I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Seraphina opened her eyes to the sound of an alarm, a loud and continuous sound echoing throughout the city.

People were running in the streets, someone was holding a child in their arms.

A bloody man was lying on the ground, soldiers at the end of the street were trying to guide the crowd toward a shelter.

The sky had split into purple and black.

A massive crack was among the clouds, and the shadows of monsters were coming out of it one after another.

Even before seeing the half-destroyed house, Seraphina recognized the place.

Her breath caught for a moment. She had not forgotten this day.

She never could... the day her mother died.

She was in her current body, her sword in her hand, her Skills available.

But a few meters away, her child version was trapped under a section of collapsed wall.

The little girl was not crying, perhaps from the intensity of fear, she couldn’t even cry.

A few steps ahead, her mother was standing in front of a monster.

A woman with long hair and simple clothes, she had no real weapon, only a metal rod in her hand to keep the creature away from her child.

”Get back!” Seraphina involuntarily shouted.

No one heard her voice.

The monster attacked the mother.

Seraphina moved, her body passed through the street, her sword covered with red Mana, and the blade passed through the creature’s neck.

The monster’s head was severed, and for a moment, everything was silent.

Seraphina looked at her mother... she had saved her.

But a shadow came out from behind the wall... the second monster sank its claw into the woman’s chest.

Seraphina turned around.

It was too late. Blood splashed on the ground.

”Nooooo” Her eyes filled with tears... a scene that tore her heart into a thousand pieces.

But before she could do anything, the world suddenly rewound.

The alarm sound started from the beginning again... people ran in the same direction.

The wall was collapsed the same way... her mother was standing in front of the monster.

This time, Seraphina went straight for the second monster. A blue Magic Circle formed behind her.

A wall of Mana was built in front of her mother.

The first monster hit the Barrier, the second was killed before it could attack.

Seraphina let out her breath. This time, she had been able to save her mother... even if it wasn’t real... even if it was just a dream, illusion, or whatever... she had succeeded.

But the building’s roof above them collapsed. Rubble fell on her mother.

The child’s scream echoed in the street.

”Motherrrrrrr!” Seraphina’s eyes filled with tears again!

The world rewound again.

The third time, Seraphina was faster... she used sword and magic simultaneously.

The monsters were killed before they could get close.

A Barrier was built around the mother and child, even the roof was deflected before falling by a wave of Mana.

But the crack in the sky widened.

A wave of purple energy covered the city, and her mother’s body was torn apart under the Mana pressure.

Rewind.

Fourth time.

Fifth.

Sixth.

Each time, Seraphina acted stronger, faster, and angrier. Each time, she used a different combination.

Fire.

Barrier.

Sword.

Arcane Lance.

But the result did not change. If the monsters died, the rubble would fall. If the rubble was controlled, the Mana wave would arrive.

If the wave was deflected, the child version would die under the wall, and the mother would sacrifice herself to save her.

The Mirror Vault found a different path to the same end every time.

Seraphina’s breaths became heavy. Her hands were trembling, from anger.

”Again.”

The world obeyed.

Rewind.

She fought again.

And failed again.

”Again.”

Once more.

Again, she was too late.

”Again!”

Her voice broke in the street.

But this time, before the scene could begin, everything stopped.

The people froze mid-run... the monster remained motionless in the air... her mother was still standing in front of the child.

Seraphina was breathing in the center of the street, her hand around her sword’s hilt clenched so tightly that blood flowed from her palm.

”If the sword wasn’t enough, magic was chosen.” A voice came from nowhere.

An image of Seraphina with a sword appeared, then a version in Mage robes.

”If magic was too slow, the sword was chosen.”

”If one failed, the other was created.”

Two versions stood in front of her.

”But neither changed the past.”

Seraphina closed her eyes. Her entire life, she had tried to never be helpless again.

That’s why she had developed her Dual Class with pressure and training beyond normal limits.

If the enemy was close, she had a sword. If far, magic. If attack wasn’t enough, defense.

There was always another tool, always another way.

But in the deepest part of her being, she was still the same child who believed that if she had more power, her mother would have survived.

This had happened when she was two or three years old. Her family lived in one of the country’s large cities.

Her father was an important figure in that city and was even known at the national level.

Their house was in a safe area, or at least it should have been!

But in the face of a massive and widespread surge of monsters, nowhere is safe.

In the current era, monster rifts are not a great danger. Guilds, governments, and alliances have many ways to deal with them, and people’s safety is not as threatened as in the old days when entire cities were massacred.

But occasionally, just occasionally, a very large rift opens and a huge surge of monsters occurs, so many that dealing with them is not easy.

This was what happened when she was two years old. When her father had gone to the capital... at that time, a large rift opened and a great number of monsters came out.

The city was massacred, and her mother was killed... she almost died too but was saved at the last moment.

She didn’t understand why... why had the support teams arrived so late? Why? Why? Why?

If they had arrived just a few minutes earlier, her mother would have been saved too... if her father had never left the city, her mother would have survived.

Nevertheless, her father had never once expressed regret!

After that and her mother’s death, she returned with her father to his family’s city, to the city of Medes, where the Vorhelm clan was located, and she met Lian.

Sixteen years had passed since that incident, but she could never and would never forget that day...

The pain of that day followed her like a curse. She always tried to hide it, and many people are not aware of the truth about her mother.

But she knew she either had to understand that no matter what she did... the past cannot be changed... or she had to try to make sure this didn’t happen to another child.

The scene moved again.

But this time, Seraphina did not go toward the monsters. She lowered her sword and walked toward her child version.

She knelt beside the rubble.

The child looked at her, her eyes full of fear and questions.

”Why can’t you save her?”

For a few seconds, Seraphina could not answer. Her throat was dry, and her gaze fell on her mother.

She knew what was about to happen in a few moments.

But this time, she did not stand up. Instead, she took the child’s hand.

”Because this already happened.”

The sentence was simple, but saying it was harder than any battle.

”Then why did we come back?” The child fixed her gaze on her mother.

Seraphina held her small fingers tighter.

”To understand that surviving was not a betrayal.” Her voice became quieter.

”We survived.”

Her mother looked at them for the last time.

Not with anger, not with blame, not with expectation, but only calmness in her gaze.

”Now we have to make sure her death wasn’t meaningless.” Seraphina continued.

The scene began to collapse.

But before it disappeared completely, two flows of Mana inside Seraphina changed.

The Warrior’s physical path and the Mage’s magical flow had always moved like two separate rivers in her body. She had learned to switch quickly between them, but they had never truly become one.

Now, for the first time, their rhythm became synchronized. As if a great pain had been lifted from her soul... that wound was still not healed, but it no longer hurt.

A panel appeared.

[First Trial Cleared.]

[Trial Boon Acquired: Twin-Core Resonance]

[Compatibility between Swordswoman and Mage has increased.]

Seraphina placed her hand on her chest.

She felt the beat of the two power paths. For the first time, there was no wall between them.

Perhaps on that day, the greatest Dual awakened one was born...

Before she could examine the change further, the street, the sky, and her mother’s image turned to light.