June 6, 2007.
Rafa opened his eyes.
He pulled his body up, forcing himself to sit. The sheets slid down, he was lying on the king‑size bed in his room.
His right hand pressed against his head, the pain still lingering. And then he saw Laura, seated on a nearby chair, she was looking at the window.
Noticing Rafa's movement, she turned quickly, surprised. "Oh, you're awake."
Rafa's gaze moved across the room, taking in the familiar walls and shadows. "Yeah..." his voice was low as he looked around.
Rafa's voice was low as he pushed himself upright, getting off from the king-size bed. "How long have I been unconscious?"
Laura rose from her chair, her movement sharp. "Not much. Maybe around half an hour."
She then lifted her hand. "You should check the Mark." her finger pointed toward his left chest.
Rafa pulled off his black shirt, the fabric fitted tight against his body.
On his left chest, a faint red symbol appeared, the Leviathan Mark, etched into his skin like fire woven into a knot. The lines curled and twisted, symmetrical yet chaotic, flame‑like curves forming an emblem that pulsed with a quiet menace.
While Rafa's head stayed lowered on the Mark. Laura's voice cut through the silence. "It's the Leviathan Mark. It only appears when someone enters Leviathan officially."
She lowered her gray crop top, revealing enough for him to see. "Look." Her Mark was smaller than his.
But instead of looking, Rafa turned his gaze away.
Laura smiled faintly, she then pulled her crop top back into its place.
"Remember when your neck was slitted?" she added.
Rafa's head turned toward her. "Yeah?"
"You're lucky," Laura said, her eyes holding his. "Most people in the ritual die. They can't handle the power."
Rafa lifted his head. "What power?"
Laura walked slowly toward the front door. "The power of being a Leviathan."
Rafa pulled his shirt back on and followed her. "What do you mean?"
"You know, one of the conditions to be a Leviathan is you need to be a camouflage." Laura's hands tied around her back.
Rafa's steps quickened. "A camouflage?"
"Yeah," Laura said as she walked. "Someone who can use his Primordial Energy."
Rafa stayed close behind. "Now what's a Primordial Energy?"
Laura glanced at him, a faint smile appeared on her face. "You're asking a lot." She lowered her head, eyes locking with his. "Primordial Energy is like a superhero's energy. Shooting out a beam, for example. Like mana in video games. You know that, right?"
Rafa nodded. "Yeah, I know that."
"Good." Laura turned again, continuing forward. "Everyone has Primordial Energy in their own body, but not everyone can awaken it."
"Ahh, I get it." Rafa adjusted his shirt as he walked.
Laura took Rafa into the dining room. Then she turned around with a smile.
"Welcome to the Leviathan!" she said, spreading her arms wide. Rafa looked at her hands, then he looked at her bright smile. She looked like a host proudly showing a guest around.
At the table sat Wakely, hunched over a bowl of ramen, eating without concern.
Behind the counter from a far, The Humanoid was working with the dishes. Stacking plates, rinsing bowls, and wiping down kitchenware. His body was shadows and darkness, blank glowing white eyes fixed on Rafa. No mouth broke the smooth void of his face.
Across the room, The King sat apart, a long gap between him and Wakely. His robe was white, trimmed with yellow edges, his skin pale as bone. The hood covered his face in pure black, hiding everything but the weight of his gaze. He watched Rafa from the chair, unmoving.
Wakely pressed the last strand of ramen between her lips, swallowing before turning her head toward Rafa. Her eyes narrowed, the chopsticks still in her hand. "Come here," she demanded.
Rafa stepped closer, then pushed a chair back, the legs scraping faintly against the floor, and crossed the space to sit opposite her.
Laura moved toward the King, leaning in as they began a quiet exchange of talks, but their words were too low for Rafa to catch.
He then shifted his attention back to Wakely, her eyes were focused on him, sharp.
"Introduce yourself," she said harshly. The edge in her tone made him shift in his seat, unease rising, not because of fear, but irritation at being ordered.
"Rafa Reinarcher." He answered.
"Oh." Just oh...?
Wakely's responds was nothing more than just an oh. That made Rafa's thoughts tightened, annoyance flickering at the emptiness of her response.
He leaned forward slightly. "What's your name, then?"
"Wakely. Wakely Nagant." Her words came cold, her eyes already dropping back to the food in front of her.
"Oh, wakey wakey son of a bitch." Rafa made fun of her name, then Rafa's mind pulled at a thread. "By the way, what does the Apostate Synods mean?"
Wakely's eyes lifted again, her attention sharpening on him, a subtle anger breaking through the cold.
She set her chopsticks down, "You think you're funny?" she asked, her tone carrying weight.
Rafa leaned back slightly, irritation still burning in him. "I asked you about the Apostate Synods. Don't fucking dodge it."
Laura glanced over from the King, her conversation pausing for a moment, but she didn't step in.
Wakely's eyes stayed on Rafa. "The Apostate Synods," she said, her tone flat, "they're the witnesses of Leviathan member acceptances."
Rafa straightened in his seat. "Then, what do the Hellknights mean?"
Wakely looked at him, her expression unchanged. "The Hellknights?" she said, "they're the guardians of Leviathan bases and hideouts."
"Alright. Cool, cool, cool… Ehh…" Rafa shifted in his seat, hands pressing against his waist.
"You know what, fight me, bitch." Wakely rose from her chair in an instant.
"What?" Rafa's voice broke out, surprise cutting through him.
Wakely raised her hand, palm aimed at him. At the same time, Rafa's body lifted from the ground, seized by an unknowable force.
Then— DDRRRUGGHDD!!!
His body demolished through the church wall, stone and wood splintering as he was hurled into the garden. He skidded across the gray earth, dragged through dirt and white, leaving torn trails behind him.
Blood streaked down on his face, snow clinging to his skin, yet he pushed himself upright.
Both hands rose, forming a stance, as Wakely stepped through the broken wall, emerging into the garden.
"There are other classes in Leviathan too. The Black Merchantmens and the Crusade. Both have an important role." Wakely's walked closer to him.
Rafa didn't flinch a bit, his arms still raised in front of his face, steady in his stance.
Wakely laughed coldly, then—
Thump!
She was already behind him, Rafa managed to turned and blocked.
Wakely smiled maniacly, while Rafa steadied his breath.
Then—
Thump!
She appeared behind him again, and yet again he blocked.
Over, and over, and over again.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Rafa kept blocking against the storm of sonic‑speed strikes.
Blocked,
Behind him, turned, blocked.
Blocked,
Behind him, turned, blocked.
Blocked,
Behind him, turned, but—
Thump!
Her kick tore into his side, dropping him down hard against the ground.
As Rafa fell into his knees, Wakely spun like a tornado, her heel chashing into his head, skull fracturing under the blow.
Rafa's body shot sideways, smashing into the church wall. The collision ripped cracks across the stone, dust spilling down in jagged streams.
From afar, the King remained calm, unmoved, while Laura's face tightened, worry breaking through her silence.
"Stop it, Wakely! Rafa is just a mere human!" Laura shouted, her voice breaking with worry.
Rafa fell to the ground, bleeding heavily, but he still stood up, forming a bloody stance.
"I don't care," She stared menacingly. "I want to break him apart, spread him apart, and tear him apart." Her words were cold and mad.
The static came again, louder this time.
Rafa's vision drowned in red. Eyes flickered like hallucinations across his horizon, while a text appeared, saying, "Is this what you want?"
Then, Wakely lunged upward, the ground beneath her splitting apart.
In a blink, she was already in front of him.
Rafa raised his hand.
Thump! He blocked.
Rafa snapped an uppercut in response, but Wakely slipped past and drove a left jab into his face.
He staggered back, and she followed with a right hook, then another left jab.
Her right fist shot forward again, but Rafa dove low, launching an uppercut toward her face, but Wakely twisted away again.
She spun, tornado‑like, her kick crashing into the side of his head, flinging him away.
Trails carved into the dirt and white snow as gray smoke filled the air, burying Rafa inside.
The static talked again, "Loosing while you can easily win?"
Rafa slowly pull his body up again. Even though his stance was unbalance, but he didnt care.
Wakely smiled, then lunged, the ground exploding beneath her step.
She blurred forward, her fist already tearing through the air, shockwaves cracking the snow.
Rafa twisted, blocking high, but her knee slammed into his gut, folding him down.
Before he could even breathe, her left elbow desolated down, clattering his skull.
He fell down.
As he fell, he tried to swung a counter straight, but Wakely stepped aside, then her uppercut blasting his chin skyward.
Rafa flew, but she already stood before him. Her knee hit Rafa's body, holding him down., then the storm of punches came
left, right, left, right!
Each strike faster, heavier, breaking his guard apart.
She spun mid‑combo, her heel whipping across his ribs, sending him sliding through dirt and snow.
Rafa planted his right-hand fingers on the dirt, his body slide lowly, then he forced himself upright, but Wakely was already there on the air, her right shin bone cracking against his jaw.
He staggered back, and—
Another hook tore him sideways, blood spraying, his stance breaking under the relentless pace.
She blurred again, her kick hammering into his chest, flinging him back into the wall, stone splitting as the collision happened.
Rafa then fell to the ground. His body hit hard, the impact sent across the dirt and snow. He stayed down, didn't move, refusing to rise this time.
The static eyes grew larger, swelling until they dominated his vision. Red spread wider, thicker, filling every corner, pressing against him like a wall.
"Just admit it, just admit it! We are not your kind."
Rafa slowly rose, but it was different. His movements carried a weight that bent the air around him.
Red aura burned across his outline, sharp and violent, while his right hand clamped over his face.
"Hahahahahaha..." The sound tore out, the glow twisting darker. The presence was evil. It was not Rafa.
"What hath God wrought..."
The smirk, it wasn't from any kind from mortals.
Wakely's voice cracked with nerves. "Who the fuck are you?!"
"Guess..." His red right eye pierced through the gap of his hand, burning with intent.
Rafa lunged forward, the ground splitting under his step.
Wakely's eyes widened as his speed tore through the space between them.
Wakely raised her guard, but Rafa's fist slammed into her forearm, the shock forcing her stance open.
As he sees the chance he pivoted, his kick driving into her side, the blow launching her across the ground.
She slid, then flew to Rafa in an instant. She then swung a hook, but Rafa slipped inside, uppercut, blasting her chin.
Her head snapped back, but Rafa pressed in, he left jab her chest, sending her stumbling back.
Wakely regain her composure, then counter with a knee, but Rafa caught it, twisted, then shoved her down with a straight to the chest again.
His aura flared red, then Rafa's punch ripped through the air, the wave smashing into her body, throwing her back into the wall.
Stone cracked as she hit, dust rising, her breath broken. Rafa closed in, his knee slamming into her gut, folding her over.
Another strike ripped on her side, the wave smashing into her ribs, forcing her breath out and flinging her sideways, her body crashing into debris.
Wakely staggered upright, but Rafa seized her wrist, yanked her forward, and drove his fist into her ribs again, the impact threw her in the air and to the ground.
She tried to rise, but Rafa's kick hammered her spine, bouncing her across the dirt.
Her breath ragged, she pushed up again, but Rafa's aura burned hotter, his outline sharp, his movements faster.
Then he unleashed a burts of fists that tearing down through the air, wave after wave, blasting forward, each strike smashing into Wakely, her arms raised to protect her self under the crush of barrage.
But the storm didn't stop, his punches chaining, the air began to explode under his strikes, every impact slowly breaking her guard, slowly shattering her stance, but she still stood on the ground. Not until—
SLITT!!!
The wave finally tore he arms opened. Blood rushing out.
The storm still hitting her, until she flew across the battlefield, her body smashing into the ground, dirt splitting with snow rising.
She tried to stand, but another strike ripped through the air again, the wave blasting her sideways, her arms flailing, her breath broken.
Rafa rushed in, his wave cracking against her skull, the impact sending her spinning, blood spraying.
She staggered, but his knee drove into her gut, folding her, forcing her to spit blood.
Rafa's aura surged, his fists tearing forward, the waves blasting her body, each strike throwing her higher, then slamming her down harder.
The air shook, the ground split, Wakely's body crushed under the relentless storm.
Her guard already shattered, her stance already broken, her strength already drained, every strike leaving her weaker. Almost closer to death.
Rafa pressed harder, his outline burning, his eyes locked, his strikes chaining without pause.
Then, the last punch, the last wave, the last action that made wakely collapsed, her body broken by Rafa as he standing over her with his aura burning and the victorious pride.
"WAKELY!!!" Laura ran toward her, dropping to her knees, hands glowing as she pressed them over the wounds.
Green light spread from her palms, seeping into Wakely's body, knitting flesh, forcing breath back into her chest.
Rafa walked closer, each step slow, deliberate.
"Stop..." Laura's voice broke as she looked up at him.
But Rafa kept moving, his outline burning red.
"Don't come any closer... Please..." Laura cried, her tears falling as the glow shook in her hands.
Rafa's eyes widened at the sight. His steps halted.
Laura's voice trembled. "What even are you...?"
The King approached, his robe dragging across the snow. With a single sentence— "A Primordial Being."
#10 End.