Drip—drip—. Crimson beads fell from the werewolf’s arm, ticking like a cruel metronome, proof he was still, at least, human.
“ROAR!”
He bellowed at Tang Coco, a storm venting from his chest—then she felt it, a signal, not release.
Suddenly, the two youths behind him raised their hands. Anomalous Energy pooled in their palms, thin threads of light linking them to the werewolf in a straight line.
“ROAR!”
His cry turned raw under the surge, and Tang Coco felt his Anomalous Energy climb like a flash flood rising.
“Energy transfer, huh…”
Her voice stayed even, but a wrinkle cut her brow. Energy transfer meant their sources matched. All three shared the same origin? Too neat. Too wrong.
Swish—swish—.
Two shields flared around the youths. Their bands triggered as their Anomalous Energy ran dry.
“ROAR!”
Transfer complete. The werewolf straightened and howled. A ring of force rippled from him like a shockwave in a lake. Tang Coco braced; her I Field held firm. The two behind him weren’t so lucky—drained, their bands’ three seconds of grace gone—they were blown back and slammed into the ground.
She didn’t spare them a glance. Her focus narrowed to the last enemy, a single blade of intent.
Crack—crack—
His skin fissured like droughted earth. No spray of blood. Violet flame seeped through the seams, and in a breath he became a man of fire. At his severed stump, Anomalous Energy formed a translucent giant claw, a violet half-spectral hand. A purple orb hovered in its palm, like a cinder-heart.
“Detected S-class Anomalous Energy. Recommend canceling blitz mode.”
The system chimed.
“Okay.”
Blue particles shivered across Tang Coco’s Armor. Plates shifted, limbs reset. She returned to her default form, calm as water.
Swish—
Her black wings shuddered. Feathers, all particles, fanned outward like midnight rain. She drew the slender mechanical blade from her back. Her grip locked; the edge lit with cool blue, like moonlight on steel.
Pfft—
Particle thrust bloomed from her back. She moved first, a black streak cutting for the flame-born thing.
“ROAR!”
He lifted his intact left arm and swung a Stone-fist of flame at her flight.
She felt the hit coming like thunder and slid low, chest grazing the ground. The punch skimmed past. She spun tight, blade flashing, aiming to take his other arm clean.
Clang!
Sparks jumped. His arm, wrapped in flame, turned her edge aside like hardened metal.
Then his translucent claw swept in a half-moon and slashed for her, that violet orb riding the palm like a comet.
Whoosh—
Her Mech’s black thrusters snapped open. She skimmed the floor, a swallow hugging the earth, and shot away.
BOOM!
He missed. The violet orb slammed into the ground instead, punching a crater into stone.
“…”
Tang Coco halted at range, eyes cold on him. Something felt off, a grit under the tooth.
Crackle—crackle—
The arena’s center answered with breaking stone. Beneath the werewolf’s feet, the buried orb expanded under the surface, growing like a seed waking.
It didn’t devour matter like a black hole. It writhed like a living thing, parting gravel and soil, drilling deeper into the earth.
“What is that?”
“No idea…”
Spectators murmured, their voices like wind skimming reeds.
Glug—glug—
A surge moved under the ground, then went still. The orb vanished from sight, fully buried in the dark.
“System… what is that?”
“…”
She waited, heartbeat ticking. No answer.
“System?”
“Mm?”
Her doubt rose like mist. Why had the system gone quiet? She called again.
“System?”
And then her vision washed to gray. The world froze, every mote of dust suspended, every flicker locked mid-flicker.
“This… this is…”
Shock stabbed through her. Even her own body wouldn’t move. Time felt buttoned, the scene sealed in ice.
“A trap?”
The thought snapped like a twig—then a voice smoothed it flat.
“What kind of trap does that? If power like that existed, we’d all be done.”
A clear voice sounded in her mind, familiar as a half-remembered song.
“Wait—this voice…”
She went still inside, then the memory clicked—a person who didn’t exist and was bound to her all the same.
“Oh my—took you this long to think of me?”
She knew it. The first-gen system inheritor. The red-haired Tang Coco, the battle-loving big sister who hadn’t spoken in so long.
“You—why are you here all of a sudden? Did you do all this? What happened to the system?”
Questions rose like birds. She didn’t need to speak; the other her heard them anyway.
“You’re in overclocked cognition. The world isn’t stopped. Your mind sped up for a moment, so everything looks stalled by comparison.”
Red-hair Coco’s voice was slow and patient, like waves smoothing sand.
“As for the system, it’s been screened. That’s what the orb does.”
“An orb? No way. The system doesn’t exist in reality. How can anything make it vanish?”
“It’s not vanished, just in standby—temporary. Don’t blame yourself for not knowing; it’s your first time. Where I’m from, these are common.”
“What is it?”
“An anti-I particle device—let’s call it that. Simple effect: a few devices weaken I Energy. A dense cluster makes I Energy disappear.”
“Weakened? If it just weakens I Energy, why did the system go into standby?”
“You were too close. It tripped protection and auto-shut down. If you’d kept distance, it’d have warned you and pushed you away. No warning this time because it happened too fast.”
“…”
Tang Coco weighed it, thoughts like stones clicking. Then:
“What’s ‘safe distance’?”
“Depends on build quality. Farthest I’ve seen? Around three kilometers.”
“Three kilometers!?”
Cold pricked her spine. If this world had high-grade anti-I devices, she was in real danger. How do you escape something with a radius like that? The more she thought, the colder she got. She’d been too relaxed.
“…”
“Is that why my Armor’s defense kept feeling weaker lately?”
“Yeah. You saw that violet orb, right? That’s not the device itself. The body is physical. The orb is its operating mode. If the orb’s here, the body’s nearby.”
“The body… I think I know where.”
She pictured the campus’ central Anomaly suppressor. Someone likely added an anti-I device inside it—recently.
“Alright, I’ve warned you. Want me to help? I can erase him.”
Red-hair Coco sounded eager, a blade itching to be swung.
“No. This is a match, not a real battle. Whoever arranged this wants my data. You can’t be exposed.”
“Fine. I’m going back to sleep. Oh, and this device shouldn’t exist in your world. I would’ve told you earlier if it did. Now that it’s here, dig into its origin. Once you find it, I’ll show up and help you end it.”
“Got it.”
Color bled back into the world. Motion returned, a tide rolling in.
“ROAR!”
The werewolf sprinted for her Mech. His arm lifted and hammered down at Tang Coco—simple, brute, relentless. She slid aside again, a reed bending in wind. But his translucent claw wasn’t bound by weight; with almost no mass, it whipped faster and reached her in a blink.
“…”
No time to dodge. Tang Coco raised her blade. Edge forward, a spear of light. If he struck, he’d be cut. She forgot one thing—the claw wasn’t flesh. It was made of Anomalous Energy.
Pfff—
Her blade split the incoming hand clean—but the half still connected kept driving in, a ghost of a talon.
Bang! Crack!
This fight marked a first since her full-cover transformation. Her visor shattered.
Krak—krak—
Her Mech’s left knee popped a blade. Tang Coco drove her knee into his belly like a hidden fang.
Pfft—
Metal passing into meat. A cold sound.
Thud!!!
She followed with a bare fist, smashing his chest. The werewolf flew, a burning comet kicked off its track.
“Hah… hah…”
Air licked Tang Coco’s exposed face. Her cheeks flushed a soft rose from the strain and heat.
She glanced down at her left knee. Only a broken edge remained. The other half had lodged inside him. The blade snapped when she knocked him away.
“Impact that big, huh…”
Her heart sank a little. The anti-I device moved from worry to priority.
She lifted her eyes. The werewolf stood not far off, fingers fumbling at his wound, digging for the broken blade like a man clawing at thorns.
“Hm?”
Only then did she notice it—the guy wore no defense band.
