The canyon shook.
Dust rained from the cliffs as the massive Aether Devourer emerged fully from the earth. Crystal plates scraped against one another like grinding glass, each step gouging trenches into the stone.
Its six eyes glowed with violent blue Aether.
Clare tightened her grip on her blade.
Her combat suit hummed as the reactor ramped up.
"Rank-5 Devourer..." she muttered.
Even elite units usually required twenty Aether Knights to deal with something like this.
Ryū didn't look impressed at all.
He rolled his shoulders slowly.
"Relax your stance," he said.
Clare blinked.
"What?!"
Ryū didn't turn around.
"If your legs are that stiff, the first shockwave will knock you on your ass."
Clare gritted her teeth.
"We're about to fight a city-level beast and you're giving me posture advice?!"
Ryū smirked.
"You're the one who insisted on tagging along."
The Devourer roared.
The sound shattered nearby rock formations.
A massive claw slammed toward them.
Clare reacted instantly.
"BOOST!"
Her Aether Knight Frame ignited.
Compressed Aether exploded from her boots, launching her sideways as the claw obliterated the ground where she stood.
The impact created a crater ten meters wide.
Ryū hadn't moved.
The claw stopped inches from his face.
The Devourer paused.
Confused.
Ryū glanced at it lazily.
"...why so angry?"
The creature lunged.
Ryū disappeared.
Not a dash.
Not a jump.
He simply wasn't there anymore.
Clare's combat visor struggled to track the movement.
Then—
CRACK.
A black arc flashed through the air.
Ryū's blade released a low-output Aether slash that tore across the Devourer's stomach.
The sound was like a mountain splitting.
The twenty-meter monster slid across the canyon floor, leaving a massive glowing gash across its body.
Clare stared.
"...what the hell??"
Ryū flexed his fingers casually.
"Still alive? Nice."
The Devourer screeched and charged again, crystal armor glowing brighter as it gathered Aether.
Clare's combat HUD flashed warnings.
AETHER CONCENTRATION SPIKING
"Dad!" she shouted.
"It's about to release an Aether blast!"
Ryū sighed.
"Yeah. I can see that."
The beast opened its jaws.
A sphere of condensed blue Aether formed between its fangs.
Clare raised her arm.
"Barrier!"
Her suit projected a defensive shield.
Ryū glanced back at her.
"...this little idiot."
The Devourer fired.
A beam of Aether energy ripped through the canyon.
Clare braced herself.
But Ryū stepped in front of the blast.
The beam hit him head-on.
The explosion lit the canyon like daylight.
Rock melted.
The ground fractured.
When the light faded...
Ryū stood there.
Smoke curled from his coat.
His shirt had burned away across one shoulder, exposing scaled skin beneath.
Clare's mouth hung open.
"...that attack could level a city!?"
Ryū scratched the back of his neck.
"Yeah... I'm more pissed that it ruined my jacket. This material's hard to come by."
The wound across his shoulder sealed instantly.
Muscle knitting.
Skin reforming.
Clare's suit scanned him.
Her HUD blinked.
REGENERATION RATE: UNKNOWN
Ryū lifted his hand.
The blood from his wound floated into the air.
Droplets hovered around him like red stars.
"This," he said calmly,
"is why humans shouldn't challenge monsters."
The blood hardened.
Then shot forward.
Each droplet struck the Devourer like a cannon round.
Crystal armor exploded apart.
The beast roared in agony.
Clare stared in disbelief.
"...blood manipulation."
Ryū glanced at her.
"Looks like you remember some of the lessons I taught you."
The Devourer thrashed violently, slamming its tail toward them.
Clare moved.
Her boosters ignited as she dashed forward.
"FLARE MODE!"
Her blade cartridge shifted.
Fire erupted along the sword's edge.
She leaped.
The flaming strike carved across the Devourer's exposed neck.
The monster shrieked.
Ryū raised an eyebrow.
"...not bad."
Clare landed hard.
"Don't sound so surprised! I refuse to be seen as weak by you!"
The Devourer collapsed to one knee, crystal armor cracking apart.
But the Aether inside its body surged wildly.
Ryū's expression finally changed.
"...ah."
Clare's HUD screamed warnings.
CORE OVERLOAD DETECTED
"Dad!" she shouted.
"It's going to explode!"
Aether beasts didn't always die quietly.
When their cores destabilized, they could detonate like living bombs.
This one would flatten the entire canyon.
Clare looked at Ryū.
He smiled.
Then his body changed.
Black scales erupted across his skin.
His frame expanded.
Massive wings tore through the air as Ryū transformed into a towering half-dragon form.
His tail swept behind him like a living weapon.
The sheer pressure of his Aether flooded the canyon.
Clare felt it instantly.
The air became heavy.
Not physical pressure.
Something deeper.
Aether itself reacting to him.
Ryū's massive tail scooped Clare up and tossed her safely across the canyon floor.
"...watch my resolve," Ryū said.
His golden eyes burned like molten metal.
"This is the difference between you..."
He vanished.
"...and me."
The dragon reappeared above the Devourer.
His jaws opened wide.
They closed around the monster's upper body like a predator swallowing prey whole.
The Devourer disappeared down his throat.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then the Aether core detonated.
Ryū's body burst apart in a violent explosion of blood and energy.
The canyon roared.
A storm of crimson rained down across the cliffs.
For several seconds...
Nothing moved.
Then the scattered blood began pulling itself back together.
Muscle formed.
Bone reshaped.
Skin sealed.
Ryū stood there again in human form.
Shirtless.
Completely regenerated.
He slid the Dragonbone Blade back into its sheath.
"I do shit like this on the regular."
Clare stared at him.
"You killed a Rank-5 beast with one attack."
Ryū shrugged.
"That thing wasn't a real Rank-5."
Clare frowned.
"What?"
Ryū glanced at the corpse.
"More like Rank-3 in my opinion. The Human Empire's never been good at ranking things correctly."
Clare's eyes widened.
"...then what the hell is Rank-6?"
Ryū somehow already had another blunt lit.
Smoke drifted lazily into the night air.
"...something that can give me more scars."
Clare stood quietly for a moment.
Then crossed her arms.
"Good."
Ryū raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Clare looked straight at him.
"Because I'm coming with you."
Ryū stared at her.
"...kid."
Clare pointed at him.
"Nope."
"Clare."
"I don't wanna hear it."
Ryū sighed.
"You're not ready for the shit I'm dealing with."
Clare stepped closer.
"Then train me."
Ryū blinked.
"What?!"
"You raised five daughters," Clare said.
"And then you disappeared without telling any of us why."
Her eyes burned.
"So I think you can train me for a few months."
She crossed her arms stubbornly.
"You're stuck with me until you decide to tell me the truth."
Ryū stared at her.
For a long moment...
Then he laughed.
A deep, genuine laugh.
"...fuck."
He shook his head.
"You really are my kid."
Clare smirked slightly.
Ryū turned toward the desert.
"...fine."
Clare's eyes widened.
"Wait, seriously? Cuz I was 100% bluffing just now!?"
Ryū started walking.
But his voice turned serious.
"Just understand something."
Clare followed beside him.
"What?"
Ryū glanced at her.
"The things we're about to run into..."
His golden eyes glowed faintly.
"...make that Devourer look like a common house cat."
Clare grinned.
"I'm fine with that."
Ryū groaned.
"You're gonna be a pain in my ass."
Clare giggled.
"I get that a lot."
The Demon King and his daughter walked into the desert.
And somewhere far away...
Something ancient had begun to wake.
END OF CHAPTER 2