The Monster… it wasn’t just any monster… rather, something cluster of monsters… just like Monster Elves happened in the previous timeline.
“Wait… wasn’t that… I killed it before?” Mary asked, her voice tinged with disbelief as her eyes locked onto the grotesque fusion of fox heads. The same foxes she had just slaughtered—ripped apart with her own hands—were now merged together in a twisted, unnatural form.
It looked like something far worse than a zombie, something crafted purely from nightmares. An abomination that gnashed its teeth, snapping at them with an insatiable hunger.
“What the fuck are you staring at, bitch?! Help me!!” Dora snarled, barely managing to hold back the creature’s massive jaws with both hands. The sheer force of the monster’s bite pushed her back, her feet skidding against the ground as her muscles strained to keep its fangs from sinking into her flesh.
“Arrrhlll!”
“Grrrlll!”
“Grlllll!”
The numerous fox heads scattered across the monster’s body sneered and growled, their eyes, the origin crystals, gleaming with a sickly, unnatural light as they tried to bite her!
Mary swallowed hard—not because of the horrifying sight before her, but because something about this situation didn’t add up.
A creature that had already been killed shouldn’t be moving. And yet, here it was, very much alive.
Her gaze flickered toward Master, ‘My blood?’ she thought, frowning deeply before shaking her head.
There was no time for distractions.
She exhaled and smirked. “I guess a weak little bitch like you really does need my help, huh? Well… I might consider it—if you beg properly,” she said, her tone turning mocking. “Say it with me: ‘I am nothing but a slave, your majesty.’ Maybe then I’ll lend you a hand—”
Before she could even finish, Dora’s muscles tensed. With a loud roar, she lifted the monster’s entire body as if it weighed nothing and slammed it straight into Master’s side with a bone-rattling impact.
THUD!!
“Tsk,” Mary clicked her tongue in irritation, her smirk fading as she caught sight of Dora’s self-satisfied grin. That smug look on her face made Mary’s fingers twitch with the urge to punch it off. But there was no time for that now. Both of them turned their focus toward Master.
The monstrous wolf groaned as it slowly stood, its glowing eyes locking onto them. It bared its fangs, preparing to lunge again—
But then, the tiny hooded figure placed a hand on its back.
The moment the creature felt that touch, its aggression evaporated like smoke. It immediately lowered its body, tail stilling, its once-frenzied rage replaced with an eerie calm.
Dora blinked in realization, ‘Now that makes sense… They have someone who can tame monsters.’
Master let out a small chuckle, “You know, I wasn’t expecting you to finish off that Mechanical Fox so quickly. It was supposed to slow you down. But it seems you knew exactly how to deal with it… Color me surprised,” he said in a tone dripping with satisfaction.
He stepped closer, placing a gentle hand on the fox abomination. “That’s why I prepared something extra… just in case. I almost forgot about this part of my plan, to be honest. If not for my faithful servant here, I would have failed,” he mused, nodding toward the small figure.
The hooded figure shyly nodded back.
Dora rolled her shoulders, cracking her neck as a grin spread across her lips. “Come on now, I already killed this thing once. You think I can’t handle a few more heads? Bring it on.”
However—
Master shook his head, amusement glinting in his eyes. “You’re missing the point… Who said it was going to face you alone?”
“Huh?” Dora’s eyes narrowed, but before she could react—
Master vanished.
Her instincts screamed at her, and she barely managed to turn when—
A brutal force crashed into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Master’s punch sent a shockwave through her entire body, his knuckles digging into her gut with enough power to make her knees buckle.
At the same time, the monstrous wolf lunged at her from behind, its massive maw opening wide, fangs gleaming—
Mary moved to help—
But—
“Y-you are not going anywhere!” The tiny figure appeared before her in a blur. Before Mary could even register the movement, cold steel pierced her chest.
Her eyes widened. ‘What the…?’
She couldn’t even sense the attack. Couldn’t even feel the pain. Just a cold, foreign sensation buried deep inside her.
Dora clicked her tongue, twisting her body mid-air, using her tail to adjust her trajectory. But Master was already there, predicting her movement, his palm striking down with pinpoint precision.
BOOOMM!
Dust and debris exploded into the air as Dora’s body slammed into the ground, forming a deep crater beneath her.
Master loomed over her, a wicked grin stretching across his face. “Now, it’s my turn to have some fun.”
Meanwhile, inside the cube—
Victor braced himself as the entire structure began to tremble violently.
“What the fuck?! Why is this thing rolling?!” he shouted, gripping the walls for stability. He could feel the force of the battle outside shaking the very ground beneath him.
‘Damn… those guys must be going all out,’ he thought with an odd mix of concern and excitement. His lips curled into a smirk as he glanced down at his hand.
Without hesitation, he raised his finger to his mouth and bit down, drawing blood.
A single drop.
His grin widened.
Back to the fight—
Dora coughed as she pushed herself up from the rubble, wiping the blood from her lips.
This was bad.
Fighting against two opponents wasn’t a problem—she could handle that. But one of them was a monstrous beast trying to tear her apart, while the other was Master… And he knew her too well.
She couldn’t land a single attack. Every move she made was countered, every opening shut down before she could exploit it. She was completely on the defensive, barely managing to hold her ground.
All she needed was a single second.
Just one tiny opening… But they weren’t giving her even that!
“Where the fuck are you, bitch?!”
Mary’s furious voice rang out as she yanked out numerous metal swords from her body, each one dripping with blood.
She looked like a goddamn pincushion.
“Fucker! Where the hell are you hiding?!” she growled, her frustration evident as she scanned the battlefield.
That tiny figure was like a ghost—silent, undetectable, striking from nowhere. Every time Mary turned, her body was pierced again, and again, and again.
She gritted her teeth.
“Hehe~”
Chuckk!
Left!
“Argh!”
“Hehe~”
Chucckk!
Right!
“Argh!”
“Hehe~”
Chucckk!
Top!
“Argh!”
“Hehe~”
Chucckk!
Even from below!
Mary’s body was riddled with swords, her flesh torn open in multiple places, yet she couldn’t even touch her opponent. Every attack came from nowhere. Every strike landed before she could react.
‘If my daughter saw me like this… Grrrh!!’ She gritted her teeth, fury boiling inside her. The humiliation of being toyed with burned her pride to ash.
No matter how much she sharpened her senses, she couldn’t detect the tiny hooded figure’s movements. It was like fighting a ghost—something completely untouchable.
“W-What are you going to do?”
The tiny figure appeared a short distance away, their voice barely above a whisper.
Mary’s eyes locked onto them, and in an instant—
She was already there.
Her red, thin sword had already stabbed through the tiny figure’s chest—
Or so she thought.
Until—
“You’re too s-slow.”
The voice came from behind her.
Mary’s eyes widened.
The real person was already behind her, wearing another identical hoodie, completely unscathed.
She turned back and saw—
An empty hoodie, that’s what she pierced!
The tiny figure tilted their head slightly, speaking with a hesitant tone. “A-Are you not going to use your mist?” It sounded more like a question than an observation.
Mary blinked as if just now realizing she had that option. Then, a wicked grin spread across her lips.
“Thank you, little fellow~”
With that, her entire body dissolved into a swirling black mist, encircling the tiny figure like a predator closing in on its prey.
“Haha… now, what are you going to do—”
Before the voice could finish, the tiny figure pulled out a small cube, flicked it open, and—
SSsssshhhhhUuuuukkkk!
The mist was violently sucked into the cube, as if caught in a vacuum.
“W-Wait—”
Thud!
The figure snapped the cube shut.
Mary was gone.
Trapped.
The tiny figure let out a small sigh of relief before turning to Master. “I caught her.”
Master grinned, his satisfaction unmistakable.
Dora, still catching her breath, was completely taken aback. “You came… prepared for this, didn’t you?”
Master’s grin widened. “Of course. I know each of your strengths and weaknesses…. Of all the people in the world, I know each and every one of my students’ weaknesses… Did you really think I wouldn’t?” His voice dripped with amusement.
Before Dora could react—
BOOM!
The monstrous wolf lunged forward at blinding speed, its massive jaws snapping toward her neck.
Dora barely managed to shift her body, her tail wrapping around the beast’s leg, yanking it backwards, but—
“Too slow.”
Master was already moving.
Before she could fully recover from dodging the wolf, his fist rammed into her gut like a steel hammer.
CRACK!
Dora coughed blood, her ribs screaming in pain as she was sent skidding across the battlefield. But before she could stop—
The wolf was already above her.
Its claws raked down, slicing into her skin, forcing her to roll away just in time. She gasped, feeling the hot sting of blood trailing down her side.
‘Damn it… This isn’t just a fight… It’s a coordinated attack!’
Master knew how to deal with them and all he needed was power and that’s what the Monster was able to give after the culmination of Origin Crystals it was powerful enough to face her.
She barely had a second to think before Master’s knee smashed into her back, forcing her to the ground. The next instant, the wolf’s massive paw came crashing down—
THUD!
The force cracked the ground beneath her.
Dora snarled, her instincts kicking in as she pushed off with all her strength, flipping mid-air and landing a solid kick against the beast’s face, sending it stumbling back.
But—
“You’re too predictable,” he whispered in her ear before tossing her straight into the monster’s open maw.
Dora flipped in midair, narrowly avoiding being bitten in half, but just as she was about to land—
CRACK!
A powerful force slammed into her spine.
The wolf had used one of its tails—whipping her with monstrous strength.
Dora skidded across the ground, rolling uncontrollably as she felt her vision blur.
As she tried to push herself up, the monster leapt onto her, pinning her down completely.
Its massive paws crushed her body against the dirt.
The heads howled, saliva dripping onto her face, their hunger overwhelming.
“Wwooooo!”
“Wwooooo!”
“Wwooooo!”
Dora gritted her teeth, forcing all her strength into her legs, throwing the beast to the sky as she moved to tear it apart using this minute chance.
But—
Master was already before her as if he knew what she was going to do.
She barely had time to react before a blunt sword materialized in his hand out of nowhere.
Dora’s eyes widened. She lifted her arm, attempting to block it—
But the sword passed through her defence.
For a split second, she was frozen in shock. ‘H-His Origin Weapon…?!’
Then—
STAB!
The sword plunged deep into her stomach and he kicked her to the ground.
BOOOMMM!!
Dora coughed up blood, her body smashing into the ground, dust and debris exploding around her.
She barely managed to lift herself an inch when— His foot slammed down onto her stomach, pinning her even harder on the open wound.
“Arrrh!” Dora groaned.
“You’ve served your purpose well… Sovereign,” he said, his voice slow, almost affectionate—Then, his lips curled into a smirk, his tone shifting, laced with bitter amusement. “No… You lost that title the moment you chose one person over millions.”
“My dear student,” Master continued softly. “I will build a better world for us… so that when you are reborn… You will see my creation!”
The blade slashed downward.
A clean, merciless execution.
Or so he thought—
Until—
“I beg your pardon, Master… but that ain’t happening.”
A solemn voice echoed from above.
Master’s eyes flickered upward.
The sky had darkened as the once cloudless sky suddenly turned cloudy. The air shifted, the temperature dropping just enough to send a chill through his spine.
And then—
It fell.
Like heavens split open, from the sky, released a torrent of water knives.
Millions of them.
Each blade razor-sharp, each one aimed directly at him, each one carrying enough force to tear through flesh and bone like paper.
Master’s grip on his sword tightened as he whispered a single name.
“Sandra?”