Kill, Kill, Kill

The first ray of sunlight fell, lighting up the entire street. The gray mist was rapidly dissipating, and the moth-dust floating in the air began to burn with faint crackling sounds.

For the first time, the face on his back showed genuine terror. It let out a continuous, sharp screech as a massive amount of grayish-white scale-dust spewed from the wound in an attempt to recreate the thick mist.

But it was already too late.

Sunlight was appearing, growing brighter by the second. The eastern sky lit up bit by bit. One ray, two rays, three rays... Countless beams of dawn pierced through the gaps between the buildings and fell onto the street.

Ryan slowly stood up straight, his entire body trembling. It wasn't from fear, but because his Lantern's glow was running wild. His left eye burned like a red-hot branding iron. Cracks continuously webbed across his skin, blood seeping out only to be instantly seared dry and cauterized.

In his vision, the entire world had changed. The residual light from the gas lamps, the light reflecting off the glass windows, the light shimmering in the puddles, and even the increasingly bright dawn in the sky—all of it transformed into countless golden threads of light, converging toward his left eye.

The sensation was indescribable. The flame that had slept through the night had finally found its fuel.

The Edge-man clearly sensed this as well. Without hesitation, he lunged forward instantly. He had to kill Ryan. Now. Immediately. Otherwise, he would be the one to die.

Boom! The stone pavers exploded. His towering figure turned into a blur, moving even faster than he had all night. The bone blade sliced through the air with a piercing shriek, aiming straight for Ryan's neck.

But this time, Ryan didn't retreat. He didn't even dodge. Because he saw it. With his Lantern's glow pushed to its absolute limit, the Edge-man's movements seemed to slow down for the first time. The trajectory of the bone blade, the exertion of his muscles, the shift of his center of gravity—everything was as clear as if it were written on paper.

He tilted his body slightly. The bone blade grazed past his shoulder, drawing a spray of blood. At the same time, he raised his left hand.

A beam of light far more blinding than before erupted.

Boom! The Edge-man took a direct hit. His chest exploded instantly, sending flesh and blood flying as his towering body was thrown backward, collapsing half a brick wall.

Yet, it wasn't over. The face on his back was still alive. It screamed frantically, constantly spewing grayish-white dust as the wounds slowly began to knit back together. That face was the key to the Soul-Stitching Ritual.

Simon noticed this too. Covered in blood, he leaned against the wall to stand up, his voice hoarse. “The face. Hit the face!”

Ryan nodded. In the next second, the Edge-man lunged out of the ruins once more, driven completely mad. The front of his body was responsible for slaughter, while the face on his back handled recovery. Both aspects were pushed to their absolute limits. The street collapsed continuously, walls cracking and debris flying everywhere. This was no longer a normal battle; it was a clash between monsters.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After several consecutive clashes, Ryan was forced back repeatedly. Nosebleed dripped down his chin, his mental energy pushed to its absolute limit. Every time his Lantern's glow flared, a tearing pain shot through his left eye.

But the sun in the east was rising. The light grew more abundant, growing brighter and brighter. All of East Port was waking up, and the power of the Lantern grew stronger with it.

Finally, at a certain moment, the Edge-man lunged again. His bone blades tore through the air, and the face on his back opened its mouth, preparing to unleash one final illusion.

Right at that instant, Simon moved. Using the last of his strength, he slammed violently into the creature's side.

Boom! The two crashed into the ruins together. Simon held onto him in a death grip. Blood gushed continuously from his wounds, yet he refused to let go.

“Ryan!” he roared at the top of his lungs.

Ryan stopped in his tracks and slowly raised his head. At this very moment, the sun finally crested the horizon, truly rising. Golden sunlight illuminated the port, the sea, the city, and the entire street.

Countless rays of light converged, flooding into his left eye. Ryan suddenly recalled the feeling when he first touched the Lantern's glow.

In the darkness, the light of the Lantern would always guide the way.

And so, he raised his hand. There was no shouting, no roaring. He simply stared quietly at the struggling face, then compressed all the light into a single point.

In the next second, the world lit up.

There was no sound—at least, none that Ryan could hear. His vision was entirely swallowed by a blinding white light, as if the sun had exploded right in front of him. The entire street was consumed.

A few seconds later, the light dissipated. In the center of the ruins lay a massive crater several yards wide. The stone pavers had melted, the walls were charred black, and a scorching heat still lingered in the air.

The struggling Edge-man was gone. The front half of his body had been completely vaporized, and only a charred fragment of the face on his back remained. It twitched weakly for a moment before snapping and crumbling entirely into ash.

The street finally fell silent. Only the sound of the wind and the distant sirens from the port remained. It was over.

Ryan stood frozen, his body swaying as he nearly collapsed. A sharp, intense pain throbbed in his left eye. He knew he had reached his limit.

Simon stumbled out of the ruins, his face frightfully pale. He glanced at the pile of ash, not bothering to get any closer, and spat, “Let's go.”

Ryan dazed for a moment. “Should we confirm...”

“Confirm my ass,” Simon wheezed. “It's burned to ash. What is there to look at?”

Simon panted heavily. “The sun is up. If we don't leave now, the police will be here.”

Simon picked up his cane and dragged his heavily injured body away. Ryan gathered his tattered coat, gritted his teeth, and followed. The two made their way through the ruins and left the street.

In the distance, the city was starting to wake up. Carriages appeared, workers hit the streets, and breakfast shops began to open. No one knew what kind of brutal battle had taken place here just a few hours ago.

After walking two streets, Ryan finally couldn't hold on any longer. His vision darkened, and the sounds around him faded away. All he could see was a blur of sunlight, and the last thing he heard was Simon cursing.

“Dammit, don't pass out on me now...”

In the next second, the world plunged into darkness. Ryan collapsed straight to the ground, completely losing consciousness.

...

The street returned to silence. The morning mist was dispersing, and the eastern sunlight crept up the rooftops bit by bit. The traces of last night's battle remained shocking. Stone pavers were shattered, walls had collapsed, a fallen gas lamp lay across the roadside, and blood slowly trickled down the storm drain.

The corpse still lay in the middle of the street. The towering frame had completely lost all signs of life. Its chest was caved in, its head shattered, and the face on its back charred black.

The entire street was eerily quiet, as if all sound had been consumed by the previous night's slaughter. Time ticked by. It was hard to say how much time had passed.

Suddenly, the corpse twitched slightly. It was extremely faint—so subtle that if anyone had been there, they would have assumed it was merely the wind rustling its clothes.

In the next second, deep within the charred wound, something crawled out. It was a bug. It was tiny, barely the size of a fingernail, grayish-white all over, and covered in fine, dense fuzz.

It slowly crawled out from the eye socket of the charred face on the corpse's back. Its movements were sluggish, yet possessed a skin-crawling vitality.

The bug paused for a moment, its two tiny antennae twitching gently. Then, it crawled toward the other end of the street, leaving a thin, wet trail behind.

It was hard to imagine that the final survivor of last night's battle would be such an insignificant little creature. It crawled forward bit by bit, moving faster and faster, desperate to escape this place, escape the sunlight, and escape death.

“If only... if only I can reach that place...” The moth-face on it constantly shifted.

However, just as it was about to crawl into the shadows, a figure silently appeared at the end of the street. High heels stepped through the puddles with a crisp click. Her black gown swayed slightly, and a wide-brimmed hat obscured her face. The sunlight fell upon her, yet it was warped by some mysterious force.

The woman slowly came to a halt and looked down at the ground, her gaze falling upon the bug.

The bug froze instantly. Sensing an incomprehensible terror, its body writhed frantically. It wanted to flee, yet it couldn't move an inch.

The woman didn't say a word, merely watching in silence. After a moment, she took a step forward, bringing down her black high heel. Her movement was elegant, calm, and even leisurely.

The heel touched the ground first, followed by the sole slowly pressing down. The bug struggled desperately, curling its body tightly as grayish-white scale-dust drifted into the air. But it was entirely futile.

A very faint crunch echoed, like stepping on a berry or crushing an ant.

Her sole planted firmly on the ground, and the street returned to silence. The woman didn't lift her foot immediately, pausing for a couple of seconds instead. Then, she twisted her heel slightly, grinding it down gently.

When she finally lifted her foot, nothing remained on the ground except a small patch of grayish-white powder, which was quickly scattered by the morning breeze and vanished.

The woman watched quietly for a moment, then raised her head to look in the direction Ryan had gone. Beneath the shadow of her wide-brimmed hat, her expression was unreadable, though the corner of her mouth seemed to curve into a faint smile.

The distant port sirens wailed as a new day began. Workers would soon start their shifts, the police would arrive, and City Hall would send people to investigate.

Yet no one would ever know what had truly happened here last night. Nor would anyone know that a creature which might have survived had been completely erased, leaving not even a trace behind.

The woman withdrew her gaze and turned to leave. Her long gown brushed through the morning mist as her high heels tapped against the stone pavers.

The sound drifted further and further away. A few seconds later, she vanished at the end of the street, as if she had never been there at all. Only the sunlight slowly cascaded down, shining upon the gradually cooling corpse.