Midir — an Erosion Species born with true intelligence.
He was a coward to his very core.
His own survival had always come first, above all else.
No matter how insignificant an opponent appeared, he never let his guard down.
The reason Midir had become this way traced back to where he was born.
The place where he first opened his eyes was on the opposite end of the continent.
It was the land of the Erosion Species, far removed from any human settlement.
A realm so hostile that not even a trace of ordinary life could be found there.
The local Erosion Species endlessly devoured one another just to survive.
But Midir's only gift was the ability to slip between shadows.
His obsession with self-preservation had been forged through endless, hard-won experience.
"Krrr…!"
Even so — even for Midir, whose survival instinct reigned supreme —
he was not without the pride of a superior predator.
Even as his reason screamed that the female before him was dangerous.
Every living creature had to be consumed. That was the law.
That primal instinct finally snapped the last thread of his patience.
"Kiiik!"
Splash.
Midir plunged into his own shadow, the massive wall of flame blazing at his back.
He burst out from behind Leila and raked his claws toward her.
Shadow-traversal — the ability to render distance meaningless.
Against any opponent encountering it for the first time, it was a one-shot kill.
Yet here she was, about to be split in two, and —
Leila didn't even turn around. She murmured softly.
"Haaa…. So hot…."
As if drugged, her eyes half-glazed, her expression dreamily forlorn.
She took one step forward and drifted just outside his reach.
Midir was thrown off by how she'd dodged without even looking —
but at this distance, there was no way she could escape. He was certain of it.
Brimming with confidence, he pressed the attack without pause.
"Kiiiii!"
"Mmhehe… try a little harder…."
But not a single one of Midir's strikes touched her.
Every swipe of his claws found her already standing somewhere just out of reach.
Every thrust met no resistance — she simply flowed away, soft and unhurried.
When he charged in frustration, she vaulted clean over him.
It was like fighting smoke. Something that could never be caught.
Furious, Midir whipped his tail from a blind angle —
and Leila stepped into his guard half a beat faster.
"Krk?!"
She slipped past his clumsy, panicked swipe without effort.
Then she planted her foot on Midir's thigh and sprang upward.
When their eyes were level with each other, Leila's hand touched his forehead.
"Shock Thunder."
"Krgik?!"
Boom.
A small explosion of electricity detonated from her palm.
The raw power was nothing remarkable — but it rattled the inside of his skull.
Midir felt the world lurch and shudder around him.
In the same moment, Leila burst out laughing.
That's a rather adorable scream for an Erosion Species.
She hopped back, using his flailing tail as a stepping stone.
"Hehehe… pathetic…."
"Krrk!"
Midir couldn't understand human speech.
Even so, something about those words grated on him deeply.
Perhaps it was the mischief written plainly across her face.
But if he charged blindly again, he'd only eat another attack.
Midir kept part of his body submerged in shadow and watched her in silence.
No matter how he thought about it, something was wrong.
Just a few dozen minutes ago, in the cave, the fight had been completely different.
Back then, the two of them had been evenly matched — no question about it.
Leila had held a slight edge thanks to experience,
but in terms of raw physical capability, neither had a clear advantage.
Now she was missing an arm and had no weapon.
She should have been far easier to deal with than before.
And yet somehow, Midir was being overwhelmed.
What on earth had happened to her?
The answer was simple.
"Ahahaha…. I keep laughing…. I think my head's broken…."
Leila was currently running on a stack of enhancements.
Runner's High, which stripped away all sensation of pain.
Acceleration, which pushed her processing speed roughly fifty percent faster.
Limit Over, which drove her body to operate at maximum output at all times.
Any one of those skills alone could tip the scales of a fight.
She had layered all three simultaneously.
That the balance had shattered was the most natural outcome imaginable.
Midir, with no way of knowing any of this, lost his composure —
and in that moment of wavering, Leila slipped into his guard with a quiet smile.
"If you want to run… you can, you know?"
"Kiiik!"
Leila closed her fingers around a nail she'd tucked inside her clothes.
She dragged the sharp end across Midir's skin in a long, deliberate tear.
The relatively soft flesh beneath his hard outer carapace.
As that strip was ripped open, Midir writhed in pain.
"Does it hurt? It hurts, doesn't it? It does!"
He thrashed violently, trying to shake off the maddening sting.
But Leila drove the nail in deep, pinning it there —
then drew another and carved a matching wound somewhere else.
The scene was nothing short of horrifying.
Imagine a small child methodically slashing every inch of your body with a box cutter,
and no matter how desperately you thrash, you cannot peel her off.
For an Erosion Species without reason, perhaps it would have meant nothing.
But for Midir — a coward — it was pure, exquisite torture.
Her actions shattered his will to fight in an instant.
"Krrrrk!"
"Oh, wait—"
Splash!
Midir, his entire body lacerated, threw himself into his own shadow.
He wasn't going to die from this — but it hurt as badly as dying.
His will to fight had been extinguished completely.
Of course, once he fled like this, Leila had no way to pursue him.
There were too many shadows in this forest. Chasing him was out of the question.
"Hmph. I was going to let him go anyway."
Left alone, she dropped to the ground where she stood.
The moment she registered that the fight was over, Trance released itself — entirely against her will.
"Ha, haa… haa…."
Thud-thud-thud.
Her heart hammered so hard it ached.
Her throat was bone-dry, and a chill crawled across every inch of her skin.
Her stomach churned, her head throbbed, and her face twisted involuntarily.
Well. That was only to be expected.
Three simultaneous enhancements — each one enough to wreck her on its own.
And she'd fought a brutal battle while running all three at once.
It would have been stranger if there were no backlash.
"Uuugh. Hk. Grrk…."
Splat.
Hot blood rose up her throat along with a flood of tears.
Her nose and ears grew warm and wet almost immediately.
Every opening in her body was bleeding.
Leila's consciousness flickered for a moment.
But if she fell asleep here, she wouldn't wake up again.
With a superhuman act of will, she activated Runner's High once more.
Right. When this one runs out — that'll be the end.
She forced her protesting body upright.
"Then… let's go."
Step. Step.
She walked in the direction the Commander had gone.
Then, by chance, her eye caught the glass of an abandoned truck.
She paused, studying her own reflection in the window for a moment.
"Cleaner than I expected…. I should add a little more realism, shouldn't I?"
She used one of her remaining nails to nick her forehead open — just slightly.
She roughed up her clothes to match, tearing them a little more here and there.
Just enough to look like someone who'd fought for her life.
Though there was no need to overdo it.
This was about to be a very important scene. Appearance mattered.
There was a certain tragedy in a completely ruined face, she supposed —
but for her, the discomfort would outweigh the aesthetic.
"Good. That'll do. Mmm — Leila looks pretty even covered in blood. Perfect."
Having arranged herself to her satisfaction, she started walking again.
Her steps were light, almost like she was heading out for a picnic.
Tap. Tap. Small drops of water tapped against her cheek.
*
The Rabbit Hole Squad and Yujin — who had left Midir to Leila.
They had finally set the last location alight.
A hell of flame and smoke rising high into the sky.
The wind's direction spared them from the worst of the heat,
but the acrid smoke stinging the tips of their noses pressed down on their chests like guilt.
There had been no other choice.
Without going this far, there was no way to pin down the Erosion Species.
Yujin stared at the fire that could not be undone and clenched his fist.
"Now… let's go back to where Leila is."
"Leila… do you think she's all right?"
"…I'm worried."
Each of them conjured the same image in their minds — Leila's last moments.
Her, missing one arm, holding her ground against the Erosion Species with everything she had.
Yujin especially could not hide his agitation.
To him, Leila was a precious friend.
If she died — he wasn't sure he could ever forgive himself.
Perhaps sensing the state he was in,
as they rushed back toward the original location with Promina carried on someone's back,
Yubina drifted naturally to his side and offered what comfort she could.
"Commander, I'm sure Leila will be just fine."
"Yubina…."
"She's stronger than anyone. She can handle one Erosion Species, easy!"
Yubina smiled brightly, as if doubt had never occurred to her.
She had pulled hope out of this desperate situation.
She believed — truly believed — that Leila wouldn't lose to something like that.
Of course, in truth, Yubina was just as frightened.
She had watched close friends die more times than she could count.
Nothing was guaranteed. She knew that better than most.
But right now, believing was all she could do.
Yubina prayed with everything she had that Leila was safe.
"Kgh!"
"Anje?!"
But just as they were running side by side down the path —
Anje, who had been leading at the front, was suddenly wrenched sideways.
She went flying out of nowhere and tumbled across the ground.
The momentary lapse in their guard snapped back to razor tension.
*Something's here.*
A dark premonition flashed through Yujin's mind.
In the same instant, the Rabbit Hole Squad fell into formation by instinct.
Before them, a creature covered in wounds stepped into view.
"Krrr…."
Naturally, it was Midir.
The moment they recognized him, the Rabbit Hole Squad fell into despair.
The Erosion Species that Leila was supposed to be holding back was here, in front of them.
Which meant they already knew, well enough, what state she must be in.
Of course, they were wrong.
None of them could have imagined — not even slightly — that Midir had fled from Leila,
only to sense the Commander somewhere along the way and come looking for revenge.
"Gah — aaaaaah!"
Yubina, all composure gone, threw herself at Midir.
She'd lost another friend. The rage of it burned through her mind.
But her parasol, swung with everything she had, cut through empty air.
Midir slipped into shadow to avoid Yubina's attack,
then targeted Dahlia and Promina at the rear.
Neither of them had expected him to cross space like that. They barely reacted.
"Kyah—!"
"Ugh!"
Dahlia, struck by his claws, went flying in a spray of blood.
Promina hit the ground with a broken spine.
Yubina chased after Midir and unleashed her innate ability.
"Weight Overrrrr!"
Rumble, rumble, rumble—!
A Tanker-class innate ability that multiplied her own mass.
Her parasol, now weighing hundreds of kilograms, bore down on Midir.
But no matter how powerful a blow, it means nothing if it doesn't connect.
After several exchanges that snapped the surrounding trees like twigs,
Midir vanished into shadow and drove his tail into Yubina's jaw.
"Gh, ugh…."
She lost consciousness and rolled limply down the mountainside.
From start to finish, it had taken barely five minutes to bring down everyone except the Commander.
"Damn it…."
There was no hope.
Every Valkyrie had fallen and lay crumpled on the ground.
He was the only one still standing — and he had no ability to fight an Erosion Species.
Midir seemed to know that just as well.
He approached Yujin at a leisurely pace.
He intended to repay, through someone precious to Leila, every ounce of suffering she had put him through.
*Is this… where I die….*
Yujin felt as though his chest had been hollowed out.
He felt no particular fear at the thought of dying.
Only a vast emptiness — the weight of having lost everyone — filled him to the brim.
If I had made a smarter call, would the outcome have been different?
Immense regret tightened slowly around his throat.
Perhaps his brother, the one he'd been searching for, had met an end just like this.
Resigned, he looked up at the sky and murmured quietly.
"Leila…."
What feeling had moved him to say her name?
Even Yujin himself couldn't say.
Midir had closed the distance to arm's reach. He raised his arm high.
In the next instant, Yujin's body would be split in two —
and then a bolt of blue lightning came screaming from somewhere and buried itself in Midir's shoulder.
"Kiiiiiiik!"
"Wh — lightning?!"
Whoooosh!
A fierce wind that nearly knocked him off his feet.
Yujin threw his arm up to shield his face — and something crossed his vision.
Through the billowing smoke, beneath the moonlight just barely breaking through —
a girl with deep navy hair hung suspended high in the air.
She was bleeding from a dozen places, her clothes and body in ruins —
but that figure was unmistakably Leila. The one he had thought was dead.
*She's alive…!*
Yujin looked up at her, and something swelled painfully in his chest.
He had thought he would never see her again.
Even with an Erosion Species right in front of him, his eyes held only her.
In that moment, Midir spun around.
He flung his arm toward her in a wide, scattering sweep.
She had done something unspeakable to him — carved him apart from the inside out.
He was desperately trying to keep her at bay.
It wasn't a powerful strike. It wasn't an accurate one.
Even so, Midir expected her to dodge.
No fragile human could take that with their bare body.
And if she tried to evade, he'd finish her with his tail before she could escape.
Midir made that calculation through the haze of pain still ringing through him from the lightning.
"…."
But Leila didn't dodge.
She took those razor claws — sharp enough to pierce steel — directly into her body.
Thud. Crackle.
With a wet, sickening sound of parting flesh,
Midir's claws punched through her abdomen.
A rush of hot blood spilled out immediately.
An irreversible, fatal wound. Yujin went pale.
"…Wh—?"
But that was all it was.
If Midir had been in earnest, Leila's body would have been cut in two.
It had been a careless, scattering blow meant only to buy time — and so it had only pierced her abdomen.
In that state, Leila reached out and seized Midir's face.
And she poured every last reserve she had into her palm and released it.
"Blue Thunder… extreme."
CRAAAACK!
The force was enough to char her own arm and palm black.
She unleashed three full charges she had been saving — all at once.
A grim, cracking sound came from inside Midir's skull where she held him.
The tremendous current had erupted from within, scorching him from the inside out.
It was a death that even an Erosion Species could not survive. A certain end.