The dungeon crack in the middle of Verlyn Plaza pulsed like a giant heart trying to break out of the earth's body. Each pulse sent a wave of pressure that made the air vibrate and window glass shatter one by one.
Makoto stood frozen.
His ears rang.
The world seemed to fade into black and white.
The citizens around him were still screaming, some pointing at him—but their voices sounded like distant echoes he couldn't understand. The only thing he truly heard was…
> "…they're afraid of you, Makoto…"
> "…they're right… you bring disaster…"
> "…you are the source of the crack…"
That voice crawled into the most fragile part of his mind.
Makoto gripped his hair, bowing his head.
"Stop…" his voice was hoarse. "Get out of my head…"
Lyona immediately held his shoulder.
"Makoto! Focus on me! Don't listen to that voice!"
But at the same time—
BRAGGGHH!!
The dungeon crack bloomed, spewing blinding purple light.
Twenty fog-wolf humanoid monsters burst out at once, leaping like shadows that had lost their gravity. The city's adventurers, who were hesitant earlier, instantly panicked.
"Another wave? Wasn't it over just now?!"
"No! This is a follow-up wave! Mid-tier level!"
"We can't handle this!"
Makoto lifted his head. His gaze was empty for a moment.
Then he took a step forward.
But Lyona pulled him back.
"Makoto, you're already at your limit! I'll—"
Makoto slowly removed Lyona's hand from his arm.
"If I retreat, this city falls… and you die too."
Lyona held her breath.
Those words…
that intonation…
That wasn't the Makoto she knew.
---
The fog-wolf humanoids ran on four legs, then stood on two to attack. The adventurers' swords bounced off, unable to cut their dense mist bodies.
Makoto advanced.
He struck the first creature with his palm.
BOOM!
The creature shattered like black glass, but the energy that burst out from Makoto—like black threads crawling up his arm to his neck—made Lyona gasp.
"Makoto! That's not—"
The second creature lunged.
Makoto twisted his body and slammed his knee into its chest. The ground cracked for three meters.
> "Behold your strength, Makoto…"
"…you are the center of this crack."
Makoto shook his head hard, trying to dispel the voice.
But the third monster attacked from behind.
Lyona leapt, cleaving it in two, mist-blood bursting.
"Don't you dare give up here, idiot!"
Makoto looked at her, breathing heavily.
Lyona was the only anchor of sanity he had… yet even that anchor was starting to fracture.
---
A trumpet blared in the sky.
"What's that?!"
"The kingdom?!"
"They actually sent troops?!"
From the west of the city, a formation of knights in blue-silver armor entered Verlyn. A large banner waved with the emblem of a three-spiked crown.
At their front, a knight with golden blond hair lifted a long sword glowing white.
"People of Velryn! Fall back!" he shouted.
"We—the Third Regiment of the Elvarion Kingdom—are here to contain the crack!"
The citizens screamed in relief, some fainting.
The knights spread out, creating a barrier between the people and the monsters.
But when they saw Makoto…
Some immediately pointed their spears at him.
"That's him."
"The anomaly of the fog-born."
"The one mentioned in headquarters' report."
Lyona quickly blocked their advance. "Don't be stupid! Without Makoto, you'd all be dead already!"
But one knight spoke coldly:
"Royal orders are clear:
Observe. Classify the threat. Restrain if needed.
If he is the cause of the crack… we must be ready."
Makoto lowered his head.
Now it wasn't just the citizens.
Even the kingdom suspected him.
The dark voice laughed.
> "Now you understand… the world was never on our side."
---
In the midst of battle, Makoto suddenly felt something pierce his awareness—like a gaze watching from behind a very distant pane of glass.
He looked up.
Above the skies of Verlyn
—right between the clouds and the shards of crack-light—
there was a faint silhouette.
It had no color.
No definite shape.
Just a dark shadow with soft glowing eyes.
Marchaos.
He didn't move.
Didn't signal.
Didn't help.
He only… watched.
Makoto felt his back shiver violently.
Anger, fear, and emptiness mixed into one.
"Why are you just watching…" Makoto muttered.
Lyona heard him.
"Makoto? Who?"
Makoto shook his head quickly. "No… no one."
He lied.
He didn't even know why he lied.
But Marchaos's gaze from that other dimension threw his heartbeat into chaos.
As if Marchaos was waiting for something…
not an event…
but a decision.
---
As the kingdom knights stabilized the west side of the plaza, the dungeon crack expanded again—larger, stronger.
"What—?! The crack is growing?!"
"Just minutes apart! This isn't normal!"
"Prepare! Another wave!"
Makoto felt the ground trembling beneath his feet.
New monsters emerged.
Not humanoids.
But massive six-legged creatures with bodies like stone-mist—upper mid-tier class.
Adventurers screamed.
Knights braced.
Citizens fled.
Makoto clenched his fists.
Lyona saw the black patterns thickening along Makoto's arm.
"Makoto… are you still hearing that voice?"
Makoto stared blankly.
"I don't know."
> "…let me guide you."
"…let your power fully awaken."
Makoto ignited his blue Pulse energy—and black flashes joined in, merging, turning into dark purple.
He bowed his head, breathing hard.
His psyche was close to collapsing.
Lyona called his name again.
"Makoto… don't disappear."
Makoto looked at the crack that was growing more chaotic…
…and at Marchaos, still watching from that foreign dimension.
"The waves aren't over…" Makoto whispered.
And he was right.
This was only the beginning of the end of Velryn.