Six Weeks Later
The forest clearing had become unrecognizable.
Scorch marks blackened the earth. Deep gouges cut through tree trunks. The ground was torn up from repeated combat, and several trees bore distinctive claw marks.
Yume stood in the center, chest heaving despite the cool morning air.
He'd changed.
Six weeks of relentless training had carved away softness, leaving lean, powerful muscle across his six-foot-ficr frame. His movements had lost their awkwardness, replaced by fluid precision that came from drilling Batman's combat forms until they became instinct.
Dark tendrils coiled around his forearms, responding like extensions of his body. Two sleek gunswords hung at his hips, formed from Pandora Orbs.
"Again," he said quietly.
Sky and Sea materialized from his shadow—twin wolves resembling massive Arcanine, one white with sky-blue accents, one black with deep purple undertones. Both stood over two meters tall, moving with predatory grace as they circled their summoner.
They'd been his first. Unlocked from the beginning, but he'd still needed to prove himself in combat against them during that first week. The fight had been brutal—Sky's speed and Sea's shadow manipulation pushing him to his limits. He'd won through strategy rather than strength, using the environment and his developing Batman instincts to outmaneuver them.
Now they moved as one with him.
"Swift, aerial view."
A raptor burst from the shadows—sleek crimson and black plumage resembling Talonflame, wingspan stretching 1.2 meters. The falcon he'd created in week two after subduing it in combat. Produced shikigami were different from the original ten—he had to shape them from his magic, then defeat them to prove his will stronger than their instinct.
Swift's creation had nearly drained him. The subsequent battle had taught him humility.
The falcon climbed, and Yume closed his eyes, pushing his consciousness into it. The world shifted—colors sharper, distance compressed. He could see through Swift's eyes, control its movements as naturally as his own limbs.
Perfect reconnaissance.
He pulled back after a sweep of the perimeter and moved to the next phase.
"Gama."
The largest of his shikigami emerged—a massive toad resembling Seismitoad, easily three meters tall, with blue-grey warty hide and powerful limbs built for devastating strikes. Yellow eyes fixed on Yume with lazy intelligence.
Week three's conquest. Gama had been fast despite its size, and those sonic attacks had nearly shattered his eardrums. He'd won by using Shadow Hands to pin it in place long enough to land a decisive strike with his newly formed gunswords.
The toad's throat sac pulsed once in greeting.
"Defense drill. All of you."
His shikigami moved into formation—a coordination they'd developed through constant practice. Sky and Sea flanked him. Gama positioned behind. Swift circled overhead.
Yume drew both gunswords.
The weapons were his pride—twin blades that shifted to firearms with a thought. He'd spent weeks refining their forms, experimenting with configurations until they responded like extensions of his will.
He took his stance and began.
Slash. Pivot. The blade extended into a longsword. Fire. The gun barked, darkness bullet streaking across the clearing. Retract. Spin. Both weapons became dual pistols. Rapid fire—six shots in two seconds.
The bullets were condensed darkness. No reload necessary.
Sky blurred forward in his peripheral vision—part of the drill. Yume shifted, gunsword intercepting, redirecting the white wolf's momentum. Sea came from the opposite side. He transformed both weapons into a chain-linked staff, using the extended reach to keep both wolves at bay.
"Shadow Hands."
Dark tendrils erupted around him—eight extensions of his will. They moved independently, grabbing, striking, creating openings. One caught Sky's paw. Another deflected Sea's bite. Two more grabbed fallen branches, wielding them like additional weapons.
Fighting with ten limbs at once. Exhausting but effective.
Gama launched forward, its bulk surprising for something so large. Yume called four Pandora Orbs, and as they circled him, he reached for the shadows—the darkness between trees, the shade beneath leaves—and *pulled*.
"Umbral Arsenal."
The shadows flowed into the orbs, and they transformed into weapons of pure darkness. A spear shot forward, stopping just short of Gama's throat. Chains wrapped around Sky and Sea—not binding, just demonstrating control. A massive war hammer materialized above, its shadow falling across all three shikigami.
The combination of Darkbound Legion's shadow manipulation with Pandora's transformation. Less magic cost than pure constructs, more power than simple darkness spells.
"Halt."
Everything stopped. His shikigami froze, recognizing the exercise was complete.
**[MP: 54%]**
Yume dismissed the constructs and holstered his weapons. "Good. Return."
Sky, Sea, Gama, and Swift dissolved into shadows.
He checked the sun's position. Mid-morning. Time for the last test.
"Rika. Come forth."
The temperature plummeted.
Reality *bent* as something manifested. Not summoned—*existing*. A figure materialized three meters tall, pale white skin marked with black patterns that writhed like living things. Four arms ending in wicked claws. A monstrous face caught between beautiful and terrible, with a gaping maw filled with too many teeth. A single horn protruded from her head. Eyes that held no consciousness—only instinct and absolute loyalty.
This was Rika. Not the human girl but the cursed spirit—the Queen of Curses bound to him by forces he still didn't fully understand.
She had no voice, no will. Only protection made manifest.
And she had to stay within five meters of him, or her power weakened significantly. A leash, whether intentional or not.
"Defense pattern alpha."
Rika moved with terrifying speed, positioning herself between Yume and the tree line. Her four arms spread wide, ready to intercept anything.
"Catch."
He fired both gunswords at her—controlled shots, but real.
Rika's upper right hand blurred, snatching both bullets from the air. The darkness dissolved harmlessly against her palm. Her raw physical power was immense—Yume had seen her casually rip apart training dummies he'd constructed, tearing through wood and stone like paper.
"Now offense. That tree."
Rika's head swiveled toward a thick oak about fifteen meters away. She opened her maw and released a concentrated blast of pure cursed energy—dark, malevolent power that streaked across the clearing and *obliterated* the upper half of the tree. The trunk exploded into splinters, the destruction absolute.
"MERA MERA MERA MERA MERA!"
Mine. Mine . Mine .Mine . Mine .
The battle cry echoed through the forest, primal and possessive.
"Good. Now store these." Yume held out his gunswords.
Rika's lower left hand extended. The weapons dissolved into her, vanishing into whatever dimensional space she kept things. He'd tested her storage capacity over the weeks—she could hold a massive amount of weapons, tools, even magical energy. Anything he might need in combat, Rika could carry.
"Return them."
The gunswords materialized in his hands, perfectly maintained.
"Now let me see the copied technique. Use Gama's sonic attack."
Rika had copied the toad's ability three days ago during a training session. Her maw opened wider, throat sac expanding in a grotesque imitation of Gama's form, and she released a devastating sound wave that flattened the grass in a cone before her and cracked a boulder thirty meters away.
The technique wasn't quite as refined as when Gama used it—Rika's copies were powerful but lacked the original's precision. Still, the raw force was terrifying.
"Excellent. And you're maintaining it without issue?"
Rika's head tilted slightly—the closest she came to acknowledgment. The copied technique was stored within her, ready to be lent to his other shikigami when needed. Yume couldn't use the borrowed abilities himself except for brief moments, but his shikigami could wield them freely once he transferred them.
That was Rika's true value. Not just her overwhelming physical power or her devastating cursed energy blasts, but her ability to copy techniques from enemies and allies alike, creating a growing arsenal that Yume could distribute among his forces.
She was a force multiplier. A living armory. And utterly, instinctively loyal.
"Return."
She dissolved without ceremony, temperature returning to normal as if that terrifying presence had never existed.
[MP: 48%]
Yume wiped sweat from his forehead. Rika didn't cost magic to maintain, but her presence was always mentally taxing. The sheer weight of her existence, the knowledge of what she could do if he lost control...
He pushed the thought aside and began the walk back to town.
***
The Fairy Tail guild hall buzzed with its usual chaos—Natsu and Gray arguing, Cana drinking, Elfman shouting about manliness.
Yume pushed through the doors, his height drawing glances that quickly slid away. He made his way past the bar toward the mission board mounted on the far wall.
The board was cluttered with requests of varying ranks and rewards. He scanned them methodically, dismissing the D-ranks immediately. Escort missions, lost pet searches, manual labor—none would test his actual combat capability.
His eyes settled on one flyer in particular.
Mission: Subdue bandits operating near Lupinus Town
Rank: C (potential B)
Reward: 300,000 Jewels
Details: Group of 15-20 bandits, possibly mage-led. Capture preferred, elimination if necessary.
Yume pulled the flyer from the board and brought it to the bar where Mirajane was organizing the dishes.
"I'd like to take this one."
Mirajane looked up, took the flyer, and her expression immediately shifted to concern. "Yume, this is bandit suppression. Fifteen to twenty bandits, possibly with a mage leading them?" She set the flyer down, studying him. "That's dangerous, especially for a solo mission. This isn't like the small jobs most members start with."
"I'm aware of the risks."
"Maybe you should consider taking a partner? Or at least start with something less—"
"I work alone." Yume's tone was firm but not unkind. "I've been training for this. Six weeks of preparation. I need to know what I'm capable of in real combat."
Mirajane studied him for a long moment, those sharp blue eyes assessing. The concern didn't leave her face, but something else entered it—recognition, perhaps, of the determination that hadn't been there before.
Finally, she sighed. "You've definitely changed. That resolve wasn't there six weeks ago." She pulled out the registration forms. "Just... be careful, okay? The guild would notice if you didn't come back."
"Noted."
She processed the paperwork and handed him the mission details along with his advance payment. "The bandits have a camp about three kilometers north of Lupinus. The client wants them dealt with within the week. And Yume?" She hesitated. "If things go wrong, don't be too proud to retreat. Living to fight another day isn't cowardice."
"Understood."
Yume collected everything and turned to leave, nearly colliding with someone.
"Watch it!" Natsu's voice was cheerful despite the complaint. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer looked up—and up—at Yume, blinking in surprise. "Whoa, you're tall! Hey, do I know you?"
"We're in the same guild."
"Really?" Natsu squinted, clearly trying to place him. "Huh. Don't remember seeing you before. You new?"
"I've been here for years."
"Oh. Weird." Natsu shrugged, already losing focus on that mystery. Then his eyes lit up. "Wait, you're taking a mission! You must be a mage! Hey, let's fight! You look like you might be strong!"
"No."
"Come on, just a quick spar! I'll go easy on—"
"Natsu." Erza's voice cut through the hall like a blade, cold and absolute. The scarlet-haired mage stood from her table, one hand resting on the hilt of a sword. "Stop harassing guild members."
The Dragon Slayer deflated instantly, all enthusiasm draining. "Yes, Erza. Sorry, Erza."
Yume used the distraction to slip past them and out the door.
The sunlight was almost jarring after the dim guild hall. He took a breath, letting the cool air settle his nerves. Social interaction still exhausted him, even after six weeks of sparse contact.
He started walking, his mind already cataloguing what he'd need. Three days travel to Lupinus. A day or two for reconnaissance. Then the actual operation.
His shikigami would be invaluable—Swift for aerial scouting, Sky and Sea for combat, Gama for heavy assault. Rika as a last resort.
He had his darkness magic, his Pandora Orbs, and six weeks of relentless training behind him.
Yume's purple eyes fixed on the horizon as he walked, shadows stirring in his wake.
His first real mission. His first real combat.
Time to see if theory translated to survival.
[End of Chapter 2]