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A single instant of simultaneous complete destruction. That which could be ordinary life was annihilated in just a moment.

Monsters swarmed the cities. No one knew where they came from, nor did they know how to fight back.

People ran. The monsters hunted them in the confusion.

A family ran from a pack of large ones.

One of them tripped, getting caught and attacked instantly. Another tried to fight back against them, but was powerless.

The last one left alive watched this, unable to move anymore.

The monsters finished eating and closed in on her.

Sudden intervention.

The monsters were cut to ribbons by an invisible blade. The user ran forwards, seeing he was too late.

He turned to the last survivor, seeing blue surround her.

14

The group of warriors charged towards the monsters.

The beasts howled, lashing out at them. The warriors jumped to the side of the attacks, before going to counter.

A flurry of manifestations versus monsters.

In the middle of it all, a girl charged at the enemy, with no ability of her own to speak of.

The monsters were felled, the group rested for the night.

"Fallon," The tall man with slicked back hair told her "You've gotta stop being so reckless."

"I'm a warrior too, y'know?" Fallon replied "You can't tell me what to do, Kay!"

"You're not much of one without a manifestation." Another voice added.

Fallon instantly started yelling back, while Kay just sighed.

"Getting into arguments again?" Another voice asked.

"What does it sound like, Lisa?"

"Fair point." She replied.

After the destruction of humanity, there had been a split. Those who wanted to rebuild, and those who wanted to avenge.

The ones who wanted to fight were by coincidence those who'd awakened as warriors.

For over a decade and a half, they'd been going around the world killing any monsters they encountered. They didn't know how many there were, but they knew they would be unable to rest until they were gone.

Lisa acted as a leader of sorts. Her manifestation was unbreakable, which made her aura reinforce her body like armour.

Kay wasn't really anyone so special. His manifestation was space cut, allowing him to cut anywhere within a certain range with an invisible blade.

"Are you really sure she's a warrior?" Lisa asked. "Well, it's a bit late to ask now, but after all this time she still doesn't have a manifestation."

"I've known she was one from the start. I'm the one who saw her awaken to it, after all. After I couldn't save her family…"

"Yeah, we all thought you were crazy when you told us that a kid was one of us. Well, you might still be, because who brings a kid to a quest for vengeance?"

"It's different if the kid's a warrior."

"But she's not like us. The manifestation thing aside, her powers seem weaker than the ones the rest of us have. She's also the only of us who seems to be aging."

"You keep bringing up questions, but I'm not really the one with the answers here."

"I'm not expecting you to know, I'm just wondering myself. Maybe it works differently for warriors who awaken as kids? Even though it's been this long, we still know barely anything about these powers. I'd like to find out more eventually, once we're done with all this."

"That's great and all, but my plans for once this is done is to just go back to how I was living before, so I'm good."

"Well, here's the thing about that. If we wanna get this done with, it'd be useful to have all our members fighting efficiently. So I need you to train her to be like the rest of us."

"Huh? Why me? I'm not even that good at fighting."

"I figured it'd be easier that way, since you two get along so well."

"...You call that getting along well?" Kay thought in response.

"Hey, Fallon."

The girl turned to face him, still seeming annoyed.

"Are you gonna lecture me again? I'm not interested. I'm already a fully grown adult now!"

"You're seventeen."

"...You counted? So that's how old I am now… no wait, that part doesn't matter, it's close enough to eighteen anyways! ...Right?"

"It is right, but you're not an adult until I say so."

"But you're never gonna. That's besides the point, it doesn't matter what you think!"

"I will, once you're mature enough. But that's besides the point too, it does matter what I think when I'm the elder here!"

"Like, barely."

"By thirteen years."

"You counted? But that's still insignificant compared to how the world's existed for thousands of years."

"And you've got no right to pull that card when you've existed for less than two decades."

"You've been around for less than three!"

"Three exactly, you mean. Who was even responsible for your education?"

"You were."

"Oh, I was. Wait, I'm getting sidetracked. That's what I came here for to begin with."

"I'm not learning anything, no matter how hard you try. Stuff like being able to read or count isn't relevant to a warrior, you know?"

"Why are you so proud about that? But fixing that can wait until later, for now I was gonna try to work out how to teach you to use your manifestation."

Fallon's eyes instantly lit up, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Let's go, then! Finally! You should've just said that from the start, idiot!"

"I guess she's still predictable in some ways…" Kay thought.

"All right, so to start, I guess we should even work out what causes it." Said Kay.

"You know?"

"Of course not. But hey, if we keep guessing we're bound to get it right eventually, right?"

"How reassuring."

"You think of something better, then."

"...Just give me your power."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because first off, I can't. And second off, even if I could that'd just make me useless in battle."

"Ah, so I'm useless..."

"No, that's not what I meant, it's just that I'm no good without my manifestation so I'd be complete and utter dead weight, unlike people who can fight without one like you."

"Well, when you put like that, you're not wrong."

"No, you were supposed to say that I am wrong. Why did I even bother helping you out?"

"Hm?"

"Never mind. So back to the point, manifestation is a unique ability that each of us has. It's not something we can just pass around, and it seems like we can't just copy the manifestations of others, so you'll have to work out what your own is. It's not something developed, more something natural."

"Hmm. That seems difficult."

"It is. So, lemme try this theory I came up with. What were your thoughts when you awakened to it?"

"That's difficult to remember. I mean, I was… uh…"

"Three years old."

"I'm not gonna bother with the 'You counted?' reaction anymore, if that's what you were hoping for. But thanks. As I was saying, I can't really remember. Why'd you even think of that?"

"Well, in my case, I can remember it clearly. What I wanted was to cut through anything in path. And in the end, my manifestation was a cut through space. I asked around, everyone who was willing to share had some vaguely similar thread. So if we can work out what you were thinking at the time, that'll give us a hint, right?"

"Hmm…"

She gave it some thought for a while.

"Nope. Unfortunately, I've got nothing."

"There's one other idea that might help your memory. I've never really brought it up with the rest though, since I'd rather avoid them working out who I'm talking about. If they did they wouldn't stop making fun of me until the end of time… You remember what video games were?"

"No."

"I can't really explain them to someone like you with no memory of civilisation. Well the main point is, the reason I specifically thought of space cut is cause I'd already seen a character who used a move like that. I wanted to be like him, I guess. Well more accurately, I wanted a power like that at the time. Don't mention that to the others though, I'm only telling you this because you have no chance of getting it. Back to the point, if you had anything like an idol or a hero, it'd help if you could remember them. Your manifestation might've come from them."

"...Nope, still nothing."

"I see. Well, that's all we can do about it. I've still got more ideas though. So second…"

They tried some other methods for a while. Not a single one worked.

An irritated near-silence, as both went "Hmmmmm" in sync.

"Ok, final attempt. What do you seek revenge on?"

"Huh? What kinda question is that?"

"Just answer it."

"The monsters that took everything away from us, of course. How does that help?"

"Then think of this next… how do you intend to do that?"

"...By getting stronger?"

"That's kinda vague, but maybe it'd work. Perhaps it's some kinda physical strength up power?"

"Isn't that boring?"

"You're the one who thought of it, not me. And yeah, it'd make sense if it was that unoriginal. A three year old thought of it."

"I guess. Damn you, three year old me. That leaves us without much idea though, doesn't it?"

"You're not even gonna try."

"I already have. I can't activate anything like that. Whatever my manifestation is, it's not that straightforward."

"Then yeah, I've got nothing else."

The irritated "Hmm"s returned.

"Wouldn't it be best if you just stayed off the front lines for the time being?"

Fallon's mood instantly shifted.

"This again!?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I can fight just fine!"

"Fine is debatable. If you wanna help out, then stay back until you've worked out what your manifestation is."

"I won't figure it out by doing nothing. I'm gonna keep fighting, regardless of how much you wanna stop me!"

She ran off, not letting Kay get a word in.

Another sigh.

"This is hopeless, she's not gonna listen no matter how I try to explain it."

He thought some more.

"It's not like it isn't my responsibility. I'm the one who convinced the others to bring her with us… I'm the one who made her awaken by not being quick enough to save her family. So I have to do something. Just right not now, though."

The next day, the group went into combat again. The monsters this time were even more fierce than the ones they'd fought previously.

Fallon charged forwards, predictably.

"Look out!" Kay cut at the monster's arm just before it reached her, throwing it off.

Refusing to acknowledge his help, Fallon continued forwards.

A stab attack at it. She continued wildly attacking. In response, the monster countered.

Kay wasn't able to save her this time, the strike knocked her back. Blood flew through the air.

Still, she stood back up. Fallon refused to go down, much to her own detriment.

The fight continued. Unable to undergo any great epiphany or awakening of power, Fallon struggled against her opponent.

Kay continued slashing furiously, but he was unable to protect her from harm.

Fallon was knocked down again. A set of claws approached her quickly, not allowing time to recover.

As predictable as it may have been, the claws never reached her.

Kay stood between them, taking the hit. The claws tore through his body, yet he didn't seem to care.

The only reaction the man showed was relief.

"Hmm. I guess an ending like this isn't too bad, if a little overdone. It's been a long fourteen years, hasn't it? Back then, before the destruction, I was no one. Just living life aimlessly. I thought that with the power I got during it, I could be a hero. But I couldn't even do that. I wonder why it is I got the others to bring you along with us. You probably would've had a happier life staying back there with regular humans, not ones focused on revenge."

His thoughts paused, confirming something.

"It was my own selfishness. I never gave up on trying to be a hero. I convinced myself I was the only one who could save you from being alone. All that changed was that I tried being an older brother. Not that was I good one, anyways. Yep, that confirms. I was good for nothing. A complete nobody."

He turned his focus to Fallon.

"At the very least, I want you to live on and become something. That's a good enough last request, right?"

With that silent final message, his eyes closed as he fell forwards. Fallon held his body, staring forwards aimlessly.

The monster roared. The rest of the warriors were busy dealing with the other monsters present.

Fallon's thoughts finally returned.

"I'm sorry, Kay. I should've been honest with you. The truth is, I remembered from the start. I just didn't want to admit it. Maybe I only really remember it now, though. You talked about having something like a hero. That wasn't a wrong guess. I just didn't want to admit it. I knew it, from that very moment. Monsters are strong. Too strong. My family was too weak, so they died. If I'm like them, I'll die. So in that moment, the one who came in and destroyed the monsters was what I had to be. I wanted to become like you. What I want… is your power."

The monster went for another attack.

Fallon looked upwards.

An invisible blade cut through it. The slash was too shallow. It appeared again. Repeatedly cutting, until nothing remained.

The rest finally took notice, surprised at the first death from their group.

"I see." Lisa said, after hearing what happened "I knew he was protective, but I'd never expected something like this. ...Oh yeah, don't be too hard on yourself over this. I know that it's difficult but… you shouldn't blame yourself."

"Don't worry, I won't."

"...Huh?"

"It's sad that he died, but he was satisfied. It was sort of what he wanted, deep down."

"...How could you tell?"

"I dunno. Just a feeling. Oh, but there's good news. I'm not going to be useless anymore, and we haven't lost much. That's because…"

A tree nearby was cut down instantly.

"I've got his manifestation now."

1299

The group of warriors continued on, fighting everything they saw. The monsters only got more powerful. Eventually, there were just two left.

That number was about to decrease even further.

"Looks like that bastard got me good…" Lisa muttered, looking at the blood on her hands. "Even my armour couldn't do a thing."

"So this is the end, huh?" Fallon asked.

She hadn't changed in the slightest since that day. Her existence was locked in at the moment Kay died.

"It is for me, but it's not all over yet. Not with your world. I'm just going there, is all."

"I guess that's true."

"Well from how you've described it, everyone must be waiting there, so it can't be that bad, right? Though it is annoying that I'm not going to live to see the end of this myself."

"Yeah. If only I was a little faster…"

"There's no point in regretting things. The only thing we can do is solve the problem. But that's all up to you now.. Mm. I'll pass it onto you. Our fight, and my role. You have to be the leader of the fight against the monsters now. Life won't return to normal until they're gone. So… I leave it… to you…"

With those final words, her eyes closed.

Fallon stood up. She felt the manifestation flow into her once more. Lisa's existence became absorbed into the world.

That left her without an idea of what to do.

"Hey, what should I do?" She asked the world.

"Gathering allies would be a good start. You can have all the power you want, but on your own you can only cover so much ground."

"Hmm… then in that case, I guess we should go check up on the ones who decided to rebuild. Haven't seen them in what… how long was it?"

"Over a millennium."

"You counted?"