Ledakan yang mengguncangkan udara menebas ke tempat itu, dan kepalanya seketika melenggok ke arah suara itu. Matanya ungu tajemnya tak longgar mencari sebuah gedung tinggi di kejauhan. Sesaat, pengakuan melintas di wajahnya — ia mengenali bangunan ini dengan sangat baik.
Itu adalah tempat tinggal yang dialokasikan bagi para mahasiswa tahun pertama yang terperingkat seratus dua hingga dua ratus. Instingnya langsung memberi tahu, bahwa sebuah pertarungan bergila sedang berlangsung di dalam sana. Tanpa sejenak ragu, tubuhnya menghilang seolah-olah ditusuk seperti panah perak yang dilepas dari busur.
Para mahasiswa itu adalah yang terlemah dari segi kekuatan, mudar dikalahkan dibanding teman setierta. Namun Asher tak punya niat untuk meninggalkan mereka terbunuh secara kejam, tak peduli betapa siaplalu pentingnya mereka dalam kitaran kekuatan.
Bukanlah orang yang akan membiarkan mereka dibantai hanya karena ia tak mengenal namanya, atau tak termasuk teman-temannya. Bukanlah monster tak berperasa, atau mesin sekedar logika tanpa perasa.
Dengan dentuman ribut, Asher menembulang jendela lantai dasar, pecahan kaca menyeparasi keluar seperti hujan kristal. Ia mendarat di dalam ruangan pertama yang terlihat.
Kesederhanaan ruangan itu memukulnya sejenak. Tempat tidur, kursi, meja, tidak lain. Kontras tajam dengan kemewahan lantai atas yang dimiliki oleh ratusan teratas. Namun Asher tak punya waktu, tak ingin menilik-nikmati perbezaan itu. Ia datang dengan satu tujuan semata.
Di ujung ruangan, seorang mahasiswa lelaki bergerak gila terjepit di lantai, berusaha gila melepaskan diri dari cengkeraman Grade 2 Emovira. Makhluk yang memandel itu tampak tidak cantik, anggotanya mekarat seperti ular berapi-api.
Tanpa sekilas keraguan pun, Asher menghilang dari pandangan. Tubuhnya kabur, cahaya perak meluncur ke udara. Kilat seketika membelah kegelapan, dan dalam detik berikutnya, jurang membelah kepala Emovira. Supaya terdengar, daging dan otot hancur terurai dengan dentum gemuruh.
Sebelum mayat itu benar-benar jatuh kepadanya, tubuhnya melayang dan berubah jadi abu, sebagaimana sifat rasanya. Tersisa darah dan daging yang berkelam-kelam, bekas singkatnya di dunia ini.
Seorang mahasiswa yang kelihatan gementar mengangkat pandangan matanya. Di situlah ia melihat seorang pemuda tinggi, tak lebih tua dari dirinya, dengan rapier di tangannya.
"Terima kasih, Matahari Kesepuluh —" mulanya, ucap syukur yang terjeda.
Asher sudah menghilang. Dari dinding lantang selepasnya, cahaya birunya berkelip sekilas. Tanpa pun melirik si yang diselamatkannya, pedang panjangnya melaju dalam satu gerakan melintas. Dinding meledak, dan ia masuk ke ruangan lain.
Di dalam sana, seorang gadis ditindih, darah sudah mengalir di lengan, berusaha menahan diri dari serangan makhluk buas di hadapannya. Ia tak sempat menerka apa-apa. Tidak ia, tidak juga lawannya, melihat serangan. Hanya angin yang terangkang mengalir terdengar. Sejenak kemudian, monster itu terlempar ke atas, seolah dipotong oleh sendiri langit. Sebelum gadis itu benar-benar memahami selamatnya, dinding meledak lagi. Si pelolosnya sudah pergi.
Asher mengulang pola yang sama — metodik dan tanpa henti. Ia tak membuang detik di koridor, tak memusingkan diri pada pintu. Waktu adalah musuh. Melalui dinding yang runtuh, ia terus memotong, membunuh monster, dan bergerak tak pernah rehat dari satu ruangan ke lainnya.
Lantai dasar dibersihkan dalam seketika. Tidak ada henti, Asher melentangkan lututnya, otot-ototnya tertarik kencang seperti pegas keluli yang sudah dililit kencang. Dengan ledakan dorongan, ia melompat ke lantik.
Debu menyebar, menutup ruang sekelilingnya. Tatkala ia muncul dari kabut, instingnya mendesing marah.
Matanya tertindih cahaya kilauan. Sebuah gerga kuno sudah meluncur ke dada, angin mengeong membelahnya dengan kekuatan mematikan.
Di momen dorongan itu, Asher menghilang. Bagi mata yang tidak terlatih, seolah-olah ia tak pernah ada, realita sendiri bertanya-tanya.
Dalam napas berikutnya, tubuhnya muncul di belakang si penyerang. Virelass, rapiernya, menembus dengan ketegasan, mengarah lurus ke kemprongnya makhluk itu.
Tetapi Grade 3 Emovira bereaksi dengan cepat tak terduga. Tubuhnya berputar aneh, hampir ajaib, seolah ia sudah membaca rencana serangan sebelum Asher sekalipun terfikirkannya.
Gemuruh hebat terdengar, gerga bertemu rapier, dorongan menghancurkan ruangan dalam gempal gelombang detak.
Asher mengerutkan kening. Ia tak mengharapkan perlawanan, apalagi yang muncul begitu mudah. Namun senyuman itu pun pup.
Halangan hanyalah anak tangga yang harus dilangkah. Gerakannya makin tajam, semakin cepat, semakin mematikan.
Virelass meluncur lagi, menerpa udara sendiri, melaju ke kepalanya Emovira. Tetapi takdir melakukan aksi yang sama. Pertahanannya tanpa celah, hampir santai, mendetoak lajuannya dengan kemudahan yang menakutkan.
Ia menanggapi serangan itu. Gerga besarnya mengamuk ke atas, menghancurkan udara dengan dorongan nyamuk.
Asher sudah membaca serang sebelum diluncurkan. Ia melutut rendah, senjata itu menghabuk angkasa kosong di mana kepalanya baru saja ada.
Virelass kembali meluncur, laju ke lututnya. Tetapi Takdir mengacak lagi. Grade 3 Emovira meluncur dengan lincah, menghindari serangan dengan sinkronisasi aneh yang sama. Seolah ia bisa membaca Asher, mengantisipasi setiap gerakannya tidak kalah tajamnya dengan yang dilakukan Asher terhadapnya.
Dari atas, gerganya turun lagi, momentumnya semakin besar seperti meteor jatuh dari langit.
Omni Perception Asher mekar, memberinya klaritas penuh atas serangan yang akan datang. Namun ia tak bisa menyia-siakan waktu lagi untuk lawan ini.
Astra membara di uratnya, menambah kecepatannya melebihi normal. Tubuhnya menjadi bayangan, meloloskan diri dengan kesan memalukan. Gerga Emovira menghantam lantai dengan kekuatan menghancurkan, memecahkan batu di bawah kaki mereka.
Dengan gemuruh yang menggila, tanah mereka runtuh. Kedua pejuang jatuh bersama, kembali ke lantai dasar yang baru saja mereka bersihkan.
Tapi Asher tak jatuh begitu saja. Di tengah udara, tangannya dipukul dengan kekuatan. Energi Astra menggelegar, meledak seperti gelombang api yang memusnahkan. Ledakan darah Hitam memaksa Emovira menjadi udara, daging dan ototnya hancur berserakan.
Esoknya berseri sendiri, sebelum akhirnya runtuh.
Sebelum tubuhnya genting ke tanah, Asher menghilang. Ruang melengkung mengelilingi eksistensinya. Ia kembali langsung ke ruangan yang pernah ditinggalkan, rapier-Virelass bersinar lapar, mata tajam dan aurat stabil.
An earth-shattering explosion tore through the air, and Asher’s head instantly snapped in the direction of the sound. His sharp purple gaze locked onto a tall building in the distance. Recognition flashed across his face, he knew this structure well.
It was the residence allocated to first-year students ranked between one hundred and two hundred. His instincts told him immediately that a battle was raging inside. Without a shred of hesitation, his figure blurred as he shot forward, streaking toward the chaos like a silver arrow loosed from a bow.
Those students were the weakest in terms of combat strength, vulnerable in comparison to their peers. But Asher had no intention of abandoning them, no matter how insignificant they might appear in the grand scheme of strength.
He was not the type to let them be mercilessly slaughtered simply because he did not know their names or because they were not his friends. He was no heartless monster, no cold machine stripped of thought and emotion.
With a thunderous crash, Asher broke through the window of the ground floor, glass shattering outward like crystalline rain. He landed inside the first room that came into sight.
The room’s simplicity struck him for the briefest of moments. A bed, a chair, a table, nothing more. It was a stark and sobering contrast to the luxurious quarters of the top one hundred. But Asher had neither the time nor the inclination to ponder such disparities. He was here for one purpose alone.
At the far side of the room, a male student thrashed frantically against the floor, desperately trying to free himself from the grip of a Grade 2 Emovira. The grotesque creature held him fast, its slimy, muscular limbs tightening like the coils of a serpent.
Without the faintest flicker of hesitation, Asher vanished from sight. His body blurred, silver light streaking across the air. A sharp flash thrust through the gloom, and in the very next heartbeat, a gaping void split open across the Emovira’s head. The sound of flesh tearing rang like thunder, echoing through the chamber. Green blood and shredded innards splattered across the floor, staining the student who had been pinned only moments earlier.
Before the corpse could collapse upon him, it disintegrated into ash, as was the nature of its race. Only gore and viscous blood remained, grotesque remnants of its short-lived existence.
The shaken student lifted his gaze, only to see a tall boy, no older than himself, standing firm with a rapier in hand.
"T-thank you, Tenth Su—" he began, but his gratitude was cut short.
Asher was already gone, his form dashing toward the far wall with blinding speed. Without sparing so much as a glance at the one he had saved, his rapier flashed in a single arc. The wall exploded outward, and he instantly entered the next room.
Inside, another student was cornered, blood already trickling down her arm as she struggled to hold her ground against a snarling beast. She barely had time to register what happened. Neither she nor her foe saw the strike, only the whisper of displaced wind reached their ears. The next instant, her monster was hurled upward as if cleaved by the heavens themselves, and before the girl could comprehend her salvation, the wall shattered again. Her savior was already gone.
Asher repeated this methodical pattern. He did not waste precious seconds moving through the hallway or fumbling with doors. Time was the enemy. Instead, he carved his own path through the crumbling walls, cutting down monsters and moving relentlessly from one chamber to the next.
The ground floor was cleared in moments. Without pause, Asher bent his knees ever so slightly, muscles coiling with explosive potential like steel springs wound tight. With a blast of force, he launched himself upward. Stone, dust, and rubble shattered as his body tore through the ceiling, propelling him effortlessly from the ground floor to the first floor above.
A cloud of dust billowed outward, obscuring everything around him. But as he emerged from the haze, his instincts screamed. His eyes caught the glint of a massive club already arcing toward his chest. The air shrieked as the weapon cut through it with murderous force.
At the very instant of impact, Asher vanished. To the untrained eye, it was as if he had ceased to exist, reality itself blinking in disbelief. In the next breath, his figure materialized behind the assailant. His rapier, Virelass, flashed forward with ruthless precision, aiming straight for the creature’s skull.
But the Grade 3 Emovira reacted with uncanny speed. Its form twisted unnaturally, movement almost preternatural, as though it had foreseen his attack before he even conceived of it.
A deafening blast resounded as club met rapier, the impact splitting the room apart in a concussive shockwave. Sparks burst outward in brilliant flashes where steel clashed against monstrous strength.
Asher frowned. He had not expected resistance, certainly not so easily. Yet the expression quickly dissolved. Obstacles were merely stepping stones. His movements sharpened, speed accelerating, strikes growing deadlier.
Virelass tore through the air once more, its edge slicing the very atmosphere as it blitzed toward the Emovira’s head. But once again, impossibility unfolded. The Emovira’s defense was seamless, almost effortless, deflecting his strike aside with terrifying ease.
It countered immediately. Its colossal club roared down toward Asher’s skull, splitting the air with explosive force. But Asher had already read the strike long before it was delivered. He ducked, the weapon ripping through empty air where his head had just been.
Virelass flashed again, darting like lightning toward the creature’s kneecap. But impossibility struck a third time. The Grade 3 Emovira blurred with fluid grace, evading the blow with the same eerie synchronicity it had shown before. It was as though it could read Asher, anticipating every movement as precisely and easily as Asher read its own.
From above, its club descended once more, momentum gathering like a meteor plummeting from the sky. Asher’s Omni Perception flared, granting him full clarity of the incoming strike. But he could no longer afford to waste time on this foe.
Astra pulsed furiously through his Astra veins, augmenting his speed beyond normal measure. His form became a phantom, stepping aside with almost mocking ease. The Emovira’s weapon smashed into the floor with catastrophic force, shattering the stone beneath them. With a booming roar, the ground gave way. Both combatants plummeted downward, falling back into the ground floor Asher had just cleared.
But Asher did not fall idly. Midair, his hand flared with power. Astra energy surged violently, erupting outward in a devastating wave. A brutal explosion engulfed the Emovira in midair, flesh and sinew tearing apart in grotesque sprays of black blood. The Emovira shrieked once, a sound drowned by the thunder of destruction, before it was reduced to ruin.
Before Asher’s body could collide with the earth, his figure vanished once more, space bending around his existence. He reappeared instantly in the very room he had left above, his rapier gleaming with fresh hunger, eyes sharp, and aura steady.
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