“I wear the mask because half of my face was melted off by monsters when I was a child. And when I say melted off, I mean it. You could clearly see my teeth and jawbones, it is an ugly sight so I hide it.”

Aku explained without a moment of hesitation, although it was a question that would always unnerve him whenever someone asked him so he couldn’t hide the annoyance in his voice.

“…”

“…”

Both the blue-skinned woman and the four-winged dragon started to give off the aura of confusion that honestly confounded the masked boy.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Aku asked while using the law of Pisces to find the best escape route in case things were to go south.

“Hey, Nexivroh, doesn’t our little friend remind you of someone…?”

All of a sudden, the blue-skinned woman murmured to her dragon.

“He does smell and give off awfully similar feeling to Unbreakable, doesn’t he, princess Strawberry? But… there’s something od about him too…”

The four-winged dragon bellowed in confirmation, lowering its head and leaning towards the masked boy to take a better whiff of his scent.

“Little guy… by any chance, aren’t you Zoemi Benevi Banemor?”

The woman stroked her chin and asked, squinting her eyes as if she wanted to see through the porcelain mask protecting the boy’s face.

“No. My name is Aku Kuro. But you are the second person who believes I am that whole Zoemi.”

Aku shook his head and declared, clearing up the misunderstanding.

“…I am not buying it… There is something about you that I don’t quite like… something too much… godlike… And considering I cannot return to my own world because of a certain god, I hope that you will understand my feelings.”

“…I literally have no idea what you mean…”

The blue-skinned woman shook her head and frowned, glaring at the masked boy who gulped down his saliva and was readying himself to escape the mountain with all his might.

“Haaa… Well, sometimes the memories from destroyed timelines can awaken in people in new ones so let’s try it first. Mode: Kopia.”

The blue-skinned woman sighed heavily before looking to the side with a slightly concerned expression and chanting.

As she did her body went through a change.

Her blue complexion turned into alabaster-like skin without a single blemish, while her slightly curly blood-red hair changed into long straight blond hair cascading onto the dragon’s head. The previously sharp green eyes became almond-shaped and blue, sparkling with the beauty and might of the ocean. And on top of that, the ears that previously didn’t even show up from underneath her hair turned into a pair of long knife-like ears that seemed to be moving according to her emotions.

“How about it? Do you recognize this form by any chance?”

“Umm… No. Sorry, but, not at all…”

The woman in her elf form asked proudly raising her head, but the black-haired boy had the same reaction to her new looks as he did to her original one.

“…”

The elven woman pouted, furrowing her brows at the cautious boy.

“Take that **ing mask off and look at me properly!”

“!!!”

She suddenly shouted aggressively startling Aku.

“Will you let me go if I do that…?”

The masked boy asked in hesitation.

“Listen, if you aren’t the Unbreakable that we know then I have no business with you. And even if you are, the most I will do to you is take a good look at your body and try to figure out whether the god who messed up with you is the same one that is responsible for my involuntary exodus.”

The dragon princess rolled her eyes and explained, tapping her dragon’s head to make it lower it and let her get off without jumping.

“Alright. I hope you are someone who keeps their word, princess Strawberry.”

Aku breathed out and reached out to his mask using the same title and name that the dragon referred to the woman.

He really was just going to remove his mask and -hopefully- be done with the dangerous situation…

“…!”

…but then a whisk of silver mist floated from the direction of Kieurl’s house and merged with him, causing the black-haired boy to freeze in place.

*WHOOOOOSH*

“HAAA?!”𝚘𝓥𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t

Then, he just turned around and madly dashed away down the mountain’s slope as if his life depended on it, causing Strawberry to let out an annoyed gasp.

“There is something going on here, why would Unbreakable worry about showing me his face? Is he ACTUALLY involved with that bastard Perseverance?!”

*BOOOOOOOOOM*

Strawberry gritted her teeth so hard that her transformation wore off and she returned to her blue-skinned bloody-red-haired form she kicked the ground launching herself after the runaway boy with enough speed and power to destroy the very peak of the mountain…

“PRINCESS, STO…! She’s gone… better follow her…”

Nexivroh bellowed after her but it was far too late to do anything, not to mention it lost its balance after the rocks he was sitting atop all crumbled into gravel.

With resignation, the dragon pushed itself into the sky and flapped its massive wings to follow after the boy and the girl chasing him.

|Urtervia…! It must be that deviant!|

Aku’s brain was showing him the most gruesome images of what was going on at Kierul’s house now that he was gone and had no reliable way to return there within less than an hour which was a terrifyingly long time considering the events that must be playing out…

Showing his face? AND WHAT?! WASTE MORE TIME AND LET KIERUL BE RAPED AND KILLED BY THAT PIECE OF SHIT HUMAN TRASH?!’

LITERALLY, EVERY SECOND COUNTED!

The trees and rocks were all a blur that the asked boy could dodge only because of his sensory expansion thanks to the unified power of the law of Sagittarius and the law of Pisces.

|Faster…! FASTER!|

The speed was the only thing on his mind, Aku was combining all of the laws that could physically aid him and even then he was pushing them and his body to the absolute limits but the anxiety in his heart was gnawing at him.

It was not enough. NOT ENOUGH!

“…huh…?”

All of a sudden, he felt a change within his core and his body began glowing!