Beyond M-Eclipse: Easy Mode LIVE

———Lynda———

“Haaah…” I let out a long sigh as I stared up into the bright blue sky.

…Is it just me or does the sky seem clearer these days? It felt like for years now it has been rather cloudy and barely blue.

Still. It’s been a… somewhat wild two weeks. The first week there wasn’t a lot happening aside from me just roaming around seeing all the cool tech and weird gadgets lying about. It’s more of an introductory stage.

The second week… Well, aside from the P.E. class, not much has changed.

Honestly, if I were to look back at that class in particular, it felt like I wasn’t even in school at all. It was like I was sucked into a page in a comic book with the spectacle shown.

It was brief, and yet that one attack was spectacular. Quite terrifying, but it is impressive no matter how you look at it. You have to respect it.

…I wouldn’t really call what I’m feeling as having an existential dread or anything, that’s way too hyperbolic, but it is definitely intimidating, the new realm of possibilities, seeing people throwing out spells and doing damages only natural disasters or massive machines could’ve done.

…Anyway. The weather is quite nice today, and I think I could just sleep on the bench for a few hours, even. Not like I have anything to do today. It’s the weekends and no homework to speak of, since it’s only been two weeks. Not like I have to worry about rushing to do anything.

…I do wonder. I have heard that other places have a lot of problems when it comes to crimes and such. People wielding magical powers are impossible to control, and incidents could happen at any moment, which is why a lot of people still opt to stay indoors unless they go out to get groceries or work. Haven’t really heard of anything like that happening, I think the last time was…

What the hell am I running into? I know people have been saying the night time is very inhospitable in general, but I would’ve thought our neighborhood would’ve been more secure than that! There hasn’t been any incident in a while.

A bunch of men wearing black are roaming around the streets, what the hell are they looking for?

If I wasn’t up high on the rooftop I might’ve been caught. Would’ve been really bad if I let these suspicious guys caught a glimpse of me.

…Are they armed? They look armed. No sunglasses though… Wait. We’re in the middle of the night, of course they don’t wear them.

What are they even searching for?

“Escaped… here… locate…” I couldn’t hear them clearly from all the way up here… Should I try to get down to better hear them, or do I stay up here and get out of trouble?

…Kind of a no brainer ain’t it. No way I’m risking getting the attention of all these guys.

*Roar*

“A monster!?” One of the men in black shouted out as an ominous roar rang out in the darkness.

I haven’t seen one of those in a while. Roaming around at night is basically the only way to find and kill monsters after the dungeons are barred off.

Still, I don’t think I have heard of any monster with such a hellish scream. Where did the sound even come from? Why is it honing in on this location?

Multiple monsters made of some sort of dark purple energy then began crawling out of the darkness. Many of them took the shape of animals or common monsters. Just what the hell are these things!?

These guys began taking out their weapons and started to regroup, trying to not get picked off one by one. They’re well-coordinated, and their weapons seem plenty real, so it should scare off these monsters.

*Bang* *Bang*

Gunshots rang out, interrupting the silence of the night.

…And they show clear signs of fear. They are mostly covered, which when considering the dark night, means that it would’ve been hard to discern their expressions, but their reaction, without any words or good look of their faces, makes it plenty clear that they were overwhelmed by what they’re seeing.

All of those bullets just phased through the shadow monsters. They seem to be intangible to physical attacks. They basically ignored the attacks and slowly approached the men in black.

I have no idea what these things are. I have been out at night a few times, but I have never seen any monsters like these. They all seem to be a variation of the same kind of monster, but what they do, why they are here, all of that is a complete mystery to me.

*Grab*

A humanoid shadow suddenly dashed towards one of the men and grabbed him by the neck. It was quick. One moment it was comfortably many feet away, and the next it closed that gap and took everyone by surprise.

*Crunch* *Thud*

And just seconds later, a decapitated corpse fell to the ground…

I… I don’t really know what happened. That guy was alive one moment, and in another… I don’t really know how it all works. Weren’t these guys intangible? It’s weird. Bullets phased through them just now. How does something like that manage to lift a grown man and rip his head clean off? How does it all work?

Thankfully I am not their target, so I’m not freaking out of my mind right now, but that definitely can’t be said for these guys. Their colleague just got decapitated right in front of them, there’s just no way they can keep calm.

I can’t quite make out what I’m seeing with the darkness and all, but they are scattered thanks to the other shadow beasts rushing in and attacking them.

…Weren’t there at least a dozen just now? What just happened?

I could hear a lot of screaming, and I can see specks of red, but now… I don’t really see anything resembling humans anymore, aside from one person pinned down by these monsters, trying to shake them off to no avail.

How long was all of that? It couldn’t have been more than a minute, it feels like. One moment they were all there and the next there was only one.

The sounds of heavy footsteps rang out in the now quiet night. Most of the monsters melted away into black haze, and a new face joined the scene.

Long orange hair fluttering in the wind in all directions, long white robes that clash with the dead of night, and the black armor underneath that looks more like an empty void with little light to shine upon its surface.

A pair of shining purple eyes that stared upon its prey. It cuts through the lack of light and I can make it out even with the distance between me and the scene at hand.

…It felt like I had seen this person before, and yet the pressure I felt just from observing the scene unfold makes it hard to believe I have even laid eyes upon her randomly on the street, let alone knowing her name.

She puts her hand on the top of the head of the man crying on the ground.

*Crack* *Squish*

With what should be a human hand, her fingers dig through the skin, through the skull, piercing right into the man’s brain. That’s what it looks like to me. Blood spilling out, the pitiful cry slowly fading away, all resistance stopped.

…

*Crash*

“Hey! What are you doing here so late at night?” Suddenly a cheerful voice rang out and I’m… What was I doing just now? Why am I on the floor?

“Oh! Rico…” A senior from the school that is now just a footnote in history.

…Wait. Weren’t I on the roof just now? I was watching something.

“The heck were you doing napping on the floor? You didn’t hear or see anything just now?” She asked with a scrutinizing look… Ah!

“There was…” Huh? I could’ve sworn I’ve seen… Wait, where did everything go?

“There was what?” She asked while tilting her head. “I heard a bit of yelling just now. Was there a street fight or something?”

It’s not something that simple. I know that much. There were multiple people, strong and mysterious monsters, and that woman at the end… Was that correct?

“Hello? Is your brain intact?” She asked and interrupted my line of thought.

“Huh? Uh…” What am I supposed to say to her, is she going to believe that? Do I even believe that?

“Ah whatever. Can’t be that big a deal.” She lost her patience and walked away…

>>> Present Time

What even actually happens back there? My memory is coming up blank, but I remember something really bad happening. Something about weird shadow monsters… Ugh, my brain is a mess. I’m getting a migraine just from trying to recount what happened.

Anyway, I don’t think I have seen any major incident outside of that, and even then I don’t remember the specifics.

So where was I… Oh right. Procrastinating. Not really doing anything of value… Wait. Isn’t procrastinating means I’m delaying something? If that’s the case then that’s not really the right word for it.

…When did my inner-monologue get more verbose? Whatever, who’s here hearing what I’m thinking anyway.

So… Yeah. Guess I’ll just relax here.

———Wiina———

Mmhmm… Philly cheesesteaks.

“It’s really hard to get tired of this.” Karra remarked. She’s right on the mark.

“Indeed.” I replied in-between the bites.

“...So are you going to introduce her?” Qyunda asked, looking at me with some suspicion.

“Just eat your damn food.” Karra quickly shot back, and she simply just went along with it.

“Aren’t you three rowdy?” Rico sarcastically said as she walked by. We barely said anything.

*Gulp*

“Haaah…” Washing it down with some of the drinks this place offered. “So. What’s your name again?”

“It’s Qyunda.” She said while glancing up at the two large ears of mine. “So who the hell are you?”

“Why so apprehensive? What did I ever do to you?” No matter how you slice it, she’s being rude.

“Just never saw you before. Everyone knows each other around here. Where did you come from?” She asked, as if that justified her accusatory tone.

“Seriously, Qyunda. Why are you so mad?” Karra asked what is on my mind. “Did you get in a fight with Malk again?”

…She simply stared at us bitterly. Yeah, I think they were fighting again. Like always, it’s going to be water under the bridge by tomorrow.

“Anyway, Name’s Navi.” Laziest pseudonym I could come up with, but it’ll work. “I’ll be around, but I’m not a student at Karra’s school like you are.”

“Seriously, Karra. What the hell happened during the past months?” Qyunda asked. “There wasn’t any mention of her before.”

“And why are you asking? I don’t need to tell you guys who I’ve been hanging out with.” Karra said with a glare. “You guys aren’t my parents.”

“Hmm…” She didn’t reply and looked at me some more. “Where have I seen you before…”

“Didn’t you just say you never saw me before?” I asked while tilting my head.

“Was it the voice…” She mumbled under her own breath.

Oh right. I guess I didn’t change my voice in this form. Didn’t think people would really care.

“Calm your head.” Karra said. “So now what. You’re gonna talk about her in the group chat and ruin my private life?”

“Who said anything about that!?” She quickly protested. “Also, why is she so important? Who are you to her-!?”

“No violence in the diner, please.” Rico chimed in as Karra let her power spiked which gave a pretty clear message.

“You should prioritize Malk over us two, trust me.” Karra said with her tone showing a hint of aggression. It’s pretty rare to see her mad.