CHAPTER 2: THE DRAGON BERSERKER
Arman Alan, his sister, and her friends were sitting inside an inn.
The atmosphere was tense.
Lisa and her friends had been transported to an unknown world, witnessed monsters, and watched Arman annihilate an entire horde with a single ability.
Naturally, they had countless questions.
Lisa was the first to speak.
Lisa: "How do you know about this place? And... why are we here?"
Arman leaned back slightly, his expression calm despite everything that had happened.
Arman: "I know about this place because I lived here."
He paused for a moment before adding,
Arman: "And honestly, I'd like to ask myself the same question about why we're here."
Lisa stared at him in disbelief.
Lisa: "What do you mean, you lived here?! You're with me most of the time! When could you possibly have lived in a place like this? How does that even make sense?!"
Arman looked at her silently for a few seconds.
Then, his expression softened.
Arman: "When the time comes, I'll tell you everything."
He looked directly into her eyes.
Arman: "So... please trust me."
Lisa remained silent.
She was still shocked by his answer, and her mind was filled with questions. Nothing made sense anymore.
Her brother, whom she thought she knew her entire life, had suddenly revealed powers she never knew he possessed.
He knew about another world.
And apparently...
He had once lived here.
Despite her confusion, Lisa slowly nodded.
She trusted him.
Her friends, however, weren't willing to wait that long.
Sakura leaned forward.
Sakura: "So... what exactly is this place? What is Neuron?"
Arman took a deep breath.
Arman: "Neuron is one of the planets that exists within the GAP SPACE."
Sakura blinked in confusion.
Sakura: "And what exactly is the GAP SPACE?"
Arman: "The space... or rather, the gap between different universes is known as the GAP SPACE."
Yuta's eyes widened.
Yuta: "Different universes?"
He stared at Arman in disbelief.
Yuta: "Wait... you're saying there is more than one universe?"
Arman: "Yes."
The answer was simple.
Too simple.
But what Arman said next made their expressions turn serious.
Arman: "The GAP SPACE is divided into two territories."
Everyone listened carefully.
Arman: "The species we fought in the mountains are known as the Skotians. They constantly attempt to invade other universes and conquer them."
Lisa remembered the horrifying monsters with the faces of bulls.
A chill ran down her spine.
Arman: "They live on the other side of the GAP SPACE."
His voice became colder.
Arman: "A place known as... the Abyss."
Shinji frowned.
Shinji: "Then why did they come here?"
Arman looked toward him.
Arman: "Obviously, they want to take over this side of the GAP SPACE."
Before anyone could ask another question...
The door of the inn opened.
CREAK...
A young man entered.
He had a strikingly handsome face and long green hair tied into a ponytail. His clothes were beautifully designed, but what caught everyone's attention was the crest on his chest.
A tiger.
Above the tiger crest...
A shining star.
The entire inn fell silent.
Several other men entered behind him. They wore similar uniforms and had the same tiger crest, but none of them had a star above it.
The green-haired young man looked frustrated.
No...
He looked disappointed.
The moment Arman saw him, his eyes widened slightly.
Then, without wasting a second, Arman summoned a long black piece of cloth and covered himself with it.
It resembled a hoodie, but it was far longer, covering most of his body and hiding his face in shadows.
Lisa noticed his sudden reaction.
But before she could ask anything, another man wearing the same uniform approached the green-haired young man.
"Captain Kim..."
His voice was filled with nervousness.
"I'm sorry to say this, but we were unable to find the DRAGON BERSERKER."
Silence.
For a moment...
No one moved.
Then the entire inn erupted into whispers.
"The Dragon Berserker?! Is he here?"
"And that man... is Captain Kim?!"
"Yes! Look at the tiger crest and the star on his uniform! And his green hair! There's no doubt about it!"
Another voice spoke in shock.
"Then he must be..."
"THE TIGER BERSERKER!"
The young man's name was Kim Agnus.
He was extremely famous throughout the GAP SPACE.
He was the successor of the powerful Agnus Family and the captain of the White Tiger Squad.
However, the thing that made him famous above everything else...
Was his title.
THE TIGER BERSERKER.
Kim's eyes narrowed.
His expression darkened.
Then...
"SILENCE!"
His voice echoed throughout the inn.
The pressure behind his voice was so overwhelming that every conversation immediately stopped.
The inn became completely silent.
Kim turned toward his subordinate.
Kim: "I definitely felt the Mystic Aura there."
His eyes moved around the inn.
Searching.
Watching.
Kim: "Where is he?"
His subordinate hesitated.
"Sir... perhaps you sensed another Berserker's Mystic Aura."
Kim slowly turned his head toward him.
His eyes became cold.
Kim: "You think I can't differentiate between his aura... and another Berserker's aura?"
The subordinate immediately lowered his head.
"N-No, sir!"
Meanwhile, Lisa and her friends were listening to their conversation with confused expressions.
Lisa leaned closer to Arman, keeping her voice low.
Lisa: "What are they talking about? What exactly is a Berserker?"
Yuta looked toward Kim.
Yuta: "And who is this Dragon Berserker? Why did everyone become so excited when they heard that name?"
Arman's expression became serious.
Arman: "Let's get out of here."
Lisa blinked.
Lisa: "What? But you said you would answer—"
Arman: "Later."
His tone left no room for argument.
Arman grabbed Lisa's hand and quickly walked out of the inn with her friends.
But...
Kim was watching them.
The moment Arman walked away, Kim's eyes narrowed.
Something felt familiar.
That black cloth.
The mysterious aura.
And the person hiding beneath it...
Kim's eyes widened.
"WAIT!"
Arman and the others didn't stop.
Kim immediately rushed after them.
"STOP!"
But they continued running.
Kim's expression darkened.
He accelerated.
His speed increased rapidly as he closed the distance between them.
Lisa looked behind her in panic.
Lisa: "ARMAN! HE'S CATCHING UP TO US!"
Kim stretched his hand forward.
He was only a few meters away.
Just as he was about to grab Arman—
Arman spoke.
"TELEPORT."
WHOOSH!
In an instant, Arman, Lisa, Sakura, Yuta, and Shinji disappeared.
Kim's hand grabbed nothing but empty air.
He stopped.
His face was filled with shock.
Then...
A slow smile appeared on his face.
Kim: "So it was you..."
Far away from the inn, Arman and the others suddenly reappeared.
Lisa immediately pulled her hand away and stared at Arman.
Her friends were equally confused.
Lisa: "Why were we running?! Who was that guy?!"
Sakura: "Why was he chasing us?!"
Yuta: "And what was all that talk about the Dragon Berserker?!"
Shinji looked at Arman.
Shinji: "Don't tell me..."
Arman remained silent.
Everyone stared at him.
The pressure became unbearable.
Finally...
Arman looked at them.
His expression was completely serious.
Then he spoke.
Arman: "I AM THE DRAGON BERSERKER."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Lisa's eyes widened.
Sakura's mouth slowly fell open.
Yuta froze.
Shinji stared at him as if his brain had stopped working.
For several seconds...
Nobody said anything.
Then, all four of them shouted at the exact same time.
"WHHHHAAAAATTTTT?!"