Veilach’s expression froze cold.

It was the same smell he had caught when he was forcibly shoved into the shell of a human.

'That bastard... is he here?'

The very moment he vowed to finally devour him, to fulfill his revenge—

Beside him, Yurian began to growl.

“......?”

'And why is this brat angry now?'

“Myu-myu?” (Something’s wrong with him, huh?)

At Veilach’s words, Lukshifer flinched and raised his head.

Yurian was somehow groaning as if unwell.

He couldn’t even open his eyes properly, growling weakly, and Lukshifer drooped his ears at the sight.

Surely, it must have been because of that stolen [Snack of Filial Piety (S+)].

Back when a showdown happened at the pool to decide whether Woojoo or Mephisto suited Guru more—

Lukshifer had been cheering for Mephisto and was about to bring him a snack of filial piety.

But Yurian had noticed, dashed over, and snatched it away.

Helplessly robbed of the snack, Lukshifer had cried and cried, but Yurian had only smirked and trotted away.

And afterward, Yurian had shown no strange signs, so they thought it was just a one-time incident...

But now, as Lukshifer sniffled, staring at Yurian writhing inside the small bag, his eyes welled up with tears.

Maybe he had fallen under the debuff [Lonely One’s Rage] contained in the snack.

The snack was an item imbued with Guru’s condensed anger at being bullied.

Anyone without purification ability who ate it would be easily swallowed by rage. That was why it had been sealed away as too dangerous.

So maybe that was why he was weakly growling like this...

While Lukshifer drooped with guilt, Veilach clicked his tongue.

'Of all times... our mount breaks down now.'

Amid the crowd, Veilach bared his teeth irritably, catching the scent of his enemy drifting in the air.

No helping it. First he’d deal with Yurian’s condition roughly, then hunt down his enemy.

“Myut?” (That brat... he ate the snack he stole from you, didn’t he?)

“Kkyuuu....” (Probably....)

“Myu-myu?” (And the leftover snacks?)

At Veilach’s question, Lukshifer pulled out two, one in each paw.

Since Guru no longer made the snacks, these were all ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) that remained.

Avoiding people’s eyes, Veilach hauled Yurian inside at a run.

“Kkyu?!” (Where are you going?!)

Lukshifer hurriedly dashed after them.

***

Meanwhile, Guru tilted her head.

While clinging to Jurim’s side like goldfish poop, greeting the adults, her bag had suddenly grown lighter.

Through the crowd’s legs, she glimpsed a little hamster dragging a Maltese, hopping along.

Behind them, a rabbit with drooping ears chased frantically.

“Bayi?! Pew?!”

“Ppi?!”

Where were they taking Yurian?

Guru looked up at Jurim once. Daddy seemed busy...

'Hmph.'

Time to scold those babies properly so they’d stop acting up on their own.

Guru darted after her followers.

Jurim glanced briefly at her small back as she ran, then turned again to shake hands with the people greeting him.

***

In a quiet corner of the hangar filled with engine hums and mechanical noise—

Veilach laid a paw on the little dog’s body, then quickly pulled away, startled.

Yurian’s entire body was burning hot enough to melt his hand.

Lukshifer flailed both arms, trying to cool him down, but it was hopeless.

Veilach waved a short arm sharply, as if telling him to stop the useless effort.

“Myu... myu-myu.” (He’s in terrible shape... maybe his body can’t withstand the power of the snack. So—)

“Kkyu....”

Lukshifer anxiously checked Yurian’s condition.

When they’d left that morning, it hadn’t been this severe.

Yurian was drenched in cold sweat, yet kept sniffing and growling.

Then, Veilach spoke.

“Myu.” (Feed him more.)

Lukshifer leapt up in shock.

“Kkyut?!” (Savage?!)

“Myu-myu.” (If he takes the buff of the snack, he might endure with a stronger body.)

“Kkyut!” (Absurd!)

Ignoring Lukshifer entirely, Veilach forced open Yurian’s mouth, trying to stuff in more snacks.

That moment, Yurian’s half-lidded eyes opened.

A hamster with stars in its eyes, and a rabbit with a sprout on its head came into view.

Yurian struggled to turn his head aside.

'That smell... I’m sure I smelled it.'

That woman’s smell.

The smell of the lab.

As fragments of a past he never wanted to recall surfaced, his vision seemed to drown in red.

And then, something began to enter his mouth, carried by fever.

Without knowing what it was, Yurian swallowed reflexively.

Instantly.

“......!”

A surge of uncontrollable power.

Agonizing pain, as if his body would burst apart, crashed down.

“Keuhk! Keck-keck!”

Tremble-tremble-tremble. His small body shook violently, beyond his control.

His body reflexively unleashed a skill to release the power.

[Activating skill ‘Spectrum Echo (SSS).’]

—Detects and rewinds traces of past flows of time and energy.

[Skill surpasses threshold and temporarily evolves.]

[Activating skill ‘Time Warp (L).’]

Light exploded at once.

Sensing danger, Veilach grabbed Lukshifer and leapt back, but the small child who had followed them was exposed directly to the light.

“Myu?!” (Master?!)

“Kkyu!” (No!)

Watching the tiny hands of the hamster and rabbit stretched toward her, Guru’s mouth fell open.

Status windows popped up in front of her eyes one after another.

Dding!

[Due to ‘Time Warp,’ you are warping to an arbitrary time.]

[Under the influence of (Unknown Title), the skill is altered.]

[Arbitrary time is fixed at ‘6 years ago.’]

***

Guru collapsed onto a corridor of cold metal, looking around in confusion.

She felt as if she was being held in someone’s arms. Looking down, she saw a childlike Mephisto hugging her tightly, as if to protect her.

“Mepi?!”

“.......”

Mephisto’s head hung low, eyes closed, without a reply.

“......!”

Seeing something wrong with him, Guru scanned their surroundings.

Behind stretched a long corridor lined with glass walls. In front stood a heavy steel door.

This was no hangar, where engine noise thundered.

This place was eerily silent.

So silent it was suffocating. Guru hunched her shoulders.

“......Mepi.”

She tried calling him carefully again, but Mephisto lay limp for some reason.

As though he had used up all his strength.

Guru stroked him gently, her face full of pity.

'......Just where are we?'

Where were Veilach and Lukshifer? What about Yurian?

Then—

Dding!

[Emergency! ‘Time Regressor’ traces not found in current timeline.]

[By ‘System Administrator,’ the role of ‘Time Regressor’ is modified to match this timeline.]

[‘Time Regressor’ profile updated to unregistered orphan ‘G-r00.’]

[Upon settling from ‘On Guru’ to ‘G-r00,’ surrounding ‘perception alteration’ occurs.]

Guru’s mouth dropped open.

'Time Regressor? Orphan? G-r00? What is all this?'

The answer came from Mephisto, who suddenly opened his eyes.

“Guru....”

The limp child grasped her hand.

“Ung?”

“We’ve crossed time.”

“Mepi?”

Guru looked up from their clasped hands to his face.

The pale boy was drenched in sweat.

“What do you mean? Where is this?”

Mephisto struggled to speak.

“......The past.”

Guru’s mouth gaped wider.

“We warped into the past.”