Something snapped around his leg from down on the ground, and instantly—

KAAABOOOOOOOM!

A skyscraper was severed in half as White was ruthlessly smashed through the building before being slammed into the ground by whatever was holding him.

GASPS!

A gasp of pure pain left his lips, blood spurting out, yet he reacted with insane speed, his wings reaching out and cleaving whatever had hold of his leg, sending him rolling before crashing through a skyscraper.

"Tch. Talk of bad timing."

White forced out with an annoyed expression, the system panel flashing before him.

[Energy: 140/1,000]

He was already beyond exhausted, just to get sneak attacked.

Still, he didn’t understand.

What exactly was that?

He remained in the building, senses spread outward, and quickly, he mapped out the silhouette of a figure walking toward him.

"Huh?"

His eyes opened, looking forward, where a young man was slowly approaching him.

White felt a wave of familiarity hit him, and when the body finally stepped through the broken structure, he was able to make out the figure distinctly, and he couldn’t hide his shock.

"Innumaki!?"

He called out in disbelief.

The person before him was none other than Innumaki, the soulless-eyed boy who used to be his previous neighbour.

The one who had that familiar thing that fought for him.

What was its name again?

"Thinking of a name?"

The voice asked, and White unconsciously took two steps back from the sound of it.

It was grating to the ear, like nails grinding against nails.

That made White realise instantly.

This wasn’t Innumaki.

Innumaki had a clear, feminine-like voice that made one laugh.

That could only mean one thing.

"Irasul."

White said, his eyes growing cold.

This was the creature that he had fought the last time, though it was defeated and forced to abscond due to Innumaki’s own weakness.

"At least he remembers my name."

Irasul said, and by the wording of the sentence, White’s suspicions were confirmed.

"Innumaki... are you there?"

"He can hear you perfectly."

Irasul responded.

"Snap out of it, Innumaki. You control your summon, not the other way around."

He shouted as Irasul threw his head back and laughed, a spine-chilling laugh.

"We don’t control the other. We’ve long surpassed that stage..."

it said in that grating tone.

"Now... we’re one."

This time, the voice wasn’t grating, but clear and feminine.

"InnumakI?."

"Our abilities and combat strength are best used if I’m in control, though, so I take over for the fights."

The grating voice of Irasul reappeared as White hummed, then scoffed.

"So what are you here for? Unable to swallow a loss, you came for me even after half a year?"

he asked mockingly, watching as space began to crack apart, and from within, they began to tear out—

Pitch-black tentacles that poured out slimy liquid which burned holes into the ground.

"Even if I didn’t word it the last time, it was clear to us both that our battle was never over."

Irasul replied.

"If we have a feud in the academy, then we take it back to the academy. You can challenge me there. What use is fighting during an Outerschool Mission?"

White asked.

"Because here... we can do more than just fight..."

Irasul said, and a wide grin appeared on its face, dark slimy liquid pouring out of his mouth as its hands slowly reached downward.

"Here... we can kill!"

VROOOOOM!

The air parted, not from force of movement but from pure corrosion, as the tentacles rushed forward toward White, who somersaulted backward, throwing himself high as five tentacles swept past him.

One ripped straight toward his torso, and he raised his head, using its force to send himself flying further back.

"Activate Zero Crown!"

White said, just as eight massive tentacles slammed into him from all sides, each dragging him meters away.

CRAAACK!

The sound of clear cracking echoed out, and White’s face changed.

There were runic lines upon the tentacles, holding an unbearable power that could break through Zero Crown.

[You’re too weak right now. Your techniques are barely at 20% of their true power. Run!]

The system panel flashed, and White gritted his teeth, speeding away.

"You’re going to die here today."

Irasul said as White skidded to a stop, suddenly finding him seven meters above his head.

"He can teleport... of course."

He mused, taking a sharp turn and dashing forward.

The tentacles came flying, slamming continuously into him, only to be stopped by Zero Crown, but he knew that wouldn’t last long.

"Thirty minutes... that’s all I’ve got before I run out of energy and Zero Crown fails!"

White mused, racing forward with sustained speed, passing through corners after corners to lower the effectiveness of the tentacles.

"I need to recover my energy."

It occurred to him, but with how Innumaki kept appearing in the air above, chasing him down with the tentacles without attacking himself—

Something was obviously clear.

The creature knew what it was doing.

It could see White was already exhausted, and was simply waiting for him to run out of energy, after which it could crush him easily.

"I can’t escape him. Then... I need a level-up card."

White thought quickly.

The only pending mission right now was the Supernal count, but... there were still nine more Supernaturals left for the mission to complete.

"I need to kill nine more Supernaturals in thirty minutes..."

White mused, and at once, his senses rapidly spread out as he began to map out Supernal waves.

In that moment, his runic hand emerged through a building, grabbing an iron steel bar as he did.

He broke out of that building, appearing in the air before—

VROOOOOOOM!

The impact sounded as the metallic rod blasted downward, pinning a dog-like Supernal creature to the ground and killing it in one swift strike.

[Supernal Count: 501/509]

"Need eight more."

White mused, rushing into the glass door of another skyscraper as he sped forward, carving one hole through a wall.

SCREEECH!

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

[Supernal Count: 502/509]

"Seven left."