With a kick, Mark's body was brought into the air.
After three seconds, it hit the ground.
"Nap time is over."
Mark opened his eyes and looked at the Armoured Man.
His vision was blurry, but Mark pushed himself off the ground.
He barely succeeded in getting to his knees.
Inaudible whispers exited Mark's mouth.
"Speak up." The Armoured Man demanded.
"Name... What's... Your Name?"
After a short silence, he answered.
"For now, I have none."
"None...?"
"I've thrown my Name away."
"Pretty... Cool..." Mark whispered to himself.
He brought a hand to his knee.
"Answer me this... Monster Hunter."
An eyebrow hidden behind a helmet twitched.
"Have you always... Been strong?"
Zephyr took a moment to answer.
"Stronger than my peers."
A chuckle escaped Mark's mouth, and so did a couple of blood drops.
"So you... Don't know how it feels... To be weak. To be... The weakest..."
He pushed himself up, only to stumble and fall back on one knee.
"So weak... You can barely handle your own weight. So weak... You can barely stand."
Zephyr studied the dizzy Monster.
"No. I don't."
"Yeah... As I... Thought."
"What does that have to do with this Test?"
Choked chuckles left Mark's mouth at the word 'Test'.
"As I thought... I can't let... Someone who doesn't understand... Kill me..."
"You have killed plenty of weaker Monsters on your way here. No need to feel bad about it."
"It's... Different... For me..."
Zephyr remained silent, as the stumbling Monster finally managed to stand on its feet.
"Standing... Use to be... A gigantic... Hurdle for me. Did you... Know?"
"I didn't. And it matters not."
Zephyr stepped forward.
"I wonder if... Nia... Knows that..."
'Mm. Did something happen? Or is he simply delirious?' Zephyr asked himself.
The Monster's stumbling ceased.
It stood, its body leaning forward. Both its knees bent and caved towards the inside.
Its limp arms hanging loosely.
But on the Monster's face, a victorious smile.
"You have no idea... What it's like... To be weak... I... Do. I have been... For a long time..."
Zephyr approached.
"For longer... Than I can remember..."
He got closer.
"You can't understand... The joy... I feel... Simply... From..."
Silent and impassive, Zephyr walked.
"From... Simply-"
BLEUGH-
Heaps of blood flowed out of Mark's mouth, as Zephyr's palm pierced through his stomach.
The Monster lightly grabbed the attacker's Armor.
"I can't... let you... Kill me-"
Punch-
Bam-
The Monster hit the wall, and its body fell to the ground.
"Not... You. Now... I get it..."
Suddenly, and inconspicuously, from the dark stains on the Monster's body, dark particles were emitted.
The dark particles floated in the air, and slowly flew upwards, towards the ceiling.
"I would rather... Lose... To them..."
[Your Title "Devourer" is looking at you.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" is looking at you.]
"Than... To you."
A torrent of dark particles fell onto the Monster's body.
As if the Wind had taken them, as if they were part of an avalanche, they flew down and covered its body.
A dark sphere covered the Monster's body.
Seconds later, a mighty roar resonated.
The area surrounding the dark sphere was flattened, along with all the rubble on the ground.
Cracks appeared all over the sphere.
It broke, revealing the Monster roaring louder than ever.
A dark matter covered its nails.
A dark matter filled its wounds.
Its cheeks were slowly torn, revealing more fangs.
The Monster's jaw was widened, as if it had previously lacked the necessary space for that roar to exit.
A dark Aura oozed out of the Monster's body.
The cracked and dark sphere was brought down.
And as its chunks hit the ground, they turned into a dark liquid.
A dark puddle covered the ground around the Monster.
It stopped roaring.
And opened its eyes.
Eyes dark as night.
Pupil, iris, and sclera included.
All, pitch black.
The Monster had opened its eyes.
But those eyes, weren't its own.
The whole Boss Room shook violently.
[The Title "Potential Demon King Candidate" opens its eyes.]
***
On the other side of the Boss Room's doors.
A roar resonated from inside that Boss Room.
Both ground and air shook.
By this time, Elisa couldn't see a thing anymore.
Too much blood had already left her body.
The Moonlit Feline tried its hardest to lower the temperature around the wound and slow the bleeding, but there was only so much it could do.
Elisa slightly moved her hand a couple of centimeters off the ground.
"You're here... Right?" She whispered weakly.
The Moonlit Feline's tail found its way to that wandering hand.
"I didn't... Thank you... For earlier."
The Moonlit Feline stared at Elisa's pale face.
"You like him a lot... Don't you? That... Mark."
Krista pressed her paws harder against the wound, but simple intent or wishful thinking couldn't change a thing.
"At first... I didn't... Get it. What you... Or that Fire Spirit... Saw in him. But he's... Different... Isn't he...? Different... Than other Monters-"
A painful cough interrupted her words.
"Even though... You like him... A lot... You didn't... Hold it... Against me..."
The Moonlit Feline's ears hung even lower.
"When I... Shot him... You saw it... Right? I'm sure... You did... But you still... Didn't hold it... Against-"
Cough-
"I'm... I'm sure... The two of you... Will make it... Outside. You hear... Me...?"
Krista moved her tail alongside Elisa's finger.
"You will... Make it. And once... The two of you... Are outside... I'm sure... He will... Take care of you... Always... I'm sure... Of that... He will... Always..."
A hand moved blindly for a moment.
Krista pushed her head against that hand.
"You can... Stop... Now. It's... Too late... For me..."
The Moonlit Feline cried out and pushed against that hand harder.
"Thank you... But... It's already... Too late..."
Elisa stayed silent for a moment.
And how couldn't she?
The pain she was feeling was excruciating. Talking only made it worse.
"You... Know... I asked him... About the tower... About the spot... Around it..."
Krista listened intently.
"The tower... I was... Stuck in..."
And how couldn't she?
"I asked and... He... Lowered his gaze... He stared... At the ground... Ha-"
Cough-
Cough.
Her laughter was cut short by the sharp pain, and by the blood rising.
"They weren't... There... They weren't where... I had... Left them..."
Elisa's voice grew weaker and weaker.
"Where I had... Seen them last..."
Her hand fell to the ground.
Limp.
She didn't have the strength to move it.
"They weren't... There when I... Went back... Can you hear me?"
Krista pushed against Elisa's body.
"Can you... Hear me...?"
The Moonlit Feline cried and cried.
"Are you... There... Still...?"
Cries and cries, forever unheard.
"Do you think... You don't think..."
A tear to the side of Elisa's closed eye hung for a moment.
"He's going to... Like he did the others...?"
Krista's body started trembling as she cried.
"Is he going to... Eat me... Once I stop... Breathing...?"
The tear went down Elisa's pale face.
"He wouldn't... Right?"
Fooosh-
"Right?"
