Chapter 18
A thunderous explosion erupted, shaking the ground and tearing buildings apart. Flames licked the air, smoke billowed skyward, and debris rained down like a deadly storm. From the chaos, two figures dashed through the crumbling ruins, their breaths ragged, their bodies moving as if their very lives depended on it—because they did.
Behind them, an earth-shaking roar split the night, primal and enraged. The sound alone sent a shiver down their spines.
"Faster!" Jayden's voice was as calm as ever, despite the situation.
"I'm already sprinting for my damn life!" Rictor shouted back, his voice laced with panic.
A colossal figure burst through the wreckage behind them—Gunmalo, the two-headed panther. The beast's fur shimmered with an eerie blue-black glow, its massive frame making the buildings around it seem like fragile playthings. With each step, the ground cracked beneath its weight. One of its heads snarled while the other gnashed its razor-sharp teeth, its eyes gleaming with a murderous hunger.
Atop the monstrous creature sat Aurum, his black hair matted with blood, his face twisted into an ecstatic grin. Despite his injuries, he cackled, eyes wild with madness.
"There's nowhere left to run! Burn to ashes!" Aurum roared maniacally, his voice echoing across the ruins.
He tapped the black jade ring on his hand, and instantly, Gunmalo's right head tilted back. A pulsing blue light flickered within its gaping maw as it inhaled deeply. Spiritual energy condensed at an alarming rate, forming into a massive, pulsating sphere—a concentrated bomb of destruction.
Rictor's face paled as he recognized the attack. "Not that thing again! We barely survived it the first time!"
"Less talking, more running," Jayden said, his expression deadpan as ever.
Rictor glanced at him, then made a very serious suggestion. "How about… you distract the beast while I run?"
Jayden didn't even blink. "In your dreams."
"This is all your fault, you know!" Rictor huffed, narrowly dodging a falling wooden beam as they wove through the ruins. "If you hadn't said you had a way to win, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
Jayden shot him a glance. "I told you—it was a gamble."
"A gamble? That was suicide!" Rictor snapped, his mind flashing back to the moment their situation took a turn for the worse.
Flashback
The air was thick with tension as they stood before the monstrous Gunmalo. The beast exuded an overwhelming pressure, making the very space around them feel suffocating.
"Do you have a plan?" Rictor asked, gripping his weapon tightly.
Jayden, as unreadable as ever, replied, "Yes, but it's a gamble."
The system told him that performing a Summoning Jutsu without a contract won't guarantee a powerful creature. There's only a 5% chance he will summon something useful."
Then, before Rictor could question him further, Jayden stepped forward. He bit his finger, drawing blood, and swiftly ran through a series of intricate hand signs. His movements blurred, too fast for the eye to follow.
He slammed his bloodstained palm against the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A cloud of smoke erupted around them, momentarily obscuring the battlefield. Aurum flinched, his instincts warning him to prepare for the worst. Could this brat have another trump card? He tensed, ready to flee if things turned against him.
But then—the smoke cleared.
Silence.
Jayden's eyebrow twitched. Rictor took an involuntary step back, as if reality had just slapped him in the face.
Where a powerful beast should have stood… a tiny, wiggling tadpole flopped helplessly on the cracked ground.
Rictor gawked. Jayden remained deadpan. Aurum burst into laughter.
"So this is your hidden card?" Aurum sneered, barely containing his amusement.
Jayden, refusing to give up, quickly formed the hand signs again. His movements were precise, his expression unwavering. Maybe the system would show mercy.
Another burst of smoke.
A second tadpole appeared.
This one was slightly bigger.
Rictor let out a choked sound, part laughter, part despair. "We're dead."
Jayden turned to him and mouthed one word:
Run.
And they had been running ever since.
Back to the Present
Gunmalo's glowing blue sphere of destruction had grown to the size of a boulder, its energy humming with lethal power. Aurum leaned forward, eyes gleaming with wicked delight.
"Now then, die!" he declared, signaling the beast to fire.
Jayden and Rictor didn't need to be told twice. They dived behind a collapsing wall just as the sphere launched with a deafening boom.
The moment it made contact with a building in front of them, a blinding explosion erupted, sending shockwaves that tore through the surroundings. The force sent them both tumbling like ragdolls, debris raining down in deadly shards.
Rictor groaned, coughing as he struggled to his feet. "Tell me you have another brilliant plan."
Jayden dusted off his coat, his voice still emotionless. "That depends. Does surviving count?"
Rictor clenched his teeth. "You really need to work on your definition of 'winning'."
Their only saving grace was the ruined buildings around them, which provided temporary cover. If this chase had taken place in an open field, they would have already been obliterated.
But Jayden knew they couldn't run forever.
He narrowed his crimson eyes, his mind calculating their next move. If he could just buy a little more time…
Gunmalo roared again, its massive form closing in.
Jayden exhaled slowly, the wheels in his mind turning.
But after a few more minutes, they reached the outskirts of the city. The residents had long evacuated due to how dire the situation had become.
"Okay, don't tell me we're dead," Rictor gulped, staring at the massive beast just meters away. It was preparing two gigantic spheres of pure destructive energy in its mouths.
The moment the two orbs fused, an overwhelming force erupted. The air trembled, space distorted, and the combined attack shot forward like a doomsday cannon.
"No. Not yet," Jayden said calmly.
He stepped forward, raising his hands in a practiced motion. Chakra flared around him, forming intricate seals at blinding speed.
Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!
Three massive gates erupted from the ground. Each one was monstrous in size, made of ancient stone and metal, with intricate demonic faces carved into their surfaces. Their malevolent eyes seemed to glare at the incoming energy blast. The first gate had a gaping maw, the second bore a menacing snarl, and the third exuded a silent, eerie authority.
As the monstrous energy wave collided with the Rashomon gates, a deafening explosion tore through the city ruins. Dust and flames spiraled into the sky, shaking the ground as if the very earth was about to split apart.
From a safe distance, Aurum smirked. "It seems they are finally dead."
The two intruders had given him far more trouble than he ever could have imagined. They had wiped out his entire faction. His relief was short-lived, however. As the dust settled, his eyes widened in horror.
Jayden was still there, on one knee, gasping for breath. Blood dripped from his lips, his body trembling. He had used every last ounce of chakra to defend against that attack. He was drained, barely able to stand. Fighting Aurum alone was now impossible. Let alone facing Gunmalo.
Jayden turned to Rictor, his expression as blank as ever, as if the thought of dying meant nothing to him.
"I think we're dead now," he said nonchalantly.
Rictor dramatically collapsed. "No! How can I die so soon?" he cried. "I still have to reach the Cyan Plane and prove my father wrong! But it seems my heart of righteousness is my downfall!"
Jayden shook his head wryly at Rictor's last words. He had tried his best to survive this second life, but it seemed impossible. It looks like I'll be meeting those two soon, he thought grimly. But then, the thought of the Black Fog God escorting him to hell sent shivers down his spine.
"Gunmalo, ready!" Aurum commanded, gripping the black jade in his hand. Power surged through the beast.
Gunmalo roared, both heads forming separate blue energy spheres, each pulsating with destruction. The moment before they were fired, an authoritative voice rang out.
"The Orbius Faction has greatly misused its power. As punishment, the Council has decided to banish you all to the Forgotten Zone."
A woman appeared, walking with elegance. She had long black hair and wore a sleek black uniform adorned with a silver X on the front. A long sword with a black hilt rested on her back.
Aurum's face twisted in horror. "The X Squad…?"
The X Squad was a faction that rivaled even the strongest S-rank factions, created specifically to maintain balance between the empire's powerhouses. Their authority was absolute. To make matters worse, the one sent to carry out the verdict was none other than the infamous Dark Blade—renowned for single-handedly banishing an entire A-rank faction into the Forgotten Zone.
Gunmalo's attack, meant for Jayden and Rictor, was now aimed at the woman. Without hesitation, she unsheathed her sword. With a single, fluid motion, she slashed the incoming energy wave in half. The attack froze mid-air, blackened, and then shattered into a million pieces.
Aurum's horror deepened. "Gunmalo, attack again!"
But there was no response.
Looking down, he saw Gunmalo's enormous form completely frozen in black ice, cracks already forming on its surface.
"She's really a monster…" Aurum whispered.
He turned and bolted, running with everything he had. If I can just escape—
In a blur, the woman appeared in front of him.
"All those who defy the Council's verdict… must die."
With a swing of her blade, she decapitated him. His head froze in black ice mid-fall before shattering into nothingness.
Silence followed.
"Well, that's insane," Rictor finally managed to say after several stunned moments.
Jayden's brow twitched. He had to grow stronger. Much stronger. There were people in this world who could erase his existence with a single attack. But he would do it on his own terms—without joining any faction.
The woman approached them. Jayden and Rictor tensed as she was still holding her sword.
"Who took out the Orbius Faction?" she asked.
Jayden pointed at Rictor.
Rictor pointed at Jayden.
She frowned, then noticed them sweating while staring at her black blade.
"Oh, sorry," she said, sheathing it with a soft click.
She smiled. "I want to recruit you both for the X Squad. Your growth will be immense."
Despite the smile, her earlier display of power made it feel anything but friendly.
"Nope, I already belong to a faction," Jayden said immediately. There was no way he was working for the Council, an organization infamous for conducting twisted experiments to push the limits of spiritual energy. He was an anomaly—why would he willingly let them study him?
"Which faction?" she pressed.
"Scarlet Faction," Jayden answered.
Her smile froze.
If it were any other faction, she would insist. But an S-rank faction stood on equal footing with the X Squad. They couldn't interfere.
"Alright, what about—"
"We're both from Scarlet Faction!" Rictor interrupted. No way was he joining a faction where freedom was nonexistent.
She sighed. "Fine. But next time we meet, don't bother hiding your strength." Her piercing gaze settled on Jayden. "No one will believe that someone at the peak of the Pink Plane wiped out an entire C-rank faction."
With that, she took off, soaring through the sky.
"The fact that she can fly says it all," Rictor muttered. "Only those at the Grey Plane or higher can fly, unless… it's their own spiritual ability."
After gathering gold and supplies, Rictor was already grinning, completely forgetting that they had almost died just minutes ago. Jayden, however, was focused on something else. He stared at the two special roulettes in his inventory.
"I'll spin it tomorrow," he muttered, exhausted.
As they neared the house, something felt wrong.
It was too quiet.
No voices. No movement. As if everyone had disappeared.
Jayden's heart pounded. He didn't even realize when he started running.
Please be alright, Lolly… you two as well…
He neared the house when his Sharingan caught something—a blur of movement from the side. A super-fast punch shot toward his face. Reacting purely on instinct, Jayden barely dodged, though the speed of the attack left his vision spinning.
Summoning all the remaining chakra he has restored,he quickly formed hand seals.
Earth Style: Tremor Quake!
The figure lost balance for a split second. That was all Jayden needed. With a twin Rasengan, he slammed his attack into the figure's chest, sending them flying several meters away.
Rictor appeared beside him, pistol drawn. "Good thing I managed to restore some energy! I believe we can take him down together."
"No. We can't."
Jayden's voice cut through Rictor's confidence.
"W…why?" Rictor stammered.
Jayden's Sharingan flared. He recognized the figure.
Because it was him.
The figure stood, dust swirling around him. His short blonde hair rustled in the wind, and his blue armor gleamed under the fading sunlight.
"To think it was true that you've been hiding your power," Toph said, his piercing gaze locked onto Jayden. "Tell me… what plane are you really at?"
To be continued.