Minutes after the arrival of the girl, and inside the building. Everyone inside was enjoying their food, and while most were casually discussing, many couldn't stop sneaking a glance at the girl. There was something about her... Something powerful, almost alien. Almost like she was above their comprehension.
"Are you sure about what you said? I'd understand if you made a mistake on the moment, you know..." Lola whispered to Jinro, occasionally glancing at the girl.
"The old man trained me in many things... One of them is Level Assessment. While I can be shallow sometimes... Unfortunately, I'm certain of my analysis. She has a Level 5 talent, minimum." Jinro explained his thoughts, rethinking about earlier. Her presence alone set off alarms, like he was facing a life-threatening entity rather than a Neohumain.
"...Can't you lie for my sake?" Lola shook her head, trying to calm herself. Her hands were still shaking every once in a while,
"... I'd like too, honestly." Jinro replied with a sigh.
"Are you two not gonna eat?" Viktor said, eyeing their still full plates.
"Hands off." Both Jinro and Lola slapped his hand off of what is theirs.
"Suit yourself," Viktor shrugged, "... Do you have a plan just in case, Jin?"
Jinro breathed deeply, "Let's hope some poor soul is gonna get stomped instead of us. Even if we were to attack with we got, we don't stand the shadow of a chance. "
"It's that bad, eh?" Viktor added, eating a piece of skewered meat.
"Yes, but..." Jinro started but held his tongue.
"But what?" Lola pressed.
"I don't know how to explain it... There's something familiar about her, I just can't put my finger on it."
Lola was about to answer when a scream coming from outside caught her attention, the others also looked but they couldn't see anything except the white wasteland.
"What was that?" Someone asked, nervously fidgeting.
"Should we check it out?" Another proposed. At that moment the gray-haired girl that had most people shook suddenly stood up and took something out of her pocket; it was a small sphere. Without saying a word to anyone, she crushed before rushing out.
Jinro narrowed his eyes at her reaction, his déjà-vu feeling set off in his head once again. "... You two stay here and be ready if we aren't back in two minutes." He takes a sphere similar to the girl's from the pocket of his vest.
"Good luck out there." Viktor said while Lola nodded.
Jinro's body complexion darkened before melting into the floor, disappearing from everyone's sight. Axel's flaming eyes gleamed with fascination as he observed Jinro's disappearance,
"A Mage des Ombres..." Lucius whispered, his eyes narrowing. "Maybe this peasant will prove interesting after all..."
"... Who knows." Axel added, analyzing the blue-haired boy's comment. "I expected him to be a Épéiste with a build like that... But melding into his shadow like that... He might have more potential than he lets on." Axel grinned at the thought, flames flickering on his wrist. "Come on Lucius, we're going to!"
***
Everything around him was dark purple, where people stood were black masses replicating their every action. Jinro was the only exception but he didn't pay much mind to the surroundings, as he's been in that place hundred if not thousands of times already.
He crushed the sphere in his palm without much effort. The debris flew around his form as if scanning him, then they formed around the tight suit, vest and cloth wrapped around his hips, adding black translucent metallic plates of armor with purple outlines to his left arm up to his shoulder alongside his legs.
"Alright... Let's go." Turning his attention to the doorway, he could see a figure standing in the distance, posed as if holding a weapon.
RAAAAAAAAAH!
A piercing roar shook the air, making Jinro take a step back as he drew his sword with his right hand. "What was that!?" Jinro looked around but he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, the girl's shadow jumped away as a shockwave followed suit, making Jinro buckle. Before he could recover, a clawed hand yanked him out of the Shadow Realm brutally. "FUUUUUUUCK!"
Once he was out, a punch as big as his entire body greeted him, spiking his form into the ground. "PAH!" He spat a mouthful of blood as he plummeted like like a meteor, leaving a crater into the ground. A deafening ring assaulted his ears, and his body refused to move. He opened one eye, just to see a beast hundreds of meters tall with black fur, multiple sets of eyes and a mouth on its stomach standing over him.
The colossal beast cocked another punch, ready to crush the boy when...
"Tempête Scintillante!"
Bullets of light struck the beast right in the head, making it stumble for an instant. Jinro didn't linger, melting into his shadow and reappearing a few meters away sitting on the ground. "A Ruinbringer, Upsilon grade at that... Just my luck." He coughed another mouthful of blood as he stood up.
The gray-haired girl appeared next to him in a flash of light, guns in each hand. "Why were you in the Shadow Realm?"
"That's the first thing you ask? I can tell you're popular at parties..." Jinro commented as he assumed his battle stance.
"Why are you talking about parties?" The girl looked at him like he was a lunatic.
"... You aren't for real." He looked back at her, almost dumbfounded by her reaction. Their little interaction had to be put on hold however, because the beast lunged at them. Far faster than anything its size and width should be.
The girl's flashed before disappearkng. Jinro would have just plunged into the Shadow Realm, but he didn't forget how the beast yanked him out. Rolling out of the way was an option, but he had a better idea.
"DÉVOREUR DU CHAOS!" His shadow latched onto his sword, transforming the blade into rows of sharp teeth. He then lowered his body to the ground, veins bulged on his legs as he propulsed himself at the beast.
The creature had its claws extended, ready to slash anything foolish enough to be in its way. It was more than delighted to see Jinro rush instead of trying to get away, but there was one thing it didn't know. Jinro was no fool. The beast swung its claws with great strength, shattering the ground and sending chunks of rocks everywhere.
The girl looked from afar, replacing her guns with a longsword. "... Interesting." Her eyes were not on the colossal beast, but behind it.
The black metallic plates fully materialized as tattoos ran across Jinro's left side. His round pupils turned into slits as a dark purple and black glow highlighted his body.