Volume 2 Chapter 142: Unrivaled Dominion

Falco had been patient.

At least, he had been trying to be.

For several minutes, he remained inside the chamber, listening to Lyra's instructions while watching Matilda continue treating Ramos. He had even managed to stay relatively quiet while the others worked, although the increasingly impatient tapping of his fingers against his arm made it obvious that his patience was already wearing thin.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound continued through the tense silence of the room.

Eventually, Falco stopped tapping and turned his attention toward Lyra.

She was standing near the center of the chamber, one hand resting against the stone wall while she maintained control over the bunker. Her ability allowed her to manipulate the very structure surrounding them. Walls, floors, corridors, pathways, and doors were all connected to the stonework of the bunker, effectively turning the entire underground facility into an extension of her power.

That was how she had separated Ryota from the others.

That was how Fayzan had disappeared without warning.

That was how Ayame had vanished from Ryota's side without either of them realizing what had happened.

And that was why Lyra was so confident that the white-haired player would never reach this room.

Falco stared at her for several seconds before finally letting out a quiet sigh.

"So..."

Lyra didn't even turn around.

"What?"

Falco leaned against one of the stone pillars, folding his arms across his chest.

"None of this matters, does it?"

Lyra finally glanced toward him.

Her expression immediately became suspicious.

Falco's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the unconscious Ramos.

"Keeping White Hair away from the NPC."

He gestured vaguely toward the rest of the room.

"That's the only thing that matters right now, right?"

Lyra frowned.

"Yes."

Falco nodded slowly.

"Then everything else is pointless."

Lyra's eyes narrowed.

She knew that tone.

She had heard it far too many times.

It was the exact tone Falco used whenever he was about to do something reckless, unnecessary, and almost guaranteed to make everyone else's job harder.

"What are you thinking now, idiot?"

Falco's mouth slowly curled into a grin.

It wasn't his usual lazy smile.

This one was different.

It was the expression he wore whenever he found something that might finally be worth his time.

He pushed himself away from the pillar.

"Nothing complicated."

Lyra's expression immediately hardened.

"Falco."

He ignored her.

Falco slowly stretched both arms above his head, rolling his shoulders until several joints cracked beneath the sound of the bunker.

Then the atmosphere changed.

A faint electrical hum filled the chamber.

Lyra's eyes widened.

Black sparks appeared around Falco's arms.

At first, there were only a few.

Then dozens.

The sparks multiplied rapidly, crawling across his shoulders and forearms like living veins of darkness. Black electricity began wrapping itself around his body, twisting around his torso and legs before bursting outward in short, violent arcs.

The pressure inside the room increased.

Ayame felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

Even Fayzan lifted his head.

Matilda immediately looked away from Ramos.

"Falco..."

Lyra's voice became dangerously low.

"Don't."

Falco's grin widened.

The black lightning suddenly exploded outward.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive bolt of dark electricity slammed into the wall beside the entrance.

The reinforced stone structure couldn't withstand the impact.

KRAAAAAAAAAA-BOOOOOOOM!

The wall erupted.

Stone fragments blasted across the room as cracks raced through the surrounding structure from floor to ceiling. Dust filled the chamber, wooden crates toppled over, and several pieces of equipment were thrown across the floor by the shockwave.

Matilda immediately threw herself over Ramos to shield the unconscious NPC from the debris.

Ayame instinctively closed her eyes and ducked inside her cage.

Fayzan's chains rattled violently as the entire room shook.

For several seconds, nobody could hear anything except the ringing in their ears.

Then the dust began to settle.

A massive hole now occupied the section of wall beside the entrance.

Beyond it was another corridor stretching deep into darkness.

Falco calmly stepped through the opening.

Lyra stared at the destruction.

Then she looked toward the perfectly intact doorway only a few meters away.

Her eye twitched.

"...The door."

Falco kept walking.

Lyra's expression became increasingly incredulous.

"The door was literally right there."

Falco didn't bother turning around.

"I know."

Lyra stared at his back.

"Then why did you destroy the wall?!"

Falco finally looked over his shoulder.

He smiled as though the answer were completely obvious.

"Because the wall was there."

Lyra's face went blank.

Matilda slowly adjusted her glasses.

"He's hopeless."

Fayzan stared at Falco for several seconds, clearly trying to decide whether he was actually serious.

Ayame didn't even know what to say.

Falco simply stretched his neck from side to side.

"Enough waiting."

The black lightning continued crawling over his body.

"I'm going to find White Hair."

With that, Falco disappeared into the corridor.

His footsteps echoed through the bunker.

Lyra closed her eyes and inhaled slowly through her nose.

Then she released a long, exhausted sigh.

"Why?"

She opened her eyes and stared at the destroyed wall.

"Why did he destroy the wall when the door was literally next to it?"

Matilda returned her attention to Ramos.

"Because he's Falco."

Lyra couldn't argue with that.

She raised one hand.

The bunker immediately responded.

The shattered stone began moving.

Broken pieces of the wall lifted from the ground and floated upward before sliding back into place. Cracks sealed themselves one after another as the damaged structure gradually rebuilt itself.

However, the process was noticeably slower than usual.

Lyra's eyebrows tightened.

"That's strange."

Matilda glanced toward her.

"What is?"

Lyra placed more power into the structure.

The stone responded, but reluctantly.

"It's taking longer than it should."

She looked around the room.

Falco's attack had done more than simply destroy one wall.

The force had damaged the surrounding structure as well.

Lyra clicked her tongue.

"That idiot's power is getting stronger."

Matilda adjusted the medical equipment beside Ramos.

"Then you should probably follow him."

Lyra nodded.

"I'm going to."

She glanced toward the corridor.

"He'll probably destroy half the bunker on his way to White Hair."

A tired expression crossed her face.

"And I'll have to fix everything he breaks."

Matilda nodded.

"I'll continue extracting the blood."

She positioned another glass container beneath the tube connected to Ramos.

Dark red liquid slowly began collecting inside.

"Once I'm finished, I'll move out and send the message that the mission is complete."

Lyra nodded.

Then her expression became serious.

"Guard the prisoners."

Matilda looked toward the two cages.

"Make sure they don't escape."

"Understood."

Lyra took several steps toward the repaired wall.

Before leaving, however, she looked back toward Ramos.

Then toward Ayame.

Then Fayzan.

"Don't make my job harder."

Ayame remained silent.

Lyra turned and stepped through the doorway.

The moment she disappeared from sight, the room became quieter.

Matilda returned her full attention to Ramos.

The green glow of her healing skill illuminated his pale face as she continued stabilizing his condition.

Ramos remained unconscious.

His breathing was weak, but steady.

Matilda carefully checked his pulse before continuing her work.

She never noticed the tiny movement occurring somewhere behind Ayame.

Ayame did.

A faint vibration traveled through the stone behind her.

She immediately froze.

Her eyes shifted toward the wall.

There it was again.

A tiny movement.

Not a player.

Not a monster.

Something much smaller.

Something crawling through the structure.

Ayame's heart began beating faster.

Her eyes widened.

The mice.

Her Moonstone Mice were still alive.

Somehow, they had survived.

And they were moving through the ventilation system.

Ayame slowly closed her eyes.

She focused her thoughts.

The connection between tamer and summon gradually became clearer.

Tiny footsteps.

The faint scraping of claws against metal.

Small teeth occasionally clicking against stone.

They were coming toward her.

Ayame wanted to smile.

She wanted to call out to them.

But she couldn't.

Matilda was only a few meters away.

The slightest mistake could reveal everything.

Ayame kept her face neutral and remained perfectly still.

The sensation grew stronger.

The mice were almost there.

Then she felt them.

They had reached the wall directly behind her cage.

You're here.

Ayame silently sent a command through their connection.

Come here.

The first Moonstone Mouse squeezed through a tiny opening near the bottom of the wall.

Then another followed.

Then another.

Their translucent moonstone bodies slipped through the narrow gap one after another, their faint silver-blue glow almost invisible beneath the dim lighting.

Ayame shifted her body slightly, positioning herself so that her back blocked Matilda's view.

The healer was still focused entirely on Ramos.

Ayame couldn't ask for a better opportunity.

She lowered her head and whispered so quietly that even Fayzan could barely hear her.

"Be careful..."

The mice crawled toward her.

Their tiny claws scraped softly against the stone.

Then they began chewing.

The sound was barely audible.

Nibble.

Nibble.

Nibble.

The stone Lyra had wrapped around Ayame's body was dense and incredibly hard.

But the Moonstone Mice didn't stop.

Their teeth continued working against it.

Ayame could feel every tiny movement through their connection.

They had one purpose.

Free their master.

Ayame slowly clenched her hands.

She knew she wasn't particularly strong.

She had never been.

Her entire role revolved around support, tracking, scouting, and taming.

She wasn't Ryota.

She couldn't stand in front of an enemy formation and simply refuse to fall.

She wasn't Kiraya.

She couldn't charge through a battlefield with a shield in one hand and a gunsword in the other.

And she certainly wasn't Rio.

She didn't possess overwhelming combat ability capable of turning an entire battlefield around.

But Ayame had something else.

Her summons.

And right now, her summons were the only reason she still had a chance.

The mice continued chewing.

Slowly.

Painfully slowly.

But the earth was weakening.

A tiny crack appeared around Ayame's waist.

Her eyes widened.

It's working.

She remained still.

The mice continued their work, moving lower before returning to the thicker sections of stone.

Eventually, one of the larger pieces cracked apart.

CRACK.

Ayame immediately held her breath.

The stone around her waist loosened.

Matilda didn't react.

She remained completely focused on Ramos.

Ayame's heart pounded.

Almost.

The mice continued.

They worked through the remaining stone around her arms.

Another crack appeared.

Then another.

Finally, the restraint around Ayame's wrists fractured.

A tiny opening appeared between the stone and her body.

One Moonstone Mouse squeezed through.

Then another.

Then another.

Ayame could feel her arms becoming freer.

The mice reached the iron cuffs.

And began chewing.

This time, however, their work became much more difficult.

Metal was far harder than stone.

Their tiny teeth struck the cuffs with soft clicking sounds.

Ayame clenched her jaw.

Come on.

She couldn't help them.

She couldn't move her hands.

All she could do was wait.

Wait.

And trust them.

The mice continued.

Elsewhere in the bunker, Ryota had already turned the corridor into a battlefield.

The players who had surrounded him earlier were scattered across the stone floor.

Several had been knocked unconscious.

Others had retreated farther into the bunker after realizing that their attacks weren't doing enough to bring him down.

Weapons lay broken across the ground.

Cracks ran through the walls.

Dust hung in the air.

Ryota stood in the middle of the corridor, breathing slightly harder than before.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked around.

"...That's everyone?"

One remaining player raised his weapon.

Ryota sighed.

"You guys really need better teamwork."

The player charged.

His sword came down with enough force to split a normal player in half.

Ryota simply stepped aside.

The blade passed him.

He caught the attacker's wrist.

Then activated Scalular Impact.

The force behind the player's movement changed instantly.

Ryota redirected it.

The attacker was thrown sideways with his own momentum.

CRASH!

He slammed into the wall and collapsed.

Silence returned.

Ryota slowly released his grip.

Then his expression became serious.

"Ayame."

He looked deeper into the bunker.

"Fayzan."

His eyes hardened.

"Ramos."

He needed to find them.

He had already defeated the players who tried to stop him, but that didn't matter if he couldn't locate the others.

Then—

the floor trembled.

Ryota stopped.

His expression changed.

"...What?"

Another vibration passed through the corridor.

This one was stronger.

THOOM.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Ryota slowly turned toward the wall.

The stone trembled.

Another impact followed.

THOOM.

Then another.

THOOOOOM.

Ryota's hand moved toward his weapon.

"What the hell...?"

The wall directly beside him suddenly cracked.

A thin black line appeared across the stone.

Then another.

The entire section of wall began glowing faintly beneath the cracks.

Ryota took a step backward.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The wall exploded outward.

Stone fragments flew through the corridor as a cloud of dust swallowed everything.

Ryota raised his arm to protect his face.

Something moved through the dust.

A silhouette.

Then another flash of black lightning illuminated the corridor.

The figure stepped through the destroyed wall.

Black electricity crawled across his body.

It didn't simply surround him.

It roared.

Dark bolts struck the walls around him, leaving blackened scars wherever they landed.

Ryota slowly lowered his arm.

His eyes widened.

Falco.

The warrior stood in the middle of the destroyed passage with a grin spread across his face.

His eyes locked directly onto Ryota.

"White Hair."

Ryota stared at him.

"...You."

Falco stretched his neck.

Then cracked his fingers.

Black lightning surged around both arms.

Ryota glanced toward the enormous hole behind him.

Then back at Falco.

"You know..."

He pointed toward the destroyed wall.

"There was probably a door."

Falco grinned.

"I like walls better."

Ryota stared at him for a moment.

Then sighed.

"Of course you do."

Falco's grin widened.

The black lightning suddenly intensified.

The pressure in the corridor became overwhelming.

Stone cracked beneath his feet.

Electricity raced across the walls and ceiling, filling the passage with a violent electrical hum.

Falco raised one hand.

The black lightning condensed around his body.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Warrior Skill: Unrivaled Dominion]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ryota's eyes narrowed.

The name alone was enough to tell him that this wasn't an ordinary enhancement skill.

Whatever Unrivaled Dominion did, Falco clearly intended to use it against him.

Falco's grin became almost feral.

"LET'S SEE IF YOU'RE REALLY AS STRONG AS THEY SAY!"

He thrust his hand forward.

The black lightning erupted.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive wave of dark electricity tore through the corridor.

Ryota moved on instinct.

He threw himself sideways.

The attack passed directly beside him.

A split second later—

KRAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Everything behind him exploded.

The stone walls shattered.

The floor cracked apart.

Metal support beams bent violently under the force.

Debris flew through the corridor as a huge section of the bunker was torn apart.

Ryota rolled across the ground before quickly pushing himself back to his feet.

He stared at the destruction.

His expression had become completely serious.

"...That wasn't normal lightning."

Falco slowly stepped through the dust.

Black electricity continued crawling across his body.

His smile returned.

"Good."

He cracked his neck.

"You dodged."

Ryota tightened his grip.

"Yeah."

His eyes moved across the destruction.

Then returned to Falco.

"But if you keep attacking like that..."

He gestured toward the damaged bunker.

"...you're going to collapse the entire place."

Falco laughed.

"Then I'll just fight faster."

Ryota's expression twitched.

"You're insane."

Falco raised his fist.

Black lightning exploded around it.

"And you're finally interesting."

Then he disappeared.

Ryota's eyes widened.

For a moment, Falco's figure vanished completely.

The next instant, he appeared directly in front of Ryota.

His fist came forward.

Ryota barely managed to raise his arm.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The impact shook the entire corridor.

Force traveled through Ryota's body.

His boots scraped violently across the stone floor as he was pushed backward.

The ground cracked beneath his feet.

Ryota gritted his teeth.

Falco's grin widened.

"Found you."

Ryota slowly raised his eyes.

The two stared directly at each other.

Then Ryota smiled.

"Yeah."

His grip tightened around his weapon.

"But you found the wrong guy."

The black lightning around Falco intensified.

Ryota lowered his stance.

Neither of them moved.

For a brief moment, the entire bunker seemed to hold its breath.

Then both players lunged forward.

Deep inside the bunker, far away from the clash between the two white-haired warriors, Ayame's Moonstone Mice continued their desperate work.

Their tiny teeth had finally begun damaging the iron cuffs around her wrists.

The metal groaned softly.

Ayame felt the change immediately.

Her eyes widened.

The mice attacked the weakened section again.

And again.

Then—

CRACK.

One of the cuffs fractured.

A tiny piece of metal fell to the floor.

Ayame stared at it.

For the first time since she had awakened inside the cage, her expression changed completely.

Hope returned to her eyes.

Her hands were finally free enough to move.

Ayame slowly flexed her fingers.

The cuffs were still attached.

The stone restraints still held her body.

She was still trapped.

But the first barrier had fallen.

And that was enough.

Ayame lowered her gaze toward the tiny Moonstone Mice.

Her lips curled into the faintest smile.

"Good job..."

The mice continued working.

Ayame looked toward Fayzan.

Then toward Ramos.

Her expression hardened.

And finally, she thought about Ryota.

He was somewhere inside this bunker.

Fighting alone.

She didn't know what kind of enemy he had encountered.

She didn't know whether he was winning or losing.

But she knew one thing.

She wasn't going to sit inside this cage and wait for someone else to save her.

Not anymore.

Her summons had given her an opening.

Now she had to use it.

Ayame took a slow breath and began planning her escape.

Whatever happened next, she would have to fight her way out.

Because Ramos needed them.

Fayzan needed her.

And Ryota was still out there.

Alone.