The air tasted of ancient copper, stinging as it flowed through Leon’s red-gold cloth while black blood clung to his war suit like a second skin.

The blade of the Hi-no-Kami glowed when the blood on it slipped and splashed on the jagged stone mountains as Leon swung it once.

Behind him lay a sea of corpses that had been dismantled beyond recognition. The more he moved forward, the more he passed snakelike patterns that had left the earth burning.

"It is not good for us to take this route, Leon." Gia’s voice rose and faltered when the translucent panel shimmered to life before him.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Presence Detected.

Scanning...

Name: Serakel

Rank: B

Type: Infant

Hostility: Critical

Domain Influence: Spiritual Suffocation

Unique Ability: Venom Fang Scripture

’Why are you always late?’ Leon frowned when he saw countless Serakels with gleaming golden scales from afar.

"Should I change the route and navigate you in another direction instead of passing through the creatures ahead?" Gia’s voice echoed, but Leon didn’t answer. He simply drew out the second Hi-no-Kami and grinned.

"I am navigating us to a different route if you don’t talk, Leon!" Gia’s voice echoed from both Leon’s war suit and the drift shield.

"KEEP QUIET AND WATCH, GIA!"

Leon’s brow furrowed but transformed into a smile when he neared the first Serakel. "We meet again."

The Serakel with a wounded waist snarled and dashed toward Leon, breathing out the impenetrable guard wall they had formed.

When the creature’s tail sliced through the air and moved toward Leon’s waist, he turned and chopped it off using the rolling blades of the drift shield, then laughed.

"You had me at first, but not this time!"

Green blood seeped out of the chopped tail and burned the ground the moment it splashed down.

Leon gritted his teeth and rolled around the creature like light. When he dashed away, lines glowed across the creature’s entire body like cracks.

The moment it tried to chase after Leon, the body slipped apart piece by piece as if it were a dismantled puzzle.

’This is what you get for hurting me earlier.’ Leon shifted his gaze and dashed through the silver Serakels.

Arms and horned heads flew into the air like rocket stones while the blade of the Hi-no-Kami danced on the skins of the creatures.

"Gia, deactivate the shield from its drift mode." Leon shifted his gaze from the jagged ten-foot stones ahead when the last B-rank Serakel slammed into the ground, sending dust into the air.

"The magnitude of the magnetic field would crush you down when you walk on foot, Leon." Gia’s voice rose while a thin red light slowly appeared and disappeared at the core of the shield.

"Just do it, Gia." Leon’s heart rate spiked, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can’t fully synchronize myself to the suit if I don’t push myself to attain it."

Air gassed out of the drift shield while the blue waves around it hummed like a dying breath.

The fast-rolling mountains became clear when the drift slowly came to a stop at the front of a giant cave.

"I now feel grounded and like a normal human." Leon screamed in joy while his toes tugged inside his boots, craving the tactile warmth the earth offered his face and neck.

’Hmph! Is this cave occupied?’ Leon peeked at the massive cave mouth, but all he could see was darkness that promised to send him to his grave the moment he moved a step forward. "I will have to come here once I’m done with the Syrs."

He shifted his gaze from the cave and crossed his hands at the back of his neck while a sweet whistling sound echoed from him.

Crunching stone sounds echoed when Leon slammed his boots on a five-inch gold ant, squashing it completely.

"Gia, see." He pointed at the dead creature, then grinned. "I wouldn’t have known there were creatures like this here."

Leon shook his head and turned toward the stone path ahead. "So won’t you deactivate the shield from its drift mode, Gia?"

The blue waves hummed at the center of the shield and then reddened. "The mortality rate is high on foot. I can’t risk that, Leon."

"Fine, then at least I will have something to catch me when I fall."

Dust exploded as golden beings with lower bodies materialized everywhere Leon moved past.

When Leon caught one materializing, he smiled. He continued whistling and walking as if he hadn’t noticed them.

The moment he moved past a freshly chopped seven-foot jagged stone with golden marks, Leon inhaled deeply and stopped.

"Gia." Leon shifted his gaze to the blue waves moving on the blade of the shield. "Apart from flying and throwing it in a war disc mode, is there a way for me to command it so it moves without me touching it?"

"Yes. You already have that ability synced to the suit." Gia’s voice rose while more fast-moving golden objects flew around the mountain walls.

"The suit has a special built-in system that can make you command the shield to move at any angle that you want."

The shield rose up when the blue waves flowing in it like a caged snake welled up at the center.

’Move it at any direction I want? That is nice.’ Leon thought while squinting at the glowing golden light sparking inside a cave at the far front of him. "Gia, show me how to activate that mode."

Leon crossed his arms on his chest and moved a step back while the blades of the shield began to transform into its rolling disc mode.

"You have to start by activating it in the war disc mode for two seconds."

Air whirled around the sharp edges of the shield as it hovered and fanned in front of Leon.

"Gia, do you want to pull out all the air from my lungs? Move it a bit forward before it kills me."

Leon’s reddened face calmed when the rolling disc moved seven feet away from him. "I said move it a bit forward, but not in a way I won’t see how to do it myself."

"Sorry, I will make it come closer to you now." Gia’s voice rose while the disc closed in to two feet before Leon. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Where do you want me to direct it to go now?"

Leon glanced at the golden Serakel that had materialized at a far distance, then smiled. "Can I do it without you controlling it?"

"You have absolute control over it, more than me. I am just helping you understand its mechanics."

The moment Gia’s voice faded, the blue wave in the shield thinned while a bone-crackling sound echoed around Leon.

’Let’s see how fast you can go!’ Leon thought, then closed his eyes.

When he raised his right arm and opened his fingers, the rolling war disc dashed forward like light and came back drenched in blood.

As soon as it stopped in front of Leon, a loud howling sound tore through the caves.

Huge stones began raining on the ground while the mountain itself convulsed as if something hidden inside had awakened.

Golden stormy dust sprawled from a distance and blasted Leon backward. Sparks flew in the air as Leon’s boots screeched on the ground, but he caught himself the moment he came face to face with a sharp, pointed stone that glittered close to his right eye.

"Whew! That was close."