[Overnight, your magical energy cycled through and recovered. Your magic circuits now surpass those of an ordinary magus.]
[But you're still not fully grown. You sadly realize that, trying to eat such big meal, in the end you're the one who's left obvious marks of immaturity behind.]
[Moreover, your recent magic lessons seem to have undergone a subtle change. Koyanskaya possesses nearly infinite stamina. Recently, you've also come to understand what sucking marrow truly means, and there are times you actively indulge in those desires.]
[You knew you couldn't just fall all the way down. Work and rest had to be balanced.]
[So every day you not only purified resentment, but you also began practicing magecraft during the daytime.]
[During this period, you occasionally asked Koyanskaya, with care, what she really thought of humans. Yet every time you brought it up, she always dodged the topic with various roundabout answers.
She didn't want to disappoint you.]
[But she had never forgotten her purpose as a Beast:
To evolve into a complete Beast… and trample all humans underfoot.]
[Furthermore, in this short half-month, you had met with the Dark Koyanskaya many times. Each time you tuned yourself to the discontent of this land, she would glance at you sidelong, watching you.]
[Gradually, her attitude toward you changed.]
[Occasionally, she even spoke of humans and of her own plans.]
[The region surrounding Tunguska was permafrost. When the wind blew, it carried the chill from distant snow-capped mountains, making the land seem even lonelier.]
On the frozen ground, a blonde woman in black tights sat on a rock with her legs bent. She watched the man below with her usual indifferent expression.
During this time, Izaya had come to see the Dark Koyanskaya once every three to five days or so, each time offering her pure energy.
Once or twice, you might get away with it.
But if you keep contacting her this often, how could that woman not notice?
Realizing that, the Dark Koyanskaya finally couldn't help but ask:
"…Don't tell me, she still hasn't noticed that you're in contact with me?"
"She already knows."
Izaya replied very calmly.
"Then why hasn't she—?"
"Because she knows that, in the end, she's the one who will evolve into a complete Beast."
Izaya spoke the cruel truth with the same calmness.
With his help, there was no doubt Koyanskaya would seize power much sooner than the Dark Koyanskaya.
The Dark Koyanskaya frowned slightly, then spoke coldly:
"So you really can't say more? Aren't humans all those oily-tongued, silver-mouthed cunning creatures?"
"Let's leave it at that," he said. "Let's finish today's transaction first."
[Ever since you first met the Dark Koyanskaya, she promised to recognize your existence as a "human." So even if she denies all human civilization, as long as you are the one purifying discontent into pure energy, she can still absorb it.]
[But she refuses to just be a beneficiary. Every time, after it's over, she will always "teach" you something.]
[Her way of teaching, however, is far more savage and rude than Koyanskaya's…]
[A low beast-like roar rang in your ears.]
[Several enormous demonic beasts surrounded the youth. Their claws were especially sharp, like they could cut through steel. All you had in your hands was a short, curved blade.]
[You were panting so hard your lungs burned from lack of oxygen. Every movement made the wounds across your body throb with sharp pain.]
"How ugly."
From atop a cliff, the blonde woman looked down at the young man, her cold, cutting voice dripping with contempt.
"Fear, pain… These chains that humans put on themselves make you instinctively afraid of getting hurt. But if you want to survive in a place like this, you either throw those chains away… or end up a puddle of minced meat right here."
"Remember this: when you're injured, don't think about what to do with the wound. You only need to think of two things…"
"Survive. Then strike back."
Her cold voice rang in his ears.
Izaya took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and listened carefully.
Thump… thump…
He could clearly hear his heart pounding in fear, but amid the chaos, he heard another sound—
A desire to survive.
A will to stand up against the oppression.
[Primordial Calamity: A]
[A special interface quietly appears before your eyes.]
[Under the Dark Koyanskaya's cruel tutelage, what finally awakens is the latent power deep within your body.]
[You are the only "human" recognized by this land. Against the demonic beasts formed from the resentment she controls, you hold a conceptual authority. Under this special power, you can command them—or convert them into pure energy to strengthen yourself.]
Izaya hardly hesitated.
The moment the demonic claw was about to tear him apart, [Primordial Calamity] activated!
The beasts that had been closing in on him suddenly froze in midair. Then, one by one, they shattered like fireworks, dissolving into motes of light that scattered and vanished.
Izaya exhaled slowly.
The system had once reminded him that he, too, was a "master" of this land. But he had never fully understood what that meant.
Now…
He understood it completely.
Her training methods were far harsher than Koyanskaya's—but their effectiveness was just as great.
Thinking that, the black-haired man looked up at the dark, towering figure of Koyanskaya on the cliff.
Her golden hair swayed in the wind. Her light golden eyes were fixed on him, as if she were a little stunned.
The black combat suit made of biomass clung tightly to her seductive, voluptuous body. Behind her, nine gigantic tails slowly swayed, as if they could blot out the sun and sky, embodying her most primal power.
To be honest, she and Light Koyanskaya were essentially the same existence at their core, but their styles were completely opposite.
Light Koyanskaya gave people the impression of a sly, playful predator—like a feline toying with its prey, always calm and in control.
The woman before him, however, at first glance radiated a cold, inorganic oppression.
Soon, Izaya rode Pegasus up to her side.
He was still staring at her, distracted.
"…What? Why have you been staring at me like that?"
"Conceptual attribute…"
The Dark Koyanskaya seemed to mutter to herself.
"I didn't expect your magecraft attribute would turn out to be that. This isn't necessarily a good thing."
"Conceptual?" the black-haired man repeated, confused. "What does that mean? Are there even higher and lower ranks of magic attributes?"
From what Izaya understood, a magus's attributes directly determined the magecraft they were good at. Normally, most magi were specialized in "Earth, Water, Wind, Fire"… At most, you might occasionally see the extremely rare "Ether" or "Imaginary" attributes.
The Dark Koyanskaya snorted coldly.
"There's no such thing as 'high' and 'low' attributes. Your conceptual attribute, fundamentally, is 'Tuning' and 'Understanding.' You convert your own magic circuits to match the attribute of whatever you tune to."
In other words, Izaya's attribute wasn't fixed at all. It changed according to the target he resonated with.
During his time in Tunguska, his attribute had almost always been tuned to match the Dark Koyanskaya.
If others outside ever discovered this, then even if Izaya had a hundred mouths, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.
"I see… but I don't think that's such a bad thing."
At that moment, the black-haired man suddenly laughed.
"Actually, I'm kind of happy about it."
The Dark Koyanskaya was momentarily stunned, unconsciously repeating:
"…Happy?"
"Happy that my attribute resembles that of a Beast? If those humans ever found out… they would definitely treat you as a heretic."
"Yes." Izaya nodded.
"Because with this attribute, no matter where I am, I can always sense your existence… It feels like our bodies and hearts are always connected."
The blonde woman known as the Dark Koyanskaya wavered for a moment. Her cold, indifferent expression cracked, and she stared at the man, clearly confused—
And there on his face, she saw a warm, genuine smile.
This man… was he really still human?
Why would a human be happy that his magic attribute resembled a Beast's?
More importantly: he was clearly already on Light's side, so why was he still trying to help her?
"What if…"
Her voice dropped low.
"What if, in the end, only one of us—me or her—can survive? Who will you help?"
Izaya was caught off guard; he hadn't expected such a question.
Before he could answer, the Dark Koyanskaya hurriedly cut him off, as if regretting even asking:
"Forget it, forget it… What a boring question. Pretend you never heard it."
"You've worked hard today. You absorbed a lot of pure energy. Go rest first…"
She turned to leave in a rush—only to hear the man's voice at her back:
"That question just now… there is no 'if.'"
"I won't let anyone die."
Her footsteps stopped.
She unconsciously looked back. Her golden eyes clearly reflected the seriousness and determination in the man's gaze.
Obviously…
He wasn't joking.
He truly wanted to "save" both her and her other self.
A "cancer" that devoured human reason.
A Beast that all people feared.
And yet he wanted to break down that wall and achieve his goal.
The Dark Koyanskaya, who had always been extremely wary of humans, couldn't help but think:
Is that really possible?
But thinking back, every time he used his empathic magecraft over this period, she could clearly feel the "gentleness" he radiated.
There was no way he was faking that.
A completely incomprehensible oddball…
From the moment of his birth, every Beast had wanted to exterminate humanity.
She never thought there would be a human who would dare stay so close to a Beast.
After all, how could a human be so kind to a Beast?
"Saving a Beast… that's a pure fantasy," she murmured.
She withdrew her gaze and stopped looking at the pale-faced man.
"I get it. I'll go digest today's resentment first. After that, do as you like. But remember—"
Before leaving, she left one last warning:
"Don't ever completely let your guard down around that woman."
In the eyes of the Dark Koyanskaya, the woman's every move was only part of her plan to complete her evolution into a full Beast.
As for Izaya—he might have the attribute of a Beast, but he was, in the end, still human.
For now, she could consider him half a member of her kind.
Even so, she had to remind him, at least a little.
Judging from his expression, though… it didn't look like he'd taken her warning to heart.
Watching from the corner of her eye, the blonde woman studied his face.
From it, she could clearly see the teenager's trust in Light Koyanskaya.
Someday, the sly, playful Beast might very well be eaten instead…
Thinking that, she gave the man one last long look, then turned and left.
After her figure disappeared from view, Izaya sighed softly and lowered his eyes.
These two Beasts—one of light, one of darkness—were both, in the end, tsundere.
Perhaps it ran in their blood.
They were both tsundere, but their styles differed greatly.
Light Koyanskaya wore dress skirts, her long, snow-white legs hidden beneath the hem, but every step seemed to hint at their fullness and length—a walking embodiment of the word "allure."
The Dark Koyanskaya, on the other hand, favored tights. Yet with her figure slightly more restrained and her outfit more severe, her charm took on an extreme, almost icy sophistication.
Staring out in the direction the woman had gone, then glancing around at the frozen surroundings, Izaya couldn't help feeling a strange mix of emotions welling up.
For now—whether Light Koyanskaya or the Dark Koyanskaya—they were still only half-finished. Even so, Izaya knew a bit about what the title Beast truly meant.
The First Beast: Goetia.
The Second Beast: Tiamat.
In his memory, the Mother Goddess of Creation herself had been a Beast—possessing the terrifying power to destroy the world.
If Koyanskaya truly grew to that stage…
What would happen?
Even he didn't know.
Was there anything in existence that could stop her—or make her give up—once she had evolved into a complete Beast and set herself upon revenge against mankind?
With such thoughts churning in his mind, he hurried back toward the tent—
Only to find, for some reason, that Light Koyanskaya was already there waiting.
They hadn't seen each other in quite a few hours. So why was she here ahead of schedule?
"That's strange… Could it be she's still holding a grudge over earlier?"
The thought struck Izaya.
He hesitated, then started to turn and leave the tent.
But the moment he lifted the flap—
A powerful spell crashed down from the sky and struck him directly on the head.
A wave of dizziness swamped him. Izaya instinctively looked up, and in his blurry, shaking vision, he caught sight of a blonde woman's silhouette.
"The Dark Koyanskaya…"
Then his vision went completely dark.
…
Night, veiled and hazy.
Light Koyanskaya walked elegantly toward Izaya's tent. A faint smile curved the corners of her lips.
Different from usual, tonight she had specially changed into a sexy black dress. The slim high-heels at her feet gleamed faintly in the dark, making her soft white legs stand out even more alluringly.
Her toenails shone with a pale, translucent hue—a rare, warm jade color.
Looking down at her own figure, Light Koyanskaya's cheeks reddened slightly. She muttered under her breath:
"Why does he like this style so much…? The original outfit was already tall and eye-catching enough…"
"But forget it… I just like it this way."
Whenever she thought about the man's teasing tonight, and the beautiful scene that would follow, Light Koyanskaya's cheeks flushed a subtle shade of pink.
Holding that anticipation in her heart, she quietly lifted the tent curtain.
What greeted her was an empty tent.
He wasn't there.
This was bad.
Someone had broken through the magical barrier she had set up.
At her feet, the resentment of the dead slowly condensed, as if developing a will of its own, taking shape bit by bit—eventually forming an image nearly identical to Light Koyanskaya herself.
Staring at the form molded from pure resentment, Light Koyanskaya's expression gradually cooled. Frost settled across her features.
"Dark Koyanskaya—!!!"
From the moment of her birth until now, for the very first time—
She exploded with a monstrous rage.
…