Fractal Plane: Maiden's Heart

Chapter 1 - Their New Everyday

As it happened, the ogre had temporarily let the deadlock go and used the right arm to swat Uehara away. It roared once again, shaking the enclosed area and causing some rock particles to fall from the ceiling.

"Not on my watch!"

Seeing the focus shift away from him, Kazuki ran at the ogre.

"Assimilator's Core!"

Yelling out his Armament's ability, Kazuki felt the surge of power wrapping around the shield on his left arm. The flash of light and the high-pitched noise of magical energy preceded the appearance of the blade attached to his Armament.

The symbol of the bond he had forged three weeks ago and the promise that he had made.

A form made possible only by that miraculous moment when both Awakeners' hearts resonated as one.

"Raaaagghhh!" shouted Kazuki at the top of his lungs.

Turning back at him, the ogre raised its remaining arm for a quick attack.

In response, Kazuki raised his Armament up, with the shield portion of it ready for a defensive maneuver.

Thanks to the attack having less force behind it this time, Kazuki more easily parried the fist. Tilting his shield to the side allowed him to deflect the attack mid-strike while maintaining his striking form.

This gave him the opening he needed, and he forcefully drove the blade portion of his Armament into the chest of the ogre.

Letting out an anguished roar, the ogre stood shaking in place. Its arm slid down harmlessly as it fell to its knees. The luster from the gems all over its body faded with the sound of a groaning device.

Then, it slowly faded. From the head down, it quietly dissolved into particles until it was no more.

With the battle over, Kazuki relaxed and tumbled down. His back landed against a nearby pillar, and he just let everything go and slumped down. In front of his eyes, his Armament slowly faded away.

"You've gotten a lot better at this. Well done, Arata," said Uehara, who slowly walked up to him with a satisfied look on her face.

The sword on her hand disappeared into particles as well.

"You okay, Uehara?"

In response to Kazuki's concern, Uehara flipped her long hair confidently.

"It just caught me off-guard, that's all. More importantly, now that the Class B has been taken care of, I do not think that this Fragment is in any danger of affecting the real world now. Best case scenario, it completely collapses on itself and scatters the negative energy that formed it back to its harmless form."

"That's good," responded Kazuki with a smile. "Mission accomplished for the night, I guess."

Three weeks have passed by so quickly. After that battle against Dr. Kagami and the official formation of his partnership with Sayaka Uehara, Kazuki has found his nights busy with matters like this.

As Ms. Sadohara explained, the actions of the doctor have caused the various Fragments all over Shiroki City to become more active. Normally, these closed off dimensions may contain only Classes C, D, and E Nullities and pose no threat to the human realm.

Thanks to the doctor's manipulation, the Class C Nullities have started gathering more negative energy and evolving to their next stage. Once they reach that certain point of power, the danger of having innocent people being pulled into this world becomes more and more real.

That was why the two of them were tasked to nip the bud in several hotspots in Shiroki City before disaster strikes.

"Shall we head back now?" called out Uehara.