Suspended inside the tornado, he floated like a madman in a dream. His Lunatic form curled in on itself, body twisting lazily as if he were… sleeping. The purple flames flickered across his body, licking his skin with chaotic grace. And then—he laughed, voice muffled by the roar, playful as a child at rest.

"Wow, wow… great sleep, great sleep."

He smiled with closed eyes, drifting deeper, his body trembling with random bursts of joy, sorrow, laughter, and pain. The Mad Hunter form was a prison of emotions, flooding him with feelings not his own, each one sharper, heavier, stranger than the last.

Inside the storm, he was drowning in chaos—Yet his face wore only a smile.

And then—footsteps.

Soft, defiant.Cutting through the roar. The hall's broken doors groaned wide.

Someone entered.

Ana.

Her silhouette split the storm light, her presence stitching a sudden silence between thunderous roars.

Ana looked a little pale, a wash of frequent yellow and blue threaded through the folds of her garments. She wore something godlike — not armor, but a priestess's regalia twisted into battlewear: layered fabrics that caught the light like frost, embroidered with symbols that drank the hall's shadows.

She entered, and the soft tap-tap of her leafy boots echoed, a tiny percussion beneath the thunder. Her brown eyes were knives — a death stare carried on a slow, ruthless tide. She walked as if carrying more than just pain: her hand hovered near her chest, fingers curled around something unseen. The reason for her grip was a secret the hall could not learn.

Within the whirling tornado, Auren's eyes opened. For a moment, the storm slowed, like a film pausing on a frame. His gaze dropped to Ana. Tears welled at the corners of his eyes — not the salt of sorrow, but the strange wetness born from his Lunatic Hunter state. The mad joy unspooled inside him, and it came out like infant sobs.

Silver gleamed along his teeth, a faint glow that made his grin look like a twilit blade.

Auren shouted- hey, who are you ?? You wore something amazing. hahah. Cute cute.

Auren launched himself from the tornado with a thrust of his leg, a violet comet ripping through the air. He landed with a flourish on the shattered marble. Ana's silhouette moved past the great doorway — the image around her turned cinematic: a goddess stepping into a storm, thunder echoing like cymbals, snow spilling in the distance, the world tasting cold and sunlight at once.

Auren giggled, a high, delighted sound that sounded almost polite among the screams. "waaaoooowww," he breathed, voice full of childlike wonder.

Ana closed the distance until only a measured space separated them. Her expression was hollow, like a calm carved from ice.

And she asked slowly, and her face was vacant - who are you ??

Auren slid into playful mode, all show and tilt and bright menace.

Auren went into playful mode - oh me, I am Auren Ryuki.

At the name, something in Ana cracked open. Rage rose like a tide. Her hand dove to her waist — steel met leather — and she pulled a gun free. The motion was crisp, mechanical, and practiced.

She fired.

Auren dodged in an instant, a laugh trailing him like perfume. Ana twirled in the air — a dancer with a blade — and from her dress, dozens of flowers exploded outward. Each blossom snapped into shape, petals hardening into sharp, leafy shuriken that spun toward him.

Auren darted sideways, weaving through the storm of green steel. Petals of weaponized flowers whistled past, slicing air and stone. He moved like a flaw in the world — impossible angles, laugh on his lips.

Ana shouted What did you do with my friends? Why are you making chaos here? What is your goal, Auren Ryuki??

Her voice broke into the wind, each syllable a blade. The question hung like smoke.

Auren jumped high — higher than any sane man — purple fire scalding outward from his spirit. He exploded into the sky, a comet crowned in violet flame. From the apex of his leap, his voice poured down: fierce, gentle, godlike, and small all at once.

Auren shouted with his almight, and a smile of heaven on his face - what I want??

Peace

A place where everyone smiles.

A place where no one is bullied, a place where all are mage, or no mage. I want everyone to live happily.

I want to avenge those who kill happiness, I want to tear all demons apart.

I want a world of bliss.

His words rang like a benediction and a threat braided together. Around them, the hall blurred — snow and soot, laughter and cries — as if the world strained to make sense of such a monstrous, hopeful manifesto. The purple flame around Auren flickered with hungry joy; for an instant, this lunatic smile looked almost saintly, and almost monstrous.

Ana's face went hard, like iron hammered into a mask. Hearing those words — auren, auren — they sounded to her like a promise the crowd might cling to, a sick kind of hope for the masses. The hall seemed to lean toward him, as if the people's breaths were strings pulled by that single name.

Then she saw it: a strange purple flame erupting from Auren's left eye. It painted his cheek in bruised violet, a living wound of light that crawled across his expression. The sight unstitched something inside Ana; fury rose like a physical heat behind her ribs. Her hands clenched so tight the leather of her gloves creaked.

She could not think any longer. A sudden question rose inside her like a spear: Is he the one prophesied as Ash Phantom? The thought struck like lightning and then certainty followed — yes, he is Ash Phantom. The name no longer a rumor, but a verdict stamped on her chest.

Now she was sure. Whatever he said was false. He is — he is a threat to Vaiven. Her mind narrowed as if a tunnel had closed around a single point. Everything else fell away: the screaming, the torn banners, the rain of sparks. Only one goal remained, bright and terrible.

I have to kill him.

She shouted in rage, the words ripping from her throat like a blade. It was not merely a battle cry — it sounded like a life pledged to one single purpose. Like killing Auren was the only goal of her life.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.