Zagan knew it was impossible to outrun those two monsters; one slicing through the sky, the other tearing through the sea below.
The plague beak was faster.
Wind howled as its shadow fell over him. Zagan skidded to a halt, katana flashing from its sheath.
Click—
He twisted, pivoting with the motion, slashing in a full, perfect arc.
The blade sang as the air split.
But the bird dodged aside with a flap of its ragged wings, the gust nearly hurling him off the bridge.
"Tch…" Zagan spat, eyes narrowing. He needed to clip those wings if he wanted a chance.
The beast screeched, its wings spreading wide — blackish-red energy spiraling between its feathers. The storm around them twisted, rain and wind drawn inward until the very air trembled.
Then came the flap.
A wave of crescent abyssal wind ripped forward, screaming across the bridge.
"Shit—!"
He braced. Abyssal energy was deadly to anything human. It corroded soul energy, rotted flesh, and devoured life.
Zagan's blade flared white with energy.
"Haaah—!"
He cleaved into the crescent midair, splitting it in two. The halves screamed past him, exploding into the sea behind.
But the impact sent him flying. He crashed hard, rolling across the slick bridge until his body finally skidded to a stop, blood mixing with the rain.
Gritting his teeth, Zagan forced himself onto one knee, katana still clenched tight in his hand. His robe hung in tatters, shredded by the blast.
A deep gash carved across his stomach, black blood spilling freely as abyssal energy hissed and crawled through his veins.
The nanites inside him scrambled to mend the damage… but the corruption burned through their work like acid.
"Cough… cough… What… haa… kind of fucking trial is this…?" He wheezed, voice cracking.
"Is it… because I'm not from this era? Or because… cough—!"
The world tilted as darkness crept in, he couldn't even draw a full breath before Flow Mode triggered once more.
Time fractured again. His vision sharpened, the pain fading for just a heartbeat. Through the haze, he saw them: two hooked talons, the beast's front limbs, slick with rain and abyssal miasma, cutting through the air straight for his shoulders.
He tried to move… but whether he was too slow or the beast too fast, he couldn't tell.
Time snapped back in a violent rush, and pain followed an instant later as the claws tore through his shoulders.
"AHHHHHHHHHH—!"
Zagan screamed as the beast's talons ripped through flesh and muscle, blood spraying in violent arcs.
With a single thunderous beat of its wings, the Plague Beak yanked him off the bridge and into the air.
The storm roared around him as the world below shrank — bridge, and sea fading beneath the rain.
From below, the Water Prowler burst from
the waves, its jaws snapping shut just a breath too late.
The Plague Beak screeched in triumph, carrying the thrashing, blood-soaked Zagan higher into the raging sky.
* * *
Zagan forced himself to calm down, biting his lip to keep from screaming like a child. His breaths came fast and shallow, but then, he noticed something. The distance between him and the central platform was closing fast.
"…No way," he muttered, eyes widening. Was it possible?
Before he could think further, the Plague Beak suddenly halted mid-flight, as if an invisible barrier had stopped it. Instead of pressing forward, it let out a furious screech and began to climb higher into the sky.
"Fuck…" Zagan hissed. It wasn't going to be that easy. But he was close now… close enough that if he could just break free, he might make it.
He raised his katana and slashed at the talons gripping him.
Clang!
The blade rebounded with a sharp metallic ring. The creature's limbs were sheathed in dark, writhing energy — hard as steel, effortlessly blocking his soul-coated blade.
Zagan gritted his teeth. Normal attacks wouldn't cut it, literally.
There was only one thing left to try.
He exhaled, sheathing his katana. The sigil on his palm pulsed faintly, cracks spider-webbing across it as he willed it open.
Flash!
A surge of crimson light burst through the storm. Ignisar, the Rank 2 Greatblade, materialized in his hands, its edge humming with heat that hissed against the rain.
The instant its weight hit him, the air was punched from his lungs.
"Guh—!"
Kreeeee—!
They plummeted. The Plague Beak screeched, its wings buckling under the sudden burden. Wind howled, lightning split the sky as man and bird spiraled down like a burning comet.
Zagan's arms screamed in protest. Ignisar wasn't bound to his core — his only weapon module was already occupied. That meant no access to its runes or abilities. But he didn't need them. The blade's edge alone could carve through Rank 1 beasts like paper… if only he were strong enough to wield it.
Still, the beast thrashed, wings flaring wide, channeling blackish energy to slow their descent. The wind began to obey it again.
Then—
It screeched and released him.
That was exactly what he'd been waiting for.
Zagan dismissed Ignisar in a burst of red light, clutching one of the creature's limbs with his left hand while his right ripped free his katana.
He poured everything — every drop of soul energy, every scrap of will — into the blade. The rune on its surface flared, burning white through the storm as the world around him seemed to hold its breath.
Then the blade began to extend, longer and longer, until it aimed straight at the creature's wing.
With a surge of power, it shot forward, piercing clean through.
Sckreee—!
The bird's shriek split the sky. Its first real wound.
Zagan didn't stop. He roared, forcing the blade sideways, ripping half the wing apart in a spray of black ichor.
They plummeted again; this time not from weight, but because the Plague Beak could no longer stay aloft.
Like a broken helicopter, it spiraled downward through the storm, flailing in agony.
Zagan clung tight to its limb, but the beast thrashed wildly. One of its hind talons swung up, raking across his abdomen.
"Aaahhh… fuckk—!"
A chunk of flesh tore free. Blood streamed down his robes.
Gritting his teeth, Zagan crawled up its body, locking his legs around its torso; using the bird itself as a shield for impact.
Because below, he saw it — the Rank 1 Water Prowler leaping from the sea, mouth wide like a breaching Leviathan.
For a heartbeat, their eyes met… predator and prey.
Zagan's expression went cold.
He hated that fish more than the bird.
He raised his hands as if to plunge a spear, summoning the sigil.
In an instant, Ignisar materialized — its crimson glow searing through the storm.
The added weight sent them both plummeting faster.
Zagan roared and drove the blade straight into the bird's chest.
KRAAAAAHHH—!
The Plague Beak shrieked, thrashing madly. Its claws tore at him, shredding flesh and fabric alike.
He refused to let go. Blood nanites screamed through his veins, struggling to seal the gashes faster than his body could bleed.
Then came the impact.
BOOOOM—!
A shockwave ripped through the air as they slammed into the prowler's open maw, plunging them all into the sea.
Towering walls of water erupted, smashing against the bridge and the central platform. Rain and blood lashed across Zagan's face, mingling in a storm of chaos.
Then… the sea went silent.
Only the rain remained, and the timer continued to fall.
00 : 05 : 26