Hina raised her sword, her eyes narrowed. "So, his power is gravity, huh?" she asked.

  "Yeah," Code nodded. 'I'm sure Finn discovered something else,' he thought.

  "You see, I have no business with you," Terror announced, addressing Hina. "All I need is the kid with the special blood."

  "Huh?" Code's mouth fell open.

  'Special blood?' Hina repeated, her brows furrowing. 'What's he talking about?'

  The memory flashed.

  One week ago, after Code joined the guild—Ackerman House.

  Van walked into the living room and immediately spotted Hina sitting on the floor, her back resting against the sofa opposite the TV. She was busy playing a video game and eating snacks.

  "Do you ever get tired of this?" Van asked as he settled onto the sofa.

  "It's called escaping reality, duh," Hina said flatly.

  "Good grief," Van sighed, blinking in boredom.

  Hina's free hand slipped into the pack of snacks.

  "You didn't mention we're getting a new guild member," she said, crunching.

  "I didn't?" Van asked.

  "You didn't," Hina replied.

  "My bad, then," Van apologized. "You know I only take special people into the guild, so rest assured, he's special."

  "Hmm?" Hina hummed, her eyes fixed on the TV.

  Van paused for a moment before continuing. "Code's a zero, just like you."

  Upon hearing this, Hina dropped the controller and turned to face Van behind her.

  Silence filled the room as Hina stared into Van's eyes for a long while before finally blinking.

  "Hm, guess you're not lying," she said, turning back and picking up the gamepad.

  "However, unlike you, the demon that possessed him is unknown," Van continued. "But I'm sure of one thing: his power lies in his blood."

  His tone turned serious as he stood.

  "Do me a favor and protect him in the worst-case scenario. There might be people out there who know about this," Van said. "And it's inevitable that they'll come after him," he added.

  Hina jolted back to reality.

  "Hey, you okay?" Code asked.

  "Yeah, I'm good," Hina replied. Her gaze hardened as it locked onto Terror.

  'So he knows about Code's powers, huh?' she thought. 'And he wants him because of his blood?'

  She sheathed her sword, and called Code.

  "Huh?" Code answered, leaning in.

  Hina drew closer and whispered some words into his ear.

  "Ah?" Code gasped.

  Terror blinked slowly, calmly watching them.

  "Ready?" Hina said aloud, her gaze sliding back to Terror.

  "Yeah," Code muttered, his eyes narrowing.

  "Then," Hina turned. "Let's go!" she shouted.

  Code and Hina instantly spun and ran away with swift motions.

  "Huh?" Terror exclaimed, shocked. "Boy oh boy, I was expecting something bolder," he said casually, raising his right palm toward their backs as they fled.

  The Rubik's Cube above his head pulsed.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Pull," Terror commanded.

  The air, which had been flowing away from Terror, suddenly halted and gradually began to flow back toward him, like a time rewind.

  "Arrgh," Code exhaled as he raced through the field. His coat flapped backward, pulled by the effect.

  "Come!" Terror said as the effect reached Code.

  "Nnn!" Code gritted his teeth, the force hauling him backward toward Terror.

  "You can't run away from Terror," Terror muttered as Code neared.

  He raised his left palm, a translucent field shimmering over it.

  "You've been a bother long enough," Terror growled, throwing the palm upward.

  "Push." The force blasted out and hurtled toward Code's legs.

  "I'll start by taking those legs, so you won't be able to run away," Terror said.

  The force reached Code, but just as it was about to strike, realization hit Terror.

  His gaze snapped upward, his eyes widening.

  "Where's she?" he whispered.

  Hina was nowhere to be found.

  The cube rattled, then came the whisper. "Sword Art..."

  "When did—?" Terror spun and immediately spotted Hina, crouched in stance with her sword drawn and gleaming as darkness engulfed it.

  'How fast is this human?' Terror exclaimed inwardly. 'She couldn't have reached here in such a short time.'

  "However!" Terror roared, swinging his left palm.

  The devastating force emanated, splitting the air and floor as it swung toward Hina's side.

  "No, you don't!" Code yelled, grabbing Terror's left palm just before it reached Hina.

  The force vaporized everything mere inches from Hina. A burst of dark tenzen unleashed from Hina's sword, transforming into a crescent-shaped wave of darkness.

  "Void Crescent!" Hina screamed as she swung.

  The memory returned.

  "We're running," Hina whispered into Code's ear.

  "Huh?" Code gasped.

  "But this time, you're going to be the decoy," Hina continued. "All you need to do is distract him and make him use both techniques, then I'll strike."

  ...

  'Yes! It was all for this!' Hina thought as her foot struck the soil, cracking it.

  'There!' she locked onto the spinning cube above Terror.

  'Every time he's about to land an attack, the cube spins,' she thought. 'That can only mean one thing!'

  'If we destroy it, we'll win.'

  "Slash!" Hina roared as her sword connected with the cube.

  Time appeared to slow.

  The cube's sides bulged inward, compressing from the slash.

  'Move!' Hina strained, forcing all her strength into her arms.

  The cube shifted, then an invincible force burst out in every direction.

  'Dammit!' Hina's jaw clenched as she raised her sword in defense.

  The force connected with metal. The impact pushed her backward, crashing through the ground until she slammed into a distant wall.

  Afterward, the cube spun at space-warping velocity before swinging away and crashing into the floor meters away with a devastating thud.

  Dust and debris spiraled into the air.

  "What the—!" Terror exclaimed, staring at the shattered cube.

  Hina sprang up, her face smeared with blood.

  "Code, now!" she screamed, her voice rippling through the air and echoing.

  "Yeah!" Code boomed, drawing a leg backward as he took a stance.

  'He was still here?' Terror realized, turning rapidly.

  "Muscle Enhancement..." Code said. His muscles hardened, blood boiled, bones compressed.

  'All this time, my punches had no effect on him,' Code thought.

  FLASHBACK.

  "Next time you encounter a demon..." Ken said, walking away.

  "...aim for the anti-tenzen core."

  'And that core is located in his heart!' Code screamed internally.

  "Final Smash!" He shouted, throwing an air-churning blow toward Terror's heart.

  "What do you think you can do, you weakling!" Terror raged.

  "Die!" Code's fist connected.

  The punch sent a ripple blasting from Terror's back.

  His heart thudded. His eyes went bloodshot. Blood spurted out of his mouth.

  "Shit." The impact exploded Terror's left chest as blood splattered out of his nostrils.

  But Code wasn't done. He stomped his foot, then bent downward, hauling Terror's body toward the earth.

  Tremors shook the land as Terror's body smashed into it, the recoil sending him flying upward.

  Terror landed on his feet, gasping for breath, his gaze locked on the blood trickling to the ground.

  "Fucking bastards!" he shouted, his head rising instantly.

  However, "Sword Art!" Hina was already mid-air, her sword whirling toward Terror's neck.

  "Terror!" Shockwaves unleashed as Code reached Terror, his fist driving into the demon's stomach.

  'This is the end, Terror,' Code thought. 'I win.'

  'Pathetic,' Terror hissed, calmly straightening.

  Time gradually slowed, Hina halting mid-air, Code freezing mid-lunge.

  "I'll hand it to you. Your flimsy strength was enough to hold me for three seconds," Terror spoke.

  He slowly raised both arms, pointing in east-west directions.

  Shards gradually floated into the air, coming together, as they transformed into the same Rubik's cube Hina had just destroyed.

  Hina's eyes followed the cube as it spun to Terror until it hovered above his head.

  The cube began to spin rapidly, so fast its edges blurred into curves until it formed a sphere.

  Terror's lips parted, and the chant began.

  "Gravity Sphere: Duality Field."

  The entire space dissolved into darkness.

  'Huh? What's this?' Code muttered.

  'Fuck!' Hina's eyes went wide. 'He has a sphere?'

  'A sphere where the 'push' and 'pull' effects are compressed into a single effect.'

  Then came the cold voice.

  "Singularity Nova."

  What followed was catastrophe. A supernatural force exploded outwards from the centre, and at the same time, another force imploded towards the centre. The two effects superposed, causing the entire space to fold inwards, while also bending outwards at the same time.

  Reality restored to normal.

  The ground, air, and buildings were unchanged.

  "Eh?" Code said, his bloodshot eyes widened in horror as he stared at Terror, who stood calm with the Rubik's Cube above his head.

  But the real problem was Code himself. His body, from the head to waist, was normal. But below?

  Nothing remained. His legs had been reduced to nothing.

  Blood dropped to the ground as Code's upper body fell with a wet sound.

  "What happened?" Code couldn't explain.

  Far behind Terror lay an exploded building, and inside it was unconscious Hina, her organs crushed, body battered, blood spread all over her and the ground.

  "What a pain," Terror sighed as the cube's spinning slowed.