There was only water.
Endless, infinite water.
No matter where I looked-above, below, around-there was no sky, no land. Just the vast, unbroken expanse of a deep, silent ocean.
And I was sinking.
Deeper.
And deeper.
I should have been afraid. But strangely, I wasn't.
I had no wounds. No pain. Even the constant burning ache that had become second nature to me was gone. My body was whole-untouched. Weightless.
I wasn't even wearing anything, yet there was no discomfort, no cold, no shame.
Just... peace.
I let myself drift, staring up at the endless blue above. There was no need to struggle. No need to breathe. I could stay like this forever-
Pressure.
It started softly. A gentle weight pressing against my skin as I sank.
But as I descended further, it grew.
Stronger.
Heavier.
The deeper I went, the more unbearable it became.
Light faded, swallowed by the abyss. The blue turned to a murky black.
I tried to move-tried to stop myself from sinking further-but my limbs wouldn't respond.
The crushing weight around me intensified, suffocating, oppressive-
And then, suddenly-
My lungs burned.
I gasped-instinctively-only for water to flood my throat.
I choked.
My body convulsed as liquid forced its way into my lungs, robbing me of air. Every nerve screamed in agony as I drowned, the crushing pressure making it impossible to even struggle.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't-
-!!
----------
I lurched awake.
My body convulsed as I gasped, coughing violently-except it wasn't water I was choking on.
Sand.
I spat it out, desperate to clear my throat, but it kept coming. Grit and dust clung to my tongue, clogged my throat, filled my lungs.
More.
I hacked, chest heaving, arms trembling as I forced myself onto my hands and knees. Every inch of my body screamed in protest, the pain that had vanished in that endless ocean returning all at once.
But I didn't care.
I kept coughing.
Kept spitting out the sand that had somehow made its way inside me.
Until finally-
I could breathe.
Even though my breathing had steadied, my mind was still racing.
I needed to get my bearings.
Slowly, I lifted my head and tried to see where I was.
Nothing.
Pitch-black darkness stretched in every direction, swallowing everything beyond the faintest outlines of the ground beneath me.
That wasn't normal.
Ever since becoming a Summoner, my eyes had adapted to the dark-I should have been able to see just fine.
Which meant this wasn't just darkness. It was something else.
A skill. A spell. A field of influence.
Something was actively blocking my sight.
I shifted slightly, feeling the rough texture of the ground beneath my fingers. Stone. Uneven, cracked-like natural rock formations.
A cave?
Or something close to it.
I exhaled sharply. Whatever the case, I wouldn't figure it out just by sitting here.
I braced my hands against the ground and tried to push myself up-
Pain shot through me.
Or rather, it should have.
I had been expecting it, preparing myself for the full-body agony that came after a brutal fight like that. But instead-
Nothing.
Or at least-not from my right arm.
My left hand had taken some effort to move, my legs were sore as hell, but my right arm?
It didn't respond.
At all.
A deep, horrible feeling settled in my gut.
I turned my head, squinting in the darkness, and tried to see it.
My forearm-blackened, burned beyond recognition-hung limply at my side, completely unresponsive.
I clenched my jaw.
"Tch. That's gonna be a problem."
I wasn't even sure if I still had nerves left in it. If I had to guess, the damage was so severe that my body had just... stopped registering it.
A small mercy.
At least I didn't have to deal with the pain.
Didn't change the fact that I was down an arm.
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to focus. I was in an unknown location, injured, unable to see, and-unless luck decided to finally give me a break-I had no way to heal.
I needed to move.
I forced myself forward, one careful step at a time, keeping my remaining hand close to the wall for balance.
One step.
Another.
The darkness pressed in around me, suffocating.
I could barely see a meter ahead.
Pathetic.
I kept walking, hoping-praying-I'd somehow stumble again across a Dia Stone or something else I could use.
Then-
My foot caught on something.
My balance tilted, my body lurched, and I barely managed to catch myself before I went crashing down.
I hissed through my teeth, heart hammering from the near fall, and turned back toward whatever I had tripped on.
I could only make out a shape in the darkness.
A body.
A corpse.
My breath slowed.
Even with my vision crippled, I could still recognize that outline.
Kurogame.
His body lay motionless at my feet, death having finally claimed him.
Even in the suffocating darkness, I could make out the damage I had inflicted. His right arm was gone, severed at the shoulder. His chest bore a gaping hole, the result of my final strike. His clothes was shattered, barely holding onto what remained of his body.
And beneath all that?
Not a single intact bone.
I had crushed him completely.
Even so-
I gritted my teeth.
There was a bitter taste in my mouth.
Because no matter how much I had destroyed him-
He had been holding back.
I knew it. I felt it.
He had never truly fought me seriously.
If he had, I wouldn't be standing here. I wouldn't have been the one to walk away.
Tch.
I pushed down the frustration and focused on something else-his left arm.
Strapped around it was a COMP.
Huh.
That was worth something.
I knelt beside the corpse and examined it more closely.
Even in death, the device was intact.
No harm in taking it.
I unclasped it from Kurogame's arm and, without thinking, went to shove it into one of my pockets-
Only to realize I didn't have one.
I paused, frowning, before finally looking down at myself.
...Oh.
Yeah. That made sense.
My clothes were ruined.
My pants were barely holding together, torn and burned in multiple places. My top? Shredded beyond repair. Most of it was gone, revealing the state of my body beneath.
Burns. Everywhere.
Not as bad as my right arm, but still. Some areas were charred, others covered in deep bruises. My skin felt raw, every breath making my body ache.
No wonder I was in so much pain.
I sighed, shifting the COMP in my hand.
It wasn't mine.
And I didn't know what kind of security measures it had.
But COMP devices were valuable.
Even a dead man's COMP could probably fetch a good price.
I debated with myself for a moment-
Then scoffed.
Like hell I was passing up free money.
I strapped the COMP onto my right arm, since my left was still functional.
Unlike last time, nothing happened.
No sudden activation. No interface booting up.
Good.
I wasn't in the mood for more surprises.
I exhaled, then placed my left hand against the cave wall.
I'd read about this somewhere-probably on the internet, buried in some survival forum or random article.
If you're stuck in a labyrinth, just keep one hand on the wall and walk.
Eventually, you'll find a way out.
That, and it helped keep me steady.
One foot in front of the other, I pressed forward, each step reminding me just how much my body hated me right now. The burns, the bruises, the sheer exhaustion-it was a miracle I was still standing.
And then-
shaa... shaa... shaa...
Water.
I froze, listening.
It was faint, but unmistakable-the sound of running water.
My throat immediately felt drier.
Tempting as it was to rush forward, I kept my pace steady.
I couldn't afford to waste energy.
More importantly-
I wasn't alone in this cave.
At least, I had to assume I wasn't.
Even though I hadn't encountered anything yet, the sheer silence of this place unsettled me.
A cave this deep, this dark, and not a single attack?
No scavenging demons? No wandering beasts?
That was wrong.
Something about this place felt... off.
And then there was the darkness itself.
The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it became.
Was this some kind of spell?
Did the darkness only affect me, or was the entire cave like this?
If only I had something to test my theory.
I clicked my tongue, frustration bubbling up.
Worst-case scenario?
This darkness was targeted.
Which meant some demon was watching me.
Hunting me.
And if that was the case-
Why hadn't they attacked yet?
I was vulnerable the moment I woke up. If they were strong enough to cast this, they should've just finished me off.
So either they were waiting for something, or this wasn't an intentional attack.
Could it be some automatic effect? A trap that only activates under specific conditions?
...Tch.
Too hard to think.
I'd figure it out later.
Right now-
I had water to find.
Step by step, I moved forward, keeping my breathing steady, my senses sharp. The sound of running water grew clearer, and just as I was about to reach it-
"Haaaah-"
A voice. Female.
"Damn, that hits the spot. Three days. Three freakin' days hunting this damn demon, and I've found jack. Jack shit! Seriously, I'm so done, I just wanna bounce and go home already!"
I stopped in my tracks.
From the tone alone, she sounded around my age. But with Summoners, you could never be sure.
More importantly-
She was hunting a demon.
Which meant-
I was standing right in its territory.
Of course I am.
My luck really was C-, huh?
Then again-misfortune breeds opportunity.
Maybe I could turn this around.
For that, I needed information.
First step-act natural.
If I stayed lurking in the shadows too long, she'd assume the worst. And if I played the mob act here, I'd probably never get to leave.
And I wanted to leave.
Now.
So, I stepped forward, moving out of cover.
"Yo," I called out.
That was all I managed before-
"Kyaaaaa! A ZOMBIE!!!"
A high-pitched scream-
Followed by a surge of Magatsuhi.
Shit.
ZZZTTTT-!
Electricity crackled past my ear, close enough that I felt the heat.
The next instant-
A boom.
Stone shattered behind me, and dust rained down from the ceiling.
...No cave-in. Yet.
But I had bigger problems.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" I barked.
I turned toward her, scowling.
"Look, I know I'm in bad shape, but that doesn't give you the right to fry me alive and compare me to a damn zombie!"
"Haaah... Thank the Great G, I didn't cap him."
The girl's voice rang out again, this time laced with relief.
Then, a second later, her tone shifted-
"But you're yelling at me like I'm the problem here-have you even looked at yourself?!"
I frowned.
Yes, I was injured all over, but to confuse me for a damn zombie? That was a stretch.
Still... something bothered me.
How the hell had she seen me in this darkness?
That meant-
This place wasn't naturally dark.
I was right.
This had to be some kind of ability or skill messing with my vision.
Before I could follow that thought further, her voice cut through my mind again.
"Anyway-who the hell are you? I see you're rocking a CTR armband, but that thing's totally busted. So.. what division are you from?"
I exhaled slowly.
"Normally," I said, deliberately in a deep and serious voice, "it's polite to introduce yourself first before asking someone else's name."
Silence.
Then-
"Tch. You're such a buzzkill."
A brief pause-
And her voice came back, this time dramatic as hell.
"Oi, listen up, 'cause Imma say it once!"
A rustle of fabric, like she was posing or some shit.
"★I'm the one and only, drop-dead gorgeous Devil Summoner of the Eleventh Division-Mei Tatsumi! Ya better remember that name, 'kay?!★"
...
I blinked.
Even without seeing her, I could feel the stupid, smug grin on her face.
And one more time, another shuffle of fabric.
She was probably holding up her armband, expecting me to see the division's emblem.
There was just ONE tiny problem with that.
I couldn't see a damn thing beyond a single meter!