My left hand was bleeding, and my body was now almost crying, but this Kuroto doesn't wanna give up… and I feel that.
If Kuroto doesn't, then I don't wanna either. I'll survive this, and not only survive this, but save Daiki as well.
"Kuroto, lend me your courage," I said.
The monsters were a few meters away from me. I could feel they were all closed up together with almost no gap at all between them, so I'd just have to move forward by eliminating them one by one... Sounds impossible, huh?
Well, I'd rather not die, so let's do it.
I could say there were almost six that could attack me right away. Just as I was about to move forward, I instantly sensed two dashing straight at me.
I closed my eyes—not like I could see anyway. I stopped panicking, even the little I was before, and focused on sensing the monsters' mana.
"Close eyes... focus on sensing it," the two monsters closed in. "Anticipate."
I saw them—literally saw them in my mind. One from the left and one from the right coming at me.
The two monsters closed in. I didn't see them—I visualized them perfectly as if seeing them upfront.
They were right in front of me, side by side to each other. They swung their weapons.
"I see. These aren't the same-sized monsters... They're now mutated or different," I murmured.
Just as the weapons were a meter away from slicing my throat from both sides, I instantly jumped—swiftly and smoothly dodging with ease. Whilst in mid-air, I smiled.
"I've played these games before, even if you've mutated or are different monsters," I said boldly to the monsters, even if they didn't understand me. The two monsters' weapons collided, and just as they did, I took a step, using mana to reduce friction on the weapons. Then, I moved my right arm at an insane speed—blink and you'd miss it, and then before they knew it, the two of them were beheaded
I could now literally see them—their size, their weapons, and their numbers with good accuracy. Although it wasn't as good as seeing them, it was still good enough.
I wondered... Why are these monsters not attacking me all at once? Is it because I have very strong mana, even though I don't have any ability yet?
Meanwhile, as Kuroto fought his battle, Daiki watched in despair, his night vision allowing him to see everything clearly.
He stared at Kuroto, confused.
"Why... Who is this guy? He's not a dungeon raider from any Order—or is he? Does he have the same ability as I do? No... that doesn't seem right. He doesn't look like someone from an Order, especially since I haven't seen him use any ability.
Why is he still fighting? Oh… right. He hasn't even sensed the true monster lurking at the cave's entrance."
Daiki kept wondering, his confusion deepening as he watched Kuroto take down mutant after mutant.
"How is he moving that fast?" he thought, seeing Kuroto eliminate more and more enemies with alarming ease.
"At this rate he'll run out of mana and die miserably." he said to himself, knowing the inevitable.
Daiki began to feel something weird inside of him, something different than despair or questioning.
"Why does watching him fight make my chest hurt?" he questioned as he began to feel something
Daiki wasn't your average 7-year-old…
He started remembering. Everything.
Back when Daiki was truly 7 years old, he was terrifyingly strong—so powerful, in fact, that he couldn't even control it.
One day, he lost control. He went berserk, and in that moment... he wasn't Daiki anymore. That happened when he was 12.
Daiki's ability was teleportation. Simply willing it was enough—he'd appear wherever he imagined. Though he couldn't bypass barriers, he could instantly reach any place he could clearly picture, as long as it was on Earth.
But that wasn't all. His mana was absurdly strong—so overwhelming that it was a given he'd join the Crimson Order someday.
And on top of that, he had other abilities.
Teleportation—his main ability.
Insanely strong mana—from the very start.
And the power to visualize any weapon and physically create it. While not as broken as teleportation, this ability still let him summon any weapon his mind could conjure.
These three innate talents/abilities already made him stronger than the majority of adult members—even those from higher Orders—except for the Crimson Order itself.
But power like that, especially so young, always comes with a cost…
One day, while practicing teleportation with his big sister…
Something went wrong. Horribly wrong.
He lost control. He snapped. Went completely insane.
But that was just the surface… The truth about Daiki was far more terrifying.
By the age of 12, Daiki was in a training facility—an enclosed space made entirely of reinforced glass, with a roof and walls forming a giant dome.
The space was circular, with trees on one side and a lush artificial jungle covering most of the terrain.
He was training with his older sister, Riko Iwasaki.
Riko had the same abilities as Daiki... but his talent was something else entirely.
They practiced by shooting harmless plastic bullets at each other with toy guns, teleporting rapidly and honing their ability to create objects.
Despite being five years younger, Daiki kept up with Riko. They were evenly matched, landing equal hits while their father watched silently from a bench near the trees.
His name was Kaito Iwasaki—a retired member of the Crimson Order. During his time, he was considered the weakest member of Japan's strongest Order. Even so, he was powerful... and held secrets few knew.
While they trained, Daiki's head suddenly started hurting intensely.
"Time out," he said. Riko stopped immediately and walked toward him.
"You okay?" she asked, seeing him hold his head tightly.
Suddenly, Daiki began screaming in agony. Their father instantly got up from the bench and ran toward Daiki.
"What's happening?!" Daiki shouted, as Daiki's screams grew louder.
"Hey… Daiki why you shouting?" Riko questioned.
"Riko, get back!" Their father yelled as he approached,
"Huh?" she said, not fully hearing him, suddenly the screams stopped. But when she turned back to look at Daiki.
An intense punch straight to her stomach, shattering her ribs, blood from her mouth as she went flying from the punch.
Their father reacted immediately.
"I have to hurry," he thought. With Riko still airborne from Daiki's hit, he dashed in behind her—instantly.
It wasn't teleportation. It was pure speed—so fast it was like teleportation.
He caught Riko just in time.
Daiki stood still. His eyes were open, but empty. Lifeless. His body was moving on its own.
After saving Riko, the father dashed back to the bench, gently laying her down—knowing something else needed his attention.
He disappeared in a flash.
In the next second, he was already dashing toward Daiki. He knew the only way to stop him was to injure him.
He leaned forward and threw a powerful punch, just inches from Daiki's face.
Daiki vanished.
He reappeared in an instant above his father and slammed his foot down with devastating force.
Despite the father's inhuman reflexes and speed, he couldn't react in time.
Speed that rivaled teleportation—rendered useless against Daiki's teleportation.
The kick shattered his back like crackers. The damage was instant and brutal.
As he hit the ground, Daiki teleported again—this time just a few meters forward.
The pain was unbearable, but the father had endured worse.
He forced himself up. Daiki stood ahead.
Then, Daiki teleported right in front of him and nonchalantly kicked him in the face. The blow broke his neck and sent him crashing into the trees a few meters to the right of the bench.
That's when the father realized:
No matter how strong he once was, he couldn't beat Daiki like this. Not one-on-one.
Crushed against a broken tree, the father made a decision.
Daiki appeared again, ready to strike. But as his leg moved—he froze.
The father looked up at his son's blank, glowing face.
"Daiki... I'm sorry I have to use this," he whispered.
He raised his hand and began tracing glowing symbols in the air with his finger—writing as though it were a pen.
"Rule set: The individual's age will revert by eight years, back to the moment he first awakened his ability, until the moment the rule is undone he wouldn't gain any sort of abilities that he originally would get, nor his mana would be so inhuman.
The moment he finds a true reason to use his abilities again and gains control over them—the rule will be undone. He will regain his strength and memories," the father recited, completing the inscription mid-air.
This wasn't a known ability—it was something else. A different type of power that was different from standard abilities.
"Cost set: My life," he spoke, his voice unwavering.
He had set the price to his life.
The rule chain had only thirty seconds left before breaking. If it shattered before being entered, the consequences would be far greater than his own death.
The father had always known that raising a prodigy and a disease such as this came with a cost. This was the last resort—to change the price to pay.
With only moments left, the father started speaking:
"Daiki… one day, you'll find a reason to fight. A reason to use these monstrous powers of yours. When that happens, and your memories return, don't hold back. If the rule is undone and your powers return, that means your body's finally ready to handle them," The father spoke bluntly.
"The level of power you'll regain when the rule is undone will be far below what you hit me with… but it'll grow naturally over time, unlike how inhuman it was before and without consequences." The father chuckled.
You'll be the age you should've been if the rule was never placed. Your strength... well, I can't predict that, even at the cost of my life.
Goodbye, son…"
Tears flowed down his face—and just one second before the chain would break, he entered the rule.
Daiki's entire body began to glow, the light consuming him. He shrunk a second or two until he appeared as a four-year-old.
When everything was over, Daiki didn't understand what had happened. He was just four years old now.
Kaito was found dead.
Daiki, now just a child again, was officially confirmed as the son of Kaito Iwasaki and Tomoko Iwasaki from a gene and blood test.
When Tomoko arrived, she found a letter that read:
"Tomoko,
If you're reading this, it means I'm dead, and you're probably wondering what happened to Daiki.
His power was too immense for a body like his. I always knew the day would come when he lost total control—and not even I could stop him. So, I used one of my powers. It allows me to alter reality around a single rule chain.
The rule is simple: when Daiki finds a reason to protect and to fight, his memories and powers will return, and his age will be what it should've been had the rule never existed.
Goodbye, Tomoko. I'm sorry for all the things I never told you."
Tomoko sobbed for weeks.
Riko was hospitalized for two months due to her injuries.
And Daiki... remained clueless.
As the years passed, Daiki developed new abilities—but none were noteworthy. His mana was merely average.
Still, he was a curious child. He always dreamed of raiding dungeons. He studied hard and wanted to join the Crimson Order more than anything.
But as per the rule, he had returned to being a child—with childlike features and limitations.
As he grew up again, he often told his mother, "I'll become a Crimson Order member and make you proud."
His mother always smiled and nodded—knowing the truth.
Riko was told to remain quiet and she understood.
The mother never would've thought Daiki would actually enter a dungeon if he saw one like today, but he did.
As I beheaded the two mutants, three more started approaching me. The timing was a bit random this time, as they weren't coordinating it as a single attack like the two before them.
The three rushed at me, one by one, not at the same time.
The first rushed from the middle. I instantly dashed toward it, beheading it in an instant. The next one came from the left side—I dashed in and beheaded it as well. And then the next one came from the right.
I knew that I was destroying them, but there were more than a hundred left. If they attacked me all at once, I'd probably be done for. Although these were far stronger than they were before, they were still monsters without enough intellect to fight with a strategy.
I was extremely surprised to not have any ability so far. I'd heard that situations like these were supposed to make you attain an ability or something, but that seemed to be false thus far.
Four more came at me. I beheaded them one by one.
Why were they coming at me only one by one?
What were they aiming for? And if they're smart enough for a strategy—if it is one—then why are they getting themselves killed?
I wondered as a few more came for me, and I beheaded them.
Although they were on another level after mutation, I was now getting more used to it.
I rushed in and took care of a few more…
That's when I realized—they're not trying to kill me at all. They're draining me. Draining my mana and making me tired by not all rushing straight at me.
I backed down, and they stopped coming for me as well.
I needed to save and recover mana, so I stopped enhancing my body with mana and got in a corner to recover some of my mana whilst carefully sensing the mutants so they wouldn't catch me off guard.