Episode 6 : The Beginning of The Anime (Part 2)

Summer Fall High, Time 3:30 PM

"Bye, Tatsuya!" one of the students called out, waving. "See you tomorrow!"

"See you too," Tatsuya replied with a smile as he made his way home.

His first day at his new school had been nothing short of amazing. Everyone he met was kind and welcoming, making him feel at ease right away. Especially Miss Yuki—she had personally introduced him to the others and made sure he felt included. Not to mention, she was undeniably beautiful.

Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden gust of wind swept through the streets, ruffling his hair and making his unbuttoned blazer flutter. Then, as if nature itself was shifting, dark clouds slowly crept across the sky, casting a dim, eerie shadow over the area.

"Are you kidding me?! Didn't the weather report say there wouldn't be any rain today?" Tatsuya muttered, looking up at the darkening sky. The strong winds made it difficult to see, kicking up dust and forcing him to shield his eyes with his arm. His blazer flapped wildly against his body.

Damn it, I didn't bring my umbrella! Now I'm going to get soaked... and I hate being wet.

Bracing himself against the wind, he pushed forward, each step a struggle against the powerful gusts. Somehow, he managed to keep moving until he finally reached Shibuya Crossing.

"Only a little more," he muttered, standing at the marked crosswalk. He took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling, barely managing to keep his footing. His house was still far away, all the way in the residential area beyond the commercial and entertainment district. So yeah, more than a little left to go.

Then, just as he was about to step onto the crosswalk—

A deafening, distorted roar shook the air.

A sound so deep and thunderous that it sent vibrations through the ground.

Tatsuya froze.

"What the hell was that?" he breathed, his heart pounding.

Then, right in front of him, the air itself cracked like fragile glass.

A strange, black light spread over the area, twisting everything into an eerie, inverted color. The world flickered—wrong, unnatural—before snapping back to normal.

A single drop of water fell from the sky.

It descended slowly, unnaturally, before landing on the ground with a faint splash. The moment it touched the pavement, the cracks in the air shattered completely.

And then, it stepped through.

The creature was massive, towering at nearly 18 feet. Its body was covered in thick, coarse fur, tangled and uneven, as if it had never been groomed. Its muscular frame was built for raw power, with strong shoulders and a broad chest that gave it a fearsome presence.

Its head was grotesque, with a mouth that didn't just open—it split. Four separate sections peeled apart, revealing layer upon layer of jagged teeth lining the inside of its maw. Thick strands of saliva dripped from its fangs, pooling onto the pavement as it breathed.

Its eyes were nothing but endless black pits, devoid of any emotion, cold and unfeeling.

Its limbs were long and powerful, yet eerily flexible, bending in unnatural ways. Each of its four legs ended in clawed feet, sharp and curved, digging slightly into the ground as it moved. Despite its hulking size, it was disturbingly silent, its steps unnervingly smooth.

A long, muscular tail coiled behind it, writhing like a living thing of its own. At its tip, a pointed, almost spear-like extension twitched as if ready to strike at any moment.

And stretching out from its back were massive, thin wings, the skin stretched tightly over spindly, jointed bones. The membrane was dark and veined, pulsing faintly as it flexed them slightly, as if testing the air.

Tatsuya's breath caught in his throat.

His entire body trembled, frozen in place as pure terror gripped him. His legs felt weak, his heart hammering so hard it felt like it might burst from his chest. The monstrous thing loomed over the crossing, its black, hollow eyes locked onto him.

"W-What the hell is that thing?!" he choked out, his voice shaking just as much as his body.

Then, as if the world itself was responding to the horror before him, heavy rain began to pour. The sudden downpour drenched everything instantly, the streets turning slick beneath his feet.

He took a step back—then slipped.

With a startled gasp, he fell, landing hard on the wet pavement. Pain shot through his palms, but he barely registered it. His wide, terrified eyes remained fixed on the creature as it began to move toward him.

Slow, deliberate steps.

Then, without warning, it lowered itself, coiling its muscles—before leaping straight at him.

Tatsuya barely had time to react. Panic took over as he instinctively threw his hands up in front of him, squeezing his eyes shut.

A second later, everything went dark…

Then, a voice echoed in his mind.

[Open your eyes… You are not dead.]

Tatsuya's breathing was ragged, his body tense. His eyes remained shut, his mind racing.

'Huh? What…?

[I said, open your eyes.]

Something about the voice—it wasn't commanding, yet it left no room for defiance. A strange sense of clarity washed over him.

Slowly, hesitantly, he opened his eyes.

His breath hitched.

Everything around him was frozen.

The monster, mid-leap, suspended in the air as if trapped in an invisible force. Its gaping, tooth-filled maw inches from his face, yet unable to move forward.

The rain—each droplet hung in place, caught in time. The entire world seemed locked in a single moment.

"What… the hell…?" He whispered, his voice barely audible over the silence that now surrounded him.

[I have stopped time… But it won't last long. The monster is already using more than enough power to increase its immunity to time stop. I had to bypass its resistance just to hold it still. Move quickly before the flow of time restarts.]

Tatsuya's mind was spinning.

Huh? What do you mean? What the hell is going on?

None of this made sense. A voice in his head? Time stopping? A monster frozen in mid-air?

Then, another thought hit him like a brick.

Wait, wait, wait, WAIT! Am I… hearing voices in my head?! Don't tell me I've gone insane! Do I have schizophrenia?!

His breathing grew erratic. His body tensed.

No, no, no—this entire thing must be in my head! That's it! It's nothing but my imagination! Yeah, just a hallucination…

He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to wake up from whatever bizarre dream this was.

But the moment he opened them again, the nightmare remained. The world was still frozen. The monster was still looming. And the voice...

[This is real. Now move, unless you want to die when time resumes.]

Shut up! This is fake! Nothing is going to happen to me!

[Moron!]

Before he could even react, a faint green light suddenly surrounded him. In the next instant, a powerful force yanked him off the ground, throwing him several meters away.

Just as he hit the pavement with a painful thud, time resumed.

The monstrous creature, which had been frozen mid-leap, came crashing down where he had just been. The impact shattered the ground, deep cracks spreading out in all directions. The sheer force sent shockwaves through the air, making nearby streetlights flicker.

Tatsuya stared, his body trembling.

If he had still been standing there... he would have been crushed.

[Get up. I know this is hard for you to believe, and I will answer everything—but for that to happen, you must survive.]

The voice echoed in his head as he pushed himself up. His body ached, his torn clothes clinging to him, soaked from the relentless rain. His skin stung where scrapes and bruises had formed, the cold water only making it worse.

Then, the monster turned toward him.

Its gaping mouth split open wider than before, and with a deep inhale, it unleashed a deafening roar.

The sheer force of it sent shockwaves through the air. The ground trembled. Windows in nearby buildings shattered instantly, glass raining down like deadly shards. Tatsuya instinctively raised his arms to shield himself, but the blast tore through his already battered clothes, deepening his wounds. Thin cuts opened across his skin, fresh blood mixing with the rainwater.

For a brief moment, the rain itself seemed to halt in his direction, the force of the roar pushing it away—before it came crashing down again.

It stings so bad… I feel like my entire body is being bitten by hundreds of bullet ants at once!

[Endure it. I'll heal you later and even restore your uniform. For now, focus on the monster. Raise your hand toward it and repeat after me.]

The voice commanded, and without hesitation, Tatsuya lifted his shaking hand, aiming at the monstrous creature as it crouched, preparing to lunge at him again.

[Cleave.]

"Cleave," he repeated instinctively.

The moment the word left his mouth, an unseen force tore through the air.

A sharp, invisible slash surged forward, striking the monster mid-leap. In an instant, its massive body split cleanly in two. The severed halves crashed onto the pavement with a sickening squelch, spilling blood and organs everywhere.

Tatsuya's breath hitched, his hands trembling as he took in the carnage.

"Jesus Christ..." His voice shook as he looked at the destruction. The attack hadn't just bisected the creature—it had ripped through the ground, left a jagged scar in the sky itself, and even carved through several buildings in the distance.

His stomach churned. "Did I just kill people too?! What the hell have I done?!"

[It's not your fault.] The voice remained eerily calm. [Besides, those who died will be erased from everyone's memory. It will be as if they never existed.]

Tatsuya's eyes widened. The people he had just killed… their memories would be erased from everyone's mind?

[And don't worry. There weren't many people here anyway. I had already removed most of them before this happened.]

'Wait, what?' His mind reeled.

[No time for that now! Focus on the enemy!]

His attention snapped back to the creature—except now, it wasn't just one.

The two bisected halves of the monster twitched unnaturally, then, before his eyes, each half regrew its missing parts, forming into two separate creatures.

What the hell?! Now there's two of them?!

[It has duplication abilities. If we don't completely vaporize it, it will just keep regenerating and multiplying.]

Tatsuya clenched his fists. And how the hell am I supposed to do that?!

[Say it with me: La Fire: Ignite.]

Tatsuya barely had time to think before the words slipped from his lips.

"La Fire: Ignite!"

In an instant, the entire area was engulfed in an unimaginable inferno. Flames erupted like a supernova, consuming everything in their path. The sheer intensity of the fire didn't just burn—it vaporized. The ground, the air, even the rain itself—all erased in an overwhelming wave of annihilation.

Everything within the fire's reach was subject to a singular, undeniable force—the concept of Extinction.