The One Who Rejects Both Sides
Ruko smirked at and destroyed the stone but he was envelope by a black mist but Yew and varo can't see it. "Bomboclot, what the hell is going," he get a glimpse of something that he can't remember since yesterday morning!
"What the hell is this ah AAAAAHHHH," Ruko felt in drenched of pain that he can't bear. "Ahhh gaps cough cough, what the!—
"Ruko are you okay," Ruko wake up from a painful scenario. "Huh, what the where am I cuase this not my bed."
Vark furious. "Get up you lazy bones," give Ruko a punch. "Owwowow that hurt old man," Varo sigh. "Just get up," he glared at what happen. "Uhh my head it's a bit hazy, well looks like the ruins is clean now since monsters are evaporated," he get up and feel like his drained but don't mind it.
Dust drifted off my coat as I stepped out of the crumbling ruins. The faint scent of burnt mana hung in the air — the Core was gone.
But the moment it shattered, something… marked me. A cold pressure, a whisper I couldn't quite place.
Neither Varo nor Yew noticed.
> [System: Core Neutralized.]
[Warning: Unknown Residual Signature Detected.]
[Suppressing anomaly… Success rate: 47%.]
I flexed my hand. Black lines briefly flickered beneath the skin before fading.
"Guess I'll deal with that later," I muttered, brushing off the ash.
Varo walked beside me in silence, his hood drawn low. The mysterious trader hadn't said much since the explosion. His footsteps were silent, but his presence… heavy. I could feel his eyes glance my way every few minutes, like he was studying something he couldn't understand.
"Not gonna ask what happened in there?" I asked as we reached the edge of the forest.
He gave a soft chuckle. "I already know. You touched something that wasn't meant to exist."
I raised a brow. "You make it sound like you've seen it before."
Varo only smiled faintly. "Maybe I have. Maybe I will again."
We reached Axel by sunset. The golden light made the guild sign glow like fire. I pushed the doors open — laughter and chatter filled the air. But the moment I stepped in, the noise thinned. People turned, whispering. The smell of beer and roasted meat couldn't hide the tension.
"…that's him, right? The one from the ruins."
"They said something exploded—"
"His eyes… don't look human."
I ignored them and walked to the counter. Luna smiled nervously.
"Ruko! You've been gone for three days. Everyone's been talking about you."
"What three days," Ruko shouted. "Well let them talk,causei come out with a headache, " I said. "I came to register my next quest. Alchemy-based."
Before she could reply, a familiar voice cut through the crowd.
Kazuma, of course. "Oi, Ruko, you planning to blow up another dungeon? Because I'm not cleaning up that mess again."
Aqua snorted into her drink, and Darkness leaned on her sword, smirking. "You have a dangerous aura. Even the monsters avoid you now."
Megumin's crimson eyes sparkled. "If you're turning evil, tell me first so we can form a double explosion alliance!"
I turned my head slightly, smiling — not in amusement, but detachment. "Evil, huh?"
The word echoed in my mind longer than it should have. Evil.
Funny. I'd been called worse.
"I fight for no one," I said quietly. "Not for good or evil. Both sides reek of hypocrisy."
The air in the guild shifted — laughter died, chatter froze.
"I fight for the underdogs," I continued. "For those who get trampled no matter which flag wins. That's who I am."
A man at a nearby table stood up — a knight with too much pride and not enough sense. His hand gripped his sword. "So you admit it. You're a rogue, siding with no order. Men like you are dangerous—"
He stopped midsentence. His breath hitched.
Something changed.
My smile was gone. My eyes — calm, steady — locked onto his.
The sound in the guild faded completely, like the world itself held its breath.
> [System Log: Emotional Shift Detected.]
[Predator Phase: Initiating.]
He trembled. His fingers quivered against his blade hilt.
Everyone felt it — that silent, invisible weight pressing down on their lungs. Even Kazuma flinched, eyes widening as a thin layer of frost spread across the mug in his hand.
The knight stumbled backward. "Wh… what are you…?"
I stepped forward, voice low but even. "You talk about danger like you understand it."
My tone didn't rise. It didn't need to.
Every instinct in the room screamed at them to run.
Then the smirk returned. Just a small one.
"Good," I said softly. "I was getting bored. This is gonna be fun."
That was all it took.
The knight dropped his sword and bolted out the door. A few others followed, pale and shaking.
For a moment, the guild was silent. Only the sound of Varo's steady breath broke through the tension. He was still leaning against the wall, eyes unreadable beneath his hood.
Then he spoke.
"That smile of yours," he said. "I've seen it before — on someone who destroyed half a continent."
I turned to him. "Then you'd better hope I'm not in that mood yet, cause i dont like to."
Varo chuckled softly. "Heh. Noted. But you might want to tone it down before you scare the alchemist too."
"The what?"
"Your next quest," he said, standing straight and walking past me. "The Alchemist's Guild is waiting."
I looked back at Luna, who was still pale but managed a shaky smile.
"Y-your registration… it's approved. You're to meet the guild's senior alchemist near the central plaza."
"Uhh ok," I replied simply, taking the parchment. "Umm see you around then."
As I turned to leave, whispers followed me again — quieter this time, tinged with fear.
"Did you feel that?"
"Like death was watching…"
"He smiled — and I thought my soul would freeze."
Outside, the night air felt almost peaceful.
Varo walked beside me once more, hands folded behind his back. The tension in the guild hadn't fazed him at all.
"You shouldn't let your aura loose like that," he said softly.
I glanced at him. "Yeah of curse since i don't know how, you felt it too?"
"Of course. That wasn't human. It was… instinct."
He stopped, eyes narrowing. "Tell me, Ruko. Do you even know what's growing inside you?"
I didn't answer. The mark under my skin pulsed once — faintly, but enough to notice.
> [System: Signal Distortion Detected.]
[User Condition: Stable (78%).]
"Whatever it is," I said, flexing my hand, "it can wait until after I meet the alchemist."
Varo smiled faintly. "Good. Just remember — power attracts attention. And you're shining a bit too brightly, even for this world."
We walked on under the moonlight, boots echoing against cobblestone.
Behind us, the guild's doors shut, and the rumors began to spread like wildfire.
And somewhere in the void of my system core, a faint voice flickered — Yew's unfinished program lines.
> [System Log: Host Aura exceeded safe parameters.]
[Emotional Sync adapting… Fear Index: Rising.]
[Query: Define "fun."]
I smiled at the empty air. "You'll learn soon enough."
The night deepened, and Axel's torches dimmed — but the shadow under my sleeve pulsed once more, whispering a word I couldn't hear.
For the first time since I'd arrived in this world, I felt something strange.
Not hatred. Not anger.
Something darker — like the shadow had smiled back.