Science/Magic

After the teleportation succeeded, Number Eight appeared in the underground tunnels of Academy City, inside one of Returning Dusk's research facilities.

These tunnels had been built by Returning Dusk through the years, creating a red of tunnels that spread throughout the entire city. They were the perfect place to hide, run, and perform forbidden experiments.

In fact, there were tunnels like these in many other cities throughout the continent. They were the result of Returning Dusk's hundreds of years of work.

"It's unexpected that I had to retreat like this, though." Number Eight muttered to himself.

Today's attack was the result of many years of planning. He had carefully perfected this plan to bring down Academy City and nurture a powerful Blighted, taking every possible variable he could think of into account.

Even with powerhouses like Eve, Kallevang, and Regina in the city, Number Eight was still confident. He was sure that everything would go as planned.

But–

'These bastards of the Church of Slaughter and King's Shadows are useless. They were unable to control a couple of demigods even with their numbers. Also, the Church of Fate was supposed to not intervene… Why did Kallevang interfere then?'

Even after so many years of planning, Academy City managed to remain standing.

Moreover, after the failure of today's attack, many other parties will reconsider Academy City's strength and hesitate about attacking it.

In other words, Returning Dusk would need a couple of years more at the very least to bring Academy City's down.

'Sigh, this is troublesome.'

The fall of Academy City was crucial for Returning Dusk's plans. As long as Academy City was standing, the continent won't be engulfed in war.

Academy City was a symbol. A place that showed that the different races could coexist and pursue the same objective. It was synonymous with peace.

It was a place that should not exist.

'We will have to change our plans after this.'

Number Eight put on a pensive expression as he walked through the research facility. Eventually, he reached a room that had been strongly sealed by a powerful magic array to stop anyone from entering it.

"Well, at least this part of the plan succeeded." Number Eight chuckled as he put his hand in the magic array.

Then, the magic array was deactivated, allowing Number Eight to enter the room.

Inside this room was the result of his many years of research. A Blighted creature that was stronger than any other creature out there.

The creature had a humanoid shape with gray skin and countless tentacles on its body. Its hair had been completely replaced by tentacles, and eight powerful tentacles came out of its back.

It was the perfect specimen that he nurtured with great care with the only purpose of helping him to take the next step. A Blighted creature at the peak of demigod.

And today, he fed it with the mana and souls of thousands of lives of Academy City, making its strength even greater.

Number Eight could feel it. If he fused with this creature, he could finally become stronger again.

He could become an Irregular!

This world's fourth Irregular.

But just then–

*Spurt!*

A blade pierced his heart from behind.

"Ugh…" Number Eight groaned in pain and his eyes opened wide in surprise. He then looked behind in rage. "Who!?"

Be when he saw the short gray hair and the dark skin of the girl behind him, his expression became astonished.

"You… You are alive!"

"Surprised?" The girl smiled. "Yeah, I'm alive and well."

"Impossible! I saw you die with my own eyes!"

"The eyes can sometimes make mistakes." The girl sneered.

She then pulled out her sword and kicked Number Eight's back, slamming him against a wall.

"I have dreamed of this day for many years." The girl murmured slowly as she walked towards Number Eight. "The day when I finally kill you."

Despite her calm appearance, though, her eyes burned with so much hatred that it seemed to make the air around her sticky.

"So you are here for revenge, huh." Number Eight chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I see. So I'm going to die today."

He was injured very badly, and the girl's attack had drained all his remaining mana. Moreover, now that he paid attention to his surroundings, he realized that he couldn't feel the slightest sign of life inside the facility.

Everybody had been killed by the girl in front of him.

He would have not failed to notice it normally, but he was so badly injured by Bloed, Regina, and the others, that he overlooked the strangeness of this place because he felt that he was 'safe'.

"Any last words?" The girl asked indifferently.

Number Eight stared at her calmly before chuckling.

"None."

The girl nodded and raised her sword.

Then–

*Swish!*

Number Eight's fell on the ground with his eyes wide open.

The girl did not show any sign of happiness after beheading him. Even though she killed her most hated enemy, she did not seem glad or at peace.

She just walked inside the room, where the Blighted creature was looking at her in a daze.

Getting access to this room was the only reason she did not kill Number Eight as soon as he appeared in the facility.

"Brother…" She looked at the creature with an expression of sadness.

"Anne, is that you?" The creature suddenly spoke up. It looked towards the girl dazedly and its lips curved into a smile. "So you really came to save me."

"I did, brother. I did." The girl smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I missed you, sister. Being here is so painful. Every day I feel like I'm in hell, and the voices… The voices don't stop. They whisper evils in my mind, all the time."

"Sorry, brother, I was late." The girl bit her lips and tears rolled down her cheeks. She let go of her sword and walked towards the creature, not hesitating to hug it despite how horrifying it looked. "Sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, sister." The creature hugged her back. "I forgive you. Now… You just need to become oNe WiTh Me."

And, its tentacles pierced the girl's body.

The girl froze. She looked at the creature in a daze, only to see it smirking disgustingly.

"So you are not my brother anymore, huh." She smiled sadly.

"WhAT Do yOU ThINk!?"

"FOoliSH giRL. YouR BRothER DIEd LonG AGo!"

"DON't yOu MiSs hIM? THEn bECome ONe wITH US!"

The girl laughed. She laughed desolately and tears rolled down her cheek. "So she was right, after all. My brother really died."

"I told you, your brother did not exist anymore." A voice suddenly resounded in the room.

The girl nodded with a bitter smile. "Yeah, you told me."

Strangely, the two voices sounded exactly the same. It was as though she was talking to herself, or as if two people were inhabiting the same body.

Then, the coat that she was wearing fell on the ground.

In the next instant, countless tentacles surged out of her body. The tentacles then pierced towards the creature, injuring it gravely.

"WHaT Is ThIS!?"

The creature shouted in rage and fear. It tried to struggle but its body was completely immobile. Moreover, it could feel the energy inside its body being devoured by the girl's tentacles.

"NO!"

"IMpoSIbLE!"

"WhO!? wHO BeTRAyED Us!?"

It looked at the girl and its eyes became red in rage.

"TRaiTOr!"

"tRAItoR!"

"TRaiTOR!"

"Yes, I'm a traitor." The girl sighed. "But what is wrong with desiring freedom?"

With these words, she finished devouring the creature.

Once she was done, the tentacles returned to her body as though they never existed, and she was once more a normal human.

This time, though, her eyes were colder and calmer than before entering the room.

"So it looks like you finally decided to accept me as a part of you, huh. Yeah, without your brother, there is no point in keeping your humanity.

"Don't worry, I'll live like you. After all, we are one, Anne."

Just then, a voice came from behind her.

"Huh? Number Eight is dead as well?"

When the girl turned around, she saw a tall woman and a little girl looking at her curiously.

"Wait a moment, is she little Anne?" The little girl tilted her head curiously. "So you are alive, huh?"

"Dollmaker…"

"So you remember me." The little girl smiled innocently. "That is great. Then, you won't mind becoming my doll, right?"

Before the gray-haired girl could react, the little girl charged towards her!

But the gray-haired girl was faster. In an instant, she arrived in front of the little girl and grabbed her head.

Then-

*Puff!*

She tore her head off her body.

"Just another disgusting doll." The girl muttered before crushing the head in her hands.

When she was done, she looked at the tall woman that had remained quiet until now.

"Are you going to attack me as well, Solia?"

"Why should I?" The tall woman shrugged her shoulders. "Did you forget that I was the one that helped you to escape?"

"I did not forget. That is the reason I won't kill you today."

With these words, the gray-haired and dark-skinned girl walked past her.

"You have become really strong, little Anne." The tall woman smiled nostalgically.

But the girl ignored her and walked away.

Before leaving, though, she opened her mouth one last time.

"Don't call me Anne anymore. I left that name behind. Now, my name is Diodora, and I will put an end to Returning Dusk."