, writhing toward Sunblaze City.
The three Force Users immediately spread out.
Taking positions closer to the demon, they raised their weapons and silently waited.
Meanwhile, Sefer walked straight toward it with his floating spheres.
Ethel and Soth remained several hundred meters behind, waiting.
"Can you still see clearly from here?"
Heart's Eye. Full Release.
Ethel closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.
A soft golden light shone from his pupils.
The entire world snapped into astonishing clarity.
He could even distinguish every individual strand of green seaweed swaying across the demon's body.
For the first time in years, Ethel willingly activated his Concept.
There was no awkwardness.
No hesitation.
He slipped effortlessly into the state he knew best.
"That's perfect."
Soth nodded and snapped his fingers.
The air before them seemed to ripple.
Then—
The battle began.
Sefer guided one of his floating spheres forward.
Before the demon even noticed it, the sphere had already reached its face.
Boom.
The sphere exploded.
The blinding flash robbed the demon of its vision while scorching its body. The green, seaweed-like strands surrounding its eyes were singed black by the intense heat.
That was the signal to begin.
Streams of bullets rained down on the demon from two different directions, while Number Three charged toward its left side, wielding a massive blade nearly as tall as he was.
The sword fell.
Large clumps of green seaweed were sliced away, exposing the sticky purple flesh beneath.
Unfortunately, the exposed area regenerated in an instant as fresh green strands spread across its body again.
Meanwhile, the place where Number Three had been standing was replaced by a towering green pillar.
The demon finally revealed two enormous arms hidden beneath the seaweed, swinging them wildly in frustration.
Despite carrying such a massive weapon, Number Three's speed never faltered.
Circling to the demon's right side, he brought his blade down again.
Purple flesh was exposed once more, and black fluid burst from the wound.
Although he failed to sever the arm completely, the strike left a deep gash.
The seaweed quickly regrew over the injury, but unlike before, the wound itself failed to heal.
Black liquid continued to seep from it.
"...Ugh..."
A deep groan rumbled from the demon as it twisted its enormous body.
As if his job was finished, Number Three sheathed his sword and immediately retreated.
Seeing that the bullet wounds were regenerating almost instantly, Number Two also slung his rifle aside and drew the greatsword from his back.
Meanwhile, Number One remained in front of the demon, continuously firing at its eyes to interfere with its vision.
Watching everything unfold from afar, Ethel saw countless crimson trajectories filling his vision.
Yet not a single one struck anyone.
Whenever the demon focused on one target, Sefer, who stayed closest to it, would instantly detonate another sphere, forcing the demon to shift its attention while leaving another seemingly permanent burn across its body.
Even after all the spheres had been used, someone else would immediately step in to draw the demon's attention away.
Their teamwork was flawless.
Every red line Ethel saw ultimately struck nothing but empty air.
After another failed attack, Sefer reached out and touched the demon's body.
A large patch of seaweed instantly vanished, compressing into a floating green sphere above them.
Number Two, who had already switched weapons, seized the opening without hesitation.
He drove his blade straight into the exposed flesh.
Even after the seaweed regenerated and covered the wound again, the sword remained firmly embedded.
"Is this... going well?"
Ethel couldn't help asking.
Even as he spoke, his eyes never left the battlefield.
Up to this point, he hadn't given a single warning through the communicator.
He was beginning to feel completely unnecessary.
At this rate, the four of them seemed more than capable of defeating the demon on their own.
Tia still hadn't entered the battle.
She stood atop a nearby rock formation, glowing softly as she observed everything below.
"This is only the setup."
"The demon hasn't used its Concept yet."
"The real fight hasn't even started."
Sure enough, the four gradually eased off their attacks.
Instead of pressing the assault, they deliberately created openings for the demon to retaliate.
Yet every time Ethel prepared to speak, they evaded the attack before he could.
The battle settled into a carefully controlled stalemate.
Ethel watched every movement intently.
Only a few minutes had passed.
The only major change was that Tia had already transformed into light through her Concept and now floated high above the battlefield, clearly ready to intervene at any moment.
Twelve. Three. Six. Nine.
"Number One! Jump back! Now!"
Ethel shouted.
Without questioning him, Number One immediately leaped backward—
Even though the demon's arms were nowhere near him.
The next instant—
Without warning, four enormous geysers erupted from beneath the ground around the demon.
One burst forth exactly where Number One had been standing.
They weren't truly geysers.
They were torrents of blue Force taking the shape of erupting fountains.
"It's Concept: Spring!"
Sefer shouted through the communicator.
As if waiting for that very signal, Tia shot into the battlefield like a beam of light, crashing directly into the demon.
Even so, the demon manipulated the four towering springs, sending them surging toward Sefer and the others.
The four immediately retreated.
"Number Two, duck!"
"Number One, Number Three—keep moving!"
More and more fountains erupted.
Soon, nearly half the battlefield was engulfed in torrents of blue Force.
The demon was weaving together a prison.
Ethel continued issuing short instructions whenever necessary, helping everyone retreat safely.
Meanwhile, Tia kept the demon's attention fixed on herself while vaporizing every stream aimed toward her teammates with brilliant golden light.
Her light always reached the torrents a heartbeat before they struck.
Even though dozens of streams filled the battlefield—
More than half of them targeting her alone.
Golden radiance and blue torrents collided violently.
Neither side gave way.
Amid the chaos, Tia somehow prevented every single stream from touching either herself or any of her teammates—
Until all three Force Users had successfully withdrawn.
"Sefer!"
"Bend forward and jump!"
At the final moment before becoming surrounded, Sefer dodged two newly formed torrents before launching himself forward in what looked almost like a high jump, slipping horizontally through a tiny opening in the watery cage.
Once she confirmed every squad member had escaped...
Tia stopped holding back.
The light surrounding her grew brighter and brighter.
Concept Release: Infinite Radiance. Supernova.
"Close your eyes."
"Don't look."
Tia's voice came through the communicator.
Ethel, still staring wide-eyed from behind Soth, immediately reacted.
Heart's Eye. Release.
He shut his eyes and quickly turned his head away.
In that instant—
Tia became the sun itself.
She unleashed an overwhelming torrent of Force.
Even from hundreds of meters away, Ethel could physically feel the heat washing over him.
A few moments later...
The energy subsided.
Ethel slowly opened his eyes.
Only ashes remained.
The demon's existence had been erased without a trace.
"Mission complete."
Tia's calm voice sounded through the communicator once more.
Just like that—
Ethel's first extermination mission came to an end.
ns216.73.217.39da2
and then Add to home screen.